94 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the direction of Alderman DeRosset, who received from Hous-
ton his commission and other papers, and necessarily it was a
very orderly performance. The ringing huzzas, the patriotic
toasts, the loud acclaim, echoing from the courthouse square,
reverberated through the streets of the town, but Mr. Stewart
is quite sure that no mischief was done, and not the least insult
was offered to any person. These and other similar proceedings
led the Governor to send out a circular letter to the principal in-
habitants of the Cape Fear region, requesting their presence at
a dinner at his residence at Brunswick on Tuesday, the 19th of
November, three days after Dr. Houston resigned; and after the
dinner, he conferred with these gentlemen about the Stamp Act.
He found them fully determined to annul the act and prevent
its going into effect. He sought to persuade them, and begged
them to let it be observed at least in part. He pleaded that if
they would let the act go into partial operation in the respects he
mentioned, he himself would pay for all the stamps necessary.
It seems that he liked the people, and they liked and admired
him, and difficult indeed was his position. He was charged with
the execution of a law which he knew could not be executed, for
there was not enough specie in the province to buy the necessary
stamps, even if the law could be enforced ; but, then, the people
were resolved against recognizing it in any degree. The au-
thority of the King and of the Parliament was defied, and he,
the representative of the British Government, was powerless in
the face of this resolute defiance. While still maintaining dig-
nity in his intercourse with the people, the Governor wrote to his
superiors in London strongly urging the repeal of the law. <A
week later the stamps arrived in the sloop of war Diligence.
They remained on the sloop and were not landed at that time.

Now was there a lull; but the quietude was not to remain
unbroken. In January two merchant vessels arrived in the
harbor, the Patience and the Dobbs. Their clearance papers

were not stamped as the act required. The vessels were seized
and detained while the lawfulness of their detention was re-

ferred to Attorney General Robert Jones, then absent at his
home on the Roanoke. But the leaders of the people were de-

termined not to submit to an adverse decision. They held
meetings and agreed on a plan of action.

In view of the crisis, on January 20, the mayor of the town
retired to give place to Moses John DeRosset, who had been the
foremost leader in the action previously taken by the town.

Resistance Before the Revolution 95

One whose spirit never quailed was now to stand forth as the
head of the Corporation.

On the 5th of February, Captain Lobb, in command of the
Viper, had made a requisition for an additional supply of pro-
visions, and Mr. Dry, the contractor, sent his boat to Wilming-
ton to obtain them. The inhabitants, led by the mayor, at once
seized the boat, threw the crew into the jail, and, in a wild
tumult of excitement, placed the boat on a wagon and hauled
it through the streets with great demonstration of fervid patriot-
ism. The British forces on the river were to receive no supplies
from Wilmington; their provisions were cut off, and they were
treated as enemies—not friends—so long as they supported the
odious law of Parliament. Ten days later came the opinion of
Attorney General Jones to the effect that the detained merchant-
men were properly seized and were liable to be confiscated
under the law. This was the signal for action. The news was
spread throughout the counties, and the whole country was astir.
Every patriot “was on his legs.”” There was no halt in carrying
into effect the plan agreed upon. Immediately the people be-
gan to assemble, and detachments, under chosen leaders, took up
their march from Onslow, Bladen, and Duplin. On the 18th
of February, the inhabitants of the Cape Fear counties, being
then assembled at Wilmington, entered into an association,
which they signed, declaring they preferred death to slavery;
and mutually and solemnly they plighted their faith and honor
that they would at any risk whatever, and whenever called upon,
unite, and truly and faithfully assist each other, to the best of
their power, in preventing entirely the operation of the Stamp
Act.

The crisis had now arrived. The hand of destiny had struck
with a bold stroke the resounding bell. The people, nobly re-
sponding, had seized their arms. At all times, when some
patriot is to throw himself to the front and bid defiance to the
established authority of government, there is a Rubicon to be
crossed, and he who unsheathes his sword to resist the law must
win success or meet a traitor’s doom. But the leaders on the
Cape Fear did not hesitate at the thought of personal peril.
At their call, the people, being armed and assembled at Wil-
mington, chose the men who were to guide, govern, and direct
them. They called to the helm John Ashe, the trusted speaker
of the Assembly, and associated with him Alexander Lillington
and Col. Thomas Lloyd, as a Directory to manage their affairs