No More Learning

At the brief session of the Assembly in April,
1775, Governor Martin urged the importance of a law for
the permanent establishment of courts. But the radical
leaders would have nothing to do with it, openly avpwing,
according to Governor Martin, that courts "would be in-
jurious at this time unless their operation could be sus-
pended, since they would furnish the merchants with op-
portunity to harrass their Debtors while the people at large,
having bound themselves by the Resolves of Congress,
could not convert their commodities into money to pay
their Debts. " Furthermore, the governor declared that it
was well known that among the radical leaders there were
"some whose desperate circumstances make them dread
the long arms of Courts of unlimited jurisdiction which
would extend to their own cases . . . " 2 Not content with
merely negative action, the North Carolina congress in Sep-
tember, 1775, went the full length, as had the neighboring
provinces, and resolved that no actions should be begun or
1N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1149-1150, 1152-1153, 1166.
1Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1225-1226.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
523
continued in the courts except by consent of the committee
of the county in which the debtor resided. 1
Perhaps the most interesting case of boycott, because of
the prominence and wealth of the gentleman concerned,
was that of Thomas Macknight, of Currituck, a county in
the extreme northeastern part of the province. As a mem-
ber of the provincial convention of April, 1775, Macknight
spoke against a motion, which expressed high approval of
the Association, on the ground that a great many colonists,
like himself, owed money in Great Britain which the non-
exportation regulation would render them unable to pay.
Notwithstanding his opposition, the convention proceeded
to adopt the motion, and then voted that every member
should sign the Association. Macknight protested; he said
that he would "conform" to the Association but that he
could not endorse it by the attaching of his signature. The
sense of the convention was taken on his statement of ad-
herence, and the body divided fourteen counties against
fourteen. Macknight continued to withhold his signature,
but offered to change the word " conform " to " accede. "
This was voted as acceptable by a majority, but an un-
compromising minority declared they would withdraw from
the convention if any subscription different from theirs
was accepted from him. To restore harmony, Macknight
himself now voluntarily withdrew; and the convention
thereupon passed a resolution holding him up " as a proper
object of contempt to this Continent" to be subjected to a
rigorous boycott. The other members from Currituck also
withdrew as well as two members of the Pasquotank dele-
gation. It would appear that Macknight did not at once
suffer any serious consequences from this resolution inas-
much as the more substantial leaders among the radicals
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. iii, p. 208. Some changes in detail were made in
this resolution by the provincial council in October. Ibid. , p. 1093.
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? 524 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
realized that he had not asserted his right to act contrary
to the community but merely to think as he pleased. How-
ever, with the development of events in the next twelve-
month, Macknight's offense began to appear more heinous,
and he was forced to abandon his estate and flee to the
British for protection. 1
Interest in the promotion of domestic manufacturing de-
veloped later in North Carolina than in most other prov-
inces, but assumed a more practicable form. A beginning
was made in March, 1775, by the Chowan County com-
mittee, who offered premiums to the first persons in the
province who should make a stated quantity of wool cards
and cotton cards, with the added inducement that the arti-
cles should be purchased by the committee at a higher price
than the same articles made in England commanded. Other
awards were announced for the making of steel, bleached
linen and fulled woolen cloth. 2 The provincial convention
in April, 1775, recommended that the other counties follow
out the same plan. 8 Most counties proving apathetic, the
provincial congress in September set an example for the
continent by offering twenty premiums, amounting in all to
? 2965, for the encouragement of local manufacturing.
Among the manufactures named for subsidies were nails,
pins, needles, steel and pig iron, cotton and wool cards,
linens and woolens, salt, powder and saltpetre. 4
As in other provinces, the foibles of the people were sub-
jected to the pitiless surveillance of the committees. This
was strikingly true in the case of Wilmington, where the
1N. C. Col. Rea. , vol. ix, p. 1227; vol. x, pp. 31-37; Pub. Rec. Off. ,
C. 0. 5, no. 147, pp. 447-457 (L. C. Transcripts) ; 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii,
pp. 269-272.
1 N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1133-1134; 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 30-31.
1 Ibid. , vol. ii, p. 270.
4 Ibid. , vol. iii, pp. 209-212; also AT. C. Col. Recs. , vol. x, pp. 216-219.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
525
subscription races in November and January were stopped,
billiard tables were abolished, and dances, private as well as
public, were prevented. 1
In conclusion, it is a safe generalization that the essential
features of the Association were well executed. The in-
habitants of Anson, Rowan, Surry and Guilford, the old
Regulator counties, remained quiet and no doubt violated
the non-consumption regulations whenever opportunity
afforded -- which was seldom. Governor Martin paid his
respects to the efficiency of the radical organization when,
in his proclamation of March 1, 1775, he referred to the
"Tyrannical and arbitrary Committees which have already
in many instances proceeded to the Extravagance of forc-
ing his Majesty's subjects contrary to their consciences to
submit to their unreasonable, seditious and chimerical Re-
solves
The temper of the radicals at Charleston, South Caro-
lina, was made manifest by the measures they pursued while
the First Continental Congress was still in session. * The
General Committee prevented a merchant from filling an
order for the exportation of arms and ammunition. They
warned the merchants against the mercenary practice of
engrossing and recommended that the merchants should
receive only their customary profits. They actively pro-
moted an association for the non-consumption of India teas,
dutied or otherwise, to be effective on November 1; and
at their instigation the schoolboys of the city collected
from private houses the tea that remained on that day and
burned it publicly on Gunpowder Plot Day, November 5.
Twenty-four chests of tea were discovered in the cargo of
1 N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1090-1150 passim.
1 Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1145-1146.
*S. C. Gas. , Oct. 17, 31. Nov. 21, 1774.
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? 526
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
the ship Britannia which arrived from London in the first
few days of November, and the merchants to whom they
were consigned were induced by the committee to go on
board and throw the tea into the river. On the same day
six chests of smuggled tea were re-shipped to the port
whence they had come, with a caution to the shipper not to
venture any more.
The non-importation regulations of the Association
were enforced with as great impartiality and enthusiasm.
Although the details of the transactions have not come
down to us, Timothy's Gasette makes it evident that im-
portations arriving between December 1, 1774, and Feb-
ruary 1, 1775, were sold at committee auction almost as
quickly as the vessels arrived. 1 After February 1, the
committee displayed great diligence in effecting the return
of cargoes without landing any part of them. Three ves-
sels arrived in February: one was turned away; and in the
case of the other two, the consignees preferred to cast into
the sea their merchandise, consisting of 3844 bushels of
salt, 35 caldrons of coal, 45,500 tiles and two tons of pota-
toes, rather than return it. 2 In March, four more vessels
were turned away. 8 Of the brigantine Industry, Timothy's
Gasette remarked laconically: "Nothing was landed but a
Man, his Wife, and six fine Children. "
The affair of Robert Smyth brought the zeal of the popu-
lace into play. Smyth had returned to Charleston in the
snow Proteus, bringing with him from London his house-
hold furniture and two horses that belonged to him. Upon
an appeal to the General Committee it was decided by a
bare majority of the thirty-three members present that this
1 E. g. , vide S. C. Gas. , Dec. 19, 26, 1774.
1 Ibid. , Feb. 27, Mch. 6, 1775. Vide also letter in Mass. Gas. & Post-
Boy, Apr. 3.
1S. C. Gas. , Mch. 6, 13, 27, Apr. 3, 1775.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
527
importation did not violate the spirit of the Association.
This decision caused mutterings and threats among the
people, and a couple of days later a petition, signed by
more than two hundred and fifty people, was presented to
the General Committee, asking for a reconsideration of the
decision in a full meeting. In consequence, another meet-
ing was held at which seventy members were present as well
as a great crowd of the tumultuous townsmen. Gadsden
moved to rescind the part of the former vote that had
authorized the landing of the horses. He urged that it was
contrary to the Association; that it would alarm the north-
ern provinces; that, in any case, the committee as servants
of the people, were bound to yield to their constituents. On
the other side, Thomas Lynch, the Rutledges and Rawlins
Lowndes were the chief speakers. They contended that to
reverse the vote would be to cast contempt upon the com-
mittee; and that the spirit, not the letter, of the Association
should be observed. William H. Drayton arose in reply.
He argued that if the committee refused to change for fear
of contempt, the king of England might reasonably use the
same justification for his course; and, furthermore, that it
was always safer to follow the letter than to explore the
spirit of a law. When the vote was put, Gadsden's motion
prevailed by a vote of thirty-five to thirty-four. 1 "It is
worthy of remark," Drayton records, "that this is the first
instance of a point of importance and controversy being
carried against those by whose opinion the people had been
long governed.
"
Like the other plantation provinces, the radicals sought
to safeguard the operation of the Association by endeavor-
ing to paralyze the pecuniary power of the mercantile class.
The provincial congress of January, 1775, passed a unani-
1 Drayton, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 182-187; 5. C. Gas. , Mch. 27, 1775.
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? 528
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
mous resolution vesting the local committees of observation
with complete control over prosecutions for debt. No
action for debt should be commenced in the court of com-
mon pleas, nor any such action begun there since the Sep-
tember return should be proceeded in, without the consent
of the parish or district committee. In certain cases the
committees were instructed to permit prosecution: when-
ever debtors refused to renew their obligations or to give
reasonable security; when they were justly suspected of an
intention to depart the province or defraud their creditors;
or whenever there should appear any other reasonable cause
for granting permission. 1
The only action in behalf of domestic production ema-
nated from the provincial congress in January. The in-
habitants were asked to give a preference to their own
manufactures, to cultivate cotton, hemp, wheat, barley and
hops, and to kill no sheep for sale after March I following.
A resolution was passed to employ storekeepers at Charles-
ton, Georgetown and Beaufort to buy all the wool that
might be brought to them, at stated rates, and to sell the
wool to weavers at cost price; and also to market domestic
linens, woolens and cottons without charge to the manu-
facturers. 8 Apparently not so much attention was paid to
the sumptuary regulations as in Virginia and Maryland.
However, the mourning regulations were widely observed.
Also, at Charleston the concerts of the St. Coecilia Society
were suspended; and the races at Georgetown were called
off. 1
All things considered, the statement of the General Com-
mittee in a letter to the Committee of Sixty at New York
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1113.
1Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1112-1113, 1116.
8 5. C. Co*. , Nov. 21, Dec. 19, 1774.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
529
on March 1, 1775, seems well substantiated so far as the
essential features of the Association were concerned. "We
have the pleasure to inform you," the letter said, "that in
this colony the Association takes place as effectually as law
itself. . . . We may assure you of our fixed determination
to adhere to the resolutions at all hazards; and that minis-
terial opposition is here obliged to be silent. " 1
While the Continental Association was being put into
operation in the twelve Associated Provinces, certain
other parts of continental British America, of lesser im-
portance, held sternly aloof from the movement. This
brought into operation the comprehensive boycott recom-
mended by Article xiv against dissentient provinces. South
Carolina was most intimately concerned in the failure of
Georgia to join the league of provinces, as the staples of
the two provinces were the same. Therefore, on February
8, 1775, the General Committee at Charleston decreed that
thereafter all "Trade, Commerce, Dealings or Intercourse"
should cease with the inhabitants of that province. 2
A few weeks later delegates from St. John's Parish in
Georgia arrived in Charleston and sought to show reason
to the General Committee why St. John's Parish should be
exempted from the boycott. They contended that Article
xiv should "be considered as a general rule only, and as
respects this Province [Georgia] considered in a mixed or
promiscuous sense; but, as we of this Parish are a body
detached from the rest by our Resolutions and Association,
and sufficiently distinct by local situation, large enough for
particular notice . . . , adjoining a sea-port . . . , there-
1 N. Y. Journ. , Apr. 6, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 2.
1Ibid. , vol. i, p. 1163; also S. C. Gas. , Mch. 6, 1775. South Caro-
linians, owning plantations in Georgia or having debts due from there,
? were specifically exempted from the terms of the resolution.
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? 530 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
fore we must be considered as comprehended within the
spirit and equitable meaning of the Continental Associa-
tion. " But the General Committee felt constrained to ad-
here to a literal interpretation of the Association, and ad-
vised the people of St. John's to present their case before
the ensuing Continental Congress. 1 This course the St.
John's committee perforce determined to adopt. Meantime,
being denied trade with South Carolina, the parish found it
impossible to subsist without some limited trading connec-
tions with the merchants at Savannah; and so they were
forced to forego an absolute boycott for a carefully regu-
lated trade under the supervision of a committee especially
appointed for the purpose. 2
Georgia was not the only British province on the conti-
nent to be delinquent on this important occasion, although
it was the only one of the old thirteen in which the Conti-
nental Association was not being effectively executed. The
First Continental Congress had invited Quebec, St. John's
Isle,8 Nova Scotia, and East and West Florida to accede to
the Association; * and the threat of boycott in Article xiv
applied, by its terms, to " any colony or province in North-
America. " Not one of these places was of importance
commercially; but it was deemed desirable by the radical
party that British America should offer a united front to
the mother country. Early in February, 1775, it developed
that there was an inclination among the British merchants
in the city of Quebec to adopt the Association; but no.
1 S. C. Gas. , Mch. 6, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1161-1163.
1 Journals Cont. Cong. (L. C. Edn. ), vol. ii, pp. 45-48. For Gov-
ernor Wright's view of this arrangement, vide White, Ga. Hist. Colls,
p. 523.
1 The early name for Prince Edward Island.
* Journals Cont. Cong. , vol. i, pp. 101, 103, 105-113.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
531
action was taken because, 'according to one merchant there,
"it would only serve to throw the trade out of our own
hands into those of the French, who would never listen to
any proposals of that kind but rejoice in such an opportun-
ity to wrest the trade from us. " 1 It was true of all these
regions that, due to a preponderance of aliens in the popu-
lation, a sympathetic understanding of the constitutional
and governmental principles at stake was lacking. Further-
more, the inhabitants relished the prospect of diverting to
themselves the rich trade which had been monopolized by
the older and more populous communities. 2
After a lull of several weeks following the action of
South Carolina with reference to Georgia, the northern
provinces began to pass resolutions of boycott which
affected all the dissentient provinces. On April 17, the
Philadelphia committee served warning on the local mer-
chants that such a measure impended; and ten days later
a resolution was adopted for suspending all exportation to
Georgia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and all parts
of the fishing coasts and fishing islands until the Continental
Congress should direct otherwise. 8 The fisheries were in-
cluded in the boycott because of the news, recently received,
of the act of Parliament restraining New England from
the fisheries. On May 1, the Maryland provincial conven-
tion passed a similar resolution, and in turn extended the
boycott to include the town of Boston, which was now
occupied by the British forces as an armed camp after the
fighting at Lexington and Concord. 4 On the same day the
1Letter of Dec. 24, 1774, Pa. Packet, Feb. 13, 1775; also Mass. Ga*.
& Post-Boy, Feb. 27.
1? . g. , vide Pub. Rec. Off. , C. O. 5, no. 138 (L. C. Transcripts),
p. 404; 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1164-1165.
3Ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 338, 421; also Pa. Eve. Post, Apr. 18, 29, 1775.
* Md. Gas. , May 4, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 380.
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? 53-5
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
New York committee took like action;l and the committees
of Cumberland County, Va. , and Newark, N. J. , followed
later in the month. 2
When the Second Continental Congress assembled on the
tenth of May, one of the first questions that had to be
settled concerned the status of St. John's Parish under the
Association. Dr.