Queen Mary, for uniting, erecting, and incorporating, the several colonies, territories, and tracts of land therein mentioned, into one real province, by the name of Their Majesties Province of the Massachusset's Bay, in New England; whereby it was, amongst other things, ordained and established, That the governor of the said province should, from thenceforth, be appointed and commissionated by their Majesties, their heirs and successors: It was, however, granted and ordained,.. the... number of eight and twenty counsellors or assistants should yearly,.. be, by the general court or assembly, newly chosen: And whereas the said method of electing such counsellors... hath, by repeated experience, been found to be extremely ill adapted to the plan of government established in the province of the Massachuset's Bay, . and... the manner of exercising the powers, authorities, and privileges aforesaid, by the persons so annually elected, hath, for some time past, been such as had the most manifest tendency to obstruct, and in great measure, defeat, the execution of the laws; to weaken the attachment of his Majesty's well-disposed subjects in the said province to his Majesty's government, and to encourage the ill-disposed among them to proceed even to acts of direct resistance to, and defiance of, his Majesty's authority: And it hath accordingly happened, that an oben resistance to the execution of the laws hath actually taken place in the town of Boston... And whereas it is... become absolutely necessary that the said method of annually electing the counsellors or assistants of the said province should no longer be suffered to continue... Be it therefore enacted... That from and after the first day of August, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, so much of the charter, granted... to the inhabitants...of the Massachuset's Bay, in New England... which relates to the time and manner of electing the assistants or counsellors for the said province, be revoked,.. and that the offices of all counsellors and assistants, elected... in pursuance thereof, shall from thenceforth cease and determine: And that, from and after the said first day of August, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, the council,.. for the time being, shall be composed of such of the inhabitants... within the same as shall be... appointed by his Majesty,.. agreeable to the practice now used in respect to the appointment of counsellors in such of his Majesty's other colonies in America, the governors whereof are appointed by commission under the great seal of Great Britain: provided, that the number of the said assistants or counsellors shall not, at any one time, exceed thirty-six, nor be less than twelve... ... III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and seventy four, it shall... be lawful for his Majesty's governor... to... appoint,..and also to remove, without the consent of the council, all judges of the inferior courts of common pleas, commissioners of Oyer and Terminer, the attorney general, provosts, marshals, justices of the peace, and other officers to the council or courts of justice belonging; .. V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That, from and after the said first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, it shall... be lawful for his Majesty's governor...to ...appoint the sheriffs without the consent of the council, and to remove such sheriffs with such consent, and not otherwise. VI. And be it further enacted... That, upon every vacancy of the officers of chief justice and judges of the superior court of the said province, from and after the said first day of July... the governor... without the consent of the council, shall have full power and authority to... appoint the persons to succeed to the said offices, who shall hold their commissions during the pleasure of his Majesty... VII. And whereas, by several acts of the general court, which have been from time to time enacted and passed within the said province, the freeholders and inhabitants of the several townships... are authorised to assemble together, annually, or occasionally, upon notice given ...for the choice of select men, constables, and other officers, and for the making and agreeing upon such necessary rules, orders, and byelaws, for the... ordering, the prudential affairs of such townships.. and whereas a great abuse has been made of the power of calling such meetings, and the inhabitants have, contrary to the design of their institution, been misled to treat upon matters of the most general concern, and to pass many dangerous and unwarrantable resolves: for remedy whereof, be it enacted, That from and after the said first day of August, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, no meeting shall be called by the select men, or at the request of any number of freeholders of any township... without the leave of the governor... in writing, expressing the special business of the said meeting, . . except the annual meeting in the months of March or May, for the choice of select men, constables, and other officers, . . and also, except any meeting for the election of a representative or representatives in the general court; and that no other matter shall be treated of at such meetings, except the election of their aforesaid officers or representatives, nor at any other meeting, except the business expressed in the leave given by the governor, or, in his absence, by the lieutenant-governor. VIII. And whereas the method at present used in the province of Massachuset's Bay, in America, of electing persons to serve on grand juries, and other juries, by the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns, affords occasion for many evil practices, and tends to pervert the free and impartial administration of justice: for remedy whereof, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That, from and after ... the holding of the general sessions of the peace... within the said province, next after the month of September, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, the jurors to serve... in the several counties within the said province, shall not be elected... by the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns... nor summoned or returned by the constables of the said towns; but that, from thenceforth, the jurors... shall be summoned and returned by the sheriffs of the respective counties within the said province; and all writs... to be issued for the return of jurors to serve at the said courts, shall be directed to the sheriffs of the said counties respectively, any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding. 41. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT One of the "Intolerable Acts," passed May 20, 1774. WHEREAS in his Majesty's province of Massachusett's Bay, in New England, an attempt hath lately been made to throw off the authority of the parliament of Great Britain over the said province, and an actual and avowed resistance, by open force, to the execution of certain acts of parliament, hath been suffered to take place, uncontrouled and unpunished, in defiance of his Majesty's authority, and to the utter subversion of all lawful government: .. be it enacted... That if any inquisition or indictment shall be found, or if any appeal shall be sued or preferred against any person, for murder, or other capital offence, in the province of the Massachusett's Bay, and it shall appear, by information given upon oath to the governor,.. that the fact was committed by the person ... either in the execution of his duty as a magistrate, for the suppression of riots... or in acting in his duty as an officer of revenue, or in acting under the direction and order of any magistrate, for the suppression of riots, or for the carrying into effect the laws of revenue... and it shall also appear, to the satisfaction of the said governor... that an indifferent trial cannot be had within the said province, in that case, it shall and may be lawful for the governor... to direct, with the advice and consent of the council, that the inquisition, indictment, or appeal, shall be tried in some other of his Majesty's colonies, or in Great Britain;.. taking a recognizance... from such person, with sufficient sureties... as the said governor... shall deem reasonable, for the personal appearance of such person, if the trial shall be appointed to be had in any other colony, before the governor, or lieutenant-governor, or commander in chief of such colony; and if the trial shall be appointed to be had in Great Britain, then before his Majesty's court of King's Bench, at a time to be mentioned in such recognizances... II. And, to prevent a failure of justice, from the want of evidence on the trial of any such inquisition, indictment or appeal, be it further enacted, That the governor... is hereby authorised and required, to bind... all such witnesses as the prosecutor or person against whom such... indictment shall be found... shall desire to attend the trial ... for their personal appearance, at the time and place of such trial, to give evidence:.. all prosecutors and witnesses, who shall be under recognizances to appear in any of his Majesty's colonies in America, or in Great Britain, in pursuance of this act, shall be free from all arrests ... during their going to such colony, or coming to Great Britain, and their necessary stay and abiding there, on occasion of such prosecution, and returning again to the said province of the Massachusset's Bay. IV... all... his Majesty's justices of the peace, and other justices and coroners, before whom any person shall be brought, charged with murther, or other capital crime, where it shall appear by proof, on oath, to such justices or coroners, that the fact was committed by such person, either in the execution of his duty as a magistrate... or in acting in his duty as an officer of revenue, or in acting under the direction and order of any magistrate,.. are hereby authorised and required to admit every such person so brought before him or them, as aforesaid, to bail; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary thereof in any-wise notwithstanding. 42. THE CALL OF THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS Earlier motions toward a Continental Congress had come from Virginia and Rhode Island. The Massachusetts lower house in the following resolutions, June 17, 1774, fixed the date and place for the meeting. Peter Force, American Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. 1, pp. 421. Washington, 1837. Massachusetts House of Representatives THE late Honourable House of Representatives of this Province, having finished all the ordinary public business of importance that had been before them, on Friday, June 17, 1774, came into the following Reso lutions; present, one hundred and twenty-nine members, and only. twelve dissentients, viz: In the House of Representatives, June 17, 1774 This House having duly considered, and being deeply affected with the unhappy differences which have long subsisted, and are increasing, between Great Britain and the American Colonies, do resolve, that a meeting of Committees, from the several Colonies on this Continent is highly expedient and necessary, to consult upon the present state of the Colonies, and the miseries, to which they are, and must be reduced, by the operation of certain Acts of Parliament respecting America; and to deliberate and determine upon wise and proper measures to be by them recommended to all the Colonies, for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liberties, civil and religious, and the restoration of union and harmony between Great Britain and the Colonies, most ardently desired by all good men. Therefore, resolved, That the Honourable James Bowdoin, Esq., the Honourable Thomas Cushing, Esq., Mr. Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Robert Treat Paine, Esquires, be and they are hereby appointed a Committee on the part of this Province, for the purposes aforesaid, any three of whom to be a quorum, to meet such Committees Delegates from the other Colonies, as have been or may be appointed, either by their respective Houses of Burgesses or Representatives, or by Convention, or by the Committees of Correspondence appointed by the respective Houses of Assembly, to meet in the City of Philadelphia, or any other place that shall be judged most suitable by the Committee on the first day of September next; and that the Speaker of the House be directed, in a letter to the Speakers of the Houses of Burgesses or Representatives in the several Colonies, to inform them of the substance of these resolves. 43. THE QUEBEC ACT Colonial public opinion listed the Quebec Act among the repressive acts of the British ministry. In one sense the act was the result of long ministerial deliberation as to the establishment of a just government in the province of Quebec. However there is no question that the extension of the bounds of Quebec to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers was intended to check frontier development and private purchases of land from the Indians and to keep the west as a preserve for the fur trade. This act was passed June 22, 1774. Pickering, Statutes at Large, Vol. 30, pp. 549–553. |