No More Learning

In the spring months of 1775 little difficulty had been
experienced by the committees of observation in enforcing
the prohibition; but by midsummer, cases of violation began
to become numerous. Thus, the committee at Providence,
R. I. , forced the recantation of the tea dealer, Nathan
Angell, in October and seized such of his stock as remained
unsold; but they admitted that they had reason to suspect,
from the frequent complaints of country people, that some
dealers in Providence still continued the practice. 2 It was
openly asserted in Congress in September that ninety-nine
1To Joseph Hawley, Apr. 15, 1776; Adams, S. , Writings (Cushing),
vol. iii, pp. 279-280.
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. iii, pp. 975-976.
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? Sg2 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
out of one hundred in New York drank tea, although this
was obviously an exaggeration. 1 A persistent tea seller at
Reading, Pa. , was tarred and feathered and ridden on a
horse with his face to the tail, " to the great diversion of the
inhabitants who, I believe, hardly ever beheld a more ridic-
ulous figure. " 2
The truth was, as the Continental Congress was at length
forced to admit, that the period allowed by the Continental
Association for the consumption of tea, which was then in
stock, was too short, " whereby many zealous friends to the
American cause, who had imported large quantities of that
commodity, with design not merely to advance their for-
tunes, but to counteract the plan then pursued by the min-
istry and India company to introduce and sell in these colo-
nies tea subject to duty, are likely to become great suffer-
ers; the greater part of the estates of many of them being
vested in that article, anS they, by that means, rendered in-
capable not only of paying their debts and maintaining their
families, but also of vigorously exerting themselves in the
service of their country. " *
Great pressure was brought to bear upon Congress to
permit the sale of such teas as had been imported before
Article iii of the Association became effective. Alexander
McDougall of New York urged the matter on the attention
of Richard Henry Lee, a member of Congress, in a letter
of June 5, 1775; but the latter replied that, although such
suffering was to be found in all the provinces, "Should
Congress determine to admit the sale and the use of what
1 Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, p. 447.
1 Pa. Merc. , Oct. 20, 1775. For other examples, vide 4 Am. Arch. ,
vol. ii, pp. 920, 1678; vol. iii, pp. 729, 937-938; Pa. Journ. , May 17, I77S:
Conn. Cour. , Apr. 8, 1776.
* Preamble to the congressional resolution of Apr. 13, 1776; Journals,
vol. iv, pp. 277-278.
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? TRANSFORMATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 583
tea is on hand, may not bad men take the advantage of the
impossibility of distinguishing this from newly imported
Tea . . . ? "' The New York provincial congress, in a
letter to the New York delegates at the Continental Con-
gress on July 28, declared that the smuggling merchants had
so much capital tied up in unsalable Dutch teas that they
were deprived of the means of introducing into the prov-
ince Dutch textiles and munitions, which were badly needed.
The delegates were therefore instructed to urge Congress
to authorize the sale of teas in stock, at a fixed price, with
a tax of one shilling imposed as a penalty on " the obstinate
consumers. " *
On July 31, 1775, the question of renewing the sale of
teas was formally presented to Congress in the form of two
petitions, one from sundry New York merchants and the
other from sundry merchants of Philadelphia. Due to the
pressure of other business, the matter did not receive con-
sideration for some months. Finally, on November 28, the
petitions were rejected. * The matter did not rest here, the
Maryland delegates receiving instructions from their pro-
vincial convention to press Congress to permit the consump-
tion of all teas imported before February 1, 1775. The
subject was debated for two days in mid-January, 1776,
with Dr. Franklin and Thomas Lynch as the chief oppo-
sition speakers, and was finally lost by a vote of seven
provinces to five. 4
Meantime it became increasingly evident that the prohibi-
1 Lee, R. H. , Letters (Ballagh), vol. t, pp. 143-144.
'4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 1805. For the reply of the delegates vide
ibid. , vol. iii, p. 750.
'Journals, vol. ii, p. 235; vol. iii, pp. 294, 298, 388-389.
* The negative provinces were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware and Maryland. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. iv, p. 887; Am. Hist. Rev. ,
vol. i, pp. 308, 309.
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? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
tion of tea drinking was serving no useful purpose and was,
on the other hand, fomenting divisions within radical ranks.
"Whenever the reason of any law ceases," declared "Aescu-
lapius," "the law ceases . . . whether the law is in a
formal manner repealed or not;" and he added: "If we
should drink tea three times a day, we shall not be taxed for
it to Great-Britain--no one can import it from there while
we remain in our present situation. " * Congress yielded to
the increasing pressure finally on April 13, one week after
trade had been opened with foreign nations. They voted
that all teas imported before December 1, 1774, should be
placed on sale, except such as had been imported by the East
India Company. To guard against excessive prices, it was
provided that Bohea tea should not retail at more than
three-fourths of a dollar a pound and that the prices of
other teas should be fixed by the local committees. 5
In somewhat similar fashion, the provisions of the Asso-
ciation for maintaining the customary level of prices had,
after the first year of the non-importation, become increas-
ingly difficult to administer. In the plantation provinces
the chief trouble was found in regulating the price of salt.
That commodity was of essential importance as being prac-
tically the only preservative of meat and fish; and the
supply in the South had nearly reached the point of exhaus-
tion by the autumn following the cessation of importation.
Beginning in the spring of 1775, the provincial conventions
of Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas offered pecuniary
inducements to private individuals who would undertake the
manufacture of salt. 8 The people in the uplands of Vir-
1 Conn. Cour. , Apr. 8, 1776.
* Teas found in the cargo of prizes were also permitted to be sold.
Journals, vol. iv, pp. 277-278.
1Virginia, Mch. 27; Maryland, Aug. 14; North Carolina, Sept. 10;
and South Carolina, Nov. 28; Smith, C. S. , "Scarcity of Salt in the
Revolutionary War," / M. H. S. Procs. , vol. xv, pp. 221-227.
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? TRANSFORMATION OF THE ASSOCIATION -85
ginia, suffering from the great scarcity, did not hesitate on
several occasions to descend upon some of the tidewater
merchants and seize such salt as they could lay hands on. 1
The local committees in these provinces did what they
could to prevent the inevitable rise in prices. For example,
in August, 1775, the Surry County committee in Virginia
published Robert Kennon, a factor, for advancing the price
from 2s. 6d. per bushel to 3s. 2 In November the Baltimore
County, Md. , committee established a maximum price for
salt, and authorized past purchasers of salt to collect from
dealers any money charged beyond that amount. 8 Such
treatment, however, did not penetrate to the source of the
trouble; so, on December 29, 1775, the Continental Con-
gress took measures to afford relief. Virginia, Maryland
and North Carolina, where the need was greatest, were
authorized to import as much salt from any foreign coun-
try as their conventions or committees of safety might
think necessary and to export produce therefor. 4 The con-
ventions of all the continental provinces were urged to
offer bounties for salt making. Most of the provinces acted
upon this advice in the following year. 0
At the leading northern ports and in the rural districts
which were their markets, the regulation of prices had
created more or less trouble from the beginning of non-
importation. 3 The cause of high prices in the early months
had been the greed of forestallers and monopolists; nor did
the city committees always take prompt action in such cases,
especially if the articles in question were not widely used or
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Dec. 6, 1775.
1 Ibid. , Aug. 22, 1775.
1 Md. Journ. , Nov. 22, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. iii, p. 1541.
4 Journals, vol. iii, pp. 464-465; Am. Hist. Rev. , vol. i, p. 299.
? Smith, he. cit.
supra, chapter xii.
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? 586 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
the advance in price moderate. By the winter of 1775-1776,
after the non-importation had been effective for about a
year, the upward trend of prices indicated the approaching
depletion of mercantile stocks;* but the radicals in general
still preferred to believe that private avarice was the sole
animating cause. The chief centers of trouble were the
ports of Philadelphia and New York and the markets tribu-
tary to them.
The dearth and high price of West India
commodities created greatest uneasiness because of their
former cheapness and wide household use.
At Philadelphia the committee reported in September,
1775, after a careful investigation of the rising price of
salt, that there was a sufficient supply of the article in the
city; and they warned the dealers to charge prices that
would not call for the interference of the committee. 2 In
December the committee fixed wholesale and retail prices
for oil. 8 On March 5, 1776, the district committees of
Philadelphia made a careful examination into the prices of
certain West India commodities and others, and reached the
conclusion that the exorbitant prices were the result of en-
grossing. Therefore, on March 6, the committee estab-
lished a schedule of prices, with the warning that violators
of the regulation would be published "as sordid vultures
who are preying on the vitals of their country in a time of
general distress. " The commodities regulated were molasses,
common West India rum, country rum, coffee, cocoa, choc-
olate, pepper, several varieties of sugar, Lisbon and Liver-
pool salt, and Jamaica spirits. 4 Before the month was past
1 Vide a clear analysis of this situation in a circular letter of the
Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, May 22, 1776; Pa. lourn. , June
19, I77<5.
1 Pa. Eve. Post, Sept. 7, 1775.
1 Pa. Journ. , Dec. 20, 1775.
4 Pa. Ledger, Mch. 9, 1776; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. v, pp. 74, 85-86.
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? TRANSFORMATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 587
two inhabitants had violated the resolution: William Sit-
greaves had sold coffee at a penny more than the commit-
tee's rate, and Peter Ozeas had bought and sold two barrels
of coffee at a price higher than the limit. Both offenses
were published, and the men quickly sued for pardon. 1
At New York the extravagant price of pins aroused feel-
ing in September, 1775; and the city committee appointed
a sub-committee to inform the offending merchants that
their conduct would be published unless they reformed their
ways. 2 In November it was proven to the committee that
Robinson & Price had overcharged for pins and other arti-
cles, and the firm was duly published. 8 In March, 1776, the
merchant Archibald M'Vicker was held up for a similar
offence. 4 The extraordinary enhancement in the price of
West India products caused the New York committee, on
March 9, to establish a scale of wholesale prices after the
fashion of Philadelphia. The committee, however, declared
that they intended, from time to time, to examine into the
circumstances of newly-imported commodities from the
West Indies and to regulate the prices accordingly. 8 Five
days later, six or seven hundred mechanics held a meeting
with the Committee of Mechanics and "delivered a very
pathetic address of thanks to the general committee of in-
spection for their kind attention to the public good, in par-
ticular for their resolve of the ninth instant limiting the
prices of West-India produce. "' The committee at New-
1 Pa. Ledger, Apr. 6, 1776.
* 4 Am. Arch. , vol. iii, p. 702.
* Ibid. , vol. iii, pp. 1625-1627. They were restored to public favor by
the New York provincial congress in March, 1776, after an expression
of contrition. N. Y. Journ. , Mch. 14, 1776.
4 N. Y. Co*. , Mch. 4, 1776.
* Ibid. , Mch. 11, 1776; also N. Y. Journ. , Mch. 14.
? N. Y. Gas. , Mch. 18, 1776.
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? 588 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
ark, N. J. , followed the example of the New York com-
mittee with reference to West India commodities on March
15, advancing the scale of prices sufficiently to allow for
transportation, waste and retailers' profits. Violators were
not only to be boycotted but were to lose the protection of
the committee for their person and property. 1
The people of Connecticut had been complaining since
the early months of trade suspension against the high prices
which the New York merchants charged the Connecticut
merchants and retailers and which the latter had sought to
shift on to the consumers. Various expedients had been
tried to eradicate this evil; but by the early months of 1776
these efforts had definitely failed of their purpose. Many
protests appeared in the local newspapers. The New York
merchants were said to have raised their rates thirty to
forty per cent; the local dealers were accused of "making
merchandize of their country and its liberties;" the " poor
consumer" and the "poor mechanic and labourer" were
shown to be the victims of this situation. 2 Other writers
charged that the farmers were equally guilty of extortion. 8
At length the leading towns adopted the device, which had
become popular elsewhere, of establishing prices for the
chief West India commodities. The committees of inspec-
tion of the towns in New London County resolved upon this
measure at a joint meeting on March 14, 1776, and the
committees of the fifteen towns of Hartford County took
like action on the twenty-seventh. 4
The same upward climb of prices was to be found in the
1 N. Y. Gas. , Apr. 22, 1776; also 2 N. J. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 86-87.
*"R" in Conn. Cow. , Jan. 29, 1776; "Fabius" in ibid. , Mch. a5;
"Philo Patriae" in Conn. Gas. , Mch. 8.
1"Fabius" in Conn. Cour. , Mch. 25, 1776; "A Small Merchant" in
ibid. , Apr. 8.
* Conn. Gas. , Mch. 8, 1776; Conn. Cour. , Apr. 8.
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? TRANSFORMATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 589
other New England provinces. Abigail Adams wrote to
her husband at Philadelphia on December 10, 1775, that at
Braintree English goods of all kinds had doubled in price,
West India molasses had advanced from 1s. 8d. , 1. m. , to
2s. 8d. , cotton-wool from 1s. per bag to 3s. ; linens were to
be had at no price. 1 The Providence, R. I. , committee re-
ported numerous complaints and issued warnings from time
to time against advanced prices "on any pretence what-
ever. " 2 The New Hampshire provincial congress, in a
resolution of September 1, 1775, acknowledged gross vio-
lations of the price regulation of the Association and attrib-
uted them to the fact that many members of the committees
of inspection were themselves engaged in trade. The con-
gress therefore resolved that such violators might be cited
before any committee within a radius of ten miles of the
scene of the offense. *
The unavailing efforts of the committees to prevent the
rise of prices furnished a strong argument in favor of a
frank abandonment of the plan by the Continental Con-
gress. The depletion of the colonial warehouses and the
opening of trade with the world convinced Congress that
the time for taking the step had arrived. Asserting that
merchant adventurers should be encouraged to import from
foreign countries by the prospect of profits proportionate to
the danger and expense incurred, they resolved on April 30,
1776, that " the power of committees of inspection and ob-
servation to regulate the prices of goods (in other instances
than the article of green Tea) ought to cease. " *
1 Adams, John, and Abigail, Familiar Letters (Adams, C. F. , ed. ,
Boston, 1875), p. 130. Vide also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. iv, p. 159 n.
1 Ibid. , vol . iii, pp. 662, 075.
'Ibid. , vol. iii, p. 521.
4 Journals, vol. iv, p. 320.
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? S90 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
Like the resolution of a few weeks earlier for re-opening
the sale of teas, this resolution was a douceur to the mer-
chants within radical ranks and to those wavering in their
allegiance. The merchants availed themselves of these new
opportunities without delay. Teas were everywhere dis-
played for sale, little regard being paid in most cases to the
rates prescribed by the Continental Congress or by the local
committees. 1 The prices of other commodities, freed of all
restrictions by Congress, soared beyond anything dreamed
of before. The "enormous rise of the article of rum"
caused Connecticut innkeepers to agree to buy no more
until the price was somewhat reduced. 2 In the middle of
May it was reported that at Boston pins had advanced from
8d. to 6s. , cards from 2s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. , handkerchiefs from
4s. to I2s. , steel from o/l. to 33. 8 The worthy spouse of
John Adams declared that the cost of living had doubled
within the space of a year. 4 In various parts of New Jer-
sey mobs were formed to intimidate merchants into lower-
ing prices; and the provincial committee of safety were
forced to warn the people that the enforced reduction of
prices would discourage smugglers from undertaking trade
with foreign countries and would thus work a hardship on
the poorer people in the long run. 8
The greatest distress was everywhere caused by the ex-
orbitant charge made for the necessary article of salt; and
Congress intervened on May 30 to advise the committees
1E. g.