Introduction. lix

London for Stamp Act affairs, and to certain other members of both houses of
Parliament for their defense of the rights of the colonists to whom they are
endeared. These specifically mentioned in the Resolves were the Earl of Ches-
terfield, Lord Shelbourne, Secretary Conway, General Howard, Colonel Barre,
Sir George Saville, and Alderman Beckford, and gratitude was also to be
expressed to any others that Charles Garth might feel had acted a like "glorious
part" (pp. 188-189). A bill to this end, of which no copy is known to have
been preserved, was passed by the Lower House at the November-December,
1766, session, and sent to the upper chamber (pp. 193-194). Here it was
promptly returned with a message that it was rejected because the Lower House
had assumed the exclusive right of appropriating public money by law ex-
pressly subject to the disposition of the General Assembly, but with the promise
that if a bill for the same purposes consistent with the rights of the Upper
House were passed, its assent would be given (pp. 127-128, 209-210). Thus
the bill died. It will be noted that under this bill, if it followed the Lower House
resolves, the statue and portrait were to be "consigned" to the Speaker, who
probably was also entrusted with ordering them, leaving the Governor and
Upper House out of the picture.

TOWNSHEND ACTS, MASSACHUSETTS LETTER, PETITION TO THE KING

The dramatic events which occurred at the close of the 1768 session were
caused by the spirited reaction of the Lower House to the attempt of the Crown
to prevent consideration by any of the colonial assemblies of the circular letter
from the Massachusetts House of Representatives to them, urging a united
protest against the recently enacted Townshend acts imposing duties upon tea
and certain other articles brought into the colonies. At the opening of the 1768
session, Speaker Lloyd laid before the Lower House a letter from Thomas
Cushing, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, "respecting
the late acts of Parliament imposing certain duties on the colonies for the sole
purpose of raising revenue", referring to the recently enacted Townshend acts
imposing duties on tea, paper, glass and painters' colors brought into the colonies
(p. 334), but for some reason not clear, the letter itself was not entered in the
journal of the Lower House. This was, of course, the famous circular letter
known to have been written by Samuel Adams, which was sent by the Massa-
chusetts House to all the other American colonies, and contributed so much
to bring down the ire of the British Government upon Massachusetts. The
letter, dated February 11, 1768, is, however, entered in full in the proceedings
of the Council of Maryland. The letter pointed out that in a matter of such
moment it was desirable that representations of protest from the sister colonies
to the Crown should harmonize with each other. It protested against what it
called the unconstitutional imposition of duties upon the colonies by a Parlia-
ment in which the taxed were not represented, and by a body in which they
could not be effectively represented. It also protested against the acts to prevent
mutiny and desertion which required the colonies to supply designated supplies
for the British troops quartered on them. The letter concluded by saying that
it was not the desire of Massachusetts to assume leadership, or to dictate to the