of the Mohawks. He was not one to shrink from any post of duty; and it is not more improbable that he was one of the band who threw the tea overboard, than that his friend, John Hancock, should have been one of the guard who protected the actors.

Warren, in the progress of events, was soon called into wider fields of action; and other records, with the luminous annals of Boston, bear to posterity similar "testimonials of his accomplishments as a statesman, and his integrity and services as a patriot."1

1 Perez Morton's Eulogy.

CHAPTER X.

THE BOSTON PORT ACT AND THE AMERICAN UNION.

WARREN'S LETTERS. EFFECT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA.- THE BOSTON PORT ACT: ITS RECEPTION IN BOSTON; IN THE COLONIES. THE DEMAND FOR A CONGRESS. THE PROGRESS OF UNION.

DECEMBER, 1773, TO JUNE, 1774.

"I EVER scorned disguise: I think I have done my duty," Warren wrote, after valuable service in the uprising of the great day of Lexington and Concord; and these words may indicate the frankness and fidelity with which he counselled and acted with the popular leaders through the period of sullen discontent which began on the passage of the Townshend Revenue Bill, and ended on the destruction of the tea. The direct sequence of this event was severe penal legislation, which was the proximate cause of the Revolutionary War. Warren's spirit rose with the rising storm. His letters, both private and official, written without a thought of effect, delineate unconsciously much individual character which imprints itself on the reader's mind. These unstudied utterances, rich in thought and feeling, reveal his inner life and the secret of his personal influence. They

1 Warren to General Gage, Cambridge, April 20, 1775.

2 Dr. Belknap says that there succeeded from 1767 a period of sullen discontent, which came to an end on the 16th of December, 1773, in the bold act of destroying the tea in Boston harbor. This brought on the war.

show devotion to principle, love of liberty with fidelity to order, and large sympathetic power. They are far more. They are gushings of the warm lifeblood of the time, sibylline leaves, on which are inscribed glowing characters, to be read and to enkindle ever

more.

The official letters are so numerous as to preclude the printing of more than a selection. One of the private letters of this period was addressed to Arthur Lee, who was in London, and is dated five days after the tea was destroyed. In this letter, Warren expresses the opinion, that, unless there was a change in the policy of the Administration, Americans would be as indifferent to the interest of the mother-country as to that of any other European nation.

Joseph Warren to Arthur Lee.

BOSTON, Dec. 21st, 1773.

SIR,- My respected friend, Mr. Adams, informs me of the honor he has done me by mentioning my name to you in his letters. I can by no means lose so fair an opportunity of opening a correspondence with one to whom America is under such great obligations. Be assured, sir, we are not insensible to your merits. The clear manner in which you have treated the dispute between Great Britain and this country has, we doubt not, enlightened many in the parent State as well as in this country. But nothing seems able to penetrate the Egyptian darkness which is so palpable in the court atmosphere. We have long waited for something wise and good in the public counsels of the nation; at least we hoped that chance would lead to some measures, which, if not so designed, might eventually have produced some agreeable effects. But hitherto the unpropitious star which rules unhappy Britain has disappointed our wishes; every step taken by the Administration has increased the distance between her and the colonies; and I fear, that, unless a speedy alteration is made in the system of American policy, a few years will render us as indifferent to the interests of the mothercountry as to that of any other State in Europe. However, as it is

my firm opinion that a connection upon constitutional principles may be kept up between the two countries, at least for centuries to come, advantageous and honorable to both, I always respect the man who endeavors to heal the wound, by pointing out proper remedies, and to prevent the repetition of the stroke, by fixing a stigma on the instrument by which it was inflicted. This country is inhabited by a people loyal to their king, and faithful to themselves; none will more cheerfully venture their lives and fortunes for the honor and defence of the prince who reigns in their hearts, and none will with more resolution oppose the tyrant who dares to invade their rights. From this short but true character of this people, it is easy to see in what manner a wise king or a sagacious minister would treat them. But

Mr. Adams will give you a full account of the tea shipped by the East-India Company for this place. It now is in the power of that company to make the use of Dutch tea as unpopular in this country as they can desire. They may easily, by a proper application to an all-powerful ministry, lay the colonies under such obligations as would be greatly to the company's advantage. But it is certain the whole navy of Britain will not prevent the introduction of Dutch tea; nor will her armies prevail with us to use the English tea, while the act imposing a duty on that article remains unrepealed. I congratulate you on the honor conferred on your brother by the city of London: in distinguishing merit, they honor themselves.

This will be presented to you by Dr. Williamson, who has labored abundantly in the glorious cause in which we are engaged. I hope soon to be convinced, that the freedom I have taken in writing to you is not disagreeable.

I am, sir, with great esteem, your most obedient humble servant, JOSEPH WARREN.'

1 I copy this letter from the "Life of Arthur Lee," ii. 262, the original not being among the Lee papers in Harvard-College Library.

The following is in the "Boston Gazette" of Dec. 20, 1778:"The brethren of the Honorable Society of Free and Ancient Accepted Masons are hereby notified, that the Most Worshipful Joseph Warren, Esq., Grand Master of the continent of America, intends to celebrate the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, on Monday, the 27th December inst., at Freemasons' Hall, Boston, where the brethren are requested to attend the festival.

"By order of the Most Worshipful Grand Master,

"WM. HOSKINS, G. Sec.

"N.B.-Tickets may be had of Messrs. Nathaniel Coffin, jun.; William Molineux, jun.; and Mr. Daniel Bell. The tables will be furnished at two o'clock."

The records of the Boston Committee of Correspondence contain evidences of Warren's labor in the patriot cause. Whenever there appears an enumeration of the members present, his name is among them. He was placed (Dec. 25, 1772) on a permanent working committee, -one to draft replies to the letters that were received from the towns; the members being Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, Nathaniel Appleton, Joseph Greenleaf, and Thomas Young. He was often put on special committees. He was, for instance, on a committee (Feb. 25, 1773) to prepare a petition to the legislature on the subject of the salaries of the judges, and the chairman of the committee to present it. He was directed to prepare (Sept. 7, 1773) a circular letter, to be sent out to the several towns in the province, and also one to be sent to the colonies. He was chairman (Nov. 9, 1773) of a committee of three, to circulate the proceedings of the town; and (Dec. 8) of another committee, to "collect and state in the public newspapers" certain things respecting the East-India Company's tea. He was directed (Dec. 17), at a meeting when Speaker Cushing and Samuel Quincy were called in, to frame a declaration relative to the tea, and to draw up a narrative of the recent proceedings. He was (Dec. 30) on a committee "to invite a correspondence with New York and Philadelphia;" and was the chairman (Jan. 8, 1774) of a committee to draft a reply to letters received from Newport and Portsmouth, both of which drafts are copied into the records. I select the reply to Newport:

GENTLEMEN,

BOSTON, Jan. 24, 1774.

- We can never enough adore that Almighty Disposer of events who has, [as] it were by general inspiration, awakened