not really represent the people. Had the
principles in support of which Lord Chatham joined hands with Samuel
Adams for one moment prevailed, the king's schemes would have collapsed
like a soap-bubble.

As it was, in 1768 the king succeeded, in spite of strong opposition, in
carrying his point. He saw that the American colonies were disposed to
resist the Townshend acts, and that in this defiant attitude
Massachusetts was the ringleader. The Massachusetts circular pointed
toward united action on the part of the colonies. Above all things it
was desirable to prevent any such union, and accordingly the king
decided to make his principal attack upon Massachusetts, while dealing
more kindly with the other colonies. Thus he hoped Massachusetts might
be isolated and humbled, and in this belief he proceeded faster and more
rashly than if he had supposed himself to be dealing with a united
America. In order to catch Samuel Adams and James Otis, and get them
sent over to England for trial, he attempted to revive an old statute of
Henry VIII. about treason committed abroad; and in order to enforce the
revenue laws in spite of all opposition, he ordered troops to be sent to
Boston.

[Sidenote: Troops sent to Boston.]

This was a very harsh measure, and some excuse was needed to justify it
before Parliament. It was urged that Boston was a disorderly town, and
the sacking of Hutchinson's house could be cited in support of this
view. Then in June, 1768, there was a slight conflict between
townspeople and revenue officers, in which no one was hurt, but which
led to a great town-meeting in the Old South Meeting-House, and gave
Governor Bernard an opportunity for saying that he was intimidated and
hindered in the execution of the laws. The king's real purpose, however,
in sending troops was not so much to keep the peace as to enforce the
Townshend acts, and so the people of Boston understood it. Except for
these odious and tyrannical laws, there was nothing that threatened
disturbance in Boston. The arrival of British troops at Long Wharf, in
the autumn of 1768, simply increased the danger of disturbance, and in a
certain sense it may be said to have been the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. Very few people realized this at the time, but Samuel
Adams now made up his mind that the only way in which the American
colonies could preserve their liberties was to unite in some sort of
federation and declare themselves independent of