By this agreement people could, of course, only wear clothing
that was made in the colonies, and even the wealthy refused to buy silk
and broadcloth that were sent from England. Tea and coffee, being
imports, were not drunk, and in their place were used preparations made
from fragrant wild herbs of the American soil.
The merchants who had assembled in the coffee-house were called the
Non-Importation Association, branches of which spread throughout all the
colonies. The paper they signed was the non-importation agreement. Next
day, which was the first on which the stamps were to be distributed, the
city seemed to sleep. The shops were closed and the citizens remained
indoors. The flags were hung at half-mast and the bells tolled dismally.
But at night the silence changed to noise. The citizens gathered in
numbers. They broke into the stable of Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader
Golden and dragged out his coach of state. In it they put a figure made
of sticks and rags to represent the owner. They marched the streets,
shouting as they went, and finally surrounded the fort. The soldiers
were drawn up on the ramparts with cannon and gun directed toward the
Bowling Green. But no shots were fired. The rioters being denied
admission to the fort, into which they were anxious to get because the
stamps were stored there, tore down the wooden railing around the
Bowling Green, and, kindling a huge fire, burned the coach and the
figure in it.
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