272 History of Hingham. 



that memorable occasion, the fact of Hingham's sympathy with 

 the people as against the soldiers is perfectly evident from resolu- 

 tions passed at the annual meeting of that year. They are not to 

 be found in the town records, but are contained in the following 

 letter from General Lincoln, then town clerk, to the committee of 

 merchants : — 



Hingham, March 24th, 1770. 

 To the Gentlemen the Committee of Merchants in Boston : 



Gentlemen, — At the annual meeting of the town of Hingham, on the 

 19th day of March, a.d. 1770 : Upon a motion being made and seconded 

 (though omitted in the warrant), the inhabitants, taking into consideration 

 the distressed circumstances of the people in this and the neighboring 

 Provinces, occasioned by the late parliamentary acts for raising a revenue 

 in North America, the manner of collecting the same, and the measures 

 gone into to enforce obedience to them, and judging that every society and 

 every individual person are loudly called to exert the utmost of their 

 ability in a constitutional way to procure a redress of those grievances, 

 and to secure the privileges by charter conveyed to them, and that free- 

 dom which they have a right to as men and English subjects, came to the 

 following votes : — 



Voted, That we highly approve of the patriotic resolutions of the mer- 

 chants of this province not to import goods from Great Britain till the re- 

 peal of the aforesaid acts ; and viewing it as having a tendency to retrieve 

 us from those burdens so much complained of, and so sensibly felt by us, 

 we will do all in our power in a legal way to support them in carrying 

 into execution so worthy an undertaking. 



Voted, That those few who have imported goods contrary to general 

 agreement, and counteracted the prudent and laudable efforts of the mer- 

 chants and traders aforesaid, have thereby forfeited the confidence of their 

 brethren ; and therefore, we declare that we will not directly or indirectly 

 have any commerce or dealings with them. 



Voted, That we will discourage the use of foreign superfluities among 

 us, and encourage our own manufactures. 



Voted, That we heartily sympathize with our brethren of the town of 

 Boston, in the late unhappy destruction of so many of their inhabitants, 

 and we rejoice with them that there yet remains the free exercise of the 

 civil authority. 



Voted, That the town clerk be ordered to transmit a copy hereof to the 

 committee of merchants in Boston. 



I cheerfully comply with the above order and herewith send you a copy 

 of the Votes. I am, gentlemen, with great esteem, your most obedient 

 and most humble servant, 



Benjamin Lincoln, Jun'r. 



At a meeting held January 11, 1773, a committee consisting of 

 Bela Lincoln, Benjamin Lincoln, Joseph Thaxter, Jacob Cushing, 

 and Joshua Hearsey, was appointed to draft instructions to John 

 Thaxter, the town's representative. This was done on the 13th in 

 a communication urging him to use his best endeavors for the re- 

 dress of the grievances under which the province was suffering. 



