CHAPTER XVIII.
Page 2

"We the Committee appointed by the town to consult what is expedient and necessary to be done with twenty-seven chests of Tea, lately imported and landed here, consigned to Edward Parry Esq., having taken into our calm and serious consideration, the general uneasiness and anxiety which prevail among the inhabitants of this and neighboring towns on account of said Tea being sent and landed here at this critical juncture of public affairs, while the same is subject to a duty imposed by the parliament of Great Britain, for the purpose of raising a revenne [sic] in the British Colonies, without their consent and after this, and all the other governments upon this continent have repeatedly and publickly signified their disapprobation of the impotation and sale of Teas subject to a duty upon being landed in the colonies, the knowledge of which we imagine must have been communicated to the consignor, previous to the exportation and consignment of said Tea to his friend here, likewise the dependent state of this town and province upon our sister colonies, even for necessary supplies, which would undoubtedly and justly be denied the inhabitants of this town and government, in case they should tamely suffer the sale and consumption of said Tea among them; and being tenderly concerned for the support and preservation of the peace and welfare of this town and province, for the security of the property of the consignor, the interest of the consignee, and in order to prevent said Tea from being destroyed by the hands of violence which we greatly fear would be the consequence if the same should not be immediately reshipt and sent out of this port. We therefore reccommend to the consignee as the result of our deliberation, that the same Tea should be reshipt and sent ont of this port by twelve o'clock, Wednesday next, and that he would please to give his answer in writing to this request by twelve o'clock this day.
Portsmouth, 28th June, 1774.

To which the consignee gave the following answer;

   To the committee appointed by the town of Portsmouth for consulting what is expedient and necessary to be done with the 27 chests of Bohea-tea, consigned to Edward Parry.

Portsmouth, June 28, 1774.

   Gentlemen,
   I have received this morning your proposals and recommendation of such measures as you think proper for me to pursue to preserve the Tea consigned to my address, as a private commercial commodity. I am unwilling to irritate the minds of the people, and should be glad of acting consistent with my duty to my employer who consigned the Tea to me without my advice or knowledge, and I am confident he would not have shipped it, unless he thought it would have been agreeable to the country, by the unhappy commotions in these colonies having subsided. As you have expressed your oppinions for the town, that you are under great apprehensions of violence and danger to the Tea, I am willing for its preservation, as also for the peace and quietness of the town, and the fatigue and trouble of such a great number of persons to watch it, that if you chuse to take the protection of it, that it may be safely preserved and put on board the first proper vessel that I can procure to ship it out of this port to some other place for its greater security, and that the vessel and Tea may be sufficiently protected out of this port by you or such proper persons as you appoint.
I shall wait your answer.
EDWARD PARRY.

   The committee having reported to the town their proposals to Edward Parry, Esq., and his answer to the same, Voted that this town will lend their kind assistance to protect the Tea, safely on board any vessel that may be provided by said Parry, for carrying the same Tea out of this port as soon as may be; and that they will further assist to protect it while in port, upon said Parry's agreeing he will not import the same again into this province, until Tea is allowed to be freely imported and sold here, which was agreed to be the consignee.

   Voted, That the same Committee be appointed to assist Edward Parry, Esq., in getting said Tea safely on board immediately, and to see the foregoing vote carried into execution as soon as may be.

   Voted, That the same watch or major part thereof be appointed to protect said Tea until the same is carried out of this port in manner aforesaid.

   Voted. That it is agreeable to this town that Captain Benjamin Partridge carry the satd [sic] Tea out of this port at the request of said Parry.

   Voted, That this meeting be and hereby is adjourned to Wednesday 29th inst. at three o'clock in the afternoon.

   June 29, 1774. Met according to adjournment.

   Voted, That there shall be a new committee appointed to take care that the said Tea be sent safely out of port as soon as may be.

   Voted, a committee of seven persons further to treat with Mr. Parry, the Consignee, and inform him, that the town expect the sloop Molly, owned by Mr. Benjamin Partridge, having now on board said tea, proceed out of this port on her intended voyage within four hours of seven o'clock, in the afternoon of this day, and to take every prudent measure to prevent any injury being done to said tea, and that said Committee be desired to inform the Consignee, that the town will hold themselves under no obligations to give him any further assistance after that time is expir'd.

   Voted, That this meeting be and hereby is adjourned to Thursday morning 30th inst, at ten o'clock.

Met according to adjournment.

   Voted, That the committee be and hereby are impower'd to enquire the reason why the said sloop does not proceed on her voyage, and report the reasons to this meeting at the adjournment.

   Voted, That this meeting be adjourned to four o'clock this afternoon, to be held at the Revd Dr. Haven's meeting-house.

Met according to adjournment.

   When the committe [sic] reported, that the sloop was detained some time to get water, since which, she had left the port, and proceeded on her voyage.

   Voted unanimously, That the thanks of the town be given to the present committee for their good services.

   Voted unanimously, That the thanks of the town, be also given to those other gentlemen that have given their kind attendance to the town.

   Voted, That a committee of eleven persons, they or any seven of them be and hereby are a committe [sic] of Inspection to examine and find out if any Tea is imported here, and upon discovery of any being brought into this port, or Town, to give the earliest notice thereof to the Town.

   Voted, That three persons be appointed a committee to make report to the town at the adjournment of this meeting a draught against the importation, use, consumption or sale of all Teas, in this town while the same are subject to duty.

   Voted, That this meeting be adjourned to Friday the 8th day of July, next ensuing, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon to the north meeting house, and is accordingly adjourned."

In this matter the Governor's sympathies were understood to be with the people, and it is known that he was in favor of every conciliatory measure, that should allay excitement, and prevent an open rupture with the government. The excitement somewhat subsided, when on the 22d of July, Capt. Odiorne, returned from Halifax and reported the safe arrival of the tea at that port. The announcement was made thus in the public print;

   "On the same day, arrived the sloop Molly, Capt. Odiorne, in seven days from Halifax, being the same vessel that carried the tea from this place. The Captain assures us that he safely landed that disagreeable commodity there, though much against the minds of the inhabitants, who are determined not to purchase it."

At the meeting on the 20th of June, three persons were appointed to draw up "a draught against the importation, use, consumption, or sale of teas, while the same are subject of duty." The committee reported such an agreement at an adjourned meeting on the 8th of July.

The agreement was as follows;

   Whereas, the Importation, Sale, and Consumption of any East-India Teas, at this particular time is productive of Consequences fatal to ourselves and our posterity; and as we conceive it to be an insult upon, and an open Affront to any member of this Community, to be told that he was not Virtue or Resolution enough, to resist so trifling a temptation as the Use of TEA, when the LIBERTY in which God has made him free, is endanger; and Generations yet unborn may feel the Effects of such an unmanly Attachment--We the Subscribers being determined to rise superior to such reflections, do hereby plight our Faith and Honor to each other--that from and after the 16th day of July 1774, we will not import, sell, purchase or consume any Kind of East-India Teas, nor suffer the same to be used in our respective Families with our Knowledge, until the present Duty on Teas imported into the colonies shall be taken off and the port of Boston opened."

This agreement was generally signed throughout the Province.

Meantime, but few dared to expose for sale the obnoxious article, and those only the most obnoxious tories. A Mr. Dix persisted in selling tea at Pembroke, but a company of "sons of liberty" from the adjacent towns, under the command of Andrew McClary, made him a visit, and taking the tea from the store, made a bonfire of it in the public street. At Haverhill, the tea of a pedlar [sic] was seized and disposed of in like manner. The Gazette thus noticed this affair;

   "We hear from Cohos, (remote part of this province) that some Time last Week, a number of honest Savages, Friends to the Rights of America, having information of a small quantity of Bohea-Tea lodg'd by a pedling [sic] Trading, at the house of an Innholder in Haverhill, entered the same without Ceremony, and having seized on the execrated Weed, convey'd it into the public Road, and immediately made a burnt offering of the Whole. A Proof this, that the same spirit of freedom pervades and enlivens the remotest Parts of our English Settlements."

On the 8th of September, the town of Portsmouth was again thrown into excitement by the arrival at its port of thirty chests of tea, in the mast ship Fox, Capt. Zachariah Norman, Master, consigned by Anthony Bacon, Esq. of London. What added to the excitement was the fact, that the tea was consigned to Mr. Edward Parry, the same man who had been consignee of the tea landed on the 25th of June, and who now expressed a determination to accept the consignment of the tea. The knowledge of this fact transpiring, the populace collected in large numbers on Thursday evening, Sept. 8, 1774, and marching with drum and fife to the residence of Mr. Parry, assailed him with various opprobious epithets, broke in his windows, and threatened a second visit with a coat of tar and feathers, should he accept the consignment of the tea on board the Fox, or should not re-ship it immediately. Mr. Parry put himself under the protection of the Government, by the following paper;

   "To His Excellency the Governor, and the Honorable His Majesty's Council.

   The Petition of Edward Parry--humbly sheweth--
   That a merchant of the City of London has ship'd Thirty Chests of Tea being his private property for the port of Piscataqua, by the ship Fox, Zacha Norman, Master, which is arrived, and the same is consigned to your Petitioner for sale, without his being previously acquainted therewith or advising or recommending thereto.
   That your petitioner is under the greatest Apprehensions of danger to himself and property from the violence of the conduct and proceedings of numbers of persons within the Province, should he attempt to vend the tea consigned to him; and yesterday Evening a mob violently assembled with Fifes, Drums, &c. threw stones &c. at your petitioner's lodgings, broke his Windows, and the stones were thrown with such violence, as to force open the inside Window Shutters, of the room he inhabited, and that the resolves and proceedings of the town of Portsmouth, the 16th of last December, the 27th, 28th 29th and 30th of June following, are intended to be expresive of the general sense of the town to which I beg leave to refer your Excellency, and the honorable board.
   Your petitioner therefore begs leave to resign himself and the property committed to his care to your Excellency and Honors as Guardians and Protectors of the People; humbly praying that measures may be directed for the landihg [sic] and securing the Teas until your Petitioner can be at Liberty openly and safely to dispose of the same, or until he can receive directions from His Constituent.
   And your petitioner will ever pray, &c.
EDW. PARRY.

   Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
      September, 9th, 1774,"

From this it would seem, that it had been his object to "vend the tea consigned to him."

The Governor summoned a meeting of the Council, and the assistance of the Magistrates, and no farther violence was committed.

The next day the people assembled in Town Meeting, and Mr. Parry being present, he publicly declared that he would not accept the consignment of said tea, nor have any thing to do with it; and Capt. Norman of the Fox, promised to re-shit it to Halifax, forthwith, at his own expense. A committee was chosen to see these promises executed in good faith, under who inspection the tea was put on board another vessel, under Capt. Fernald, which with the "pernicious, destructive, troublesome, Commodity," on board, sailed down the river accompanied by the committee, who reported that they saw the tea "on board another vessel," and that vessel, "with the tea on board, outside of Fort Point." Thus ended this excitement which momentarily threatened the peace of the town and Province.

In this affair, the Governor acted with his usual prudence and sagacity.

Meantime, the Governor had been in difficulty with the Assembly of the Province. At the meeting of this body in the spring of 1774, the House of representatives appointed a committee of correspondence, and took measures to stem the tide of British oppression.

The Governor tried to defeat these measures, and for this purpose adjourned the Assembly, and afterwards on the 8th of June, dissolved this body, by message thus;

   "Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the Assembly

   As I look upon the Measures entered upon by the House of Assembly, to be inconsistent with his Majesty's Service, and the good of this Government, it is my Duty, as far as in me lies, to prevent any detriment that might arise from such proceedings. I do therefore DISSOLVE the General Assembly, of this province and it is dissolved accordingly.
J. WENTWORTH.

      Province of New Hampshire,
   Council Chamber, June, 8th."

Upon this dissolution, the Committee of Safety summoned the Representatives to meet to consult upon the public safety, and they accordingly assembled in the Representatives' Hall; but the Governor coming in with the Sheriff of the County, ordered him to "make proclamation for all persons to disperse and keep the King's peace." The Representatives adjourned to another room, and sent circulars to all the towns in the Province, to send delegates to a Convention to be holden at Exeter on the 21st, of July, to take into consideration the alarming state of the country. July 21st the Convention assembled, eighty-five members being in attendance. These chose John Sullivan and Nathaniel Folsom, Esqs., delegates to the proposed Congress at Philidelphia, and recommended that the several towns, "take into consideration the distressed, unhappy condition of the town of Boston, and liberally to contribute towards the relief of the poor of that town."

About this time, the British troops at Boston were without barracks, and the carpenters of Boston and its neighborhood, were so patriotic, that they would not assist in building barracks to protect troops sent there to enslave them. In this dilemma, Gen. Gage, applied to Governor Wentworth to engage carpenters in this Province to be sent to Boston to build these barracks. Governor Wentworth engaged to furnish them, and employed secret agents to hire men for this purpose in the neighborhood of Wolfborough and Middleton. The secret however got out, and the Province was again in a blaze of excitement. The "Committee of Ways and Means" of the town of Portsmouth, at the head of which was an uncle of the Governor, had the matter before them in form, and after due consideration, passed the following Preamble and Resolutions.

Portsmouth, Oct. 27, 1774.

   Whereas there has been a Report prevailing in this town, for some Days past, that a Number of Artificers have been procured, at the Town of Wolfborough, and the Towns thereabouts, by some Person or Persons under the crown, to assist the troops now at Boston, in Building Barracks, &c., contrary to the Opinion of our Bretheren there.

The commitee [sic] of Ways and Means for this Town, having met to consider the same, and having great Reason to Believe said Report, and thinking it our Duty to bear Testimony against such proceedings, Do resolve as follows, vix:
       
  1. That it is our opinion, the Person, or Persons (when under the Crown or not,) who has been so cruel and unmanly as to engage Artificers, in this Province to give the least assistance to the Troops now at Boston, when the Inhabitants there have nobly refused; discovers a Disposition, not only to Ingratiate him or themselves, with Gen Gage, (which is mean and low,) but also to give every Assistance to the present dispotic Measures and therefore should be considered as an Enemy or Enemies to the Community.
  2.    
  3. That it is our Opinion, those men who have been so base, to undertake as Artificers, (thereby reflecting, not only on their respective Towns but the Province in general,) should be considered as Enemies to our Liberties, and should not be received at their return, as members worthy of Society.
  4.    
  5. That it is our opinion that should those Artificers, (on reflection) find themselves to have been imposed upon, by their Employers, to undertake a Matter which is so disagreeable, and determine to leave such scandalous Employment, and return to their respective Habitations immediately, may be received to the Friendship of their Townsmen; but if not, should be considered as in the second Resolve.
By order of the Committee.
 HUNKING WENTWORTH.
Chairman."




The name of one of the Governor's secret agents transpired; it was one Nicholas Austin, of Middleton, and at a muster at Rochester, the "sons of Liberty," agreed to send for Austin and deal with him. Accordingly, a Committee of correspondence consisting of John Wingate, John Plummer, and John McDuffee addressed a note to Austin, notyfying [sic] him of their suspicions and requesting his attendance before the "sons of liberty," on the 1th of Nov. at Rochestor [sic]. Austin appeared at the time appointed, and being examined under oath before Justice Plummer, acknowledged he had been employed by Governor Wentworth to hire men to go to Boston; that he had thus employed four only; and that the Governor "told him the people would be dissatisfied when they come to know it, but he thought it would be for the best." On his knees, Austin made the following confession.

   "Before this company, I confess I have been aiding and assisting in sending men to Boston to build Barracks for the soldiers to live in, at which you have reason justly to be offended which I am sorry for, and humbly ask your forgiveness; and I affirm, that for the future, I never will be acting or assisting in any wise whatever, in Act or Deed, contrary to the Constitution of the County, as witness my Hand,
NICHOLAS AUSTIN.


The conduct of the Governor was censured throughout the Province, and henceforth he retained but the mere shadow of authority.

The people of the Province were more fully awake to their condition, and the loyalists as well as the "Sons of Liberty," were busily at work in following out their antagonistic plans. A call had been issued for another Convention of Delegates to be holden on the 25th of January 1775, and pains were being taken to have a full attendance; meanwhile the loyalists were busy in furthering their plans for ascendancy in the Spring Assembly.

About this time, news came of the passage of an order by the King in Council, forbidding the exportation of gunpowder and other military stores to this country,--and Mr. Paul Revere, of Boston, on the 13th of December, 1774, was sent express to Portsmouth with this order, together with the information that the troops were about to be sent to Boston to disarm Fort William and Mary, at the mouth of the Piscataqua. Upon this the "Committee of Ways and Means," for the town of Portsmouth, on the 14th of December, secretly, but with great dispatch, collected together, from Portsmouth, and from the adjacent towns, some 400 men, for the purpose of removing the powder and other military stores from the Fort. Two hundred of these men under the orders of Major Sullivan and Capt. Langdon, embarked on board of gondolas, and went down the river to invest the Fort, while about two hundred men led on by Capt. Thomas Pickering, with fife and drum, marched by land with the same object in view. Arrived at the Fort, Capt. Cochran, the commander of the garrison was summoned to surrender,--but answered the summons by the discharge of three cannon upon the investing patriots, without, however, doing them any injury. Upon this the "Sons of Liberty" rushed over the wall, secured and disarmed Cochran and his garrison, and carried away ninety-seven barrels of powder and sixty stand of arms. On the night of the 15th, sixteen pieces of cannon, a number of barrels of powder and other military stores were taken from the Fort, and these together with the powder taken on the 14th. inst. were carried to a place of safety in the country. The town was filled with people from the country on the 15th, who held a public meeting, and chose a Committee to wait upon the Governor and enquire of him as to the object of sending the proposed troops to Portsmouth. The Governor assured the Committen [sic] that "he knew of no such design as sending Troops, Ships, &c." Upon this the people went quietly to their homes Yet the expedition was then under sailing orders, doubtless, or upon their way to Portsmouth, as the Gazette of the 24th of December, says:--

   "Since our last, arrived here, his Majesty's Ships Canceaux, Capt. Mowatt, and the Scarborough, Capt Barclay, both from Boston, with 80 or 100 soldiers on board."

Yet Governor Wentworth may not have known of the expedition. This was the first overt attack upon the British forces, in the War of the Revolution--and was of vast importance in that war--as part of the powder thus taken was used at Bunker's Hill,--and the other military stores were of great utility.

The daring of the act, as well as its results, produced its effect upon the loyalists, and as if maddened out of his propriety, Governor Wentworth visited his official wrath upon Drs. Bartlett and Thompson, depriving them of their commissions as Justices of the Peace; and also upon Major Sullivan and Captain Langdon, depriving them of their commissions in the military establishment of the Province!

The Governor, by advise of Council, also issued the following Proclamation;

     "Province of
   New Hampshire.    A proclamation by the Governor.
   Whereas, several bodies of men did, in the day time of the 14th, and in the night of the 15th of this instant December, in the most daring and rebellious maner [sic] invest, attack, and forcibly enter into his Majesty's castle William and Mary in this province, and overpowering and confining the Captain and garrison, did, besides committing many troublesome insults and outrages, break open the magazine of said castle, and plunder it of above one hundred barrels of gunpowder, with upwards of sixty stand of small arms, and did also force from the ramparts of said castle and carry off sixteen pieces of cannon, and other military stores, in open hostility and in direct oppugnation of his majesty's government, and in the most atrocious centempt [sic] of his crown and dignity:
   I do, by advice and consent of his majestie's council, issue this proclamation, ordering and requiring, in his majestye's name, all magistrates and other officers, whether civil, or military, as they regard their duty to the king and the tenor of the oaths they have solemnly taken and solemnly taken and subscribed, to exert themselves in detecting and securing in some of his majestye's [sic] jails in this province, the said offenders, in order to their being brought to condign [sic] punishment; And from motives of duty to the king and regard to the welfare of the good people of this province; I do in the most earnest and solemn manner, exhort and injoin you, his majesty's liege subjects of this government, to beware of suffering yourselves to be seduced by the false arts or menaces of abandoned men, to abet, protect, or screen from justice any of the said high handed offenders, or to withhold or secrete his majesty's munitions forcibly taken from his castle; but that each and every one of you will use your utmost endeavors to detect and discover the perpetrators of these crimes to the civil magistrates, and assist in securing and bringing them to justice, and in recovering the king's munitions. This injunction it is my bounden duty to lay strictly upon you, and to require your obedience thereto, as you value individually your faith and allegiance to his majesty, as you wish to preserve that reputation to the province in general; as you would avert the dreadful but most certain consequences of a contrary conduct to yourselves and posterity.
   Given at the council-chamber in Portsmouth, the 26th day of December, in the 15th year of the reign of our sovereign lord George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Irelaud [sic], king, defender of the faith, &c., and in the year of our Lord Christ, 1774.
J. WENTWORTH.

By his excellency's command, with
   advice of council,
      THEODORE ATKINSON, Sec'y.
                  God save the King."

However, the proclamation of the Governor, had no other effect than to produce derision. The affair was mostly done in the day time, the leaders were well known citizens of Portsmouth and the neighhoring [sic] towns, of the first standing in the community, and had the Governor dared to have made the arrests threatened in his proclamation, he could have found many of the "high handed offenders," at his own door. The truth was, the royal authority had become powerless, and he did not dare attempt an arrest. Proclamations, however, were had for the writing, and answered the Governor's purpose in the "home" market.1

The people of Derryfield were fully awake to the oppression of the British government and equally determined in their opposition, with the rest of the people of the Province.

A special meeting was called of the inhabitants on the 16th day of January, 1775, by warrant bearing dating the 2d of the same month, the main article of which was as follows:

   "2ly To see if the town will chose [sic] a man or men as Deputies to go to Exeter the 25th Day of January Instant, in Behalf of said town in order to meet with the Deputies from the Neighboring Towns in said Province."

At the meeting on the 16th of Jan., it was,

   "Voted on the second article, not to send a man to Exeter, but that the Selectmen send a Letter to said Exeter, and insert in said Letter, that the said town will bear their Equal proportion of money that shall hereafter arise towards paying the cost of the General Congress, as any other town in the Province.

This vote was dictated in part by a desire doubtless, to save the expense of a delegate, but mainly we imagine, by the fact that the people of this County had held, or were about to hold a County Congress, for the organization of some plan of government among themselves. The people of this County were more intimately connected in all their business relations with those of Massachusetts, than with their brethren in the south-east section of New Hampshire. In addition to this, they had distrust of the people in that section, fearing that they would succumb to the influence of the royal governor. This distrust was undoubtedly fostered by Massachusetts. On this account, the people of this County early followed the example set in Massachusetts, called a County Congress, and took measures for their own safety and protection. We know not the time of meeting of this Congress, but it was probably held in January, 1775, as in the warrant for the annual meeting in Derryfield, bearing date Feb., 20 1775, the article reads thus,

   "To see what the town will vote Capt. John Stark, for his representing the town at the County Congress."

And at the meeting on the 6th day of March following, it was,

   "Voted on the Elliventh [sic] Artical [sic], to pay Capt. John Stark two Pounds, eight shillings Lawfull [sic] money, for his Attendances, at the Countey [sic] Congress."

From this vote it would seem that that [sic] there had been more than one meeting of the Congress; probably by adjournment. It does not appear from the records that Capt. Stark had been chosen by the people to represent them, and it is probable that he held his appointment from the Selectmen, or was elected at an informal public meeting.

However, the town prepared for contingencies, and in the warrant before refered [sic] to, of date February 20th, 1775, and article was inserted as follows;

   "9thly, To see if the town will Vote to Chues a man to Represent us In Countey Congress."

And at the meeting on the 6th of March following, it was "Voted Capt. John Stark to Represent the town at Countey Congress."

From these extracts it is apparent, that Capt. Stark was to represent the town in some future Congress, to be held by adjournment, or called if occasion demanded.

Of the proceedings of the Congress that had been held, we are entirely in the daek [sic], but judging form the effect, there can be but little doubt, that it was in contemplation, had the eastern section of the State proved recreant to the patriot cause, that the County of Hillsborough should have joined with Massachusetts, in opposing the oppressions of the British government.

Meantime on the 25th of January, 1775, the Convention met at Exeter. One hundred and forty-four delegates were present, making the largest Convention ever before held in this Province. This Convention chose Major J. Sullivan and Capt. J. Langdon delegates to the Congress to meet at Philadelphia in May; raised a Committee "to call a Provincial Convention of delegates when they shall judge the exigences [sic] of public affairs require it;" and voted a spirited address to the people of the Province, wherein the greivances [sic] of the people were set forth, and such measures were proposed as were in the opinion of the Convention best calculated to subserve the interests of the people.

The Convention adjourned, and its spirit became widely diffused over the Province. Out of the immediate vicinity of Portsmouth, and a few towns, where resided the friends of Governor Wentworth, and the officers of the Crown, the opposition to the measures of the British government was rife, embracing a large this, he strangely adopted the very course, best calculated to thwart his own designs, and render himself unpopular, so much of truth is there in the saying,

   "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."

The members of the Assembly were chosen in the several towns by virtue of writs directed through the Sheriff of the County to the towns in his precinct. These writs were issued by the Governor, and were called the "King's writs." To "make assurance doubly sure," Governor Wentworth determined to issue the King's writs to several new towns, which had never been represented, and where he knew none other than his personal friends would be elected; and to neglect to issue writs to certain old towns, where his opponents would be sure to be returned to the Assembly, as a majority of the people in them, were known to be staunch opposers to the oppressions of the British government. Writs ordering an election of members of the Assembly, which was to meet on the 4th day of May, were accordingly issued; but in this issue of writs the old and well populated towns of Allenstown, Bow, Canterbury, Chichester, Concord, Epson, Haverhill Hanover, Lebanon, and Pembroke were neglected; while the new and sparsely populated towns of Lime, Orford, and Plymouth, were ordered to elect members to the coming Assembly. The members returned from the new towns were Jacob Green, Esq., from Lyme, Israel Morey, Esq., Orford, and Col. John Fenton, Plymouth.

Col. Fenton was a particular friend of the Governor, had his residence in Portsmouth, and was Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, and Judge of Probate for Grafton County. The election of such a man under favorable circumstances would have been injudicious; but now when the colony was in a complete ferment, that the Governor should issue a writ to a newly incorporated town, of only a few inhabitants, and that an ultra tory, an inhabitant of Portsmouth, and a well known friend of the Governor and of his measures, should be returned as the representative from that town, the whole Province was in a turmoil.

The Assembly was ordered by proclamation to convene on the 4th day of May, 1775.

The Patriots were not idle. The Committee for calling a Convention, "should the exigencies of the public affairs require it," called a Convention of delegates, to meet at Exeter, on the 17th of May.

Footnotes

1The powder taken from the Fort was taken up tha [sic] river to Durham and Exeter, and [s]ecreted by the patriots. A portion of it was placed with a Mr. Demerit of Durham, familiarly known as "Deacon Demerit." He took down the wall on one side of his cell[a]r, made an excavation of sufficient capacity, put in the barrels of powder, and then replaced the wall in its proper position. Prior to the battle of Bunker Hill, Dea. Demerit, hauled a portion of this powder to Cambridge for the use of our army. When the fact is considered, that our defeat in that battle amounted almost to a victory; and that that defeat was mainly in consequence of a lack of ammunition, how important was the attack upon Fort Willi[i]m and Mary, which furnished our scanty supply of powder at Bunker Hill. Deacon Demerit, for a long time kept a sample of this powder, and a gentleman is now living, in Portsmouth, to whom he gave some of it for squirrel shooting after relating the taking of the Fort, remarking as he gave it to him, "here, try this powder, this is the kind we killed the red coats with at Bunker Hill." Return

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ALHN Hillsborough County


Email Kathy Chapter 18
History of Manchester
Hillsborough County
ALHN-New Hampshire
Created March 5, 2001
Copyright 2000, 2001