VOLUME I.
OXFORD, N. 0., WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1875.
NUMlRMi 20.
GOV. ON TSSK PISj:CK-
I.a:NES5ji£Q ©BCLAKA'S'SON.
The following ai'O extTactBfrom
Gov. Gilmer’s “Sketches of Geor
gia,” a book printed by the Ap-
pletons in 1855, but now out of
print:
“The Saxon Scot(R emigTated
in such numbers to the fine coun
try in the North of Ireland during
the sixteenth and seventeenth cen
turies, as to form a distinct race
from the native Celt. These wo
men were the prettiest in t>erson
and the purest in character of Eu
ropean ladies, and tlieir men were
equally distinguished for enter
prise, intellectual capacity, and
love of libel ty. The inferior sta
tion assigned by" the Bntish Gov-
erimient to Irishmen in the pub
lic service induced most of those
who could to emigrate to the
Ameiican colonies. In the earl}-
part of the eighteenth centur}*
sevei’al Scotch-Iilsh i-Vesb}d:eidan
congi’egations settled on the fertile
territoiy of Noith C^irolina, be
tween the Cat^iwba and Yalkin
livers. The arbitrary dominion
of Great Biitain followed the em-
igi'ants to tlieir new" homes. The}'
were forbid to take tlie evidem^e
of any existing debt in the form
of a promissory note, or buy a
pound of tea witliout first paying
the Government for tlie privilege.
A large British army crossed the
Atlantic to compel them, and.
others like them, to do what they
would not voluntarily. The col
onists were obliged to clioose be
tween submission and resistance.
Tlie rumors about the battles of
Lexington and Biialier Hill so
excited tlie Scotdi-L'ish of Meck
lenburg, tliat on t]:ie Itlthof May,
1775, they assembled in tlie little
village of Clnirloi^ to agree what
they would do. They made the
following declaration of their
opinions and purposes
S'SE ©eci-ar-
AT20N,
[The Centenial of wkkh tvill he
Celebrated at CJuirhite te-morrowh]
Resolved, That whosoever di
rectly or indirectly abette^d, or in
any way, form or manner coun
tenanced the unchartered and
dangerous invasion of our rights
as claimed by Great Britain, is
an enemy to this country, to
America and to the inherent and
inalienable nghts of man.
Resolved, That we, the citizens
of Mecklenbtirg county, do here
by dissolve the political bonds
which have connected us with the
mother country, and hereby ab
solve oui’selves from all allegiance
to the British Crowm, and abjure
all political connection, contract
or association writh that nation,
who have wantonly trampled on
our rights and liberties and inhu
manly shed the blood of Ameri
can patriots at Lexington.
Resolved, That we do hereby
declare ourselves a free and inde
pendent people; are, ajid of right
ought to be, a sovereign and self-
governing association, under the
control of no power other than
that of our God and the General
Government of the Congress to
the maintenance of which inde
pendence w"e solemnly pledge to
each other our mutual coopera
tion, om’ lives, our fortunes and
Our most sacred honor.
Resolved, That as we acknowl-
odge tho exigteiice and coutix>l of
no la^^', nor legal oflicc, civil or
inilitaiy, within this couulr}', we
do hereby ordain and adopt as a
rule of life, all, each, and every
ol our former laws; wherein,
nevertheless, the Grown of Great
Britain never can be considered
as holding riglits, jmvileges, im
munities, or authority tlierein.
Resolved, That it is further de
creed that all, each and every
military officer in this county is
liereby retained in his former
command and autliority, he act
ing conformably to these regula
tions ; and that every member
present of this delegation shall
henceforth be a civil officer, viz :
a justice of the jjeace, in the char
acter of a committeeman, to issue
process, hear and determine all
matters of controversy, according
to said adopted laws, and to pre-
seiwe peace, union and harmony
in said county, and to use every
exertion to spread the love of
c‘Ouiitry and hi-e of freedom
througliout America, until a gen
eral organized government be es
tablished in tliis jn'ovmce.”
THE BEAkEK OF THE DECLAKATIO^T.
“ A voice from the crowd call
ed out “three cheei-s,” and the
whole coirqxany shouted tlrnee
times, and threw their liats in tlie
air. The resolutions wei'c read
again and again daring the day,
to different companies desirous of
retaining in their memories senti
ments so congenial to their foel-
ings. There are still living (1855)
seme whose parents were in that
assembly, and heard and read the
resolutions, and from whose lips
they Imard the circumstances and
^iitimeiits of this remarkable dec
laration. When the chairman of
the meeting put the question,
“VV"ho ■will carry oar resolves to.
the Congress of tlie Confedera
tion ?” James Jack, a bold, en
thusiastic man, answered, Twill!’
Immediately after, a lone liorse-
inan miglit h-ave been seen, witli
intent look, pressing his horse on
through the country towards the
north; Yvdieii James Jack arriv
ed in Philadelphia, lie attended
the Congress and delivered hi.s
n>essage to some of its members.
That body took no notice of it in
its proceedings. The majority
were not then prepared to jeopai-d
their lives and proj>erty b}' doing
what w^as treasonable. Whilst
the Declaration of Inde|>endence,
made by the Congress of the
Confederation on the 4th of July,
1776, has been upon the lips of
every American, upon every re
turn of its anniversary, the Dec
laration of Indej^endence made
more than a year before by the
Mecklenburg j)eople remained for
a long time unknown to fame.
The fact that such a declaration
had been made was unnoticed in
history, unknown to the public,
and denied when asserted, until
])laced beyond dispute by the
production of two copies, which
have continued in the possession
of the descendants of persons
present when it was made, and
by the finding of a coj)y, wliich
was sent to his government by
some Britisli officer in the South
ern colonies and deposited in the
colonial office of London. When
liberty triumphed James Jack re
moved from North Carolina to
Georgia, and finally settled in
Elbort oounty, near Broad river.
Hie first son, Wm. Jack, was for
a long time nierclmnt in Augusta,
Ga., of the firm of Jack &, Ennis.
Batrick Jack, tho second son of
Jas. Jack, was a Colonel in the
Eiglith Iiifantjy during the war
of 1812. Leroy M. Wile}^, form-
erlv of New York, and in 1854
reputed to be one of the richest
men in tlie woild, was a nephew
of James Jack, and Alexander
Bowie, formerly Chancellor of
Alabama, marriod Jas. Jack’s
A BKASaiaiN ON TlfiE BIBLE.
At the opening of a reading-
room in one of the cities in India,
a Brahmin asked leave to sjDeak,
and leave being granted, lie pro
ceeded to eulogize the missiona
ries for the blessings which they
have secured to India.
lie asked, What makes them
do all this for us ^ w their Bi
ble / I have looked into it a great
deal, at one time and another, in
the different languages which 1
chance to know. It is juat the
same in all languages. The Bi
ble !-—there is nothing to compare
with it, in all our sacred books,
for goodness, and parity, and ho
liness, and love, and for motives
of action.
“Where did tlie English-speak
ing people get all their intelligeuoe,
and energy, and cleveimess of
power ? it is their Bible that
gives these things to them; and
now they bring it to us, and say,
^This is wliat raised us, take it,
and raise yourselves.' They do
not foice it upon us, as the
Mohammedans used to force
their Koran; but they bring
it in love, and translate it in
to our languages, and lay it
before us, and sa}", ‘Look at it,
read it, examine it, and see if it is
not good.
“Of one thing I am convinced
—do what we will, oppose it as
we may, it is the Christian’s Bible
that ndll sooiw or later work the
regenei’ation of this land.”
The missionary who relates
the incident, says, “I could not
but be suiqirised at this testimony
thus borne. How far the speak
er was sincere, I cannot tell; but
he had every appearance of a
man speaking his honest convic
tions. I liad known him some
what before, but was not prepar
ed to see him come out in the
presence of sucli an audience
with so pointed testimony to the
power and excellency of the Bi
ble. My earnest prayer is, that
not only may his intellect be con
vinced, but that his heart may be
reached by the Holy Spirit, and
that he may soon become an
earnest follower of the cross of
Christ.—N. Y. Evangelist
Mr. Wood, wdio under the pa
tronage of tlie English government,
has been for several years em
ployed in excavating the ruins of
the great Temple of Diana at
Ephesus, related to a New York
audience recently his interesting
and chequered experience. He
thinks the Temple was opened to
the sky, the statue of the goddess
liavingbeen sheltered by a canopy.
He found alternate layers of char
coal and a sort of putty, in all
eleven inches, on which the huge
walls of the magnificent edifice
oncM3 stood.
The l*«wer «f Love.
A teacher was giving a lesson
on metals and minerals to a class
of cliildron. They wore told that
gold could bo melted—that all
metals could be melted. Then
the teacher asked; “Can stone be
melted I”
“Yes,” said a little boy; “stone
is melted iu volcanoes.”
“Tiiat is true ; and now, can
YOU tell me what can molt a heai’t
as hard as stone
After a few minutes’ tlioiight,
the little boy replied : “I think
it is God only who can melt a
hard heart.”
“I think so too, my child; but
how does God melt the heart
“It is by his love.”
“Yes, the love of God melts the
stony hearts. ‘We love him be
cause lie first loved us.’ ”
A Boy that tells the Truth.
—Little Henry Manly came in
just now with a tin funnel in liis
hand. He sells them for75 cents.
One of our citizens was about pay
ing him the money for one to-day,
when he asked Henry if he
wouldn’t take any cheaper, and
IleniT told him no. lie then
asked him how much profit he
made on tlie funnel, and Henry,
manly like, had the truth in him,
spit it out, and told him 25 cents.
The citizen then refused to buy
the funnel. A young man near
by remarked to Henry, “Con
found it boy, you oughu’t to tell
what you make, tell’em ten cents.”
“No sir,” said Henry, ‘T sliall
tell tlie ti'uth if I don’t make a
cent” Stick to that, my boy.
Telling the fruth gives you this
notice, and the notice is worth a
dozen funnels though you may
have failed to sell because you were
honest enough to confess your
profit.—lialeigh Sentinel.
Rev. Dr. Kidd was a Scotch
minister of some prominence, and
very eccentric, and one wdio had
his own way of doing things.
Cue of his }>arishionere says:
I was busy iu my shop, when, in
the midst of my work, in stepped
the doctor. ‘‘‘Did you exjiectme ?”
was his abrupt iquiry, without
even waiting for a salutation.—
“No,” w"as the reply. “What if
it liad been death asked he ;
when at once he stepped out as
abruptly as he came, and was gone
almost before I knew it.
What a thought for every one
of us ?—Does not death come to
most, if not all, as unexpectedly
as tills ? And does not the in
quiry impress the lesson from oui’
Saviom’ slips—“Be ye also ready ;
for in such an hour as ye think
not, the Son of man cometh 1”
The practical operation of the
compulsory education law in Now
York has developed the fact tha?
most of tho absenteeism iu the
public schools is caused by tru
ancy.—Teachers are instructed
to report all absentees to the tru
ancy department, and an agent
specially employed for the pur
pose investigates every case.
The result is an increased atten
dance at all the public schools.
■—The sword of “Capt.- Black
Bill Alexander,” of Revolutionary
fame, hangs in the Library of
Davison College. It will be on
exhibition at the Oeutonuial.
SPa^AK GENTLY.
Spdak goritiy 1 it is better fur
To rule l‘j lore thatl fear;
Spoalc geitllj'! let no harsh words thiaf
The good wc inisfht do here.
SflGak gently ! Love doth whi.‘ipev low
The vows that tmo liourts bind :
And gonily fiieudsl ip's aecetits
AUeciion’s voicu id Uiiul.
Speak gently to t-he little child ;
It’s lovo he snro tO gain ;
Teach it in accents soft and mild,
It may not long remain.
Speak gently to tho youngs for they
Will have enough to bear j
Pass through tho world as host they ma;^f
'Tis full of anxious caret
Speak gently to the aged otie ;
Grrieve not tho carc-woru ireart j
The sands of life are nearly run j
I>et such in peace depart.
Speak gently, kindly to the poor j
Let no harsh tone be heard;
They have enough they must ondurdj
Without au unkind word.
Speak gently to the erring; know
They may have toiled in vain ;
Perchance unkindness made them so i
Oh I win them hack again.
Speak gently; lie who gave His Ufd
To bend man’s stubborn will,
When elements wore fiefcJ' iU strife#
Said them, “Peace be still
Speak gently; 'tie a little thing
Dropped in the heait’s deep -w-oll \
Tho good, the jc»y that it may bringi
Eternity shall tell.
Th«re are some things wliich
cannot be postponed to a more
convenient season ; tliey must be
done now or never. There are
opportunities of doing good which,
if not improved as they are pre^
sented, now, pass by for everi
Save that 5'Oung man, that young
woman now, it may be iiow of
never. We must improve tliis
moment now or never.—-Christ
Han's Pathway.
Trees have been found in Aus
tral ia which exceed the giants of'
California in height, though not
in circumference. One fallen
tree in Victoria measured 420
feet iu length, and anothef 480,
while the highest yet discovered
in CalifoiTiia reaches only 450
feet, the average being from 300
to 400.
A year ago two men at Orange,
N. J., made a bet as to the quan
tity of liquor a certain other party
could drink. Witliin the year
the men who made the wager and
tho keeper of a saloon iu which
the liquor was drank have died
.suddenly, and a bo}^ who carried
the liquor has committed suicide;
“Has your grandson alt eflf
for music I" asked a professor of
an old lady who had sent for hint
to instruct her pet in the tuneful
art.
‘Waal, fe’llyl don't ttlOW Per-
fesser. Won’t you Jtist take the
candle and'seo?’ serettely replied tl' ff
old lady, clicking away with her
knitting pins,
A traveler was lately tjoastHVg
of the luxury of arriving at night,
after a hard day’s journey, 1(»
partake of the enjoyment of a
well cut ham, and the left leg. of
a goose. “Pray, sir, what is- the
peculiar luxury of a left leg I”
“Sir, ,to conceive its Inxtirjq you
must find that it is tlie only lea"
left.”
■ bkn