No More Learning

23,
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? 458 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
tional members were included in the committee, making the
total number sixty-six. 1
The radical character of the Sixty-Six is indicated by
the fact that, in the election of the two committees that in
turn succeeded to the functions of this committee, few alter-
ations were made in the personnel. The Sixty-Six in-
cluded only seventeen members of the old Forty-Three;
and these were, for the most part, men of the more radical
stamp, like Dickinson. Thomas Mifflin, Joseph Reed and
Charles Thomson. Thomas Wharton and the Reverend
Dr. Smith were dropped permanently from committee rolls.
Of the new men on the Sixty-Six, William Bradford, editor
of the radical Pennsylvania Journal, was the best known.
The others were, for the greater part, small tradesmen,
mechanics, and nobodies who had been active in popular
demonstrations in earlier years. It is not necessary to
accept literally the scornful comment of a contemporary
that "there are many of this Committee who could not
get credit for 2Os. ;" and it would be difficult, if not impos-
sible, to verify his further statement that one of the Sixty-
Six, "an avowed Republican, had lately met with some dis-
appointments . . . ; another had acquired his fortune partly
by an illicit trade last war, and partly by taking advantage
< >f a Resolve of the people here, not to deal with the Rhcde-
Islanders. after they had broke through the Non-Importa-
tion Agreement, by supplying them with Goods, when no
other Merchant would do it; another was an illiterate Mer-
chant; another too insignificant to notice, &c. " a
The counties of the province quickly emulated the ex-
1 The names of the original sixty and of the four members from
Southwark are in Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 1774; the names of the two from
Kensington are in ibid. , Nov. 23. 'Lincoln states that the committee
was composed of sixty-seven. Rev'y Movement in Pa. , p. 185.
1 -V. Y. Goeetteer, Feb. 23, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1232.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 459
ample of Philadelphia in preparing for the enforcement of
the Association. In Philadelphia County, committees were
first selected for each township; and at a meeting of these
committees on November 26 a general committee of forty
was named. 1 By the middle of February seven other
counties had chosen committees of inspection; 2 and the
committee of correspondence of another county had as-
sumed the function of executing the Association. 8 There
is no record of action in the case of the two sparsely settled
frontier counties of Northumberland and Westmoreland.
Ratification o^ the ^^tiruf1tal A^sr)fiation_was jasily
carried in r,he Pennsylvania Assemblv. That body had
held its first session while the Continental Congress was
still in session; and its first act had been to elect a successor
to Joseph Galloway, who had been speaker for so many
years. The second session began on December 5, and on
the tenth the proceedings of Congress were approved by a
unanimous vote. 4 Three days later. Galloway made his
first appearance in this Assembly. During the remainder
of the session and in the February session he proceeded
quietly and indefatigably to work up sentiment among the
members in opposition to the measures of Congress, and
he gained an increasingly large following. But he was
laboring against heavy odds; and the excitement, produced
by the acceleration of public events, contributed in defeat-
1 This committee contained three members of the old Committee of
Forty-Three. Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 30, 1774.
* In chronological order: Berks, Bucks, York, Chester, Northampton,
Cumberland and Lancaster. Vide 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, passim, and
contemporary newspapers. Galloway wrote from his country seat in
Bucks County: "A Committee has been appointed for this County by
a few warm People of neither Property or significance among us. "
Pa. Mag. , vol. xxi, p. 478.
5 Bedford; 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1226-1227, 1229-1230.
4 Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 869, 1023; Lincoln, op. fit. , p. 185.
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? 460 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
ing his efforts. 1 Meanwhile the Sixty-Six at Philadelphia,
feeling that the time had come for frankly discarding the
leadership of the Assembly, had called into being a second
provincial convention. When that body assembled on Jan-
uary 23, 1775, it immediately adopted a unanimous resolu-
tion endorsing the Continental Association and pledging
obedience to its provisions. 2
In general, the situation in Pennsylvania was extremely
favorable for a close observance of the Association. With
the only port of entry well guarded, the chief source of
danger lay in the course which the Quaker merchants might
choose to pursue.
There was nothing distinctive about the movement to
ratifvjJ3? _^? SQciation in the T~)plawar<> O"mn^j{<<; On No-
vember 28, 1774, a committee of inspection was chosen in
Newcastle County. Kent County followed this example on
December 7. Apparently no committee was chosen at this
early stage in Sussex County, where the preponderance of
Episcopalians made it more difficult for the radicals to
carry their objects. 8 At the first session of the House of
Assembly following the dissolution of the Continental Con-
gress, several unanimous resolves were passed on March
15, 1775, expressing high approval of the proceedings of
Congress. 4
Of the plantation group, the earliest action was taken by
1 For Galloway's account of the sharp politics of this unavailing
struggle, vide his letters to Governor Franklin, / N. J. Arch. , vol. x,
pp. 572-575, S79-S86; his A Reply to the Observations of Lieutenant
General Sir William Howe, etc. , pp. 127-128; and his letters to Ver-
planck, Pa. Mag. , vol. xxi, pp. 477-484.
1 Pa. Gas. , Dec. 28, 1774, Feb. 1, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. I, p. 1169.
? Adams, J. , Works (Adams), vol. x, pp. 81-82.
*N. Y. Gas. , Mch. 27, 1775; also J Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 126-137.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 461
Maryland. The counties in which Annapolis and Baltimore
were located took the lead; and by the end of November
committees had been chosen in six of the sixteen counties. 1
On the twenty-first of the month a provincial convention
had assembled at Annapolis, but because of the shortness
of the notice several counties were not represented. Before
adjourning, the convention voted unanimous approval of
the proceedings of Congress and recommended to the people
of Maryland an inviolable obedience to the Association.
The convention renewed its vote at a full meeting on De-
cember 8-1 2. 2 Under stimulus of these provincial meet-
ings, a committee of observation was chosen in St. Mary's
County, and several of the old committees were enlarged so
as to afford a broader representation. * In the counties that
failed to appoint committees, it would appear that the ex-
isting committees of correspondence took over the new
functions. The province proved to be adequately organ-
ized to execute the Association.
. In the neighboring province of Virginia, committees of
nh. <;erva. fion were f. hosfln wi*k alTTIOSf
Five counties acted in November; eleven counties and the
town of Williamsburg in December; five counties in Jan-
uary; and at least four others in the subsequent months. 4
1 In chronological order: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Charles,
Frederick, Prince George's. Consult ; Am. Arch. , vol. i, index.
* Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 991, 1031; also Md. Gas. , Dec. I, 15, 1774.
* The size of committees was increased in Baltimore, Anne Arundel,
Frederick, Charles and Prince George's. Consult 4 Am. Arch. , vol.
i, index.
4 In November, Henrico, Elizabeth City, Warwick, Chesterfield and
James City; in December, Richmond, Essex, Isle of Wight, Princess
Anne, Caroline, Prince William, King and Queen, Northampton, Charles
City, Orange, Williamsburg, Accomack; in January, Charlotte, Prince
George's, Fincastle, P1ttsylvania and Westmoreland; in February, Lan-
caster; in April, Bedford; in May, Mecklenburgh and Augusta. Vide
ibid. , vols. i, ii, passim, and Pinkne/s Va. Gas. , passim.
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? 462 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
In the provincial convention, which began to meet on
March 20, every one of the sixty-two counties was repre-
sented; which makes it probable that a great many more
counties than those noted here appointed committees of ob-
servation. On March 22 the members of the provincial
convention voted their unanimous approval of the meas-
ures of the Continental Congress. 1 The new House of
Burgesses, the first since the dramatic dissolution of May,
1774, was not called into session until the first of June,
1775; and on the fifth of the month they also resolved,
without a dissenting voice, their entire approval of the pro-
ceedings of Congress. 2
Thus, excellent machinery of enforcement was estab-
lished in all parts of the province. A source of weakness
was the small but powerful body of merchants and factors,
who could not be expected to relinquish without a struggle
their prospects of recovering the great sums which the
planters owed them; but even these professed an allegiance
to the Association.
The movement in North Carolina for the appointment of
committees proceeded sluggishly, except at the principal
port, Wilmington, where a city committee of observation
was chosen on November 23, 1774, and a county committee
some weeks later. 8 Pitt County appointed a committee on
December 9, and other tidewater counties probably fol-
lowed this example. 4 A pronounced and effective Apposi-
tion to the Association was made in the populous back-
country counties, where the Regulators had risen up several
years before in opposition to the oppressive practices of the
very tidewater leaders who now sought their support
1 Va. Co<<. , Mch. 30, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 167.
1 Ibid. , vol. ii, p. 1193.
1 N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1088-1089, 1107-1108, 1154.
4 Ibid. , vol. ix, p. I09S; vol. x, pp. 37-38.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 463
against England. 1 Addresses were sent to Governor Mar-
tin, signed by many inhabitants of Anson, Rowan, Surry
and Guilford Counties, condemning the " lawless combina-
tions and unwarrantable practices" introduced into North
Carolina from other provinces. 2
When a provincial convention assembled at Newbern on
Monday, April 3, 1775, nine county and two town constitu-
encies, most of them in the back country, failed to send
representatives; and Governor Martin averred that: "in
many others the Committees consisting of 10 or 12 Men
took upon themselves to name them and [in] the rest they
were not chosen according to the best of my information
by 1-20 part of the people. " 8 The convention met one day
before the time fixed for the sitting of the Assembly. This
was of considerable convenience, physically and politically,
since every member of the Assembly who appeared was,
with a single exception, also a member of the convention. 4
Sturdy John Harvey acted as "Mr. Moderator" of the
one body and " Mr. Speaker" of the other; and indeed the
two bodies met in the same room, changing character with
chameleonlike suddenness when occasion demanded. Gov-
ernor Martin issued a proclamation for dispersing the con-
vention; and on Tuesday he sent a message to the Assembly
denouncing the convention and all committees of observa-
tion/ While the House on the following day set about
preparing an answer to the governor, the convention took
occasion to ratify the Continental Association in a formal
vote, and all the members of the convention, with a few ex-
1 Bassett, "Regulators of North Carolina," Am. Hist. Assn. Rep.
(1894), pp. 209-210.
1 N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1157, 1160-1164.
"Ibid. , vol. ix, p. I23&
4 There were more delegates, however, than Assemblymen.
* Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1187, 1190-1196.
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? 464 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
ceptions, signed their names to it. 1 The situation became
intolerable to Governor Martin when, on Friday, the sev-
enth, the House presented an address in defense of the con-
vention and the committees and voted approval of the
Association. 2 On the following day he dissolved the As-
sembly. Although not as thoroughly organized as many
other provinces, North Carolina was in position to carry
through the Association, since the burden of enforcement
rested with the tidewater communities where committees
were in existence.
In South Carolina the General Committee at Charleston
took the initiative in bringing about a ratification of the
Association. The situation presented some peculiar diffi-
culties because of the partiality shown to the rice planters
in the non-exportation regulation of the Association.
Ultra-radicals like Gadsden did not like the appearance of
a sales-price attached to South Carolina patriotism, and
they resolved to ratify the Association with the proviso
that the rice exemption be stricken out. On the other hand,
the indigo interests saw no reason why the welfare of the
rice planters should be safeguarded by the Association and
their own, equally meritorious, ignored.
The General Committee sought to disarm both elements
of opposition by the course it adopted. On November 9,
1774, a call was sent out for a provincial congress to meet
at Charleston on Wednesday, January 11, for the purpose
of acting on the Continental Association and choosing a
new committee. 11 The committee then proceeded to have
copies of the Association (of which they signified their high
1 N. C. Col. Recs. , vol. ix, pp. 1180-1182, 1184-1185.
1 Ibid. , vol. ix, pp. 1198-1205. The North Carolina provincial congress,
which assembled on Aug. 20, 1775, voted a formal acceptance of the
Association on the twenty-third. Ibid. , vol. x, p. 171.
? 5. C. Gas. , Nov. 21, 1774-
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 465
approval) distributed to the members in the various parts
of the province; and with this document they also sent
copies of a justification which the South Carolina delegates
in the Continental Congress had drawn up to explain their
course there. 1 This latter paper was a shrewd piece of
writing. It endeavored to show, on the one hand, that the
apparent discrimination in the Association in favor of
South Carolina served, in fact, only to place the province
on a basis of equality with the other provinces, and that
therefore any charge of commercialized patriotism was
ill-founded. 2 The larger part of the document was spent
in an effort to convince the indigo growers that the rice
planters had no desire to take unfair advantage of them.
Three reasons were offered why rice had been permitted to
be exported by Congress instead of indigo: rice was a
perishable commodity; it did not serve the people of Great
Britain as provision, nor, as in the case of indigo, as an aid
in manufacturing; furthermore, lands which produced rice
could be devoted to no other use whereas most of the indigo
lands might be advantageously planted with wheat, barley
and hemp. In conclusion, the delegates proposed that the
superior advantage of the rice planters should be counter-
balanced by a compensatory arrangement with the indigo
growers; that is, "that a reasonable proportion of all rice
made after the present crop be appropriated to the purchase
of indigo made by such planters as are so situated as to be
unable to turn their lands to the production of articles
1 A copy of this justification may be found in N. Y. Journ. , Dec.
8, 1774-
1 Thus it was declared: "That while the other colonies had the ex-
portation of wheat, flour, oil, fish and other commodities open, Caro-
lina would (without the exception of rice) have had no sort of article
to export at all;" and further, "That Carolina, having no manufac-
tures, was under a more immediate necessity of some means to pur-
chase the necessaries of life, particularly negro clothing. "
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? 466 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
which may be exported; and that the indigo so purchased
become the property of those for whose rice it was ex-
changed. "
[The appeal of the delegates was well calculated to accom-
plish their purpose; and it proved particularly effective in
healing the breach that had appeared between the rice
planters and the indigo growersj A strong note of dissent
was still to be heard, however, in certain quarters. A letter
written at Charleston on the last day of the year claimed
that: "Most of the inhabitants of this province are dis-
pleased that their Delegates asked an exception of rice from
the Non-Exportation agreement. " < In the South Carolina
Gasette of January 2, 1775, "A Country Rice Planter"
asked if the South Carolina delegates were " ever instructed
by the People to hold out in that Article and to refuse their
Vote if not complied with ? "; and suggested that: "Even
supposing we were not upon a Level as to the Privilege of
Exportation with some other Colonies, is it the grand
struggle now, Whether we shall be upon a Level? or is it,
Whether we shall be free, and who shall do most and suffer
most to establish this Freedom? " The rice planters were
advised to repudiate their exemption outright rather than
agree to " the Scheme of Barter proposed, which it will not
only be as difficult to obtain the Assent of the Colony to as
the above--but be infinitely more difficult to accomplish to
Satisfaction. " As late as the opening day of the provincial
congress, an onlooker at Charleston predicted that positive
instructions would be given the delegates to the Second
Continental Congress to put a stop to the exportation of
rice when the non-exportation regulation should take effect. 2
But these writers, as the result showed, undervalued the
persuasive appeal of self-interest to the planting element.
1 N. Y. Journ. , Jan. 26, 1775.
1 Mass. Spy, Feb. 16, 1775.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 467
The provincial congress, which began its sessions on
Wednesday, January n, had a membership almost four
times as large as that of the House of Assembly, and all
parishes and districts of the province were represented
according to a predetermined ratio. Colonel Charles Pinck-
ney, chairman of the General Committee, was chosen as
chairman of the congress, and the omnipresent Peter Tim-
othy served as secretary. 1 On the first day, the delegates to
the Continental Congress being in attendance, the Asso-
ciation was taken under consideration. The last four
words of Article iv--" except rice to Europe "--gave rise
to a long and violent debate. Gadsden spoke for the mo-
tion, recounted the critical situation precipitated by his four
colleagues in the Continental Congress, and declared that
the reluctant concession granted by the other provinces had
created a jealousy of the rice provinces which ought to be
removed at the earliest possible time. John Rutledge now
undertook to defend the action of the majority of the South
Carolina delegation. He contended that the northern prov-
inces " were less intent to annoy the mother country in the
article of trade than to preserve their own trade;" which
made it seem only " justice to his constituents to preserve
to them their trade as entire as possible. " In vigorous lan-
guage he emphasized the point that, since rice and indigo
were enumerated products, non-exportation in those articles
meant entire ruin for those staples of South Carolina,
whereas the northern provinces, having export connections
chiefly with foreign countries, were little affected by a non-
exportation to British countries. For one, he could not
consent to the Carolinians becoming "dupes to the people
"Journal of the congress in 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1109-1118; Dray-
ton's detailed account of the debates in Drayton, Memoirs, vol. i,
pp. 168-176; brief accounts in S. C. Gas. , Jan. 23, 1775; N. Y. Gas. ,
Feb. 6; and AT. Y. Journ. , Feb. 9.
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? 468 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
of the North. " He even charged "a commercial scheme
among the Flour Colonies" to seize for themselves the
markets which had hitherto been supplied by South Caro-
lina rice via Great Britain. Turning to the indigo group,
he expatiated on the justice and practicability of a scheme
of compensation as a method of equalizing burdens.
The subject was thus complicated by the question of
compensation, and the debate became more general. Among
the principal speakers in opposition to the compensation
plan were Gadsden, Rawlins Lowndes, and the Rev. Wil-
liam Tennent. If the rice exemption must needs be re-
tained, yet, they asked, why should the benefits of compen-
sation be monopolized by the indigo growers alone? ; "it
should afford in justice also relief to the Hemp Grower,
the Lumber Cutter, the Corn Planter, the Makers of Pork
and Butter, &c. " It was said that "this odious distinction
has cruelly convulsed the Colony. " On the other side the
chief speakers were William Henry Drayton, the Rutledges,
and the Lynches, father and son.