General Gage Appointed Governor: Committee and Fifty-one

But the "Committee of Vigilance," appointed by the Hampden Hall patriots, were not awed by the acts of the Grand Committee. They called a mass-meeting of citizens in The Fields on the 19th of June, when, by resolutions, the lukewarmness of the Committee of Fifty-one was denounced; sympathy with, and a determination to support the Bostonians were expressed, and the appointment of delegates to the General Congress, instructed to advocate non-intercourse with Great Britain, was urged. Nothing further was done to excite public attention until many days afterward, when the Committee of Fifty-one met on the evening of the 4th of July, and on motion of Alexander McDougall, five deputies to the General Congress were nominated. These were Philip Livingston, John Alsop, Isaac Low, James Duane, and John Jay. McDougall proposed to submit the nominations (which were approved) to the Tribunes, or "Committee of Mechanics," for their concurrence. The proposition was rejected. McDougall was offended, and the next day a handbill, doubtless prepared by him, appeared throughout the city, inviting the people to a meeting in The Fields at six o'clock in the evening of the 6th. An immense gathering was there, for they were called "to hear matters of the utmost importance to their reputation and security as freemen." It was ever afterwards known as The Great Meeting in The Fields. McDougall was called to the chair, and a series of strong resolutions, among others one in favor of a stringent non-intercourse league, were adopted.

On that occasion, a notable event occurred. In the crowd was a delicate boy, girl-like in personal grace and stature, about seventeen years of age, who was a student in King's (now Columbia) College, and known as the "Young West Indian." This boy had been often seen walking alone under the shadows of great trees on Dey Street, sometimes musing, and some-times talking, in low tones, to himself. Some of the residents in that neighborhood had, occasionally, engaged him in conversation, and had been impressed with his wisdom and sagacity. When they saw him in the crowd they urged him to address the meeting, but he modestly refused. After listening to several speakers, and finding that important considerations had been overlooked by them, he summoned courage to present himself before the people. It was then almost sunset. The great multitude were hushed into silence at the appearance of the slender boy. "Overawed by that multitude, he hesitated and faltered," says a recent writer; "but as he proceeded, almost unconsciously, to utter his accustomed reflections, his mind warmed with the theme--his energies were recovered. After a discussion, clear, cogent and novel, of the great principles involved in the controversy, he depicted in the glowing colors of adult youth the long-continued and long-endured oppressions of the mother-country. Insisting upon the duty of resistance, he pointed to the means and certainty of success, and described the waves of rebellion sparkling with fire, and washing back on the shores of England the wrecks of her power, of her wealth, and her glory. The breathless silence ceased when he closed, and a whispered murmur `It is a collegian! it is a collegian!' was lost in loud expressions of wonder and applause at the extraordinary eloquence of the young stranger."

The orator was Alexander Hamilton, a native of the Island of Nevis, in the West Indies, who then first entered upon that extraordinary, useful and brilliant career in public life, for thirty years afterward, which placed him in the front rank among the statesmen of our country.

The Committee of Fifty-one were alarmed by the great demonstration in The Fields. They submitted the nominations of deputies to the Tribunes, but neutralized the effect of their concession by declaring that the resolutions passed by the great meeting were seditious. This offended several of the staunch republicans of the committee, and eleven of them instantly withdrew. It was not long before that aristocratic body disappeared as an organization, and the Hampden Hall Sons of Liberty became the tribunes of the people. The city of New York elected the nominees. Neighboring counties chose four others, and the delegation from the province of New York were nine in number.