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Copy 9f d letttr frtm Gmtrat Gage to ih Earl {/’Hillfborough, dat'd Boston,
’ Oltobcrtt, 176S* (N°. j.)
MyLtn, * • v
--N my last from Neiv-York, I baa thehonobMo acquaint ybar Lord
• I (hip of my intention to go to Boston; 1 arrived here on the i?.th
I inttant,'and though Lieut. Col. Dalrymple had done every thing
in hit power, previous to my arrival, to procure quarter* for the
two regiments,from Halifax, 1 found one of those regiments en
camped, and the other lodged in the Market-Hall.
.*• • 1 immediately made application in person to the Governor in Coun
cil, that the troops might have quarters in the publick houfe', as far as
they-could be accommodated therein, and that orders might he <;iven for
that pntpoTe to ihe inferior Magistrates; aneb that out -houses, &c. might
it prepared for the remainder; to which I begged a decitive anlwcr, that
1 might fall upon measures to put the troops under cover, as the winter
Approached.
“ I soon found, that the Council had put a tonftruftion upon the Mutiny
Aft Cot Norih America, which rendered it of no cfTeft for the purposes of
macchirg and quartering the troops, viz. “That whatever place in a
*• pfoviucethe King's troops should be ordered to, they could not be quar
• tcred in that place, till all the barracks in the provider* howeverdiftant
“ from it, wire fi;ft filled with troops;” from thence the Council in
ferred, tbit no quarters could be harV in the town, till the barracks in
f&tttrJfltovT were filled; .and further, that the bu jnefs of quartering did
apt fibmf.jprqperly before them, but in the lad inflance, when not only
o#tairrack> In question, but also the publick houies ihould be filled with
troops, which belongAd'to the magi’’rates to do, and was an affair that
fid not belbng to them. It was in vai.n to set forth, that the barracks in
would be occupied by the t’oor.e excelled from Ireland, or
&brjge the Absurdity of a conflruftion of the aft of Parliament, which an
thrift ; as itabfolutcly impeded the march of the treops through
the ‘frrdvlbclT f well as the Ring's right to order his troops to any town
q r village* wheil? his service might require them to be ordered to.
* The tfeitt step to be taken was, to make application to the magi
tjuafter the troops in the publick houses ; and a question arose,
were the magistrates l The Scleftmcn refufed being concerned, nsd
declared they were net magistrates, whisk was agreed to; and it then be
time beceflary to apply to the Justices of the Peace; the difficulty then
was, tafind any of the Justices who would aft in the. business of billeting,
. and fome of them were Med, who gave aflurances of their readings to
Arry sih the King’s service, but said it was hard, that they oiWv (hould
be pitched upon lor ’fiich an undertaking, and to become the objefts of
pdbiick odium, when there were To ibany more Justices in the town, to
tike their (baflr’of it. ‘This produced a resolution to aflepible ajl the jus
tices of the towir, ands attended Governor Bernard to their meeting,
Where btfiß'iirWHt ftTlhem conjunftly, and of each feparatelv, to billet
the troops in tho pubiichf houses, according to the aft of Parliament.
They denred time to confider of a mcafure, which they said nuift be very
tKfagfeeable t* the people, and might Be Attended with bad coafequqnces.
After foitre days cbnfideraiioo, they returned for anfwcr, that the aft dia
*^ em to q a * rler troops, or words to that eftifcft.
“ /relate the above tranfaftions to your Lordship, in a summary way,
leaving It to Governor Bernard to transmit to your Lordship, thep.irti-
Ouliit resolves of his Council at their fevetal meetings on the fubjeft of
jmmdirigqua. ters; as well as a copy of the resolution of the Justices upon
the fame fubjeft. * . .... - . ~. , ,
’“ There was no diflppointment in the bad success of these several ap
plicationsit was known beforehand that they would have no effeft; but
ft waa proper to tiy to gef the laws-enforced. Governor Bernard there
fore agreed in the neceflity. of mak ng preparations to put the troops un.-
dir iover, ‘by hiring of empty heufes, or qther boildings proper jor the
oarpofe, and that'a particular aicrunt should be kept o? the expenses in
dfrwd therein, ts nUb of all ueceffaries required in quartering, that the
Governor may'Tequitq * reimbuTetocnt of the fame, Irora'tlie firft Af
ftmbiy’that (hall bo summoned to meet.. But as it may be uncertain where
the expence will tall in the'end, I have endeavoured to ha-e every thing
prepared with as touch frugality as pofliblc, and the King’s Barrack Ma
. fltr is ordered to rtyair here from Halifax, with all fpare bedding and
utenOls in tfiofe (lores, and a large quantity of coals, carried thither by
the tfoopi/from'.Louifburgh. ‘ . , *
* “ The Coeftcil after fome lime gave Governor Bernard a power over
the barrack* at Clftlt-lfland. as well as over U publick buildtiig in the
Siwff ‘called the Manufaftory House r The barracks arc said ioh.iv? been
nilt to hold one thousand men, hut l find they were only temporary lodg
ihents for foldiera during the last war, before they efnbarkeJ, and the
U,ort time they (laid, made it immaterial whether the'y were crowded or
not I fihd upon examination they *i 1 not hold above one rtgimeot,
neon thepreftnt eftabliftment, and that by-putting it men in a room of
*{a f ee t square. At for the Manufaftory Haufe, there i t people in it,
‘who have been spirited up to maintain pbfleflton, and fome measures were
taken tho* without efFcft. to remove them, wbifch occasioned a little dis
tbrbanceof no consequence, and onl? served to Oiew a moft obftinm spi
rit of OPPofitiod to every measure of government. When the reg.nlentl
nrrrve fintn frelapd, one of them will be quartered in the barrack, in Caftley
fftandarid the.other moft be lodged in the town, \n the ia.ne toanner as
Ae'tilo regitoents frmm Halifax. ..... . ,
rtmatns fearrifoned by the cornffanV kert upty tlic
Knd there is a al military eftabliOinirnt fuppe-rt-d
oJflhf ti Govf iViifeinV'ahdYhiolumelft \
WEDSIE SDA T> yutte 14* 1^69.
to him arid the LJetiter.ant-Governorj upon fhatacCoaht, and not feeing
any cb.olute ncccflity for it, I have net interfered in any matters'cor.cern*
iT® f^ c ‘^ ort * or infilled on putting a gartik-n of the King’s troops into it.
But if the King ffiou'd incline 10 make any alteration in thedifpofitiom of
his forces, by stationing one or to regiments in this province for thp
r L mC tO JT e ’ h i‘ Mj j ert y ay it right to put Callle William into
the poiTctUon of his own troops; bit as, m that case, I apprehend the
province would grant no funds to maintai;. it, the cxpcnce thereof will
fall tip.on the crown. The fort may be maJd to contain two or com
pamffi of foot, aid a detachment of the royal regiment of artillery ; but
as for the barracks near it, totuated on a fmaU island, where there is not
room for troops to move, and at Inch a liffance from the town of Hr.fton,
they will net sitfr-cr anv dclipn or purpose of llationing troop? therefor the
service of tbt town* And if any number ot troops should be fixed in thfi
province I would take t.e libcriy to prrpofe, that barracks fliould be
bUilt for them within t&e town, on a vacant fpot* called Fort Hill, an
advantageous fttnati-*n, whereon a fort lortne.ly ftrod; and Governor
Bernard tells me it belongs to the crown. Anew fort may hereafter be
erefted there, if his Majdity’s affair* fr.ould require it.
“ fc.vry art and evafum hat been tried by the major part of the people
of every degree, to force the troops to quit the town, for want of quarters,
*hilft those, who have or r„a<L- known their sentiments in fa
vour of government, declared they durll not ft-iy in the town, but-m-isl
remove with their fapsffies and vfefts, if the troops should leave it. When
the house aas ready io-foceive the troop*, ibe officers were threatened with
the clau’e of the Aft agiinlt officers, who presume to take upon
tftemftlvc* to quarter troops, &c. and to prevent their being put to any
trouble on that accuunt by preventing the aft in that particular, as had
been done in lo many other-, Governor Bernard gave a particular warrant
to a ComniifTary, again ft whom no action ceuld lie, to quarter the fcldiers
in the houses fitted up for their reception. I would talcethe liberty, my
Lord, to reprefcnt, that the cltufe in question is by po means calculated
for the circumltances ot this country, where evcjy man ftudie* law, and
interprets the as fans his purposes, and where the measures of go
vernment are opposed by every evasion and chicane that can be deviled.
An officer ot rank, and lmg fei vice, may betathirred by theuiinnagemenf
of two justices of the Peace, the bell of them (he keeper of a paltry ta
vern; who (hall-find evasions to diiobey the clauses of the Mutiny Aft,
which they diffike, and to pervert the sense and meaning of others, to lend
their dehgns again ft him, and unhappily it might be found in feme places,
that thole who ihould reverie iniquitous conviftions of Justices of thq
Peace, were no better than the juitices who should have granted the certi
ficates of conviction. J troubled hi* Majelty's Secretary at War fomq ttmf
ago, with fome very unwarrantable proceedings again ft an officer, on ac T
count of the clause in question, which happened to the southward. *
“ After otner methods had been tried to get the troops away, 1 receiv
ed aw lddrcfs from a numoer of gentlemen, Members of the CounciLj*
which they aim at juftityirfg the people against many mtfreprefeptations of
their conduct, blaming the Commiftooefs of hi* Majefty’s'Cullomf, and
begging the troops may be withdrawn fiom the town. TKave the honour
ft trail (mi. your lordship theaddrefs and answer thereto. *
“ Tnofe who would juflify, or rather palliate tbe proceeds** ofthf
people here, complain, that they have been grolly mifrepreftnted, an!
every little dillurbance that hat happened, been magnified into d.tr.gerou
riots; that the dillurbance in March was crifliug# that of the 10th ofjuna
.w as occasioned solely by the imprudence of the Comwiffionprs: They cx
cufe the rtfolvci made at the Town Meetings, by attriburfng. them’ only
to the extravagance of a few mad people, and aver t&'at the convention vval
called With no othr inteor, than to take proper useafurcj to piejerre tad
peace and tranquility of the province. s ’ . * J
“lam to observe upon the above, that according to the infhrma
tion'l hqve beca able to procare, the dillurbance in .March wjw ymng*
that cbnfidering what had bapptried refpefting feixures, tke
of the Culloms had reason to aft as they did, refpeftjng the whjftT
occasioned the riots on the 10th of Jur.c, which was confvdcrvblp amk
though 1 do tiot find that they were/ at that time, peifonaljy attacked*
yet the AfTatolt upon fome of their officers, and the threats daily thrown
out against thefnielves, was certainly a fufficient reafoii to make them an
prirhenfive of danger to their own persons. Whether any harm wru l
have actually happened to tnem, had they remained in the town, it ia
not poflible to judge. With refneft o the resolves procured by l'ome maq
pCople at the ipwn Meeting*, those mad people hay.e governed the t*wn
and influenced the province, a very fomj.titne, and after pubjiffiing thci{
very dangerous resolves, in the Town Meeting of the 13th of September
lart, carried the motion for convening deputies frs m the fevaral towns •
and the*cputlu*4Conveneii JiCcVrdiiigly. 1 fhallonly obferve.o?i thL* that
their intentions .were lulpic.iou#, /mi that I a,gPhaa>py.ifie troop> froat
Halifax arrived at the time they did. V * ‘ *
“ The Conimilfioner* of the C'Jilqrrs ixt ftilHn Ppfle Wilflagi, an!(
upon being aflted abyut their retffrfi to Bbrton,‘ qrve of'mc n Jfiid,, tjierq
were troOps now to fuppOrt them, bpt defiretf to if tlicrx was ,:tnv.
or what civil officer; who woqlJ undertake to aflt the aftidance bf tki
troops, if there occal>n for it. Tbe Govern->r and Lteure iant
Governor were prefeW, bi*f
ficer wouland
“ YoUr Lordlhip Cjll naturally itqagire, ifiat fiocethe troops WVhji
govcWmVnt arcTrevVted iritoifieji Ad* where the epul
lLtutioa has placed them, aid that tas civil stSieia jiftruTT ifihmedut^/y