No More Learning

, Aug.
31. 1775-
1 Madison, Writings (Hunt), vol. i, pp. 28-29.
'4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1045.
4 Ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 76-77; also Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Mch. 23, 1775.
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? 514
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
County, the Reverend John Agnew was held up to public
censure for roundly condemning the Association in his ser-
mons and private conversations; and a man who rented a
"flatt" from the parson was obliged to give it up. 1 Ex-
amples like this abounded. The Virginia plan forced every
inhabitant into a position of either active friendship or open
hostility; and since it was entirely possible for a man to
disapprove of the Association without ever violating its
provisions, the number of those subject to neglect and boy-
cott was vastly greater than in other provinces. The Vir-
ginia radicals thus took an advanced stand--a stage which
the other provinces did not reach until the bloodshed of
April, 1775, had occurred.
In early November, 1774, a mob at Yorktown went on
board the Virginia and dumped into the river two half-
chests of tea, with the entire approval of the county com-
mittee. The London shippers and the consignees at Wil-
liamsburg were both held up for neglect by the York com-
mittee and the adjoining Gloucester County committee. *
This little "tea party" exceeded the provisions of the
Association, but marked the enthusiasm which character-
ized the execution of the non-importation regulation. Pub-
lic sales of cargoes that arrived between December 1, 1774^
and February 1, 1775, were reported at Norfolk and Wil-
liamsburg and in fourteen counties. 8 Many of these sales
showed small profits or none at all; but occasionally a ship-
ment brought a substantial advance, like Andrew Wod-
row's in King George County, which yielded a profit of
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 226-228; N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, p. 1164.
1 Pinkney's Va. Co*. , Nov. 24, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp.
964-965.
6Charles City, Dinwiddie, Elizabeth City, Essex, Fairfax, Gooch-
land. Henrico, Isle of Wight, King George, Nansemond, New Kent,
Princess Anne, Spotsylvania and Surry. Vide files of the three Vir-
ginia Gasettes, edited by Pinkney, by Purdie, and by Dixon & Hunter.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
515
? 19 14s. for the Boston needy. 1 For this reason, it is im-
probable that the Scotch merchants felt tempted to with-
hold importations from committee auction.
One interesting case of defiance occurred. Late in Jan-
uary an importation of medicines worth ? 200 Sterling ar-
rived for Dr. Alexander Gordon, a well-known physician
of Norfolk; and he requested that he might be allowed to
receive the goods agreeable to the terms of the provincial
association of August, 1774. The committee informed
him that their rule of conduct now was the Continental
Association, and advised him to submit the medicines for
sale in accordance with Article x, as had been done by
other physicians. He expressed a preference for storing
the goods under charge of the committee; but while ar-
rangements were being made for this purpose, he quietly
landed the medicines and took possession of them himself.
It proved impossible for the committee to get the merchan-
dise away from him, and with very evident reluctance they
held him up for public censure. 2
The regulation against the importation of slaves had
caused very little difficulty in the northern provinces; but
the Norfolk committee found it necessary to proscribe John
Brown, a Scotch merchant who had been in Virginia since
1762, for being concerned in the importation of twenty
slaves in the brig Fanny from Jamaica. He stoutly pro-
tested his innocence, but his letter-books proved the con-
trary. 8
1 Dixon & Hunter's Va. Gas. , Jan. 28, 1775.
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Feb. 16, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp.
1217-1278.
1Ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 33-34; also Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Mcl1. 23, 1775.
Vide also memorial of the Browns in A. O. no. 55: N. Y. Loyalist
Claims Transcripts, vol. xxvii, pp. 459, 467-471. The Chesterfield
County committee also took occasion to voice their indignation and to
declare the suspension of all dealings with him. Purdie's Va. Gaus. ^
May 5, 1775.
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? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
After February 1 the number of incoming vessels fell
off, and when goods were brought contrary to the Associa-
tion they were almost invariably re-shipped. In one case,
that of the brigantine Muir from Antigua, the captain had
sold some merchandise before he learned of the Associa-
tion; and the Essex County committee absolved him from
public censure when he signed the Association and re-
shipped the goods, including the portion sold. 1 On the
other hand, the Norfolk committee declared Captain Samp-
son, of the snow Eliaabeth from Bristol, an enemy to his
country for practising deception in landing a cargo of salt
and then seeking protection of a man-of-war. 2 The non-
consumption regulations required little attention from the
committees, except the prohibition of tea drinking, which
was effectively administered. 8
The upward trend of prices gave more trouble. Accord-
ing to the Continental Association prices were not to ad-
vance beyond the customary charge for articles during the
twelve months preceding. A disgusted radical of North-
umberland County averred that, when it came to the inves-
tigation of prices, one Scotch merchant would swear to
another's lies--they were "determined to be clannish, even
at the expence of their souls! "* This practice was prob-
ably not restricted entirely to the Scotch traders. At any
rate, it quickly caused the committees to adopt the practice
of examining the daybooks and invoices of any merchant
under suspicion. Should he refuse access to his accounts,
he was deemed to be guilty by the very fact. For example,
in December, 1774, the committee of Caroline County in-
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Mch. 16, 1775.
1 Ibid. , Apr. 6, 17/5; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 174-175.
* E. g. , Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Dec. 1, 1774, June 1, 1775; Dixon &
Hunter's Gas. , Feb. 4; Purdie's Gas. , July 7.
4 Charles M'Carty in Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Jan. 19, 1775.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
5*7
spected the books of four merchants, declaring them inno-
cent, and pronounced six others subject to boycott because
they had withheld their books. Within less than a month
the six permitted their accounts to be examined; and the
committee declared that they also had adhered to the Asso-
ciation. 1 In Gloucester County, Captain Charles Marshall,
who had been acting consistently with his avowal that
"every man has a right to sell his goods for as much as he
could get," was disciplined by the committee; whereupon
he signed the Association, and issued a confession in which
he said: "These are offenses I am (as have been some other
North Britains) taught to know, at this time, deserve
severe punishment. " 2 Great activity in the regulation of
prices was also recorded in other counties, especially Prince
William, Charlotte, Spotsylvania, Hanover, Richmond and
Fairfax. 8
The promotion of local manufacturing met with ready
response, partly no doubt because it contributed to the
weakening of the economic position of the factors and mer-
chants. Interest centered in the production of cotton and
woolen textiles, and of gunpowder. The Northampton
County committee in January, 1775, offered a bonus of ? 40
sterling to the first person who in the next eighteen months
should make one thousand pairs of wool-cards in the prov-
ince and agreed to buy them at the rate of 2s. a pair. A
premium of ? 40 was also offered to the first person who
should manufacture five thousand pounds of gunpowder in
the province in the next eighteen months. The committee
appealed to other counties to add to these premiums, so that
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Jan. 12, 1775; and Dixon & Hunter's Va. Gas. ,
Feb. 4.
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Jan. 19, 1775.
14 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1034, 1138-1139; Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Jan.
19, Feb. 2, May 18, 1775; Purdie's Gas. , Feb. 17, Apr. a1.
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? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
the total sum would foster a widespread interest in manu-
facturing.
1 Other counties quickly acted on the sugges-
tion; 2 and on March 27 the provincial convention outlined
a comprehensive program of industrial development by
adopting bodily the main resolutions passed by the Penn-
sylvania convention in January. After May 1 no sheep
were to be killed under four years of age, except in cases of
necessity. Woolen, cotton and linen manufactures should
be established; steel, woolcombs, paper, gunpowder, etc. ,
should be manufactured. These various undertakings
should be promoted by the formation of local societies for
that purpose and by the offering of premiums. 1 In Sep-
tember, James Stewart returned to Virginia after eighteen
months' stay in England where he had been studying the
culture and preparation of dyes and machines for manu-
facturing cotton. He brought with him a large quantity
of seeds and roots of the standard dyes, for planting in
various parts of the province, and planned to instruct per-
sons in the construction of cotton machines. 4 What suc-
cess he met with we do not know.
In no province was the practice of gambling more deeply
rooted than in Virginia; and determined efforts were made
to discourage this wasteful manner of living. Thus, infor-
mation was received by the Northumberland County com-
mittee that William Lewis had violated the Association by
gaming with Anthony McKenley of Maryland. Witnesses
were called, sworn and examined; and the evidence showed
1 Dixon & Hunter's Va. Gas. , Feb. 4, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i,
pp. 1045-1046-
*E. g. , Isle of Wight, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester and Bedford;
ibid. , vol. i, p. 1247; vol. ii, pp. 13-14, 387-388; Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Feb.
13, I77S-
1 Ibid^ Mch. 30, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 170-171.
4 /Wrf, vol. iii, p. 716; also Purdie's Va. Gas. , Sept. 15, 1775.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES 519
that Lewis had won " a Silver Watch, two pair of Leather
Breeches, and two men's fine Hats. " Both men were ad-
judged guilty and were publicly advertised as violators of
the Association. 1 The Southampton County committee
recommended four men, who had been gaming, to the
mercy of the public, upon their offer to refund all they had
won and to observe the Association strictly in the future. *
In another instance, the Hanover County committee " hon-
ourably acquitted" Samuel Overton of the charge of en-
couraging horse-racing. 1
The degree of efficiency attained by the committees in
executing the Association aroused Governor Dunmore to
righteous indignation in his well-known letter of December
24, 1774, to Lord Dartmouth. His conclusions in that
epistle were that the Association was being enforced " with
the greatest rigour" and that "the Laws of Congress"
received from the Virginians "marks of reverence which
they never bestowed on their legal Government, or the Laws
proceeding from it. " By way of pathetic afterthought he
added: "I have discovered no instance where the inter-
position of Government, in the feeble state to which it is
reduced, could serve any other purpose than to suffer the
disgrace of a disappointment, and thereby afford matter of
great exultation to its enemies and increase their influence
over the minds of the people. " 4
In North Carolina the development of events was influ-
enced by the example of nearby Virginia. The old Regu-
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Mch. 2, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp.
1178-1179.
1 Ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 299-300.
1 Pinkney's Va. Gas. , Jan. 19, 1775.
* Ibid. , Apr. 28, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1061-1063. For
radical answers to Dunmore's assertions, vide ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 502-504,
525, 1204, 1210-1215, I222-1225.
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? 520
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
lator class held aloof from the Continental Association,
although it made some progress among them; l being seg-
regated in the interior counties, they were not in position
to impair the operation of the Association in its more im-
portant aspects. There was, however, a small, compact
group of Scotch merchants at Wilmington, the chief trading
town;2 and, as in Virginia, they obeyed the Association
only so far as it served their interests so to do. In the
first two months of the non-importation they co-operated
with the Wilmington committee in permitting their impor-
tations to be sold under the terms of the Association. The
records show that at least thirteen merchants received goods
between December 1, 1774, and February 1, 1775, which
were offered for public sale by the Wilmington committee,
and that at the smaller town of Edenton two merchants ob-
served the same regulation. 8 For example, at a meeting of
the Wilmington committee on December 30, Hogg & Camp-
bell submitted an invoice of salt imported in the North Star
from Lymington, and four other firms submitted invoices
of anchors, cables, canvass, osnaburgs and other merchan-
dise imported in the Thetis from Glasgow. The goods
were sold at public vendue the next day. * In general, it
may be said that the sales yielded little or no profit; from
all the sales conducted by the Wilmington committee, the
profits for Boston amounted to only ? 25 2s. 5d. s
In six or seven instances the committee at Wilmington
secured the re-shipment of slaves that had been imported
1 Note the means used to convert three pertinacious inhabitants of
Anson County to the Association. N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. x, pp. 125-129,
161, 182.
1 Ibid. , vol. x, p. 48.
1Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1095-1154 passim.
* Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 11o3-11O4.
* Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1153-1154.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES
521
contrary to the Association. 1 After February 1, when the
new period of non-importation began, fewer vessels arrived
at Wilmington, and the cargoes were re-shipped without
trouble. Two interesting exceptions were made--once for
paper intended for use of the press, and another time for
household goods intended for personal use. 2
Through their possession of large stocks, the Wilming-
ton merchants were in position to demand high prices and
thus discredit the Association, unless the radicals resorted
to drastic measures. Therefore every effort was made to
supervise prices carefully. On December 17, 1774, the
Pitt County committee fixed a maximum price for salt
with the penalty of boycott for violation. 8 About the same
time the Wilmington committee conducted an investigation
into the prices of rum and gunpowder, and in January they
called a meeting of merchants and traders in order to agree
on prices and prevent advantage being taken of the suspen-
sion of importation. On January 27 the committee decided
upon maximum prices for salt and drygoods; and about
two weeks later they compelled Jonathan Dunbilrie to re-
turn to a purchaser the excess profit he had received for a
bushel of salt. 4 The Rowan County committee also dis-
played great activity in this direction. 5
As a still further check upon the merchants, the Wil-
mington committee in March, 1775, adopted the Virginia
device of requiring all friends of the Association to attach
their signatures to the document. On the following day all
the housekeepers in town were given the opportunity, and
1 N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1098-1099, 1112-1113, 1168. 1171, 1222,
1266; vol. x, p. 24.
1 Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1185-1186; vol. x, pp. 50, 279.
1/Wd. , vol. ix, p. 1100.
4 Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1099-1100, 1113, 1126.
* Ibid. , vol. x, pp. 9-10.
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? 522
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
only eleven persons refused. Seven of these were Scotch
merchants; five of them had formerly submitted their im-
portations for committee auction. The committee resolved
that unless the eleven revised their decision within six days
they would have no dealings or intercourse whatsoever with
them. Eight promptly gave their signatures; and when the
six day period expired, only three -- two tailors and one
merchant, by name McKenzie, McNight and McDonnel--
remained obdurate. 1
The way was easy for the radicals to hamper the collec-
tion of debts, for, owing to a quarrel between the governor
and the Assembly, the law for the establishment of courts,
which had expired in February, 1773, had never been re-
newed. 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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