law, but in such a manner as to make it more offensive to the thinking than before. The duties were removed on all articles except tea, in the expectation that motives of self-interest would draw the colonists into trade again, and thus enrich the British merchants and manufacturers, while the retention of the duty on one article would defend and maintain the principle which was in dispute. Meanwhile, a tragical affair had occurred in Boston, in the collision between the people and the troops quartered in that town for the enforcement of the measures of the ministry. This event, commonly called the Boston Massacre, took place on the 5th of March. Through the winter the discipline of the soldiers had been relaxed, and they were permitted to wander, in parties and singly, about the streets. Frequent disputes occurred between them and the citizens; the soldiers were accused of insolence to the people, and some of them were rude in their deportment toward respectable females. At any time, or for any cause, the presence of a standing army in Boston would have been a sore grievance; but in the events of the times, there were incidents which led to direct collision.

Governor Bernard had sailed for England. The people, stung by his arbitrary measures in delaying and refusing to convene the " General Court," as the Legislature of that province was styled, and more than suspicious that he was acting against the people in person in Great Britain, as he had strongly accused them in his correspondence, were in a condition of great exasperation. The citizens renewed

their non-importation agreement, and, as some of the merchants persisted in importing British goods, they became highly obnoxious to the people, many of whom resorted to strong methods of testifying their dislike. The boys partook of the spirit of the time, and bore about the streets effigies of the importing merchants. A notorious spy, or informer, became entangled in an affray with certain of these boys, who followed him to his house with abusive epithets. They threw snow and ice against the building; he fired from the window, and killed one of the lads. The excitement produced by this event was intense; the funeral of the boy was attended by an immense concourse of people, and the state of public feeling which it engendered led to continual affrays between the soldiers and the populace; all, however, without the use of any other arms on either side than bludgeons, stones, ice, and other impromptu missiles. In most of these encounters, as is usually the case in such affairs between soldiers and citizens, the latter were victorious.

On the night of the 5th of March, a sentinel was assaulted on his post, near the Custom-house, with ice and snow. As recent events had exasperated the people, and many were in the streets from a firealarm, a great crowd pressed upon the point where the collision occurred. A sergeant and six men were dispatched to the relief of the sentinel, and were received with missiles by the crowd. The captain of the guard, who had followed, ordered them to charge; the people, unintimidated, persisted in

throwing ice; some person gave the word "fire!" and the soldiers discharged their pieces, killing three of the crowd outright, and wounding two mortally

and several slightly. The soldiers were shortly after withdrawn from the town to the castle, on an island in the harbor. The guard had a fair and impartial trial, and were acquitted; and the people acquiesced in the legal justice of the verdict.

These events, the presence of Governor Bernard in England, and copies of the letters of Franklin to his correspondents in America, which had been surreptitiously procured, all operated against the indefatigable friend of his countrymen. It was his fortune to be held in some measure accountable for all that transpired in the colonies in opposition to the ministry. Intimations were made to him that he would be dispossessed of his office of postmaster

general. He still retained his office, though efforts were made, as he suspected, to provoke him to a resignation: a step which he considered would have been a forfeiture of his self-respect, and an admission of a point which he stoutly denied, to wit, that he had in any way compromised his loyalty, or interfered with his duty as postmaster, in performing that which he owed to his country. He maintained his right to discuss the measures of the ministry, and sought neither to deny nor to conceal his sentiments.

In his autobiography Dr. Franklin refers with gratification to a sort of prophecy of his father's, that he should stand before kings, which was more than fulfilled by his standing before six and dining with one, the King of Denmark, in London; and in a letter to his friend Thomas Cushing, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the doctor, then

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years of age, speaks with the gratification of an old man of the honor paid him in 1771 by the Irish Parliament. He had just returned from a tour in Scotland and Ireland, and was describing some of the occurrences. 66 Before leaving Ireland, I must mention that, being desirous of seeing some of the principal patriots there, I stayed till the opening of their Parliament. I found them disposed to be friends of America, in which I endeavored to confirm them, with the expectation that our growing weight might in time be thrown into their scale, and, by joining our interests with theirs, a more equitable treatment from this nation might be obtained for them as well as for us. There are many brave

spirits among them. The gentry are a very sensible, polite, and friendly people. Their Parliament makes a most respectable figure, with a number of very respectable speakers in both parties, and able men of business. And I must not omit acquainting you that, it being a standing rule to admit members of the English Parliament to sit (though they do not vote) in the House among the members, my fellowtraveler, being an English member, was accordingly admitted as such; but I supposed I must go to the gallery, when the speaker stood up and acquainted the House that he understood there was in town an American gentleman of (as he was pleased to say) distinguished character and merit, a member or delegate of some of the Parliaments of that country, who was desirous of being present at the debates of the House; that there was a rule of the House for admitting members of English Parliaments, and that he supposed the House would consider the American Assemblies as English Parliaments; but as this was the first instance, he had chosen not to give any order in it without first receiving their directions. On the question, the House gave a loud, unanimous Ay, when two members came without the bar, led me in between them, and placed me honorably and commodiously."

Such a reception in Ireland must have been exceedingly gratifying to him at a time when the “lying representations," as he strongly terms them, of Governor Bernard, identifying him with the Massachusetts disturbances, made his treatment by the official