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rant, (unless in cases where a special jury shall be struck by

order or rule of courts, pursuant to this act,) annex a pan-

nel to the said writ, or process, or warrant, containing the

christian and surnames, additions, and places of abode, of

a competent number of jurors, named in such lists, which

number of jurors shall not be less than twenty- four, nor

more than forty-eight, without direction of the judges or

justices of such court or session, or one of them, who are

hereby respectively impowered and required, if he or they

fee cause, by order, under his or their respective hand or

hands, to direct a greater number; and then such number

as shall be so directed shall be the number to be returned

to serve on such jury.

XIX. And be it further enacted by the authority afore-

said, That for the trials of all actions or fruits depending in

any of the said courts, the name of each and every person

who shall be summoned and returned as aforesaid, with his

addition, and the place of his abode, shall be written in sev-

eral and distinct pieces of parchment, or paper, being all as

near as may be of equal size and bigness, and shall be

delivered unto the officer to be appointed by the court for

that purpose, by the sheriff, under sheriff, or some agent

of his; and shall, by direction and care of such officer, be

rolled up all as near as may be, in the same manner, and

put together in a box or glass, to be provided for that pur-

pose; and when any cause shall be brought on to be tried,

some indifferent person, by direction of the court, may and

shall, in open court, draw out twelve of the said parch-

ments or papers, one after another; and if any of the per-

sons, whose names shall be so drawn, shall not appear, or

shall be challenged, and such challenge allowed, then such

person shall proceed to draw other parchments or papers

from the said box, till twelve indifferent persons shall be

drawn; which twelve indifferent persons being sworn shall

be the jury to try the said cause: and the names of the per-

sons so drawn and sworn shall be kept apart by themselves

in some other box or glass, to be kept for that purpose, till

such jury shall have given in their verdict, and the same is

recorded, or until such jury shall, by consent of the parties,

or leave of the court, be discharged; and then the same

names shall be rolled up again, and returned to the former

box or glass, there to be kept, with the other names

remaining at that time undrawn, and so toties quoties, as

long as any cause remains then to be tried.

XX. And be it further enacted by the authority afore-

said, That it shall and may be lawful to and for the superior

court of assize, and court of common pleas, upon motion

made on behalf of his Majesty, his heirs or successors, or on

the motion of any prosecutor or defendant, in any indict-

ment or information for any misdemeanor depending, or to

be brought or prosecuted in the said court, or on the

motion of any plaintiff or plaintiffs, defendant or defen-

dants, in any action, cause, or suit whatsoever, depending,

or to be brought and carried on in the said court, and the

said court is hereby authorised and required, upon motion

as aforesaid, in any of the cases before mentioned, to order

the appoint a jury to be struck for the trial of any issue

joined in any of the said cases, and triable by a jury of

twelve men, by such officer of the said court as the court

shall appoint; and for that purpose the sheriff, or his

deputy, shall attend such officer with the duplicate of the

lists of persons qualified to serve on juries; and such officer

shall thereupon take down, in writing, from the said dupli-

cate, the names of forty-eight persons qualified to serve on

juries, with their additions, and places of abode, a copy

whereof shall forthwith be delivered to the prosecutors or

plaintiffs, their attornies or agents, and another copy

thereof to the defendants, their attornies or agents, in such

prosecutions and causes; and the said officer of the court

aforesaid shall, at a time to be fixed by him for that pur-

pose, strike out the names of twelve of the said persons, at

the nomination of the prosecutors or plaintiffs, their

attornies or agents, and also the names of twelve others of

the said persons, at the nomination of the said defendants

in such prosecutions and suits, and the twenty-four remain-

ing persons shall be struck and summoned, and returned to

the said court as jurors, for the trial of such issues.

XXI. Provided always, that in case the prosecutors or

plaintiffs, or defendants, their attornies or agents, shall

neglect or refuse to attend the officer at the time fixed for

striking the names of twenty-four persons as aforesaid, or

nominate the persons to be struck out; then, and in such

case, the said officer shall, and he is hereby required to

strike out the names of such number of said persons as

such prosecutors or plaintiffs, or defendants, might have

nominated to be struck out.

XXII. And be it further enacted, That the person or

party who shall apply for such special jury is aforesaid, shall

not only bear and pay the fees for striking such jury, but

shall also pay and discharge all the expenses occasioned by

the trial of the cause by such special jury, and shall not

have any further or other allowance for the same, upon tax-

ation of costs, than such person or party would be intitled

unto in case the cause had been tried by a common jury,

unless the judge, before whom the cause is tried, shall,

immediately after the trial, certify, in open court, under his

hand, upon the back of the record, that the same was a

cause proper to be tried by a special jury.

XXIII. And be it further enacted by the authority

aforesaid, That, in all actions brought in any of the said

courts, where it shall appear to the court in which such

actions are depending, that it will be proper and necessary

that the jurors who are to try the issues in any such actions,

should have the view of the messuages, lands, or place in

262 ERA 3: Revolution and New Nation

question, in order to their better understanding the evi-

dence that will be given upon the trial of such issues; in

every such case the respective courts in which such actions

shall be depending may order the jury to the place in ques-

tion, who then and there shall have the matters in question

shewn them by two persons to be appointed by the court;

and the special costs of all such views as allowed by the

court, shall, before the trial, be paid by the party who

moved for the view, (the adverse party not consenting

thereto;) and shall, at the taxation of the bill of costs, have

the same allowed him, upon his recovering judgement in

such trial; and upon all views with the consent of parties,

ordered by the court, the costs thereof, as allowed by the

court, shall, before trial, be equally paid by the said parties;

and in the taxation of the bill of costs, the party recovering

judgement shall have the sum by him paid allowed to him;

any law, usage, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding.

XXIV. And be it further enacted by the authority

aforesaid, That if any action shall be brought against any

sheriff, for what he shall do in execution, or by virtue of

this act, he may plead the general issue, and give the spe-

cial matter in evidence; and if a verdict shall be found for

him, he shall recover treble costs.

Administration of Justice Act, 1774

Passed by the British Parliament May 21, 1774, its purpose

was to quell the fears of royal officials in Massachusetts by

providing that judges, soldiers, and revenue officers indicted

for murder or other serious crimes committed in the execution

of their official duties could be tried in Great Britain or another

colony, thus avoiding hostile juries in Massachusetts. The act

was viewed by the colonists as an attempt by Britain to impose

a military despotism on Massachusetts.

________________________

_______________________

An Act

For the impartial administration of justice in the cases of

persons questioned for any acts done by them in the execu-

tion of the law, or for the suppression of riots and tumults,

in the province of the Massachuset’s Bay, in New England.

Whereas in his Majesty’s province of Massachuset’s

Bay, in New England, an attempt hath lately ben made to

throw off the authority of the parliament of Great Britain

over the said province, and an actual and avowed resis-

tance, by open force, to the execution of certain acts of par-

liament, 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: and

whereas, in the present disordered state of the said

province, it is of the utmost importance to the general wel-

fare thereof, and to the re-establishment of lawful author-

ity throughout the same, that neither the magistrates

acting in support of the laws, nor any of his Majesty’s sub-

jects aiding and assisting them therein, or in the suppres-

sion of riots and tumults, raised in opposition to the

execution of the laws and statutes of this realm, should be

discouraged from the proper discharge of their duty, by an

apprehension, that in case of their being questioned for any

acts done therein, they may be liable to be brought to trial

for the same before persons who do not acknowledge the

validity of the laws, in the execution thereof, or the author-

ity of the magistrate in the support of whom, such acts had

been done: in order therefore to remove every such dis-

couragement from the minds of his Majesty’s subjects, and

to induce them, upon all proper occasions, to exert them-

selves in support of the public peace of the province, and of

the authority of the King and parliament of Great Britain

over the same; be it enacted by the King’s most excellent

majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords

spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present par-

liament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That

any inquisition or indictment shall be found, or if any

appeal shall be sued or preferred against any person, for

murther, or other capital offence, in the province of the

Massachuset’s Bay, and it shall appear, by information

given upon oath to the governor, or, in his absence, to the

lieutenant-governor of the said province, that the fact was

committed by the person against whom such inquisition or

indictment shall be found, or against whom such appeal

shall be sued or perferred, as aforesaid, either in the exe-

cution of his duty as a magistrate, for the suppression of

riots, or in the support of the laws of revenue, 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,

or in aiding and assisting in any of the cases aforesaid; and

if it shall also appear, to the satisfaction of the said gover-

nor, or lieutenant-governor respectively, that an indifferent

trial cannot be had within the said province, in that case, it

shall and may be lawful for the governor, or lieutenant-

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; and for that purpose, to order the person against

whom such inquisition or indictment shall be found, or

against whom such appeal shall be sued of preferred, as

aforesaid, to be sent, under sufficient custody, to the place

appointed for his trial, or to admit such person to bail, tak-

ing a recognizance, (which the said governor, or, in his

absence, the lieutenant-governor, is hereby authorized to

take), from such person, with sufficient sureties, to be

approved of by the said governor, or, in his absence, the

lieutenant-governor, in such sums of money as the said

governor, or, in his absence, the lieutenant-governor, shall

Events Leading Up to the American Revolution 263

deem reasonable, for the personal appearance of such per-

son, 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; and the governor, or lieutenant gov-

ernor, or commander in chief of the colony where such

trial shall be appointed to be had, or court of King’s Bench,

where the trial is appointed to be had in Great Britain,

upon the appearance of such person, according to such

recognizance, or in custody, shall either commit such per-

son, or admit him to bail, until such trial; and which the

said governor, or lieutenant-governor, or commander in

chief, and court of King’s Bench, are hereby authorised

and impowered to do.

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, or, in his

absence, the lieutenant-governor, shall, and he is hereby

authorised and required, to bind in recognizances to his

Majesty all such witnesses as the prosecutor or person

against whom such inquisition or indictment shall be found,

or appeal sued or preferred, shall desire to attend the trial

of the said inquisition, indictment, or appeal, for their per-

sonal appearance, at the time and place of such trial, to give

evidence: and the said governor, or in his absence, the lieu-

tenant-governor, shall thereupon appoint a reasonable sum

to be allowed for the expences of every such witness, and

shall thereupon give to each witness a certificate, in writing,

under his hand and seal, that such witness has entered into

a recognizance to give evidence, and specifying the sum

allowed for his expences; and the collector and collectors of

the customs, or one of them, within the said province, upon

the delivery of such certificate, are, and is hereby autho-

rised and required, forthwith to pay to such witness the

sum specified therein for his expences.

III. And be it further enacted by the authority afore-

said, That 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 and restraints, in any

action or suit to be commenced against them during their

going to such colony, or coming to Great Britain, and their

necessary stay and abiding there, on occasion of such pros-

ecution, and returning again to the said province of the

Massachusset’s Bay.

IV. And be it further enacted by the authority afore-

said, That all and every 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 jus-

tice or coroners, that the fact was committed by such per-

son, either in the execution of his duty as a magistrate, for

the suppression of riots, or in the support of the laws of

revenue, 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, or in aiding and assisting in any of the

cases aforesaid, 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-wife notwithstanding.

V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,

That where it shall be made appear to the judges or

justices of any court, within the said province of Mas-

sachuset’s Bay, by any person, against whom any inquisi-

tion or indictment, shall be found or appeal sued or

preferred for murther, or other capital crime that the fact

was committed by such person, either in the execution of

his duty as a magistrate, for the suppression of riots, or in

the support of the laws of revenue, 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, or in aid-

ing and assisting in any of the cases aforesaid, and that he

intends to make application to the governor, or lieutenant-

governor of the said province that such inquisition, indict-

ment, or appeal, may be tried in some other of his

Majesty’s colonies, or in Great Britain, the said judges or

justices are hereby authorised and required to adjourn or

postpone the trial of such inquisition, indictment, or

appeal, for a reasonable time, and admit the person to bail,

in order that he may make application to the governor, or

lieutenant-governor, for the purpose aforesaid.

VI. And be it further enacted, That the governor, or, in

his absence, the lieutenant-governor, if he shall direct the

trial to be had in any other of his Majesty’s colonies, shall

transmit the inquisition, indictment, or appeal, together

with recognizances of the witnesses, and other recog-

nizances, under the seal of the province, to the governor,

or lieutenant-governor, or commander in chief of such

other colony, who shall immediately issue a commission of

Oyer and Terminer, and deliver, or cause to be delivered,

the said inquisition, indictment, or appeal, with the said

recognizances to the chief justice, and such other persons

as have usually been commissioners of Oyer and Terminer,

justices of assize, or general goal delivery there; who shall

have power to proceed upon the said inquisition, indict-

ment, or appeal, as if the same had been returned, found,

or preferred before them, and the trial shall thereupon

proceed in like manner, to all intents and purposes, as if

the offence had been committed in such place: and in case

the governor, or, in his absence, the lieutenant-governor,

264 ERA 3: Revolution and New Nation

shall direct the trial to be had in Great Britain, he shall

then transmit the inquisition, indictment, or appeal,

together with the recognizances, of the witnesses, and

other recognizances, under the seal of the province, to one

of Majesty’s principal secretaries of slate, who shall deliver,

or cause to be delivered, the same, to the master of the

crown office, to be filed of record in the court of King’s

Bench, and the inquisition, indictment, or appeal, shall be

tried and proceeded upon, in the next term, or at such

other time as the court shall appoint, at the bar of the court

of King’s Bench, in like manner, to all intents and purposes,

as if the offence had been committed in the county of Mid-

dlesex, or in any other county of that part of Great Britain

called England, where the court of King’s Bench shall sit,

or else before such commissioners, and in such county, in

that part of Great Britain called England, as shall be

assigned by the King’s majesty’s commission, in like man-

ner and form, to all intents and purposes, as if such offence

had been committed in the same country where such

inquisition, indictment, or appeal, shall be so tried.

VII. And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That

in case, on account of any error or defect in any indict-

ment, which, in virtue or under the authority of this act,

shall be transmitted to any other colony, or to Great

Britain, the same shall be qualified, or judgment thereon

arrested, or such indictment adjudged bad upon demurrer,

it shall and may be lawful to prefer a new indictment or

indictments against the person or persons accused in the

said colony, to which such indictment, so qualified or

adjudged bad, shall have been transmitted, or before the

grand jury of any country in Great Britain, in safe such for-

mer indictment shall have been transmitted to Great

Britain, in the same manner as could be done in safe the

party accused should return to the place where the offence

was committed; and the grant jury and petty jury of such

other colony or county in Great Britain shall have power to

find and proceed upon such indictment or indictments, in

the same manner as if the offence, by such indictment or

indictments charged, had been committed within the lim-

its of the colony or county for which such juries shall

respectively be impanelled to serve.

VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority afore-

said, That this act, and every clause, provision, regulation,

matter, and thing, herein contained, shall commence and

take effect upon the first day of June, one thousand seven

hundred and seventy-four; and be, and continue in force,

for and during the term of three years.

Source:

Danby Pickering, ed. Statutes at Large. Vols. 25 and 30.

Cambridge, Mass. J. Bentham, 1762–1867, pp. 336–341,

366–371; 381–390.

Quebec Act, 1774

Act passed by the British Parliament June 22, 1774, that pro-

vided Quebec with an appointed council and governor, pre-

served the authority of French civil law, permitted the practice

of Roman Catholicism, and extended the boundaries of the

province southward to the Ohio River and westward to the

Mississippi River. The law was ostensibly passed to create a

practical governmental framework for the former French

colony, which had been without an official government since

it became a British colony under the Proclamation of 1763.

But to the American colonists, the act was another punishment

for the Boston Tea Party of December 1773. Extending Que-

bec’s boundaries so far south and north cut off colonial

prospects for western expansion, and the recognition of

Roman Catholicism was especially odious to many Protestants

in the colonies. The colonists included the Quebec Act in their

list of Coercive or Intolerable Acts, a series of laws adopted by

Parliament in 1774 and deemed coercive and intolerable by

the colonists, which served as one of the immediate causes of

the Revolutionary War.

________________________

_______________________

An Act for making more effectual Provision for the Gov-

ernment of the Province of Quebec in North America.

WHEREAS his Majesty, by his Royal Proclamation

bearing Date the seventh Day of October, in the third Year

of his Reign, thought fit to declare the Provisions which

had been made in respect to certain Countries, Territories,

and Islands in America, ceded to his Majesty by the defini-

tive Treaty of Peace, concluded at Paris on the tenth day of

February, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three:

And whereas, by the Arrangements made by the said Royal

Proclamation a very large Extent of Country, within which

there were several Colonies and Settlements of the Sub-

jects of France,.who claimed to remain therein under the

Faith of the said Treaty, was left, without any Provision

being made for the Administration of Civil Government

therein; and certain Parts of the Territory of Canada,

where sedentary Fisheries had been established and car-

ried on by the Subjects of France, Inhabitants of the said

Province of Canada under Grants and Concessions from

the Government thereof, were annexed to the Govern-

ment of Newfoundland, and thereby subjected to Regula-

tions inconsistent with the Nature of such Fisheries:

I. May it therefore please your most Excellent Majesty

that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King’s

most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Con-

sent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,

in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Author-

ity of the same: That all the Territories, Islands,.and Coun-

tries in North America, belonging to the Crown of Great

Events Leading Up to the American Revolution 265

Britain, bounded on the South by a Line from the Bay of

Chaleurs, along the High Lands which divide the Rivers

that empty themselves into the River Saint Lawrence from

those which fall into the Sea,.to a Point in forty-five

Degrees of Northern Latitude, on the Eastern Bank of the

River Connecticut, keeping the same Latitude directly

West, through the Lake Champlain, until, in the same Lat-

itude, it meets the River Saint Lawrence: from thence up

the Eastern Bank of the said River to the Lake Ontario;

thence through the Lake Ontario, and the River commonly

call Niagara and thence along by the Eastern and South-

eastern Bank of Lake Erie, following the said Bank, until

the same shall be intersected by the Northern Boundary,

granted by the Charter of the Province of Pennsylvania, in

case the same shall be so intersected: and from thence

along the said Northern and Western Boundaries of the

said Province, until the said Western Boundary strike the

Ohio: But in case the said Bank of the said Lake shall not

be found to be so intersected, then following the said Bank

until it shall arrive at that Point of the said Bank which

shall be nearest to the North-western Angle of the said

Province of Pensylvania, and thence by a right Line, to the

said North-western Angle of the said Province; and thence

along the Western Boundary of the said Province, until it

strike the River Ohio; and along the Bank of the said River,

Westward, to the Banks of the Mississippi, and Northward

to the Southern Boundary of the Territory granted to the

Merchants Adventurers of England, trading to Hudson’s

Bay; and also all such Territories, Islands, and Countries,

which have, since the tenth of February, one thousand

seven hundred and sixty-three, been made Part of the

Government of Newfoundland, be, and they are hereby,

during his Majesty’s Pleasure, annexed to, and made Part

and Parcel of, the Province of Quebec, as created and

established by the said Royal Proclamation of the seventh

of October, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three.

II. Provided always:.That nothing herein contained,

relative to the Boundary of the Province of Quebec, shall

in anywise affect the Boundaries of any other Colony.

III. Provided always, and be it enacted: That nothing

in this Act contained shall extend, or be construed to

extend, to make void, or to vary or alter any Right, Title, or

Possession, derived under any Grant, Conveyance, or oth-

erwise nowsoever, of or to any Lands within the said

Province, or the Provinces thereto adjoining; but that the

same shall remain and be in Force, and have Effect, as if

this Act had never been made.

IV. And whereas the Provisions, made by the said

Proclamation, in respect to the Civil Government of the

said Province of Quebec, and the Powers and Authorities

given to the Governor and other Civil Officers of the said

Province, by the Grants and Commissions issued in conse-

quence thereof, have been found, upon Experience, to be

inapplicable to the State and Circumstances of the said

Province, the Inhabitants whereof amounted, at the Con-

quest, to above sixty-five thousand Persons professing the

Religion of the Church of Rome, and enjoying an estab-

lished Form of Constitution and System of Laws, by which

their Persons and Property had been protected, governed,

and ordered, for a long Series of Years, from the first

Establishment of the said Province of Canada; be it there-

fore further enacted by the Authority aforesaid: That the

said Proclamation, so far as the same relates to the said

Province of Quebec, and the Commission under the

Authority whereof the Government of the said Province is

at present administered, and all and every the Ordinance

and Ordinances made by the Governor and Council of

Quebec for the Time being, relative to the Civil Govern-

ment and Administration of Justice in the said Province,

and all Commissions to Judges and other Officers thereof,

be, and the same are hereby revoked, annulled, and made

void, from and after the first Day of May, one thousand

seven hundred and seventy-five.

V. And, for the more perfect Security and Ease of the

Minds of the Inhabitants of the said Province, it is hereby

declared: That his Majesty’s Subjects, professing the Reli-

gion of the Church of Rome of and in the said Province of

Quebec, may have, hold, and enjoy, the free Exercise of

the Religion of the Church of Rome, subject to the King’s

Supremacy, declared and established by an Act, made in

the first Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, over all the

Dominions and Countries which then did, or thereafter

should belong, to the Imperial Crown of this Realm; and

that the Clergy of the said Church may hold, receive, and

enjoy, their accustomed Dues and Rights, with respect to

such Persons only as shall profess the said Religion.

VI. Provided nevertheless: That it shall be lawful for

his Majesty, his Heirs or Successors, to make such Provi-

sion out of the rest of the said accustomed Dues and

Rights, for the Encouragement of the Protestant Religion,

and for the Maintenance and Support of a Protestant

Clergy within the said Province, as he or they shall, from

Time to Time think necessary and expedient.

VII. Provided always, and be it enacted: That no Per-

son professing the Religion of the Church of Rome, and

residing in the said Province, shall be obliged to take the

Oath required by the said Statute passed in the first Year

of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, or any other Oaths sub-

stituted by any other Act in the Place thereof; but that

every such Person who, by the said Statute, is required to

take the Oath therein mentioned, shall be obliged, and is

hereby required, to take and subscribe the following Oath

before the Governor, or such other Person in such Court

of Record as his Majesty shall appoint, who are hereby

authorized to administer the same; videlicet, I A.B., do sin-

cerely promise and swear: That I will be faithful, and bear

266 ERA 3: Revolution and New Nation

true Allegiance to his Majesty King George, and him will

defend to the utmost of my Power, against all traitorous

Conspiracies, and Attempts whatsoever, which shall be

made against his Person, Crown, and Dignity; and I will do

my utmost Endeavor to disclose and make known to his

Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, all Treasons, and

traitorous Conspiracies, and Attempts, which I shall know

to be against him, or any of them; and all this I do swear

without any Equivocation, mental Evasion, or secret

Reservation, and renouncing all Pardons and Dispensa-

tions from any Power or Person whomsoever to the con-

trary. So help me GOD. And every such Person, who shall

neglect or refuse to take the said Oath before mentioned,

shall incur and be liable to the same Penalties, Forfeitures,

Disabilities, and Incapacities, as he would have incurred

and been liable to for neglecting or refusing to take the

Oath required by the said Statute passed in the first Year

of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.

VIII. And be it further enacted by the Authority afore-

said: That all his Majesty’s Canadian Subjects within the

Province of Quebec, the religious orders and Communi-

ties only excepted, may also hold and enjoy their Property

and Possessions, together with all Customs and Usages rel-

ative thereto, and all other their Civil Rights, in as large,

ample, and beneficial Manner, as if the said Proclamation,

Commissions, Ordinances, and other Acts and Instru-

ments had not been made, and as may consist with their

Allegiance to his Majesty, and Subjection to the Crown and

Parliament of Great Britain; and that in all .Matters of

Controversy, relative to Property and Civil Rights, Resort

shall be had to the Laws of Canada, as the Rule for the

Decision of the same; and all Causes that shall hereafter be

instituted in any of the Courts of Justice, to be appointed

within and for the said Province by his Majesty, his Heirs

and Successors, shall, with respect to such Property and

Rights, be determined agreeably to the said Laws and Cus-

toms of Canada, until they shall be varied or altered by any

Ordinances that shall, from Time to Time, be passed in the

said Province by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or

Commander in Chief, for the Time being, by and with the

Advice and Consent of the Legislative Council of the

same, to be appointed in Manner herein-after mentioned.

IX. Provided always: That nothing in this Act con-

tained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to any

Lands that have been granted by his Majesty, or shall here-

after be granted by his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors,

to be holden in free and common Soccage.

X. Provided also: That it shall and may be lawful to and

for every Person that is Owner of any Lands, Goods, or

Credits, in the said Province, and that has a Right to alien-

ate the said Lands, Goods, or Credits, in his or her Life-

time, by Deed of Sale, Gift, or otherwise, to devise or

bequeath the same at his or her Death, by his or her last

Will and Testament; any Law, Usage, or Custom, hereto-

fore or now prevailing in the Province, to the contrary

hereof in any-wise notwithstanding; such Will being exe-

cuted either according to the Laws of Canada, or accord-

ing to the Forms prescribed by the Laws of England.

XI. And whereas the Certainty and Lenity of the

Criminal Law of England, and the Benefits and Advan-

tages resulting from the Use of it, have been sensibly felt

by the Inhabitants, from an Experience of more than nine

Years, during which it has been uniformly administered: be

it therefore further enacted by the Authority aforesaid:

That the same shall continue to be administered, and shall

be observed as Law in the Province of Quebec, as well in

the Description and Quality of the Offence as in the

Method of Prosecution and Trial; and the Punishments

and Forfeitures thereby inflicted to the Exclusion of every

other Rule of Criminal Law, or Mode of Proceeding

thereon, which did or might prevail in the said Province

before the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred

and seventy-four; any Thing in this Act to the contrary

thereof in any respect notwithstanding; subject neverthe-

less to such Alterations and Amendments as the Governor,

Lieutenant-governor, or Commander in Chief for the

Time being, by and with the Advice and Consent of the

legislative Council of the said Province, hereafter to be

appointed, shall, from Time to Time, cause to be made

therein, in Manner hereinafter directed.

XII. And whereas it may be necessary to ordain many

Regulations for the future Welfare and good Government

of the Province of Quebec, the Occasions of which cannot

now be foreseen, nor, without much Delay and Inconve-

nience, be provided for, without intrusting that Authority,

for a certain Time, and under proper Restrictions, to Per-

sons resident there, and whereas it is at present inexpedi-

ent to call an Assembly; be it therefore enacted b~ the

Authority aforesaid: That it shall and may be lawful for his

Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, by Warrant under his or

their Signet or Sign Manual, and with the Advice of the

Privy Council, to constitute and appoint a Council for the

Affairs of the Province of Quebec, to consist of such Per-

sons resident there, not exceeding twenty-three, nor less

than seventeen, as his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors,

shall be pleased to appoint, and, upon the Death,

Removal, or Absence of any of the Members of the said

Council, in like Manner to constitute and appoint such and

so many other Person or Persons as shall be necessary to

supply the Vacancy or Vacancies; which Council, so

appointed and nominated, or the major Part thereof; shall

have Power and Authority to make Ordinances for the

Peace, Welfare, and good Government, of the said

Province, with the Consent of his Majesty’s Governor, or,

in his Absence, of the Lieutenant-governor, or Comman-

der in Chief for the Time being.

Events Leading Up to the American Revolution 267

XIII. Provided always: That nothing in this Act con-

tained shall extend to authorize or impower the said leg-

islative Council to lay any Taxes or Duties within the said

Province, such Rates and Taxes only excepted as the

Inhabitants of any Town or District within the said

Province may be authorized by the said Council to assess,

levy, and apply, within the said Town or District, for the

Purpose of making Roads, erecting and repairing publick

Buildings, or for any other Purpose respecting the local

Convenience and Oeconomy of such Town or District.

XIV. Provided also, and be it enacted by the Authority

aforesaid: That every Ordinance so to be made, shall,

within six Months, be transmitted by the Governor, or, in

his Absence, by the Lieutenant-governor, or Commander

in Chief for the Time being, and laid before his Majesty for

his Royal Approbation; and if his Majesty shall think fit to

disallow thereof, the same shall cease and be void from the

Time that his Majesty’s Order in Council thereupon shall

be promulgated at Quebec.

XV. Provided also: That no Ordinance touching Reli-

gion, or by which any Punishment may be inflicted greater

than Fine or Imprisonment for three Months, shall be of

any Force or Effect, until the same shall have received his

Majesty’s Approbation.

XVI. Provided also: That no Ordinance shall be

passed at any Meeting of the Council where less than a

Majority of the whole Council is present, or at any Time

except between the first Day of January and the first Day

of May, unless upon some urgent Occasion, in which Case

every Member thereof resident at Quebec, or within fifty

Miles thereof, shall be personally summoned by the Gov-

ernor, or, in his absence, by the Lieutenant-governor, or

Commander in Chief for the Time being, to attend the

same.

XVII. And be it further enacted by the Authority

aforesaid: That nothing herein contained shall extend, or

be construed to extend, to prevent or hinder his Majesty,

his Heirs and Successors, by his or their Letters Patent

under the Great Seal of Great Britain, from erecting, con-

stituting, and appointing, such Courts of Criminal, Civil,

and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction within and for the said

Province of Quebec, and appointing, from Time to Time,

the Judges and Officers thereof, as his Majesty, his Heirs

and Successors, shall think necessary and proper for the

Circumstances of the said Province.

XVIII. Provided always, and it is hereby enacted: That

nothing in this Act contained shall extend, or be construed

to extend, to repeal or make void, within the said Province

of Quebec, any Act or Acts of the Parliament of Great

Britain heretofore made, for prohibiting, restraining, or

regulating, the Trade or Commerce of his Majesty’s

Colonies and Plantations in America; but that all and every

the said Acts, and also all Acts of Parliament heretofore

made concerning or respecting the said Colonies and Plan-

tations, shall be, and are hereby declared to be, in Force,

within the said Province of Quebec, and every Part

thereof.

Source:

America’s Homepage. Available on-line. URL: http://ahp.gatech.

edu/quebec_act_1774.html

Suffolk Resolves, 1774

Set of resolutions written by Dr. Joseph Warren and presented

at a convention in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, on Septem-

ber 9, 1774. The meeting was one of many convened in Mass-

achusetts to protest the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts. The

Suffolk Resolves declared the Coercive Acts unconstitutional

and refused obedience to them; urged withholding taxes from

the royal government until the Coercive Acts were repealed

and recommended that, in the interim, the people of Mass-

achusetts form a government with the power to collect taxes;

advised the formation of an armed militia; and recommended

the imposition of economic sanctions against Britain. Adopted

unanimously by the convention, the resolutions were immedi-

ately carried by Paul Revere to the First Continental Congress,

which was meeting in Philadelphia. They were endorsed by

that body on September 17, 1774.

While Virginia was preparing to elect its delegates to the

First Continental Congress, in July 1774, Thomas Jefferson

(absent due to illness) drafted instructions for them. Printed as

a pamphlet, it outlined his republicanism and enhanced his

reputation as a revolutionary. Another 1774 pamphlet, by

future signer of the U.S. Constitution James Wilson of Penn-

sylvania, argued that the British Parliament had no power over

the colonies, and that allegiance was only owed to the Crown.

________________________

_______________________

The Congress met according to adjournment.

Richard Caswell, Esqr. one of the deputies from

North-Carolina, appeared, and took his seat in Congress.

The Resolutions entered into by the delegates from

the several towns and districts in the county of Suffolk, in

the province of the Massachusetts-bay, on Tuesday the 6th

instant, and their address to his excellency Govr. Gage,

dated the 9th instant, were laid before the congress, and

are as follows:

At a meeting of the delegates of every town & district

in the county of Suffolk, on Tuesday the 6th of Septr., at

the house of Mr. Richard Woodward, of Deadham, & by

adjournment, at the house of Mr. [Daniel] Vose, of Milton,

on Friday the 9th instant, Joseph Palmer, esq. being cho-

sen moderator, and William Thompson, esq. clerk, a com-

mittee was chosen to bring in a report to the convention,

268 ERA 3: Revolution and New Nation

and the following being several times read, and put para-

graph by paragraph, was unanimously voted, viz. Whereas

the power but not the justice, the vengeance but not the

wisdom of Great-Britain, which of old persecuted,

scourged, and exiled our fugitive parents from their native

shores, now pursues us, their guiltless children, with unre-

lenting severity: And whereas, this, then savage and uncul-

tivated desart, was purchased by the toil and treasure, or

acquired by the blood and valor of those our venerable

progenitors; to us they bequeathed the dearbought inheri-

tance, to our care and protection they consigned it, and the

most sacred obligations are upon us to transmit the glori-

ous purchase, unfettered by power, unclogged with shack-

les, to our innocent and beloved offspring. On the

fortitude, on the wisdom and on the exertions of this

important day, is suspended the fate of this new world, and

of unborn millions. If a boundless extent of continent,

swarming with millions, will tamely submit to live, move

and have their being at the arbitrary will of a licentious

minister, they basely yield to voluntary slavery, and future

generations shall load they memories with incessant exe-

crations.—On the other hand, if we arrest the hand which

would ransack our pockets, if we disarm the parricide

which points the dagger to our bosoms, if we nobly defeat

that fatal edict which proclaims a power to frame laws for

us in all cases whatsoever, thereby entailing the endless

and numberless curses of slavery upon us, our heirs and

their heirs forever; if we successfully resist that unparal-

leled usurpation of unconstitutional power, whereby our

capital is robbed of the means of life; whereby the streets

of Boston are thronged with military executioners;

whereby our coasts are lined and harbours crouded with

ships of war; whereby the charter of the colony, that sacred

barrier against the encroachments of tyranny, is mutilated

and, in effect, annihilated; whereby a murderous law is

framed to shelter villains from the hands of justice;

whereby the unalienable and inestimable inheritance,

which we derived from nature, the constitution of Britain,

and the privileges warranted to us in the charter of the

province, is totally wrecked, annulled, and vacated, poster-

ity will acknowledge that virtue which preserved them free

and happy; and while we enjoy the rewards and blessings

of the faithful, the torrent of panegyrists will roll our rep-

utations to that latest period, when the streams of time

shall be absorbed in the abyss of eternity.—Therefore, we

have resolved, and do resolve,

1. That whereas his majesty, George the Third, is the

rightful successor to the throne of Great-Britain, and justly

entitled to the allegiance of the British realm, and agree-

able to compact, of the English colonies in America—

therefore, we, the heirs and successors of the first planters

of this colony, do cheerfully acknowledge the said George

the Third to be our rightful sovereign, and that said

covenant is the tenure and claim on which are founded our

allegiance and submission.

2. That it is an indispensable duty which we owe to

God, our country, ourselves and posterity, by all lawful

ways and means in our power to maintain, defend and pre-

serve those civil and religious rights and liberties, for

which many of our fathers fought, bled and died, and to

hand them down entire to future generations.

3. That the late acts of the British parliament for

blocking up the harbour of Boston, for altering the estab-

lished form of government in this colony, and for screen-

ing the most flagitious violators of the laws of the province

from a legal trial, are gross infractions of those rights to

which we are justly entitled by the laws of nature, the

British constitution, and the charter of the province.

4. That no obedience is due from this province to

either or any part of the acts above-mentioned, but that

they be rejected as the attempts of a wicked administration

to enslave America.

5. That so long as the justices of our superior court of

judicature, court of assize, &c. and inferior court of com-

mon pleas in this county are appointed, or hold their

places, by any other tenure than that which the charter and

the laws of the province direct, they must be considered as

under undue influence, and are therefore unconstitutional

officers, and, as such, no regard ought to be paid to them

by the people of this county.

6. That if the justices of the superior court of judica-

ture, assize, &c. justices of the court of common pleas, or

of the general sessions of the peace, shall sit and act dur-

ing their present disqualified state, this county will sup-

port, and bear harmless, all sheriffs and their deputies,

constables, jurors and other officers who shall refuse to

carry into execution the orders of said courts; and, as far as

possible, to prevent the many inconveniencies which must

be occasioned by a suspension of the courts of justice, we

do most earnestly recommend it to all creditors, that they

shew all reasonable and even generous forbearance to

their debtors; and to all debtors, to pay their just debts

with all possible speed, and if any disputes relative to debts

or trespasses shall arise, which cannot be settled by the

parties, we recommend it to them to submit all such causes

to arbitration; and it is our opinion that the contending

parties or either of them, who shall refuse so to do, ought

to be considered as co-operating with the enemies of this

country.

7. That it be recommended to the collectors of taxes,

constables and all other officers, who have public monies

in their hands, to retain the same, and not to make any pay-

ment thereof to the provincial county treasurer until the

civil government of the province is placed upon a constitu-

tional foundation, or until it shall otherwise be ordered by

the proposed provincial Congress.

Events Leading Up to the American Revolution 269

8. That the persons who have accepted seats at the

council board, by virtue of a mandamus from the King,

in conformity to the late act of the British parliament,

entitled, an act for the regulating the government of the

Massachusetts-Bay, have acted in direct violation of the

duty they owe to their country, and have thereby given

great and just offence to this people; therefore, resolved,

that this county do recommend it to all persons, who have

so highly offended by accepting said departments, and

have not already publicly resigned their seats at the coun-

cil board, to make public resignations of their places at said

board, on or before the 20th day of this instant, Septem-

ber; and that all persons refusing so to do, shall, from and

after said day, be considered by this county as obstinate

and incorrigible enemies to this country.

9. That the fortifications begun and now carrying on

upon Boston Neck, are justly alarming to this county, and

gives us reason to apprehend some hostile intention

against that town, more especially as the commander in

chief has, in a very extraordinary manner, removed the

powder from the magazine at Charlestown, and has also

forbidden the keeper of the magazine at Boston, to deliver

out to the owners, the powder, which they had lodged in

said magazine.

10. That the late act of parliament for establishing the

Roman Catholic religion and the French laws in that

extensive country, now called Canada, is dangerous in an

extreme degree to the Protestant religion and to the civil

rights and liberties of all America; and, therefore, as men

and Protestant Christians, we are indispensably obliged to

take all proper measures for our security.

11. That whereas our enemies have flattered them-

selves that they shall make an easy prey of this numerous,

brave and hardy people, from an apprehension that they

are unacquainted with military discipline; we, therefore,

for the honour, defence and security of this county and

province, advise, as it has been recommended to take away

all commissions from the officers of the militia, that those

who now hold commissions, or such other persons, be

elected in each town as officers in the militia, as shall be

judged of sufficient capacity for that purpose, and who

have evidenced themselves the inflexible friends to the

rights of the people; and that the inhabitants of those

towns and districts, who are qualified, do use their utmost

diligence to acquaint themselves with the art of war as

soon as possible, and do, for that purpose, appear under

arms at least once every week.

12. That during the present hostile appearances on the

part of Great-Britain, notwithstanding the many insults

and oppressions which we most sensibly resent, yet, nev-

ertheless, from our affection to his majesty, which we have

at all times evidenced, we are determined to act merely

upon the defensive, so long as such conduct may be vindi-

cated by reason and the principles of self-preservation, but

no longer.

13. That, as we understand it has been in contempla-

tion to apprehend sundry persons of this county, who have

rendered themselves conspicuous in contending for the

violated rights and liberties of their countrymen; we do

recommend, should such an audacious measure be put in

practice, to seize and keep in safe custody, every servant of

the present tyrannical and unconstitutional government

throughout the county and province, until the persons so

apprehended be liberated from the hands of our adver-

saries, and restored safe and uninjured to their respective

friends and families.

14. That until our rights are fully restored to us, we

will, to the utmost of our power, and we recommend the

same to the other counties, to withhold all commercial

intercourse with Great-Britain, Ireland, and the West-

Indies, and abstain from the consumption of British mer-

chandise and manufactures, and especially of East-India

teas and piece goods, with such additions, alterations, and

exceptions only, as the General Congress of the colonies

may agree to.

15. That under our present circumstances, it is incum-

bent on us to encourage arts and manufactures amongst

us, by all means in our power, and that be and are hereby

appointed a committee, to consider of the best ways and

means to promote and establish the same, and to report to

this convention as soon as may be.

16. That the exigencies of our public affairs, demand

that a provincial Congress be called to consult such mea-

sures as may be adopted, and vigorously executed by the

whole people; and we do recommend it to the several

towns in this county, to chuse members for such a provin-

cial Congress, to be holden at Concord, on the second

Tuesday of October, next ensuing.

17. That this county, confiding in the wisdom and

integrity of the continental Congress, now sitting at

Philadelphia, pay all due respect and submission to such

measures as may be recommended by them to the

colonies, for the restoration and establishment of our just

rights, civil and religious, and for renewing that harmony

and union between Great-Britain and the colonies, so

earnestly wished for by all good men.

18. That whereas the universal uneasiness which pre-

vails among all orders of men, arising from the wicked and

oppressive measures of the present administration, may

influence some unthinking persons to commit outrage

upon private property; we would heartily recommend to

all persons of this community, not to engage in any routs,

riots, or licentious attacks upon the properties of any per-

son whatsoever, as being subversive of all order and gov-

ernment; but, by a steady, manly, uniform, and persevering

opposition, to convince our enemies, that in a contest so

270 ERA 3: Revolution and New Nation

important, in a cause so solemn, our conduct shall be such

as to merit the approbation of the wise, and the admiration

of the brave and free of every age and of every country.

19. That should our enemies, by any sudden manoeu-

vres, render it necessary to ask the aid and assistance of our

brethren in the country, some one of the committee of cor-

respondence, or a select man of such town, or the town

adjoining, where such hostilities shall commence, or shall

be expected to commence, shall despatch couriers with

written messages to the select men, or committees of cor-

respondence, of the several towns in the vicinity, with a

written account of such matter, who shall despatch others

to committees more remote, until proper and sufficient

assistance be obtained, and that the expense of said couri-

ers be defrayed by the county, until it shall be otherwise

ordered by the provincial Congress.

At a meeting of delegates from the several towns and

districts in the county of Suffolk, held at Milton, on Friday,

the 9th day of September, 1774—Voted,

That Dr. Joseph Warren, of Boston, &c. be a commit-

tee to wait on his excellency the governor, to inform him,

that this county are alarmed at the fortifications making on

Boston Neck, and to remonstrate against the same, and the

repeated insults offered by the soldiery, to persons passing

and repassing into that town, and to confer with him upon

those subjects.

Attest,

William Thompson, Clerk.

“To his excellency Thomas Gage, Esq. captain-general, and

commander in chief of his majesty’s province of Mass-

achusetts-Bay.

“May it please your excellency,

“The county of Suffolk, being greatly, and, in their

opinion, justly alarmed at the formidable appearances of

hostility, now threatening his majesty’s good subjects of

this county, and more particularly of the town of Boston,

the loyal and faithful capital of this province, beg leave to

address your excellency, and represent, that the appre-

hensions of the people are more particularly encreased

by the dangerous design, now carrying into execution, of

repairing and manning the fortifications at the south

entrance of the town of Boston, which, when completed,

may, at any time, be improved to aggravate the miseries

of that already impoverished and distressed city, by inter-

cepting the wonted and necessary intercourse between

the town and country, and compel the wretched inhabi-

tants to the most ignominious state of humiliation and

vassalage, by depriving them of the necessary supplies of

provision, for which they are chiefly dependant on that

communication. We have been informed, that your excel-

lency, in consequence of the application of the select men

of Boston, has, indeed, disavowed any intention to injure

the town in your present manoeuvres, and expressed your

purpose to be for the security of the troops and his

majesty’s subjects in the town, we are therefore at a loss

to guess, may it please your excellency, from whence your

want of confidence in the loyal and orderly people of this

vicinity could originate; a measure, so formidable, carried

into execution from a pre-conceived though causeless

jealousy of the insecurity of this majesty’s troops and sub-

jects in the town, deeply wounds the loyalty, and is an

additional injury to the faithful subjects of this county,

and affords hem a strong motive for this application. We

therefore intreat your excellency to desist from your

design, assuring your excellency, that the people of this

county, are by no means disposed to injure his majesty’s

troops; they think themselves aggrieved and oppressed by

the late acts of parliament, and are resolved, by Divine

assistance, never to submit to them, but have no inclina-

tion to commence a war with his majesty’s troops, and

beg leave to observe to your excellency, that the ferment

now excited in the minds of the people, is occasioned by

some late transactions, by seizing the powder in the arse-

nal at Charlestown; by withholding the powder lodged in

the magazine of the town of Boston, from the legal pro-

prietors; insulting, beating, and abusing passengers to

and from the town by the soldiery, in which they have

been encouraged by some of their officers; putting the

people in fear, and menacing them in their nightly pat-

role into the neighbouring towns, and more particularly

by the fortifying the sole avenue by land to the town of

Boston.

“In duty therefore to his majesty and to your excel-

lency, and for the restoration of order and security to this

county, we the delegates from the several towns in this

county, being commissioned for this purpose, beg your

excellency’s attention to this our humble and faithful

address, assuring you, that nothing less than an immediate

removal of the ordnance, and restoring the entrance into

the town to its former state, and an effectual stop of all

insults and abuses in future, can place the inhabitants of

this county in that state of peace and tranquillity, in which

every free subject ought to be.”

His excellency was waited on to know if he would

receive the committee with the above written address, but

desiring he might have a copy of it in a private way, that

so when he received it from the committee, he might

have an answer prepared for them, he was accordingly

furnished with a copy. His excellency than declared,

that he would receive the committee on Monday, at 12

o’clock.

Saturday, September 18, 1774

The Congress, taking the foregoing into consideration,

Events Leading Up to the American Revolution 271