Massachusetts -- Periodicals; New England -- Periodicals
A mass meeting was soon held in Faneuil Hall, and was addressed by
Samuel Adams. It may readily be believed that he advocated no
compromise, and a committee of fifteen was immediately appointed of
which Adams was a member. According to instructions, they at once
repaired to the council chamber, and demanded the instant removal of the
troops. At three o'clock a regular town meeting assembled in Faneuil
Hall, but, owing to the great number present, adjourned to the Old South
Meeting House. Then the committee of fifteen appeared making their way
from the council-chamber to the meeting-house. Samuel Adams was at the
head, and as the crowd made way on either hand he bared his head, and,
inclining to the right and left, as he passed through the line, kept
repeating: "Both regiments or none!" "Both regiments or none!"
[Illustration: STATUE IN ADAMS SQUARE.]
In the presence of the dense multitude in the Old South, the governor's
reply was rendered: the 29th regiment should go to the castle, but the
14th must remain. Then the cry arose, "Both regiments or none!" and as
the shout echoed from every quarter it was plain that the people had
caught the meaning of the watchword, given shortly before by Adams. A
new committee, also including Adams, was appointed and sent back to the
governor, and as they stood in the council chamber the scene was one
that John Adams pronounced long after as worthy a historical painting. A
few sentences from Adams' address to Hutchinson are clear enough to show
the intense earnestness and patriotism of the man.
"It is well known," he said, "that acting as governor of the Province,
you are by its charter the commander-in-chief of the military forces
within it; and as such, the troops now in the capital are subject to
your orders. If you, or Colonel Dalrymple under you, have the power to
remove one regiment, you have the power to remove both; and nothing
short of their total removal will satisfy the people or preserve the
peace of the Province. A Multitude highly incensed now wait the result
of this application. The voice of ten thousand freemen demands that
both regiments be forthwith removed. Their voice must be respected,
their demand obeyed. Fail not then at your peril to comply with this
requisition! On you alone rests the responsibility of this decision;
and if the just expectations of the people are disappointed, you must
be answerable to God and your country for the fatal consequences that
must ensue. The committee have discharged their duty, and it is for
you to discharge yours. They wait your final determination."
Hutchinson for a long time stood firm, but yielded at last and the
troops were removed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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