COPY
OF
LETTERS
Sent to Great-Britain, by his ExcellencyThomas Hutchinson, the Hon. AndrewOliver, and several other Persons, bornand educated among us.
Which original Letters have been returnedto America, and laid before the honorableHouse of Representatives of thisProvince.
In which (notwithstanding his Excellency’sDeclaration to the House, that the Tendencyand Design of them was not tosubvert the Constitution, but rather topreserve it entire) the judicious Readerwill discover the fatal Source of theConfusion and Bloodshed in which thisProvince especially has been involved,and which threatned total Destructionto the Liberties of all America.
BOSTON:
Printed by EDES and GILL, in Queen-Street
1773.
Letters, &c.
Boston, 18th June, 1768.
SIR,
As you allow me the honour of yourcorrespondence, I may not omit acquaintingyou with so remarkable anevent as the withdraw of the commissionersof the customs and most of the other officersunder them from the town on board theRomney, with an intent to remove from thenceto the castle.
In the evening of the 10th a sloop belongingto Mr. Hancock, a representative for Boston,and a wealthy merchant, of great influence overthe populace, was seized by the collector andcomptroller for a very notorious breach of theacts of trade, and, after seizure taken into custodyby the officer of the Romney man of war,and remov’d under command of her guns. Itis pretended that the removal and not the seizure[Pg 4]incensed the people. It seems not very materialwhich it was—A mob was immediatelyrais’d, the officers insulted, bruis’d and muchhurt, and the windows of some of their housesbroke; a boat belonging to the collector burntin triumph, and many threats utter’d against thecommissioners and their officers: no notice beingtaken of their extravagance in the time of it,nor any endeavours by any authority except thegovernor, the next day to discover and punishthe offenders; and there being a rumour of ahigher mob intended Monday (the 13th) in theevening the commissioners, four of them, thoughtthemselves altogether unsafe, being destitute ofprotection, and remov’d with their families to theRomney, and there remain and hold their board,and next week intend to do the same, and alsoopen the custom-house at the castle. The governorpress’d the council to assist him with theiradvice, but they declin’d and evaded calling ita brush or small disturbance by boys and negroes,not considering how much it must be resented inEngland that the officers of the crown shouldthink themselves obliged to quit the place oftheir residence and go on board a King’s ship forsafety, and all the internal authority of the provincetake no notice of it—The town of Bostonhave had repeated meetings, and by their votesdeclared the commissioners and their officers agreat grievance, and yesterday instructed theirrepresentatives to endeavor that enquiry shoul