Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (New Draft of the Senate) IN SENATE, Oct 22a, 1783. WHEREAS in the time of the late war, the Governor with the advice of Council was pleased for certain reasons to order that John Temple, Esq, should enter into bonds with sureties, conditioned that he would not do or say any thing in opposition to or in prejudice of the proceedings of Congress or of the Assembly or Council of this State; and that he would not directly or indirectly give any intelligence to the enemies of the United States: And the said Temple did enter into bond accordingly, And whereas it does not appear to this Court that any reasons now remain why he should continue under the said bond. RESOLVED, as the opinion of this Court, that the Governor discharge the said John Temple, Esq', from the said bond. (New draft of the House) Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In Senate, Oct 22, 1783. WHEREAS during the late war the conduct of John Temple, Esq', in passing to & from the enemies of these States, without the permission in such cases required by the laws & customs of nations at war, & on pretences not well explained, excited in the free citizens of these United States many & just suspicions touching his designs; in consequence whereof & by due precaution to prevent any harm to the Commonwealth the Governor with the advice & consent of the Council did, on the twenty fourth day of December, A. D. 1781, cause the said John Temple, Esq, to enter into bond to this Common A B wealth, in the penal sum of Two thousand pounds, with two sureties, conditioned that he would not do or say any thing in opposition to or prejudice of the proceed ings of Congress, or of the Assembly or Council of this State, and that he would not directly or indirectly give any intelligence to the enemies of the United States And whereas it appears to this Court that the reasons for which he was laid under bond ceased with the war Therefore RESOLVED that the said John Temple, Esq', be & he is hereby discharged from the said bond & the same is hereby declared null & void; And the Treasurer of this Commonwealth is directed to cancel & deliver the same bond to him accordingly. The foregoing six pages contain true copies of the originals. Attest. JOHN AVERY, Sec. JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.* THE HON. THOS POWNALL, ESQR. BOSTON, Nov 20, 1783. DR SIR, -I am honoured by your letter of ye 28th Feb last. Its coming by way of Paris & Phil occasioned my not receiving it till October. The General Court was then sitting, and as your congratulations on American Independence could not be communi. so well as by y' own letter, I sent it to the President of y° Senate who publickly read it to them, as the Speaker afterwards did to y° House of Representatives. It was rec" in both houses with pleasure & gave general satisfaction. The event upon which you congratulate us is really an extraordinary one. I consider it with you, "as ye visible interposition of divine providence, superceeding the ordinary course of human affairs." Among y agreable consequences that are likely to arise from it, your intended visit to this country will *This letter is printed from Bowdoin's rough draught. It was communicated to the Society by the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, in October, 1861, and was first printed in the Proceedings, vol. v. pp. 245, 246. But it is believed that the letter to which it is an answer, and the subsequent correspondence on the same subject, except Bowdoin's letter of Aug. 21, 1784, have not been printed before. - Eds. ch be one. To us of the old race it will give y sincerest pleasure to see our old friend; and to none of them more than to myself. When you come you will scarcely see any other than new faces. Tho' this is naturally to be expected after so long absence, the change woh in that respect has happened within the few years since ye revolution is as remarkable as yo revolution itself. It seems to have anticipated the time when "all old things shall be done away and all things become new." I observe it is your plan to purchase in America, with a view of spending yo remainder of y' days in it, if you find things as you wish. There are several very agreable places within a few miles of Boston weh I suppose may be purchased with good buildings & accommodations to them with a quantity of land from 50 to 100 acres or a sufficiency for experiments and y rural amusement of a gent", but I do not know of a number of farms lying together that are to be purchased, tho' money eno' will command anything. Of rough lands at a distance, there is enough to be had; but these do not correspond to your description. I will make further enquiry, and if I sha be informed of a situa. answering to that description, I will give you notice of it. In yo mean while lay aside every apprehension of uncivil treatment in travelling through this country. Every gent" from every country, excepting American refugees, against whom y° spirit of resentment continues high, may travel with y same freedom as formerly. Your intention of beginning y establishment of a professorship of political law in our University, on y basis you describe from Cicero, intitles you not only to the thanks of that society but of every person who wishes well to the Commonwealth. It would be an excellent institution, and would hand down to posterity wth honour yo name of ye founder. But I am afraid your intention, and expectations from y Pownalborough land will be disappointed. The property of it as I am informed has been alienated at public vendue for ye non-payment of taxes. Whether ye time for redeeming it limited by law be expired, I cannot tell. I have wrote to a gent" there to make critical enquiry about the taxes, y sale, ye time of redemption, and every particular that will serve to give a right idea of this matter, about wch you shall be further informed. In my letter to you by Mr Temple in May, 1779, I acquainted you I had på for you a small tax on that land, and that if you desired it, I wd pay ye future taxes, but as I did not hear from you about it, I imagined you did not choose in so hazardous a state of things to risk any money upon ye land. I communicated to D' Cooper your letter and ye inclosed deed of ye sd land, and at the next meeting shall lay them before y° Corporation of ye College, who individually are already made acquainted with them. Mr Temple, by whom you'll receive this letter, goes to England with his family by this opportunity. He will be able to give a full account of everything you wd wish to know of y situation of things on this side of the water. Wishing you every happiness, I am, wth yo sincerest esteem & ye most cordial affection, d' Sir, Yrs. &c. I had y pleasure of writing to you in Augt last p* M* Gorham and since p'. THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN. RICHMOND, Dec 9, 83. MY DE FRIEND, I siezed the first oportunity wch of fered after the signing of the Preliminaries of Peace, when our King had from the throne declared his acknowledgement of the independant souvereignty of N. America to congratulate you on this declared establishment in peace; and in March last wrote a long letter to you which Dr Franklin undertook to convey & forward. He has since by a note I have received from him acquainted me that he did so forward my letters with his own & that the ship by wch they were sent was arrived. By a letter dated March 17, 1779, which I had the pleasure of receiving from you, you acquainted me that the lands which I held in Pownalborough & which (as I informed you) I intended to give to Harvard College were not sold, as others were in common, but that a gentleman at your request had undertaken to pay the taxes for me. During the warr I could not safely or properly take any step in that business, except saying that if the taxes were paid I would, when I could do it properly, repay the person who advanced them. This I wrote to you in the spring following. The moment however that the preliminaries were signed I made out a full power of attorney to yourself & Dr Cooper, jointly or seperately, to make in my name a grant of these lands to the College as therein expressed. I enclosed this in my letter of March last. Having never received any answer from you or Dr Cooper or the College on that head I must suppose either that my letters or your answer must have miscarried.* I have therefore made out a second power of the same purport & tenor which Mr J. Adams & his son. have witnessed. Their signature will be known to you. My acknowledgment of this power as my act & deed is authenticated by a Justice of the Peace. I send it together with duplicates of my former letters. I hope these will come safe to hand. These duplicates are not now sent, the power excepted.† I received a [letter] from you dated Nov 12, 83. It came by Mr Gorham, who sent it to me from London to this place, where, since I quitted all publick affairs of this country, I live retired & alway reside. I invited him to come to me & spend a day or so with me; but * Jan., 84. I have since reed by Mr Temple your letter acquainting me that the letter & power was received. †These nine words are interlined in ink of a different color, and were probably added when the postscript was written. EDS. |