No More Learning

,
vol. ii, p. 234.
1Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1339-1340.
* Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1001-1002, 1334; vol. ii, p. 1514; vol. iii, p. 329.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES 483
and other glassware imported from Philadelphia. Boston-
made buttons could be purchased from John Clarke.
Tendencies toward a greater frugality were to be found
in other respects as well. The Marblehead committee of
inspection voted unanimously that " the meeting of the in-
habitants of this town in parties at houses of entertainment,
for the purposes of dancing, feasting, &c. , is expressly
against the Association," and that future offenders should
be held up to public notice. 1 The regulation with reference
to simplicity in mourning seems to have been well ob-
served,2 although the committee of inspection at Newbury-
port felt it necessary to declare that: " If any should . . .
go into a contrary practice, they may well expect that their
friends and neighbours will manifest their disapprobation
. . . by declining to attend the funeral. " *
In New Hampshire the enforcement of the Association
depended in large degree on the faithfulness and energy of
the Committee of "Forty-Five" at Portsmouth, the only
port of entry. This committee proved equal to its respon-
sibilities. Before news of the adoption of the Association
reached Portsmouth, Captain Pearne, a merchant, had com-
missioned a brig to proceed to Madeira for a cargo of
wine; but before the vessel sailed the provisions of the
Association were learned and the merchant agreed to send
her to the West Indies instead. 4 The committee also
stopped Captain Olivers who was on the point of exporting
fifty sheep to the West Indies; and he was forced to dis-
pose of them otherwise at some loss to himself. 5 On De-
cember 2 Governor Wentworth wrote that most people
1 Essex Gas. , Jan. 17, 1775; also Salem Gas. . Jan. 20.
* Mass. Spy, Nov. 24, 1774.
1 Essex Journ. , Dec. 28, 1774.
*AT. H. Gas. , Nov. 18, 1774.
4 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1013; N. H. Gas. , Nov. 18, 1774.
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? 484 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
accepted the regulations of Congress "as matters of obe-
dience, not of considerate examination, whereon they may
exercise their own judgment. " 1 When sixty pounds of
dutied tea was found in possession of a shopkeeper on Jan-
uary 18, the culprit exhibited the better part of valor by
burning it in the presence of a large crowd. 2 On February
10 the committee recommended that all who furnished
accommodations for cards and billiards should discontinue
their unjustifiable proceedings at once. * So energetic was
the committee that the conservatives endeavored to set on
foot an association in opposition to the Continental Asso-
ciation; but the movement came to nought. 4
In the towns outside of Portsmouth, the greatest diffi-
culty was experienced in dealing with country peddlers and
chapmen. These men were accused of contravening the
non-importation and non-consumption regulations and also
of "tempting women, girls and boys with their unneces-
sary fineries. " The town of Exeter voted to permit no
itinerant traders to sell wares there. 8 A town meeting at
Epsom established the same regulation "upon no less
penalty than receiving a new suit agreeable to the modern
mode and a forfeiture of their goods. " * The committees at
Kingstown, New Market and Brentwood announced that
the provincial law prohibiting peddling would now be
rigidly enforced. 7 When a provincial convention met on
January 25, they endorsed this last method as the most
effective way of coping with the difficulty. 8 The conven-
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1013.
1 N. H. Gas. , Jan. 27, 1775.
* Ibid. , Feb. 10, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1223.
4 Ibid. , vol. ii, p. 251; also N. H. Gas. , Mch. 31, 1775.
1 Ibid. , Jan. 6, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1105-1106.
? Ibid. , vol. i, p. 1105; also N. H. Gas. , Jan. 20, 1775.
1 Ibid. , Jan. 13, 1775-
1Ibid. , Feb. 3, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1182.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES 485
tion also issued an address to the inhabitants in behalf of
the Association and, among other things, recommended the
immediate and total disuse of tea whether dutied or smug-
gled. The people were also urged to promote home manu-
factures and shun all forms of extravagance. It was not
until the provincial congress met in May that the subject
of local production received further attention. Then linen
and woolen manufactures were mentioned as being partic-
ularly worthy of encouragement, and farmers were enjoined
to kill no lambs before the first of August following. 1
The non-importation regulation appears to have been
well enforced in Rhode Island. Several vessels intending
for the African coast were actually laid up at Newport be-
cause they could not be gotten ready to depart by Decem-
ber 1. 2 The Newport committee remitted to Boston the
sum of ? 5 15s. 3d. sterling as the profits of sales of im-
portations prior to February 1, 1775. 8 Late in January,
the committee at Providence auctioned off a quantity of
merchandise, valued at ? 1200 sterling, imported from
Liverpool by way of New York, and derived a profit of
? 16 6s. 1d. for the relief of Boston. 4 Particular attention
was given in Rhode Island to the regulations for the non-
exportation of sheep. In November, 1774, the Providence
committee exhorted obedience to these regulations; a few
days later they sent to Boston, as a gift, one hundred and
thirty-six sheep that had originally been intended for ex-
portation to the West Indies but which the town had bought
instead. 8 Until late in February, Newport would not even
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 651.
1 Pa. Journ. , Feb. 8, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1098-1099.
14M. H. S. Colls. , vol. iv, p. 265.
4 Bos. Eve. Post, Feb. 20, 1775; Essex Gas. , Mch. 7,
? 4 M. H. S. Colls. , vol. iv, p. 154.
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? 486 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
permit the shipment of sheep to associated provinces; then,
the Salem committee succeeded in pointing out the error
of this interpretation of the Association.
1
Providence facilitated the enforcement of the non-con-
sumption regulation by requiring all dealers to show a
certificate that the goods offered for sale conformed in
every way to the specifications of the Association. 2 On
March 2, 1775, the day after the total disuse of tea became
effective, the event was celebrated at Providence by a bon-
fire of three hundred pounds of tea that had been collected
from the inhabitants. 8 The situation in Rhode Island may
be summarized in the language of the Newport committee
to their Philadelphia brethren: "so far as we can learn,
the Association hath been strictly adhered to by the mer-
chants in this colony . . . " 4 Apparently little was done
to encourage manufacturing or to foster the simple life.
However, the graduating class at Rhode Island College in-
duced the college authorities to abandon the public com-
mencement exercises as out of harmony with Article viii. "
The chief problem in Connecticut was not that of non-
importation (for her imports came largely by way of Mas-
sachusetts and New York), but that of non-consumption.
The Norwich committee required all dealers to comply with
the regulation, which was rapidly becoming popular, of
vouching for the character of new stock by displaying cer-
tificates from whence the merchandise came. 3 An early
tendency was observable for prices to rise, due to the fact
1 Pickering Papers (M. H. S. Mss. ), vol. xxxiii, p. 122; vol. xxxix,
p. 100.
1R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. vii, pp. 285-287.
*4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 15.
4 Pa. Journ. , Feb. 8, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1099.
1 Ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 93S-93&
? Conn. (Ja*. . Dec. 30. 1774.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES 487
that the importers had sold to the Connecticut retailers at
an advance and the former could not easily be reached be-
cause of their residence in other provinces. On January 25,
1775, a joint meeting of committees of inspection of Hart-
ford County resolved that, even if the importers violated
the Association, the retailers should not be excused, and
that no better rule could be fixed regarding prices than Ar-
ticle ix of the Association. 1 A few days later the com-
mittee of inspection at Farmington in the same county ob-
tained from James Percival, a local dealer, a written con-
fession of his guilt in violating this regulation and a
promise to deposit his surplus profit with the committee for
use of the Boston unfortunate. 5 The same action with re-
spect to prices was taken by the counties of New Haven.
Fairfield and Litchfield. All these counties also directed
attention to the importance of improving sheep, raising flax
and encouraging manufactures. *
As Connecticut possessed no commercial metropolis,
special effort was made in that province to standardize the
practice of trying persons accused of transgressing the
Association in the several small river and coast towns. The
movement was set on foot, it would appear, at the meeting
of the committees of inspection of Hartford County on
January 25. In executing the Association, it was there
agreed that proceedings against an accused should be con-
ducted in an "open, candid and deliberate manner:" that
formal summons should be served upon him. containing the
nature of the charge, with an invitation to defend himself
before the committee at some time not sooner than six days
later; that witnesses and other evidence should be " openly,
fairly and fully heard;" and that no conviction should be
1 Conn. Cour. , Jan. 30, 1775.
1 Ibid. , Feb. 13, 1775.
'Ibid. , Feb. 27, 1775; Conn. Journ. , Mch. 8.
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? 488 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
made " but upon the fullest, clearest and most convincing
proof. " * The same mode of procedure was adopted by the
counties of New Haven, Fairfield and Litchfield. 2
Trials of offenders by the committees of inspection bore
every evidence of being fair and impartial hearings, al-
though mistakes were occasionally made. In March three
men failed to appear before the Fairfield committee who
had been summoned to answer charges; and upon an ex
parte examination the committee held unanimously that the
accused were guilty of a breach of the Association and
should forfeit all commercial connections with the com-
munity. Five weeks later, two of the men came before the
committee, proved their innocence and were restored to
public favor. 5 At Guilford Captain Griffin appeared be-
fore the committee and demanded that his character be
cleared of the aspersions cast upon it by a letter from
Martinique, which had been printed in the Journal and
which accused him of having violated Article vii by taking
fourteen sheep to Martinique. After investigation the
committee decided that Griffin was not guilty and recom-
mended him to the favorable consideration of the . public. 4
In general, the view expressed by Thomas Mumford of
Groton to Silas Deane in October, 1775, may be accepted
as correct: "This Colony universally adheres to all the
Resolves of Congress. " 5 Even in Fairfield County, where,
it will be recalled, the greatest disaffection existed, the
principal towns were actively engaged in executing the
Association.
1 Conn. Cour. , Jan. 30, 1775.
* Ibid. , Feb. 27, 1775; Conn. Journ. , Mch. 8.
1 Conn. Gas. , Apr. 4, May 12, 1775.
4 N. Y. Gas. , Apr. 3, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 222.
? Conn. Hist. Soc. Colls. , vol. ii, p. 310. Vide also 4 Am. Arch. , vol.
ii, pp. 252-253.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES 489
In New York province the responsibility of enforcing
the non-importation regulation rested with the Committee
of Sixty at the port of entry. However, the first occasion
for enforcement of the Association was the attempt of an
inconsiderate citizen to ship some sheep to the West Indies.
The shipment was prevented through the energy of a group
of inhabitants who acted without consulting the Committee
of " Fifty-One," then still in office. 1 A few days later the
distillers of the city signified their hearty approval of the
pending non-importation by resolving to distill no molasses
imported from the British West Indies or Dominica nor to
sell any rum for the purpose of carrying on the slave
traffic. 2 In the two months prior to February 1, 1775, the
Committee of Sixty showed a record of astonishing activ-
ity. Their official report testifies that they conducted auc-
tions for the sale of goods imported in twenty-one vessels,
as well as for the sale of a trunk of calicoes imported from
London by way of Philadelphia. 5 These cargoes were
made up of a variety of articles representing many quarters
of the globe and evidencing the colorful romance of colo-
nial commerce. A great deal of space was taken up in the
newspapers by announcements of sales. The greatest profit
arose from the sale of merchandise brought in the large
London ship Lady Gage, from which ? 182 18s. was cleared
for Boston. In a number of cases the selling price covered
merely the first cost and charges. The total profits from all
sales amounted to ? 347 4s. 1d.
After February 1 the Sixty displayed equal diligence in
returning cargoes without breaking bulk. For the purpose
of facilitating this work a sub-committee was appointed to
supervise the arrival of all vessels. 4 The most difficult case
14 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 963; also N. Y. Journ. , Nov. 10, 1774.
1 Ibid. , Nov. 10, 1774.
1 Ibid. , Apr. 27, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii. pp. 342-343.
4 AT. Y. Journ. , Feb. 2, 1775.
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? 490
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
of enforcement proved to be that of a vessel that arrived on
the second day of the new dispensation. This was the ship
James, commanded by Captain Watson and bringing a
cargo of coal and drygoods from Glasgow. The captain
was promptly warned by the sub-committee not to enter at
the custom house and not to delay in departing with his
cargo unbroken. But the loyalists were determined to
make this a trial of strength; and although the consignees
refused to appeal to the authorities for aid, they obtained
the not unwilling ear of Captain Watson and employed men
to go aboard and bring the colors ashore with a view to
raising a posse to assist in landing the goods. A great mob
assembled on the shore; and the captain, much alarmed,
dropped down about four miles below the city, where he
remained several days attended by a boat containing repre-
sentatives of the committee. On Thursday evening, the
ninth, the ship reappeared in the harbor escorted by an
officer and some men belonging to the royal vessel King-
Usher, which had just come on the scene. The people again
assembled in great numbers, seized the captain who was
lodging in town, and paraded him about the streets until
he was glad to flee to the man-of-war. After two days of
sober reflection he prepared to depart with his ship, but was
now ordered to desist by an overzealous lieutenant from the
Kingfisher. Again the people collected; and the captain of
the Kingfisher, hearing of the unauthorized act of the lieu-
tenant, permitted the departure of the James. That vessel
was watched far beyond Sandy Hook, as she swept out to
sea. by the committee's boat.