Newspaper Page Text
No. 52.——V01. IV.
HISTORICAL.
DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA.
[From, Tudor's Life of James O/jj.”]
The history of the tea, sent by the East
India cbmpany to America, in the autumn
of 1773, ha3 often been either partially
narrated, or misrepresented. The whole
procedure constitutes one of the most re
markable, and to the inhabitants of the col
onies, one of the most honourable events,
in the revolutionary annals.
After the act laying a duty on paper,
glass, tea. &c. was repealed, with the ex
ception of tea, on which the duty was con
tinued, associations were entered into in all
the colonies, to discourage the use of it.
The consumption whs of course greatly di
minished, and the tea accumulated in the
English warehouses. The East India com
pany sought relief from government, and
urged them to take off the duty on iraporta
tion in “England. This proposal, which
would have produced nearly the same re
sult as to the amount of revenue received,
and have obviated one serious cause of dis
pute, was declined. The ministry bent on
levying their American duty, thought this
tea .he most useful article for the expen
ment. They calculated that this luxury,
which from long habit and extensive use
yjiad become almost a necessary of life,
would inevitably find purchasers in pite of
all private associations or pairiotick agree
ments. In this case; as in many others,
they reposed a false confidence in their es
timate of human character; and fcrget that
some general maxims, however just in ordi
Dary times, may be inapplicable in great
emergencies, even among a people more
corrupt and effeminate, than those whom
they werfe now endeavouring to subdue.
But to meet the wishes of the company, a
drawback was given in Er.gland, equal to
the duty which they had asked to have re
moved, and a guarantee against loss, in the
experiment of making shipments of tea to
the colonies.
Large shipments of tea were made to the
principal ports of the continent, and a gen
eral ferment prevailed over every part of
the country. It was not only determined
that the tea itselfshould not be received
but whoever made use oftbis (ministeiially)
obnoxious herb, was regarded as an enemy
to the country. Tbe utmost vigilance was
employed to prevent its being consumed by
those persons, whose innocent daily com
forts were thus involved in the vortex of
national contention; a rigid inquisition was
every were enforced for this purpose, that
on other grounds would have been both
odious and absurd, but was justified by the
necessity of combatting in this familiar
shape, a principle, which was shortly after
to be resisted by open war.
Long before tbe ships arrived with the
tea, arrangements were made to avert the
threatened mischief. In many cases the
consignees were induced to decline accept
ing the charge of it. Very spirited resolu
tions were entered into at a publirk meet
ing of the citizens in Philadelphia, with
which the consignees complied hy resigning
their appointment. From that city and
from New York it was sent back to Eng
land in the same ships that- brought it. In
Charleston it was landed, aud stored ex
pressly in damp warehouses, where it was
destroyed by the humidity. In Boston it
was destined to a more violent destruction.
Two of the vessels with the tea arrived
on Saturday, November 27th. A town
meeting was held on the Monday following,
and resolutions were passed similar to those
of Philadelphia, calling on the consignees,
among whom were two sons of governour
Hutchinson, to decline the charge of it.
A vote was then passed with acclama
tions, “ that the tea shall not be landed,
that noduty shall be paid, and that it shall
be sent back in the same bottoms.” After
this vote, Mr.Quincy, a young and eloquent
advocate, and ardent patriot, with a strong
t perception of the events that would follow
from the measures now in contemplation ;
—and wishing to try tbe spirit and to in
crease the energy of his fellow citizens, by
setting before them in a strong lignt the
consequences that might be expected from
their resolves, addressed the meeting in
the following terms.
“It is not, Mr. Moderator, the spirit that
vapors within these walls that must stand
us in stoad. The exertions of this day will
call forth events, which will make a very
different spirit necessary for our own salva
tion. Whoever supposes that shouts and
hosannas will terminate the trials of the
day, entertains a childish fancy. We must
be grossly ignorant of the importance and
value of tbe prize for which we contend;
—we must be eqally ignorant of the power
of those combined against us; we must
be blind to that malice, inveteracy, and
insatiable revenge, which actuate our eue
mies, public and private, abroad and in our
bosom, to hope that we shall end this con
troversy without the sharpest conflicts; to
flatter ourselves that popular harangues,
popular acclamations, and popular vapor,
will vanquish our foes. Let us consider the
issue. Let us look to the end.—Let us
weigh and consider, before we advance to
those measures, which must bring ou the
most trying and terrible struggle this coun
try ever saw.”
THE MISSIONARY.
The vote was again submitted to the
meeting, and was again passed unanimous
ly. A guard for the protection of the ves
sels was appointed, which protection, inclu
ded the protection of the publick against the
landing of the tea. The guard of twenty
five men were respectable citizens, volun
teers, and acting under the direction of the
committee of correspondence
The meetiug was then adjourned to the
next day, when the town was again assem
bled, the answer of the consignees was
read: they refused the proposition to vend
it back, but offered to store it. The sher
iff came in and read a proclamation from
the governour, ordering the meetmg to dis
perse, which was received with one uni
versal hiss. Votes were passed ordering
the owners and captains of the vessels not
to suffer the tea to be landed. Altempis
were made in the mean time to negotiate,
and induce the merchants and the custom
house to clear out the tea and send it back.
All was in vain. At length the time was
expiring when the tea could remain any
longpr in this situation; the patience of the
inhabitants was exhausted, the anxiety and
watching were too troublesome to tie
further endured. A body meeting was
held on the 15th o! December at the old
south church, when Mr. Rntch, the owner
of the vessel which had the largest parcel
of the tea, attended, and after much diffi
culty he was persuaded to apply to the cus
tom house for a clearance, and tbe meeting
adjourned to hear the result till the nex v
morning. Ten gentlemen accompanied
him to the custom house, and the clearance
was refused in a peremptory manner. A
vote ot the meeting was then passed, or
dering him to protest against this refusal,
and a deputation was seoi with him to gov
ernour Hutchinson, who was at his country
house on Milton hill, 7 miles from Boston,
to entreat him to grant a pass that the
vessels might leave the harbor.
!u the mean time various speeches were
made in the meeting, to keep the people
together, which were said to amount to six
or seven thousand persons. Mr. John
Rowe, an eminent merchant and patriotick
citizen, who was doubtless in the secret of
the measures that were to be taken in the
last resort, hinted in the form of inquiry,
“Who knows how tea will mix with -alt
water?” which was received with applause.
At length, about sun down, the deputation
returned from the governour, with hi- re
fusal to grant the pass. A few minutes af
ter, a band of 18 or2o young men, who
had been prepared for the event, went by
the meeting house, giving a shout. It was
echoed by some within; others exclaimed
the Mohawks are come! The assembly
broke up, and a part of it followed this
body of young men to Griffin’s wharf, (now
called Liverpool wharf,) on the south side
of the town.
Three different parties, composed of
trustworthy persons, many of whom in af
ter life were among the most respectable
citizens of the town, had been prepared in
conformity to the secret resolves of the
political leaders, to act as circumstances
should require. The}’ were 70 or 80 in
all, and when every attempt had failed to
have the tea returned, and the final refusal
of the governour to interfere was received,
it was immediately made known to them
and they proceeded at once to throw the
obnoxious merchandize into the water.
This was done with as much good order
and regularity, as if the tea had been dis
charged in the ordinary way. The chests
were hoisted upon the decks, broken open,
and their contents emptied over the side of
the ship into the channel. A large crowd
of people was collected, who were quiet
spectators of the operation, which was com
pleted in the course of the evening. Three
hundred and forty-two che9t of tea were
thus destroyed, and not the slightest injury
was done to any individual, or to any prop
erty on board the vessels except the un
lucky tea, and, after the work was finished,
Hie actors and spectator* calmly retired to
their several homes. Os all this tea, the
whole quantity saved, is contained in a
small phial still in existence. One of the
operators on bis return home, found his
shoes filled with it; this he put into a bot
tle and sealed up. Not a pound of the tea
was purloined. One of the persons engag
ed in the business, who wished to preserve
too large a specimen, wa9 observed by
some of his companions to have the pock
ets of his coat a little distended. This was
treated a9 an accident, which was remedied
however, m a good natured way, without
resistance, by the application of a knife a
cross the waist of the coat, which left it a
kind of garment, that has in later times
been called a Spencer; and the part separa
ted was thrown overboard to accompany its
kindred tea. The most scrupulous care
was taken that none of it should be secret
ed. The shores of the harbor at high wa
ter mark, were lined with it the next day,
as with other worthless weeds. A chest
containing a few pounds, floated into a
creek in Dorchester, where it was discov
ered, brought into town, and publicly com
mitted to the flames.
The pleasures of imagination are sot so gross as
those of sense, nor so refined as those of the un
derstanding.
JJO YE riSTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.
(HANCOCK COUNTY, GEORGIA,) MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1823.
RELIGIOUS,
AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.
The following is an extract from a very able speech
of the Hon. De Witt Clinton, at the recent an
niversary of the American Bible Society :
believe, (hat it is !iow generally under
stood, that human reason cannot in itself
furnish certain demonstration of a future
state. The aspirations of the soul after im
mortality—the general impressions of man
kind—the constitution of the human mind—
and the benign attributes of the Deity, ren
der it highly probable, that our existence is
not bounded by the narrow limits of ihis
world. But it is well known, that every
link in this concatenation ot reasoning, ev
ery circumstance in this enumeration of
considerations, has been assailed with no in
considerable force. And it must be admit
ted I bat the highest efforts of the human
mind have been unable to afford suitable
aud distinct views of our mode of existence
in a future stale. Even tbe end of our cre
ation has been the subject of doubt and de
bate : and the powers of philosophy, tbe
fictions of mythology, and the subtilties of
metaphysicks, have been unsuccessfully
employed in dispelling the clouds and dark
ness that rested for ages over the destinies
ot mankind. Some bare supposed, that this
world was created to punish man for the
sins committed in a pre-existent state.
Others have imagined, that it sprung from
a fortuitous concourse of atoms, or an infi
nite series of causes, and that a man is the
creature of chance, has no fixed destination
and will experience the fate of mherorgan
ick matter. Some have considered him as
created to afford amusement to snperiour
beings, and Tb be “ the standing jest of
heavenwhile others have contended that
his existence is essential to complete the
series of created substances, and to supply
a necessary link in the chain of being.
If tbe end and aim of our being in this
world have appeared 90 obscure to the be
nighted vision of human reason, what may
we not expect from its views of a future
state? The most sublime flights of poetry,
and (he most profound elaborations of phi
losophy, have altogether failed in furnish
ing luminous, distinct, and cheering pros
pects of immortality. The most alluring
views of heaven were entirely derived from
the earth; and the final alloiment of the
virtuous was only a transit from this world
to a material paradise.
Some happier island in the wat’ry waste,
Some safer world in depth of woods embrac’d.
In the bowers of bliss; in the gardens of
delight; in the fields of Elysium; in the
seats of the illustrious and beatified dead,
there was always a retrospective longing,
lingering look, at the superiour fascinations
of this world. The great epick bard of
Rome, after he had exhausted the powers
of bis creative mind, in describing the de
lights of the Elysian Fields, asserts the re
turn of the souls of the departed to this
world, io order to reanimate other bodies.
And the father of herotck poetry, “ whose
magick muse soared to the topmost heaven
of grandeur,” describes hi- heroes as Dissat
isfied with their portion in the regions of
blessedness. When Ulysses congratulates
Achilles on his supremacy over the mighty
dead, the latter indignantly exclaims, that
he would rather be a servile hind, and eat
he bread of poverty on earth, than exer
cise imperial authority over all the Shades.
Whole nations were ignorant of a future
state ; and others had but feeble gfiminer
ings of light on this subject. The ancient
philosophers were divided in their views.
Many of them utterly discredited, and some
openly ridiculed an hereafter. The con
sequences of this state of things were in ev
ery respect most deplorable: they were
felt in evdry veiD and artery of social com
bination, and in every aspect and conforma
tion of conduct and character. The an
cients, who disbelieved in a future state,
were utterly unable to account for the mor
al phenomena of this world. When they
considered the events and vicissitudes of
life—when they beheld the accumulation
of laurels on the brow of the tyrant, the op
pressor rolling in affluence, and the murder
er defying punishment—when they per
ceived the wise and the virtuous shrouded
in obscurity and overwhelmed with calami
ty : When they saw Cato driven to suicide,
Socrates to hemlock, an Aristides in exile;
and heard the dying Brutus exclaim, that
virtue was an empty name—in what a dread
ful position did they stand ? A knowledge of
a future world would have elucidated all
incongruities, solved all doubts, dispelled
all darkness. They sometimes, indeed,
endeavoured to vindicate the ways of God
to man, by alleging that in this sublunary
state virtue was its own reward; that vice
was attended by an appropriate punishment,
and that a man’s enormities were at least
visited on his posterity; and when forced
from the full extent of their positions by
the testimony of daily experience, they
took refuge in atheism, or inculcated that
the Deity no agency in the concerns of
this world, or adopted the system of poly
theism, and believed in
Gods partial, changeful, passionate, unjust,
Whose attributes were rage, revenge, or lust.
In this state of moral darkness, Jesus
Christ appeared, poiuting out the way to
heaven, and shedding light over the world.
What was before uncertain, he rendered
certainfor, to adopt the words of the
great apostle, “he hath abolished death,
and hath brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel.” And herein
consists a rharacteristick feature, and ape
culiar excellence of the Christian dispensa
tion. It lifted the veil which concealed fu
turity from view, and that separated time
from eternity ; and it afforded clear demon
strations of the life to come. All doubts on
this subject have vanished, for a belief in
tbe Christian religion is utterly incompati
ble with a disbelief of a future state. Chris
tianity not only ascertains its existence, but
points out our destinies in it. Instead of
the sensual enjoyments of a Mahometan
Paradise—instead of the Elysian Fields of
Pagan superstition, or the transmigrations
of the Metempsychosis, “our minds are
lifed up from the dungeon of the body to
the enjoyment of the divine essence of the
Almighty,” and we are endowed with
Perfections absolute, graces divine,
And amplitude of mind to greatest deeds,
Christianity may he contemplated in two
important aspects. First, in reference to
its influence on this world—and secondly,
in reference to our destiny in the world to
come. And whatever may be intimated to
the contrary by the sneers of infidelity, or
the cavils of scepticism, it may be asserted
boldly, and can be demonstrated conclusive
ly, that to its celestial influence we are in
debted for the blessings of civilization, the
elevation of the female character—the en
joyment of domestick happiness—the suc
cessful cultivation of knowledge—the es
tablishment of free government, and the do
minion of good order and peace, wherever
they prevail in the great communities of
mankind.
Had I the time and tbe talent, I would
proceed with pleasure to establish these po
sitions, but restricted as I am in both res
pects, I can only glance at some of the lead
ing tnpick*.
We are governed by our hopes and our
tears—by the desire of happiness and the
dread ot misery. The laws which regulate
our conduct, are the laws of man, and the
laws of God. To which may be added, as
exercising a strong influence, and, in many
instances, a controlling power over our ac
tions, an anxious desire to acquire the good
will, and to avoid the contempt of onr fel
low creatures, by a conformity to the gen
eral sense of right and wrong. This is de
nominated by Mr. Locke, the law of opin
ion. The sanctions of laws, in order to he
complete, ought to comprise rewards, as
well as punishments. The inefficacy of
human laws, for their intended objects, is
palpable from the daily operations of soci
ety, and the accumulated experience of
ages. Secret crimes are of course unpun
ished; and how many of the guiliy escape
from tbe want of testimony—from casual
ties—and from the imperfect or perverse
dispensation of justice and mercy, and there
are many ahberations from virtue which do
not come within the cognizance or the pol
icy of human legislation. Violations of
what are termed the duties of imperfect ob
ligation, answer to this description. The
want of charity—an infraction of hospitali
ty —are not punished by the tribunals of
men. And deeds of the most dangerous
character, which strike at the very founda
tion of private happiness and publick pros
perity, are sometimes not considered crim
inal. Lying and adultery, for instance, es
cape with impunity. The complex ma
chinery of government, the arduous admin
istration of justice, and the embarrassment
and difficulties which surround the opera
tions of legislation, frequently produce
crimes peculiar to the social combinations
of man, nnJ generate evils unknown in a
state of nature. But in addition to these
considerations, it may be remarked, that
the innocent are frequently punished in
stead of the guilty, and that human laws are
entirely destitute of the sanction of rewards.
To confer honour for obedience, would he
as ridiculous as unavailing. The honour of
many would resolve itself into the honour
of none. To dispense pecuniary rewards,
would be nugatory or impracticable. In an
unqualified extent, no government would be
able to supply the funds; and even in a
restricted form, its operation to receive
money with one hand as a premium, and to
pay it back with the other, in the shape of
a tax.
The efficacy of (he law of opinion is also
limited, and has alt the imperfections at
tached to humanity. It cannot reach those
who are hardened in infamy, and plunged
in iniquity; and its sanctions do not extend
beyond the limits of this world. Hypocrisy
braves its denunciations; exalted rank and
great opulence, feel, in some degree, supe
rior to its terrors; and the stoic in his apa
thy, tbe anchorite in his seclusion, and the
misanthrope in his hatred, look with ineffa
ble contempt on the men and things of this
world. And to this it may be added, that
the law of opinion does not always present
an immutable standard of virtue, and an un
erring criterion of excellence; but some
time connives at departures from tbe rules
of morality.
The sanctions of the divine law supply
all these deficiencies, cover tbe whole
area of human action, reach every Case,
punish every ain, and recompense every
Price Jg’“P r
( $4,00 in advance. )
virtue. Its rewards and its punishments,
are graduated with perfect justice; and its
appeals to the hopes and fears of man, are
of the most potent character, and transcen
dant influence.
The codes of men, and the laws of opin
ion, derive a. great portion of their weight
from the influence ofafuture world. Jus-’
tice cannot be administered without the
sanctity of truth, and the great security a
gamst perjury is the amenability of another
state. The sanctions of religion compose
the foundations of good government; and
the ethics, doctrines, and examples furnish
ed by Christianity, exhibit the be9t models
for the laws of opinion.
The imperfect views which the Pagan
religion afforded of futurity, had, notwith
standing, considerable Influence on the in
terests of mankind. Herodotus represents
the people called the immortal Gets, on
account of their belief” in a future state, as
the bravest and most upright of the Thra
cian nations. And Juvenal ascribes the
horrible depravity of the reigning infideli
ty, which had exploded from the publick
creed the Stygian Lake, and other terrors
of the ancient mythlogy.
The Christian religion, armed with pow
er, endowed with light, fortified by truth,
and revealed hy Gud—foretold in the pro
phecies, attested by miracles, sealed with
the. blood of the saints, and sublimed by tbe
morality of Heaven, is thus presented to
man, exhibiting him in a state of probation,
and enforcing his good conduct in this tran
sitory state, in order to secure his felicity
in the regions of eternal bliss. It places
what Archimedes warned, the lever of pow
er on another and better world, and con
trols all the operations ol man in unison
with the prescriptions of divine love.
Feeble and imperfect as this view is it
notwithstanding presents powerful induce
ment to encourage your animated perse
verance and redoubled exertions in the
cause ot philanthropy and religion. Insti
tutions like this, unite in the bonds of friend
ship aud charity,alltheir cultivators,without
regard to kindred, sect, tongue, or nation.
In this place, an altar is erected to concord
—peace is declared among the most discor
dant sects—and the parii-colourp,! coat of
Joseph is exchanged for (he seamless gar
ment of Christ; and in such a holy cause,
he assured, that the visitations of divine ap
brobatinn will attend your proceedings—
that opposition will prove like the strug
gles of a river with the ocean—and that
although mouolains of sophistry may he
pilpd on mountains of invective, like Ossa
oo Pelion, yet that such attempts will ter
minate like the Titans, and can never pre
vail against truth and Heaven.
GEN. WASHINGTON’S ARMY ORDER
AGAINST PROFANITY.
Head Quarters, Thursday, >
29tb July, 1779. \
Many and pointed orders have been is*
sued against that unmeaning, and abomina
ble custom, notwithstanding which, with
much regret, the General observes that it
prevail*, (ifpossible) more than ever: his
feelings are continually wounded hy the
oaths and imprecations of the soldiers,
wherever he is in hearing of them: the
name of that Being from w hose bountiful
goodness we are permitted to enjoy the
comforts of life, is incessantly imprecated
and profaned in a manner as wanton as it
is shocking. For the sake therefore of
religion, decency and order, the General
hopes and trusts that if officers of every
rank would use their influence and authori
ty to check a vice which is as unprofitable
as it is wicked and shameful—if officers
would make it an invariable rule to repri
mand, and if that does not do, punish sold
iers for offences of this kind, it could not
fail of having its intended effect.
Notice.
WILL be sold at the late residence of Rlake
Baker, deceased, Washington county, on
the 23d day ofJuue next,between the lawful hours
of sale, all the personal property of said deceased.
Sale to continue from day until all is sold.
Terms made known on the day of sale.
Daniel Hutchinson , Adm’r.
Ider Baker , Adnrt’x
May 6, 1823.
-hT. B. All those indebted to the estßteof the
late Blake Baker deceased, are requested to make
immediate payment, and all those to whom said
estate is indebted are requested to render, in their
demands legally attested, within the time pre
scribed by law.
D. Hutchinson, Adm’rll
i Ider Baker , Adm‘x.
May 6. 48Gw
AT the Court of Ordinary in January next, to
be held in Greene County, I will apply to
be dismissed from my Executorship and Adminis
tratorship of and on the following estates, viz.—
as executor of the estate of John Bowers; deceas
ed ; as executor of the estate of Isaiah C. Kitten,
and as administrator on the estate of Henry Par
rot, deceased, of which all concerned will take
notice. MS- hfISBF.T.
March 12, 1823.
NINE months after dale, application will, be
made to the Honourable the Court of Ordin
ary of Warren County, for leave to sell the real
estate of Charles Brooks deceased, of Ihe county
aforesaid. . 1 •
_M*y 17, 1823. 0,9®,