Evening star., 1931-12-16

factory to the Americans. for the same
principle of taxation without represen-
tation was involved. The port laws
provided that a cargo not cleared at
the custom house within 20 days was
liable to seizure and confscation by
the custom officers for the duty. The
Boston town meeting, in frequent ses-
sion at this time, refused to permit the
landing Of the tea. The captains Of
the vessels were ready to leave the
harbor, but the British admiral had
declared that he would sink the ships
If they attempted to leave. And now
this was che last day Of grace before
seizure Of the cargoes and confiscation
by the customs officers. The appear
ance of the bearer of the message from
Gov. Hutchinson was a tense moment
IN that fervent gathering In the Old
South Meeting House. He advanced to
the rostrum and made his report to,
Samuel Adams, the president of the
town meeting. Aaams repeated the re-
port to the assemblage that the Gov
ernor of the colony had refused to issue
a pass permitting the ships to sail. and
then announced: This meeting can
dc nothing further to save the coun-
try" And accordingly the meeting ad-
journed.
The effect of this announcement on
the assemblage was electrical. There
seemed to be some hidden meaning in
the very language Adams had used 1t
sounoed strangely like prearranged
signal, and this suspicion was confirmed
aln ost Immediately, for as the meeting
broke up, from the outside there could
be heard the measured scuf1e of many
feet, accompanied by an Indian war
Whoop and cry, "Hurrah for Griffons
Wharf! The Boston Harbor a teapot
tonight" The dispersal of the meeting
was very different from the usual or
der, for as the colonists filed out of
the meeting house they all moved in
one direction. They followed a long
hle of what appeared to be Mohawk
Indians in their march to Griffons
Wharf. These Indians" with faces
fantastically painted, feathers in their
hair and wearing blankets. each carried
a hatchet. When the wharf was
reached the "Mohawks" boarded the
vessels, and as the populace watched
from the shore the 342 chests of tea
were brought on deck and in the tim
light from lantern and flaring torch
broken open with the hatchets and the
hated tea consigned to the dark salt
water of the harbor. For two hours
these proceedings continued as the
populace watched from the shore The
people seemed unmindful of the pierre
ing cold of the bleak December night
and fingered until the contents of the
last chest had been dumped. So this
was the greatest tea party" OF all
time, and the next morning. as one
writer puts it, "the tea lay like sea-
weed on the harbor beach"
For many years the identity Of the
alleged MohaWks was shrouded in mys-
terry, but it eventually became known
that the 80 Indians" came from a So
called North End Caucus a band of
stalWart, daring and fearless mechanics
who met at the Green Dragon Tavern
under the leadership of such men as
Joseph Warren, John Hancock, Paul
Revere and other patriots.
Tea Party's Song.
The following old Revolutionary ditty,
said to have been the rallying song of
the tea party at the Green Dragon
Tavern, is significant:
Rally Mohawks! Bring out your axes!
And tell King George we'll pay no taxes
On his foreign tea.
His threats are vain: he need not think
To force our wives and girls to drink
His vile Bohea!
Then rally, boys. and hasten on
To meet our chiefs at the Green
Dragon.
Our Warrens there and bold Revere
With hands to do ana words to cheer
For liberty and laws.
Our country's braves and firm de-
tenders
Shall ne'er be left by true North Enders
Fighting Freedoms cause!
Then rally, boys, and hasten on
To meet our chiefs at the Green
Dragon"
Members Of the Masonic fraternity
naturally have special interest in the
Boston Tea Party, because all of the
known leaders in that thrilling event
were members of that ancient order.
Lodges are in existence in Boston today
whose members were ringleaders in the
plot. All of the men named above we're
Masons, and the minutes of one of these
old lodges in a foot-note tells of regular
meetings having to be postponed be-
cause of the small attendance, "the
with cargoes of tea"
Nearby Tea Parties.
Reference already has been made to
the tea incidents" in this vicinity. A
paper by Hugh T. Taggart on old
Georgetown" in the records of the
Columbia Historical Society, tells of
these and of the great excitement in
Maryland upon getting the news of the
blockade of the Port of Boston under
the port bill and of the "tea trouble"
at that place The freemen of Fred
erick County, which then embraced this
section, at meeting held at Charles
Hungerfords Tavern tRockville) on
June II, 1774, resolved that the town
Of Boston is suffering in the common
cause of America, and that the most
eHectlve means for securing American
freedom and the repeal of the obnox-
ious acts Of Parliament relating to the
colonies is to break off communication
with Great Britain" A non-importa-
tion agreement was signed, which was
enforced relentlessly
The brigantine Mary and Jane, Capt
John Chapman, master, arrived in the
Potomac in August, 1774. A landing
was made in the Wicomico, and it was
found she carried several chests of tea
consigned to Robert Peter and others at
Georgetown. This information had
been communicated to the Committee
on Correspondence for Frederick Coun-
w. That committee promptly met to
consider what measures should be
adopted on what they called IAN alarm
ing occasion" Mr. Peter was called
before the committee and made humble
apology for attempting to import the
tea: He agreed to prevent, If possible,
delivery of the tea, but If delivered it
would be turned over to a committee
consisting of Thomas Johns, William
Deakins and Bernard ONeale Thomas
Richardson, another Georgetown mer-
chant. who had just received a guam
tity of tea from Philadelphia, after con-
ference with the committee, offered to
turn 1t over to the committee named to
take charge of the other consignment.
what became of the tea eventually is
not stated
While comparatively unknown and
not so picturesque, the destruction of
tea at Annapolis is considered even
bolder than the event in Boston. In
October, 1774, there arrived at An
napOliS the brig Peggy Stewart Cant