Boston Massacre

– An Anonymous Account Essay, Research Paper

Boston Massacre- an anonymous accountTHE HORRID MASSACRE IN BOSTON, PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THEFIFTH DAY OF MARCH, 1770, BY SOLDIERS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENTWHICH WITH THE FOURTEENTH REGIMENT WERE THEN QUARTERED THERE;WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THINGS PRIOR TO THATCATASTROPHEIt may be a proper introduction to this narrative, briefly to represent the state of things for some time previous to the saidMassacre; and this seems necessary in order to the forming a just idea of the causes of it.At the end of the late [French and Indian] war, in which this province bore so distinguished a part, a happy union subsistedbetween Great Britain and the colonies. This was unfortunately interrupted by the Stamp Act; but it was in some measurerestored by the repeal of it. It was again interrupted by other acts of parliament for taxing America; and by the appointment ofa Board of Commissioners, in pursuance of an act, which by the face of it was made for the relief and encouragement ofcommerce, but which in its operation, it was apprehended, would have, and it has in fact had, a contrary effect. By the saidact the said Commissioners were “to be resident in some convenient part of his Majesty’s dominions in America.” This mustbe understood to be in some part convenient for the whole. But it does not appear that, in fixing the place of their residence,the convenience of the whole was at all consulted, for Boston, being very far from the centre of the colonies, could not be theplace most convenient for the whole. Judging by the act, it may seem this town was intended to be favored, by theCommissioners being appointed to reside here; and that the consequence of that residence would be the relief andencouragement of commerce; but the reverse has been the constant and uniform effect of it; so that the commerce of the town,from the embarrassments in which it has been lately involved, is greatly reduced.The residence of the Commissioners here has been detrimental, not only to the commerce, but to the political interests of thetown and province; and not only so, but we can trace from it the causes of the late horrid massacre. Soon after their arrivalhere in November, 1767, instead of confining themselves to the proper business of their office, they became partizans ofGovernor Bernard in his political schemes; and had the weakness and temerity to infringe upon one of the most essentialrights of the house of commons of this province-that of giving their votes with freedom, and not being accountable thereforbut to their constituents. One of the members of that house, Capt. Timothy Folgier, having voted in some affair contrary tothe mind of the said Commissioners, was for so doing dismissed from the office he held under them.These proceedings of theirs, the difficulty of access to them on office-business, and a supercilious behavior, rendered themdisgustful to people in general, who in consequence thereof treated them with neglect. This probably stimulated them toresent it; and to make their resentment felt, they and their coadjutor, Governor Bernard, made such representations to hisMajesty’s ministers as they thought best calculated to bring the displeasure of the nation upon the town and province; and inorder that those representations might have the more weight, they are said to have contrived and executed plans for excitingdisturbances and tumults, which otherwise would probably never have existed; and, when excited, to have transmitted to theministry the most exaggerated accounts of them.Unfortunately for us, they have been too successful in their said representations, which, in conjunction with GovernorBernard’s, have occasioned his Majesty’s faithful subjects of this town and province to be treated as enemies and rebels, byan invasion of the town by sea and land; to which the approaches were made with all the circumspection usual where avigorous opposition is expected. While the town was surrounded by a considerable number of his Majesty’s ships of war,two regiments landed and took possession of it; and to support these, two other regiments arrived some time after fromIreland; one of which landed at Castle Island, and the other in the town.Thus were we, in aggravation of our other embarrassments, embarrassed with troops, forced upon us contrary to ourinclination-contrary to the spirit of Magna Charta-contrary to the very letter of the Bill of Rights, in which it is declared, thatthe raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with the consent of parliament, isagainst law, and without the desire of the civil magistrates, to aid whom was the pretence for sending the troops hither; whowere quartered in the town in direct violation of an act of parliament for quartering troops in America; and all this inconsequence of the representations of the said Commissioners and the said Governor, as appears by their memorials andletters lately published.As they were the procuring cause of troops being sent hither, they must therefore be the remote and a blameable cause of allthe disturbances and bloodshed that have taken place in consequence of that measure.We shall next attend to the conduct of the troops, and to some circumstances relative to them. Governor Bernard withoutconsulting the Council, having given up the State House to the troops at their landing, they took possession of the chambers,where the represent