Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 5.djvu/123

 A.D.1774.] this was sitting, Mr. Samuel Adams, acting in concert with Mr. Warren, employed himself in working up the members of the assembly by what was called a caucus, a word of mighty influence to the present day in America, meaning a private meeting to carry out certain cut-and-dried measures. Samuel Adams was a man who had lost character by having embezzled and applied to his own purposes a large amount of taxes, when collector; but, since these uneasy agitations commenced, he had shown so much talent for managing political movements, that his countrymen were willing to forget the past, and ho had been rapidly growing into influence. Adams was so successful, that he had got more than thirty members ready to adopt his plans for raising the spirit of the colony against the act, the whole of this being kept unknown to the friends of government. The scheme was to vote the appointment of a committee, consisting of Samuel and John Adams, and three others, to meet the other provincial committees at Philadelphia on the 1st of September. On the 17th of June the assembly, therefore, suddenly closed their doors, and proceeded to vote this scheme, and five hundred pounds for the expenses of their delegates. A hint of the proceedings, however, being carried to general Gage, he instantly sent his secretary to dissolve them. He found the doors closed, and was refused entrance, whereupon he read the proclamation upon the stairs in the hearing of a number of members who were shut out. But the members of the caucus had accomplished their object, and they dispersed in high glee at the carrying through of this not very creditable trick. The five hundred pounds had to be collected; but they found no difficulty in this, the people regarding the resolution as a valid act of assembly.



The citizens of New York favourable to the revolutionary movement entered into active correspondence with the other colonies for the summoning of the congress, and John Jay, one of the earliest and most zealous fathers of the revolution, has had the credit of being the first to suggest a congress, but we have seen that the people of Virginia had already done this, and that governor Pownall, still earlier, had thrown out the idea.

On the 1st of June, according to the arrangements of general Gage, as the clock struck twelve, all the public offices were closed, and the whole official business was transferred to Salem. But the wide discontent of the people met him there as much as at Boston. When the assembly met, which was in the following week, such was its spirit that general Gage felt that he must dissolve it again. Instead of the people of Salem rejoicing in the good fortune intended for them, by the transfer of the trade and the expenditure of government money there, they sent up an address, declaring that they should be dead to every idea of justice and feeling of humanity, if they thought of improving their fortunes at the expense of their Boston neighbours.