CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY. 267 IX. and from that time forward he could never read the Acts of CHAP. Trade without anger, "nor any section of them without a curse.' "1 Yet the eloquence of Otis did not carry the day. The old members of the Superior Court and the "friends of liberty" inclined to his side; but the plausible Hutchinson, determined not to yield to the pressure of public opinion, " prevailed with his brethren to continue the cause to the next term, and in the mean time wrote to England" for definite instructions. The answer was in his favor; and when it came, notwithstanding the charge of illegality was untouched, writs of assistance were granted by the court whenever the revenue officers applied for the same.2 1761. Before the controversy was renewed, an ominous change took place in the ministry. Pitt, the "great commoner," resigned his office, and the Earl of Egremont became his suc- Oct. 2. cessor.3 The king, bent on securing "to the court the unlimited and uncontrolled use of its vast influence, under the sole direction of its private favor," 4 was seconded in his purpose by the Earl of Bute, his obsequious friend and willing tool. Pitt was in the way of the accomplishment of this object. His unyielding integrity would stoop to no chicanery. Confiding in his own judgment, and relying too much, perhaps, on its fallible dictates, he was unwilling to listen to the suggestions of others; and, by taking decided ground in opposition to the wishes of the court, he provoked the enmity of those who envied his abilities and hated him for his firmness. His place was no longer desirable, and he surrendered the seals into the hands of the king. The friends of Bute wished him "joy of being delivered of a most impracticable colleague, his majesty Novanglus, App. 269; Bancroft, iv. 218. * Hutchinson, iii. 96; Bancroft, iv. 418. * Trumbull MSS. ii. 15; Letter of Earl of Egremont of Oct. 19, 1761, announcing the resignation of Pitt; 4 Burke's Works, i. 358; Bancroft, iv. 387. 268 OPPOSITION TO THE GOVERNOR. IX. CHAP. of a most imperious servant, and the country of a most dan gerous minister." But there were not wanting those who 1761. viewed his withdrawal in a different light. The nation was "thunderstruck, alarmed, and indignant;' the people of America, who almost idolized him, heard of his resignation with the deepest regret; and the changes which followed hastened the period of conflict with the crown. Not immediately did the storm burst, though the clouds were gathering and the winds were rising. In this brief interval Otis again entered the field as the champion of the people; Sep. 15. and, resenting a stretch of authority in the governor, who had presumed to interfere with the rights of the House, by recommending provisions for the continuance of pay to the crews of the vessels employed for the protection of the province, he drew up a remonstrance, condemning his conduct as taking from the House "their most darling privilege, the right of originating all taxes," and as "annihilating," at a blow, “one branch of the legislature." 2 In such cases, he urged, it would be of little consequence to the people "whether they were subject to George or Louis, the King of Great Britain or the King of France, if both were arbitrary, as both would be if they could levy taxes without Parliament." This remonstrance was sent to the governor, but was returned the same day in a private letter to the speaker, with the advice that he should recommend to the House not to enter it upon their records without expunging from it that passage in which "the king's name was used with a freedom which was not decent." Otis resisted this proposal, but at length expressed his willingness so far to modify his language as to insert the saving clause, "with all due reverence to his majes ty's sacred person and government;" but the friends of the governor cried, "Erase them! erase them!" and they were ordered to be expunged. Otis defended his course in a pam 1 Doddington's Diary; N. A. Rev. for Oct. 1842; Bancroft, iv. 412. 2 Hutchinson, iii. 97. OTIS'S SPEECH AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 269 phlet which he published at the close of the session, and the CHAP. character of the governor was attacked in the newspapers.1 IX. The controversy upon the currency was of minor impor- 1761. tance, though it called forth again the energies of Otis. A bill was reported, and passed in the House, making gold a legal tender in the payment of debts. The council non-concurred. A conference ensued; and, after the subject had been fully discussed, the House persisted in adhering to their determination, and the Council, as firm, refused to sanction the bill. Yet it passed at a subsequent date; and gold, as well as silver, was made a lawful tender.2 The speech of Mr. Otis at the conclusion of the French war, 1763. and upon the reception of the news that peace had been proclaimed, may be considered as expressing the views of Massachusetts at that time. "We in America," said he, " have certainly abundant reasons to rejoice. The heathen are not only driven out, but the Canadians, much more formidable enemies, are conquered, and become fellow-subjects. The British dominion and power may now be said, literally, to extend from sea to sea, and from the great river to the ends of the earth. And we may safely conclude, from his majesty's wise administration hitherto, that liberty and knowledge, civil and religious, will be coextended, improved, and preserved to the latest posterity. No other constitution of civil government has yet appeared in the world so admirably adapted to these great purposes as that of Great Britain. Every British subject in America is, of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God and nature, entitled to all the essential privileges of Britons. By particular charters there are peculiar privileges granted, as in justice they might and ought, in consideration of the arduous undertaking to begin so glorious an empire as 1 Otis's Vindication, 15. Hutchinson, iii. 97, 98, alters the language, and with it the sense. * Hutchinson's Corresp. ii.; Boston Evening Post for Dec. 14, 1761; Con- 270 LOYALTY OF THE COLONISTS. CHAP. British America is rising to. These jealousies, that some weak IX. and wicked minds have endeavored to infuse with regard to 1763. the colonies, had their birth in the blackness of darkness; and it is great pity they had not remained there forever. The true interests of Great Britain and her plantations are mutual; and what God in his providence has united let no man dare attempt to pull asunder."1 These words, which came from his heart, met with a response as cordial as it was sincere. The loyalty of the colonists at this date stands unimpeached; and, doubtless, their union with the mother country might have continued much longer, had it not been for the misconduct of the counsellors of the king. Upon them must rest the responsibility of the measures which followed, and not upon the people of the thir teen colonies. 1 Hutchinson, iii. 101, 102. CHAPTER X. BEGINNING OF THE STRUGGLE. THE STAMP ACT. X. Feb. 7. THE peace of Paris was as joyously welcomed in America as CHAP. in England. The seven years' war, which had convulsed the civilized world, had terminated in favor of the rivals of France, 1763. and the bounds of the Gallican empire in the west had been largely restricted. Freed from fears of aggressions from the north, and at peace with the Indians by a judicious policy, the inhabitants of New England and of the other British colonies cherished the hope that a brighter day was about to dawn, and that an unbounded career of happiness was before them. But, though loyal addresses were forwarded to the king, and public testimonials of gratitude were offered, the people were destined quite early to learn that the very successes which had attended the English arms were ominous of evil to them, and that the policy which the statesmen of England had long been maturing was to be more fully developed, and applied with a rigorousness far exceeding any former oppressions. It was unfortunate for England that the men who at this time managed her political affairs were lacking in the wisdom, and eschewed the modderation, which could alone secure to her the benefit of her triumphs. Ignorant of the geography of the country and of the character of its residents, few were familiar with the history of America, and none fully sympathized with, or even comprehended, the opinions which prevailed here. Looking at politics from a different standpoint, the statesmen of the new world, versed in the principles of natural law, demanded, not as a favor, but as a matter of justice, equality with their fellow-subjects, and |