Whether the Governor will be thanked by administration for his Speech at the opening of the last Session of the General Court you can best tell. It is certain he has gain'd nothing by it here. The Replies of both Houses are read with High Approbation in more Colonies than one; and the People are more confirm'd in their sentiments and encourag'd to maintain them. With all his connections and abilities He is not able to alter the sentiments of this People; and reconcile them to the Measures of Governm't; and the more openly and Strenuously He exerts himself, his Influence and ability to promote such a Purpose becomes the less. This is obvious from the Una [ni]mity of both Houses as well as the Towns. He was obliged, He publicly declares, by the Town of Boston to bring on such an open Descussion. But might he not have expres'd his Dislike of their Proceedings without putting both Houses to the Necessity of declaring as they have done, and giving up by their Silence upon such a Challenge, the cause of their country. It was precisely this situation that in a great measure led the council I imagine to go so far as they did, and bro't them to declare an agreement with the House in the main Principles. The Governor having refus'd for some Time to pass the Grant for the Salary of the Judges for last year, tho't proper to sign it, upon which the House made another Grant for the year to come, which He did not allow; so that the Matter is not yet com [pleted?]. I have often recollected your predictions and Foresight in wishing and endeavoring for a settlement of these unhappy disputes several years ago. Time has verify'd the Truth of what you then observed, that the longer this was delayed the more difficult it would become. Had a composition been early made, only by anihilating Inovations, and recuring to the old course, which Time and Practice had sanctifyed, a veneration for the Supreme Authority of Parliament would have been unavoidably left upon the minds of the People Sufficient to have Answer'd all the Purposes that a wise and moderate administration could desire, which the Influence of the Crown, from the great Pow'r reserved by Charter to its representatives would have secretly and gradually extended itself within this Province. But administration misled by artful and interested men here, negotiating for Salaries Perquisites and Pensions has kept up the Contention, and instead of diminishing has added to the Grievances complain'd of. By this Means, the Matter of Right, which if it had slept had been more safe, has been upon the anvill perpetually, both in private conversation and printed Discussion. The Subject has been attended to for a number of years by an inquisitive and sensible People; It has been turn'd round in ev'ry Circle and view'd on all sides. The Effect has been a thoro and almost universal Persuasion that for a People to pay Taxes and be govern'd by Law to w'ch they do not consent is "Upon the convening of the General Assembly, the governor opened it with a long speech in defence of the absolute supremacy of Parliament over the colonies, inviting both Houses to offer what they had to object against this principle." From the same letter, . c., 37. 1 absolute Slavery; consequently, the British Parliament, according to Burlamqui's Destinction, whatever external Obligation it may retain among us, has lost the internal Obligation. The servants of the Crown ought to have foreseen this; and guarded ag'st it, instead of wch, while it has been growing up before their eyes, they have done evry Thing if not intentionally, yet in true Tendency to promote it. There has been a surprizing coincidence of Measure and events to such an Effect: and I should have tho't at the Time you left us, the revolution I now see in the Sentiments and Hearts of the People next to impossible. You know what has been —I write what is, without pretending to [predict?] what will be, only that I shall ever remain, with great esteem and affection yours, Obliged and Most Obedt humble Servt I write in Confidence as I have ever done. To Governor Pownall. Dear Sir XIV. SAMUEL COOPER TO THOMAS POWNALL. S. C. BOSTON 17 Aug 1774 My Retirement into the Country this Spring and Summer must be my apology for no sooner answering your last Favor." Y'r Advice is sound and good to preserve a Moderate and pacific Spirit, but under our peculiar circumstances accumulated Grievances ha[r]d to be practis'd. The Act for blockading the Port of Boston has been executed beyond the Rigor of the Act itself. The Fuel and Victuals are allow'd by it to be bro't us by water. would you believe that our coasters with wood have been not only obliged to stop at Salem for a Clearance, but totally to unload and reload in the way hither: and 240 Quintals sent by our Kind Friends at Marblehead to the distressed poor of this place were not allow'd to be water born not even over Charlestown Ferry, but transported round the country thro Roxbury in Waggons; and yet these are Facts on w'ch you may rely. We have now a Vice Admiral' and a Fleet in our Harbor, totally shutting up not only the entrance at the Light House, but 12 or 13 small Ports within that Point, such as Hingham, Weymouth etc., and allowing no Intercommunication between any of them. How much this affects the whole Province, the other Provinces, and what effect it must have on the Trade of Britain, you may easily judg. Even Salem severely feels the want of the Port for the Sale of their Cargoes etc. Lord North's Coasters, as the common people call the Trucks and Waggons carrying Goods between us and that Port, are constantly met on the Road, sometimes to the amount of 40 or 50 in a day. We have 4 Regiments encamp'd on the Common with a large train of Artillery: one on Fort 1 Jean Jacques Burlamaqui, the eminent Swiss publicist, author of Principes du Droit Naturel, Geneva, 1747, and Principes du Droit Politique, Geneva, 1751. ? Printed in Griffin, . c., 299. 3 Samuel Graves, afterwards admiral, commander-in-chief on the North American station. In 1776 he was superseded. hill: : one at the castle, another lately arriv'd f'm N. Scotia is station'd at Salem. The People endure all with an astonishing Calmness and Resolution; neither dismay'd nor tumultuous; supported and encourag'd by the Sympathy and generous Presents from all Quarters of the Country and from our Sister Colonies. These Presents are distributed by a Committee for employing the poor as the reward of Labor. Our Streets are paving public Works in Projection, and ships to be built and sold as a circulating Stock. How long this scene will last, God only knows. Our cause is regarded as a common one by all the Colonies. The most distant, the Carolinas and Virginia seem the most ardent. Our Delegates with those of N. Hampshire sat out a few days ago for the Congress to be held at Philadelphia 1" Septr. All the Colonies f'm Carolina to N. Hampshire will be represented there. All eyes are turn'd towards that important Assembly; and its Decision will [come] with great Weight. The long expected Bills for vacating the the' Charter etc. arriv'd about 10 days ago. I will make no reflections upon them. A number have refus'd to qualify as Councillors. Whether they will change their minds Time will discover. Among these are Capt Erving, Danforth, Russell, Noyes, Vassal, Green, and others. I can hear at present of not more than 12 that have taken the Oath. But a number live at a Distance, and have not yet had an opportunity of discovering their Inclination. Col. Hancock is dismissed f'm his Command of the Cadets upon w'ch the Company sent their Colors to the Governor and dissolv'd. I make no Conjectures of Futurity. We are in a critical Situation and must wait the event. Perhaps America may yet be sav'd: Heaven grant it To Govr. Pownall Sir, I am etc. yours S. COOPER.2 XV. SAMUEL COOPER TO THOMAS POWNALL. BOSTON N. ENGLAND. 28. March 1777 Believing it would not be disagreable to you, to hear I am well, and have still a respectful and affectionate Remembrance of you, after a long Intermission of writing to England, I embrace this opportunity of sending you a Line, returning you my Thanks for your last Letter, and the Book that accompanied it, tho upon the Subject of both present circumstances will not allow me to say a Word. If this short acknowledgment ever comes to you it will be delivered by Mr Hixon, a Native of Montserrat, and whose Estate lies in that Island - He was bound on a Plan of Business to London, by the way of 1 Sic. 2 A letter from Cooper to Pownall (King's MSS. 203), dated Boston, 9 September 1774, is here omitted, being a duplicate of one of the same date sent to Franklin, and printed in Sparks, . c., VIII. 132. Cork, and taken by an American Vessel of War, and brought to this Port, where he has resided ever since last October: In the mean Time he has married my only Daughter and Child. I should not have consented to this Alliance had I not found good Reason to esteem him a Gentleman of Probity and Worth. Your advice, in any Circumstance in which he may need it will particularly oblige me: He can give you a general account of the present Situation of Affairs in America. It will give me great Pleasure to hear of your Welfare. May Heaven grant you all good Things! Governor Pownall. I am Sir, with much Esteem, Your obedient hum' Servant S. C. REVIEWS OF BOOKS The Oldest Civilization of Greece. By H. R. HALL. (London : 1901. THIS is a series of "Studies of the Mycenaean Age," expanded from the notes of a scholar who as assistant in the British Museum has had exceptional control of the literature and monuments pertaining to the "Mycenæan Question." It is intended to be of use "both to the scientific archæological student and to the layman who interests himself in the most fascinating search which ever yet allured the seeker after forgotten history - the search for the origins of Greek civilization." It is not a comprehensive manual, but presupposes familiarity with Perrot and Chipiez's Histoire de l'Art, Schuchhardt's Schliemann's Excavations, and Tsountas and Manatt's Mycenæan Age. It has seventy-five carefully selected and well-executed illustrations, some twenty of which are new. In The text forms an admirable guide, either for the tyro or the specialist somewhat bewildered by the mass of his evidences, through the mazes of this difficult subject. In the purely archæological' parts of the book the author is fully alive to the uncertainty of much of the evidence adduced, and does not press conclusions beyond the tentative stage. the vexed and vexing questions of ethnography he is fairly conservative, but without bigotry. There are "Aryans" still, but the Hellenes are not pure Aryans, any more than the Chaldæans were pure Semites. And the "Pelasgians" are neither the "be all and the end all" in Mycenæan origins, as Professor Ridgeway would have us think, nor the myth of Eduard Meyer. 66 Mr. Hall's general conclusions may perhaps be summed up very briefly as follows: Greek civilization was as far removed as possible from being sui generis, since the Ægean basin was the natural meeting place for Eastern and Western influences. But the " Mycenæan" civilization was Greek in origin and general character, in spite of strong Oriental influences. It was 66 chiefly identified" with the Achæan Hellenes, though there were Mycenæan" peoples who were not Achæan, or even Greek. The beginnings of the "Mycenaean" culture were probably præ-Achæan, or "Pelasgic." Pelasgic." But towards the end of the third millennium B. C., the various tribes of "Pelasgians" were slowly reduced to the position of a subject race by Hellenic tribes from the north. A mixed race resulted, and a remarkable increment in culture; whereas the later and similar incursion of Hellenes from the north which we call the "Dorian invasion" was followed by a sudden decline in culture. |