Original Printed Circular of Governor Thomas Hutchinsons Address to the Council and House of Representatives of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dateline at Boston, February 18, 1773. Fine. Approximately 15 inches x 19 inches. Several heavy folds and associated edge splits, as well as minor chips and staining. Still, almost entirely legible throughout. Several reinforcements seen on the back, along with a manuscript note identifying this as "Governor Hutchinsons address to both houses of the General Court of Massachusetts-Bay in New England in the year 1773." This is partially covered by one of the reinforcements. The address was given on February 16th and was one of an ongoing official exchange between him, as a representative of the Crown, and the representatives of the colonists who disputed the absolute authority of the Crown and Parliament over colonial affairs. In his address, he pleads the case that the Colonies are in fact under full authority of the Crown. It is a natural argument for him to make in his role as Colonial Governor, but also natural considering his own personal absolute loyalty to the Crown. He displayed this clearly as the tensions between the two bodies grew, leading up to the American Revolution and his own return to England in 1774. The circular is an interesting look into the history of a "Government...in a very disturbed state," language taken directly from the Massachusetts Bays House of Representatives January 26th entry into this ongoing dialogue.
