Note 393 — Chapter XXII · Declining Years of Boulton and Watt—Bereavements—Gregory Watt—Death of Boulton.

It is a remarkable fact that Dr. Priestley was regarded with as much suspicion in America as he had been in England. The American government looked upon him as a spy in the interest of France; and he had great difficulty in forming a Unitarian congregation. The horror of the French Revolution, which had extended to America, was the cause of the hostile feeling displayed towards him. “The change that has taken place,” he said, in a letter dated 6th September, 1798, “is indeed hardly credible, as I have done nothing to provoke resentment; but, being a citizen of France, and a friend to the Revolution, is sufficient. I asked one of the more moderate of the party whether he thought, if Dr. Price, the great friend of their own Revolution, were alive, he would now be allowed to come into this country. He said, he believed he would not!”—In 1801 Dr. Priestley, by deed of trust, appointed Matthew Boulton, Samuel Galton, and Wm. Vaughan, Esqrs., trustees for Mrs. Finch (his daughter) and her children, in respect of 1200l. invested for their benefit in public securities.