Delete comment from: Boston 1775
The Boston Whigs took note that Gov. Bernard commissioned James Murray as a justice of the peace shortly before the troops arrived. Murray was an immigrant from Scotland who had already served on the North Carolina Council before joining his sister Elizabeth in Boston (where she had become more successful). As the Whigs anticipated, Murray was quite supportive of the royal government and offered to use his powers as a magistrate as needed. He could authorize the soldiers to act against civilians under British law.
One witness to the Boston Massacre reported that people spotted Murray coming to "read the Riot Act," which would have empowered the soldiers to fire on the crowd if it didn't disperse, but the crowd chased him away. I'm not sure that happened since Murray himself, who left letters and testimony to the Loyalists Commission, never mentioned it. But it shows what Bostonians expected from him.
Aug 5, 2019, 6:19:51 AM
Posted to “The officer swearing and cursing to us”