rkshire set the example
of obstructing the King's Courts. In the expedition for the capture of
Ticonderoga, in the invasions of Canada, and in Burgoyne's campaign, the
town and the county held a place among the foremost in efforts and
sacrifices for the cause of liberty. The recommendations of the
Continental Congress were followed out with promptness and zeal. A
similar spirit was displayed in the relations with the Provincial
Government, so far as they affected the carrying on of the war. Yet,
from 1775 to the adoption of the State Constitution in 1780, the county
was ruled in open resistance to the civil authorities at Boston.
Although representatives were sent to the General Court, the acts of
that body were accepted merely as advice. The judicial and executive
branches of the Government were not recognized. It was maintained that
the new Government should originate from the people on the basis of a
written Constitution and bill of rights. To this end they "refused the
admission of the course of law among them," until their demands should
be complied with. Furthermore, the old Courts were objectionable as
being costly and cumbersome. They were unpopular for the hardness
exercised towards poor-debtors and criminals convicted of trifling
offences. In the absence of the usual means of enforcing the laws, the
town Governments took in charge the administration of justice, acting
either through committees or in town meetings. Public order appears to
have been well preserved, and in the condition of business interests the
want of civil courts was of little consequence.

[Illustration: SCHOOL AND PARSONAGE.]

[Illustration: MAPLEWOOD CHAPEL.]

An opposition of a different kind broke out after the State authority
had been re-established under the new Constitution. The national
Government was involved in difficulties; values were unsettled by the
excessive emission of paper money. Heavy taxes, cruel collection laws,
numerous private debts, and frequent cases of imprisonment for debt,
caused a wide-spread feeling of discontent. The State Constitution was
found fault with from the start, and a clamor arose for the abolition of
the Senate, a change in the basis of representation, and an annual grant
of salaries to all officers. This agitation, in 1786, culminated in an
appeal to force of arms, known from its leader, as Shay's Rebellion. It
is unnecessary to repeat the story of its suppression. The leaders of
the former opposi