Authority Of Crown Research Articles

The Massachusetts Acts of 1774: Coercive or Preventive?

CCTHE TEA that bainful weed is arrived; so wrote Abigail Adams. 1The future first lady referred, of course, to appearance at Boston of three tea ships of British East India Company.1 Resistance to landing of tea and to payment of threepence duty was widespread in America; but most sensational incident occurred in Boston, where for weeks local patriots attempted to force consignees of East India Company to ship tea back to England. Richard Clark, Thomas and Elisha Hutchinson (sons of governor), Benjamin Faneuil, Jr., and Joshua Winslow petitioned governor, council, and justices of peace to take charge of cargoes assigned to them; but to no avail. The councilors contended that they had no authority to take tea from consignees; if they advised landing cargo, duty would be paid, and they would be advocating a measure inconsistent with declared sentiments of Massachusetts legislature. In despair, Governor Thomas Hutchinson wrote to British secretary of state enclosing debates of council; his lordship could see, he remonstrated, the situation of a Massachusetts Governor, and that he is without least support in measures for maintaining authority of Crown'2 Since governor on his own authority had not been able to help them, consignees and four of five royal customs commissioners (John Temple, a colonist, sided with patriots) fled to protection of royal garrison at Castle Wllliam in Boston Harbor.

The Corbridge Gold Find of 1911

The remarkable hoard of Roman gold coins found at Corbridge, Northumberland, in September, 1911, was discovered under circumstances which did not admit of any very obvious archaeological interpretation. The point as to whether it had been “of ancient time hidden” was of considerable practical importance, inasmuch as under the law of England gold or silver objects so hidden belong to the king, while such objects if they have been accidentally lost or deliberately abandoned may belong to the person who is fortunate enough to find them. Last December, in view of the situation that had arisen, the Crown authorities requested me to look carefully into the archaeological aspects of the matter for their guidance. The result was the following report which was addressed to the Solicitor to the Treasury, by whose permission it is here printed. The coins were surrendered as treasure trove to the Crown.

The New Professor of Engineering at Glasgow

IT has already been announced in NATURE that the Crown authorities have appointed Prof. James Thomson, C.E., LL.D., to succeed the late Prof. W. J. M. Rankine in the Glasgow Chair of Engineering and Mechanics; and as that gentleman has been deemed worthy to occupy the Chair that was long filled by a man of world-wide eminence, it may not be undesirable to give a brief sketch of his professional and scientific career.