The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Boston [Mass.]) 1770-1772, 1772-04-09
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i3ht OF the EI@Jcr 10 cn3Cn eStrao!c l.
nary Common halls ha, been brought into
queftion, and is now in litigation in aCourt
Of iufice you think it proper tc fufprnd the
exercilc of that right ill the quetion has
received legal detcrm:n2to-. :" In this
Sir, is contaire cd d9n5is fsiihood. The
faG!, which you llledge as the ground of
your resfon, is not truIh nor is that
Ieafon which you pretend, the true rtalzn
of your r-fulal. !. the rigbt of the Ma
yor is nor in qucRion, is not in litigation.
The ipcividu4ls who (regardIeis OF their
oaths) tifobeyed the Lord Mayors pre-
cepts have been proceeded aga MI by M
formationl in2 the Mayors Cout, where
they put in no plea &c cau1e has hrce
been removed by them into the Kings
bench, where likewile they have hithe.to
put IN no plea. line allegation therefore
is falf:. Z If the luppoled Irrigation ot tbs
rigbf was, as you pretend, the tIue re4lon
OF your rcfufal, YOU would now yle.d 10
the tquef, lince your intake has been
diicovercd to YOU, and the ground removed ::
but flnce you fill ultimately re u'e, tnou2h
convicted, to comply with the joint reqcefs
OF the Lively and the cemmou-coUnclI
(who cannot be fuppoied leis anxious to
p:eirrve their rights tnsn your Lor"ihlP,)
you DO evidently manifeit that your aiiuT-
ed fearfulneisof putting the light in hazard
was mere hypocriticaI pretence and that
you are guided by other reaions OF your
own imagined intereft. And this opens to
US third faifhood by proving, that the
preamble, in which you profels you felt
every deiirous of embracing every oPpor-
tunity of tefifyng the mott reipeciful stten-
ton to the wilhes of your fenow-ctizens."
&c has no more truth in it than the ground
and rsaJSn of your refulal.
But, Sir, fhould we even grant you me
truth OF what you have advanced, fhould
we fuppofe the right to be in litigation, yet
the abfurdity of the reafon is too grofs TO
pats upon theLivery of London. The right
is difputed land tbyIf9vs you think it proper
not to exeTcife it Sir, you WIRE elected TO
the Office you now hold, on purpofe to de-
fend the rights of your conftuents you
have been lworn to defend their rights.
What fort of notion mutt you entertain of
your Office how nugatory aad ridiculous
do you render both that and your oath I!
what rights, think you, you were chofen
and fwovn TO defend Thofc that are not
attacked Mott excellent commander !
How lafe muft nation be, guarded By an
army of fuch valiant folders If your
Lordfhip continues to reafon thus, perhaps
this is the lait tim= we fhall meet here to-
gsther in your Lordfhip's Mayoralty; for
ihou!d any one to morrow object 10 your
right, your fhordfhip can call no ore
Courts of alderman or Csnmsn council 8 rill
the quriiion ihall have received legal de-
termination"
remember when your Lordlhip fhf
entered upon your Office, you promifed US
we ihould find you an indeprnd.nt Magif-
trats. We underfand now what you
meant by that promife we fhall know
better 70! the future, what IS meant by the
word Independent, when it is ufed by perfons
ofyour Lordlhip's complexion. An inds-
pendent Magiftrate, it leems, means, a Ma
citrate iHdtpsxdsnt of his conftituents, iadt-
pendent of his du ty, iHdfpfudtnf of his cath.
Sir, there is unfortunately too much of
this indtptndaacs abroad there are mo-
narchs, we know, who think themfelves
Independent of their people, and Independent
of the laws nay, what is fill more mon
frous there are reprgsnfOfivTs in this natl
on indtpsHdtHt OF thole whom they rEprsifaf.
Sir, 1t was in order to deffroy this fort Of
independence that COmmon-hall was def
red by the Livery and to continue to in
create and to Perpetuate it, is the true rea-
fon that it was mott confittanrly refuied by
your Losdfhp.
But we are now toll that the Common
council ihould not prsfS your LordlhiP up
the quelton OF Common-hall, beeanyF
yOa haze alrtady gi0sn a d. finite 0sltOsr TO tbs
LiUTry : Which isi ouiya.ent to taIs Cen