Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-04-21
4 CENTESxIAL PICTURE.
By DANIEL WISE. n. D.

lac. lf773. 1t isten O'Clock, and the
stern aspect of every face we NEE,
shows that some great and grave
event is impending. With eager
,haEte, bat determined tread, crowds
| of determined men are making their
way to the old South Church, which
| is speedily packed to almost suffoca-
Lion. We have before us the great
est and most mDmentOns assembly
ever convened in that liberty-loving
old city. SamaeE P Savage Occn-
/ pies the chair. The meeting is speed
lilv called to order, and its members
| listen with breathless interest to a
| Quaker merchant named Francis
Isdtch, the owner of ship lying at
Grifin's Wharf, partly laden with
tea
TO comprehend the spirit and ac-
lioh OF, this patriotic assembly we
| must pause for a moment to enquire
| intD the occasion of its coming to-
gether.. What was IL? The Brit
llish Government had recently impos-
| ed a duty on tea landed in America.
Fite hundred distinguished Boston,
| ians, as soon as they heard of it, had
met under the Liberty Tree on Bos-
ton Common, November 4, 1873, and
resolved that the duty aforesaid,
awas q tar upon Americans with
/ out their CONSENT They also ap-
pointed q comm .ttee to wait on the
consignees of the coming tea
ships, and request them not to sell
the teas, but TO return them to Lon
| don. This request was denied. A
| town meeting was held the next day,
and committees sent to the consign-
| ees requesting them to resign their
appointment. Their replies were
"daringly affrontiyen to the meeting,
which adjourned after declaring eV-
eryone an enemy to his country who
should in any way eeuntenance the
coll Iection of the obnoxious tea-tax.
Great excitement followed, not only
Boston ? and its adjacent towns
but also in New York, Philadelphia,
and Charleston, to which ports tea
| had likewise been dispatched from
London.
The arrival at Boston of the Dart
mouth and two other vessels, with
teas on hoard, famed the flame of
patriotic feeling to a white heat.
Samuel Adams, directed by the Sc
lect men, then invited the friends of
liberty to mass meeting, which met
| FIVE thousand strong at the old
South Church, and sternly resolved
that 'tthe tea should be sent back to
the place from which it came at all
eYe6ts, and that no duty should be
| paid upon It" Governor Hutchin-
| son sent the sheriff witha proclama-
ton denouncing the assembly, re-
curing it to disperse. The patriots
| liissed and voted to. continue their
| proceedings. They sent for Rotch,
the owner, and Hall. the captain, of
| the Dartmouth, and obtained their
lprolnise that the tea should be re-
tarned without being landed or pay
ing dmty. Apparently the victory
was won. fa5f.
But their royallst Governor threw
an unexpected obstacle in their way.
| He refused to give the ships permis7
SION to pass the stCastle, "and order
ed its commander to load his guns,
and permit no vessels hut coasters
10 pass without his order. This
brought matters to 8 crisis, and the
meeting described above was called
| to decide what should be done.
| Rotch, having stated that the col
leetdr had refused to give the ship
4 cleareufe, was ordered To- enter a
protest, and to apply to hutchinson
for a pass. During his absence, and
after brief adjournment, patriotic
words were spoken by the younger
IQuiucy, Hancock, and Samuel Ad-
ans. The seven thousand men.
in that grand assembly unaHimons=
ly resolved that ssthe tea should not
be fanded.f'ii tgzi
Rotch returned and said, 'Fhe
Governor refuses pass because my
ship has not been properly cleared.
aThen, responded Samuel Adams,
@this meeting can do nothing more
to save the eoRntEV.n
John Hancock added, in substance,
that. as the Governor evidentlv in
tended to land the tea. "the matter
mnst he settled before twelve O'Clock
that night.
Great confusion followed. One
man shouted. sBoston harbor tea
not this night!" Another cried ont,
"Hnrrah for Grihfn's Wharf," At
the same time the Indian war-whonp,
uttered hv group of some twenty
ar thirty men grotesquelv clad like
the warriors of the woods, echoed
through the building and was re-
sponded to bv persons in the CALLER
| ies. The chairman, to check the
rising tumult. called on the meeting
to come TO order. He was obeved.
SiIenee was secured. A dienifed
minnie was adopted, and the assem-
hlv vnted to adjourn.
The disguised men now increased
to the number Of forty or fiftv, and
encouraged bv the brave Hancock.
the aktute kdams and other disfin-
guished patriots, then led the wav-
N Gtiffin's Wharf, followed nv hun.
dreds of the people. shouting. 9Ros.
ton harhor teapot tonight - etc.
At the Wharf they were ioined nv
Others arrayed in fantastic garhs.
Guards were speedily placed around
the wharf, the COMPANY was divided
into three aecsionA. with a command.
er and boatswain for each. and the
three tea ships immediatelv hoard.
ed. Proceeding with perfect order.
those determined men hoisted the
tea-cbests upon the deck, broke
themIto pieces with hatehets, and
empted their contentsinto the water.
The utmost care was taken not 70
iuiure either the ships or other por-
tions Of their cargoes. IN three
hours the work was done; the con-
tents OF three hundred and forty.twn
chests Of tea were floating down the
bay. --H1ii1 ~ @ Ia f15i9lIa