North Carolina Newspapers

7 W n..etion;winy paper prepared and . . . " "!.. : ir.i adopted at Hie meeting of the 20lh i If the tru, it puis an end at nm-o ami forever tile hypothesis thai the document uf the .( there forever to hypothesis thai the document nt the .Olll is the only one that was put forth m Ale k- L-nburg in Mtv 177.1. 2. Up. 11. tlicn proceeded tit the issue thus made, and affirmed n i fact susceptible il" proof, that t the meeting mi the 20ili a aper wa prepared by Id. Kpliraim Breanl und presented by a committee appointed '' that purpose ; that such paper wan publicly rd hv Col. I hmnas Polk i that it unequivo cally declared independence, ipso verbo t an. I that it contenUwhcn read were assented tn by the people present. As to the first particular, the preparation if the paper by Or. Itrevard, he adduced the testimony id' nine witnesses, some of whum were of the Committee who reported it. As tu the second, the public reading he proved it by tight witnesses, all nf whom that speci fy the reader, name Col. Thomas Polk as the individual. As to the third particular, that the paper explicitly declared Independence, he quoted t ie very words of no less than fourteen wit nesses. who heard the paper read, every one of whom distinctly tailed it a declaration of Independence. Vie give the language of Jine : One calls it " the declaration of Indepen dence, made in Charlotte, on the 20th day i.f Msv lt?i " Another says ol the people"! Mei-Menbnrg, t'icv met on a certain day in Charlotte, and finni the head of the Court Mouse stairs, proclaimed Independent nf English govern menthv Cu!. Tiuiina Polk." Another says, "they resolved, to declare themselves Independent. Four others thus speak : " tliev formed several res"lvcs which were read, and whiell went to declare themselves and the people of Mecklenburg County free and Independent ol the Kin:; and parliament of Great liritain : anil that Irom tint day, iluncefnth, all alle giance and political 'relation was ab-olved between the g od people of .Mecklenburg and the Kin" of (ireat Britain " Another ihusspeaks : " it walnweverthe declaration made in substance and from, like that great national act, agreed on thir teen months alter." The testimony of the whole fourteen, whom, by the way, the people between the Yadkin auJ Catawba know to have been men nf un imjieachable integrity, was remarkable in the particular that every one used the word " In ilependeure," or " Independent," in descri bing the character of the declaration. From the testimony, which he said, stran gers who knew nothing nf the characters of the witnesses might question, but those who lived in North Carolina never would, the speaker drew two inferences, via : 1st, that there could be no reasonable doubt aa to what the contents of the paper of the iOth were ; and 3d, there could not be any difficulty in identifying it by those contents. He then took the next step lor which he Jiad thus prepared the way, and produced the Will known document ol tlie SOW, show ing that " in substance and in from" it does agree with the national declaration ; that it does expressly renounce allegiance and de declared Independence ; that it does meet specifically the ca I proved to have been made by the excited multitude for Independence and that it docs allude tu the bloody events at Lexington, the news of which had just rearhed them pr! lb ax-rat.! 3. Ine neat fact lie affirmed and proceed ed to prove, was, that the paper then read passed iutothe hands of its proper custodian, the Secretary of the meeting ; and he stated that this was important, because he meant to tract it step by atep from hit bauds into hon orabtc publicity. It was important too, be cause it involved tii reputation for integrity nf a man wholited with unblemitdied charac ter (or more than lour seme years in this county, and who is now in his grae. He said that either J i'iii McKuitt Alexander, the Secretary nf the meeting, had in his pos session honorably a.t,l Iwnestly such a paper that which beat s I lie date of May 'Hl) XT' 5, and it was a true part of the proceed, in; nt that day ( i-r Johu M.-Knitt Alexan der was guilty of fraud and falsehood by f"rgin such a piper. There is no escape J rum one or the other ol the.e alternative. Dr. II. then affirmed what all Mecklen lojrg knows to be true, that mi man now liv ing vr Hi I ever um live ns or nai any right to cat such an imputation on John MtKuitt t history of the proceeding at Charlotte on the t men might have ahown Uiem that men in Alexander, lie was as lione.t a man a any i -20th of May, and statement that the trans Uheir sense would never have made the ho have ever asiailed our declaialiun oljactioii so creditable to North Carolina wa cessation of their law deend upon the imlepvndunie, be they high or low. ! mil known ac"ierally a it should beta the, happening of either one of two coulingen- Hut, a Dr. II. proceeded u lemaik. Pro. j cili.en of the U. .State. He then discus-jcies, so utterly irreconcilable and inconsis idence has in a striking manner taken caiejed the question," wheneedid Oarden obtain legislative action by the pn.viniial ol a worthy christian man thus iruellv assad jhia copy He ur't showed that it could j Congress, or similar action by the ItritUh rd ; and tiiis the speaker made appear by a i not have been limn Martin's book, for (jar-1 Parliament. For this would be, in effect, to ucccssiun of facts which he tsublished by incontr.itertibln'trvliino'ijr. 4. Alexander deilaied, while yet alie, that he had gien enpies f that paper to two! wtu, both ol whom lived lor nearly twenty j ears a'ter hi lert.iration. These men were : lien. William lUl.arilsoti D.vie and Dr. D ig Williamson, lie had giv-n these cupies prior tu the )ear Ib'O. lit never, made a secret ol having lurmstted tnese eup - its: n-itbinj theref.ne Taier tlun to dis- pamphlet put fmi'iby the Mtate containing prove the authenticity uf these pajiers by a Alexamler'a copy, fuu'nd among Davie pa-co-npansoii of t'HiN wuli de in igiual. pr'o'r to per, was io;t published until the winter of I s H, when Aleva-nlci'i house wa burned li.5n 'jl ; nenher could they have been ii l many id h.s paper destroyed, l!ie ori- t n'j'aiued Irom the publication of Col. Folk in o n iieciaiaiton among ue msu ii mere lore lie was wicneti enooit in lore tne pa pet he gate Datie and Williamson belorc'and r's.-and not with Martin' or Garden'e r-j'H, he was i!!y eiiou'i to all od tne iiu-ana d hi own 4liteitio,i by so red. ly and lie-jitii'ly telling tooi.ieis m whose po.e iu these urruuiied coiea in rii be lound. .. . . ... ,. li-jr Wiiii wa 11 11 jiii iikhhiosoii i'srie : U.-ai. 1 ii this comtry, at Collert m ITT3, I... If ... lmmr !.! in lu..l..r.i Ii,.... .... Ceiling t.e ln:es ofltenlnii. Kery goiol uiii in boiii tie Cmolina Lnw Inii a Ii ae man, ctcn a he kn-w them. lie knew, j tilled that he must base obtained them from loo. ail the past iitsi.nv id hi country and .,nie uflu fellow soldiers snd companion, crown all, he waaninteli.-itaa!.hih-toiied,!!j., were imiiierou enou-h in all lhi re- lionoiaUlc. brave gmil mi,,. Well, it is to this man, of all otu-i , that Alraan ler gives copy of a document most temaik4ile I o the distinct boldness ol the language, m whn.li it renounce allegiance nd assert ii.depeu- drnee. .Now we must sippu (hat l)ne rni't me ia iter inus given m h.m: u.at lie dteo.ej it atualle"i piuvid sr the fact that he rareiully preservwl iL We must a i sujijse, toat as ha urmed it, it i,t. - aanly must hate pre.mjeJ t b.s hihuI ni er ouieti.ifi4 of wni ii he" had herd be - f.ir, or (onirihi"2 that wa entirely to !V..n. If the latter were the case, then . ....... I,... I... I i in iiiniiiru wu'i h he would make of his old companions and fellow pitri nts, slid it would especially have prompted him to an examination uf the original of to remarkable historical novelty. And when he thus inquired, if the whole story were a fabrication 'he must have discovered the l'ict and consentient baseness of Alexander. But Davis keeps the paper, and after his death it was found treasured up among his most precious manuscript, anil he retains his respect and continence lur me man iroin : . ... . .. . ? i whom he received it as long as mat man iiveu. Can any other inference be drawn than that Davie knew the paper to be authentic t Some ol you (said the speaker) Knew uen. Davie, and you know he was just me man who would indignantly nave spurneu Alexan der from his presence forever, il he had round himself deceived bv him. 5. The next tact is that Alexander tma ne -. ... .St. had also given a copy to Dr. Hugh Jfultam ion. Governor Stokes testified that in 1T93, he siw a copy in the hands of Wil liamson, together with a letter to him, bath in the hand-writing til Alexander, whom he knew, ami that he conversed with William son on the subject of the letter and copy enclosed, flut as Williamson made no use of it in his bonk which he miscalled "a his torv nf North Carolina.' it has been insinua ted that he never had wch a document. We might as well infer that he never had the prinieii irutmivii .r mv avin, roi tie uw not mention tiiat meeting In fact, he dis poses nt the whnle revolutionary history of the State in two short sentences. His work dues not deserve the name of History. 0. Ht further confirmation of Alexander's nprfWt truth and honesty is furnished by i r - - . . . . . . rfi connected with the copy he tma ne nau given 10 JHWIC, ami wiucn was juunu jirvn Davk'i papers. Alexander must have known whether they wcra resolves ol a meeting on the Snth, or those adopted at the meeting on the 30lh, for he was at both. Alter his house was consumed, talking with his old friend Judge Cameron, lamenting the loss of the original Declaration, lie remarked to the Judge emphatically, Hut the document is site." What document r He explains the Declaration ; for, add he, " I pave Davie a cony which I know tube rorrert." No copy of the resolves of the 30th in Alexander handwriting or that of any one else, was ever found among Davie's paper. Ilesides, he would nut have sVid so emphatically of the resolves n' the 3()th, the document is aafe," for those reswlves as he well knew were to be found in print in divers publications. They consequently were safe enough. 7. But the proof l Alexander's truthful- affirmed br Dr. Hawk was. that a ropfi ,l..i.,.t;ari the Minn as IVivie'a was in n.i afiii nrniniiiarHti iwinr mi. neir r.iri accumulates lor the next l.i the hand of Martin of Louisiana, andili Uw the power of the former crown was published by him in 18-29. Dr. II then stated that he himself, had pa r tie ularly queitinu'd Jude Martin in per son, 'not long before his death, as to the source whence he had derived his copy. The Judge said expressly, " not from Alexander," . - H - ..f .... out irom suirie one in mr t. rsirn imii vt tor ; State, prior to lain, iirre lorn was a copy substantially arreeing with Davie's, which,! before 1800, was, by some means or other, in existence in this part vT the world, ami not traced to Alexander. A to the fact of eubetantUd agreement, the Dr. remarked that as stMae had been pleased to say there Were , ,-f j-.m. i - i ... r" - &j rtsolutios) oi the series chaining the declar ation, be begged indulgence while he examined that point, lie then showed that (here really was no difference in sense, in a single resolution of either of the copies1 that the one was the first draft as made by Dr. Brevard at the request nf the Committee, and the other that draft with the correction nf the Committee. From the fa-t of th slight disagreement, however, he drew the inleretice, tht the very differences showed there had been no forgery of the paper; for had U been Jorgcj there Mtve r woulil have Been found disagreeing eonire at all. The fraudu lent fabricator would have taken pains to make all the ropiet alike. 8. He then brouzht forward another fart hitherto unnoticed, namely: the Jlrst pub- lieation tif a mini f the reinhttion in e farm in which Judge Martin preeentt 'M committed theiuselte to such a con thtm. This was in the second volume of elusion. Hut without this knowledge of Major tiarden revolutionary anecdote and: fct, they might have seen the fallacy of reminiscences. They are ac'comnanied be a , their inference. Very slight critical acu 'den'a was pnMi.hed in M2S, while Martin's Idid not apjn-ar until the end of i20. He ! lest.fied irom hi own communication with Jad.'e Martin that ihe latter had never given Garden a copy. Tor he did not even know in tlie last war of hi life that Oarden bad ever nrintnl tiiem. lie next showed that he coaild f nut have obtained them from Alexander's ropy; because 1st, they did not agree with 1 .MviaO'lrr ropy exactly, and 3d, the ; tne " Kait-ig i Kegiater" M IBI'J, lor ine res . ... 1 . . ....... .... ; C"(iiea. He wa in possession then of a : t,,taMy distort copy from any heretofore ........... f.,.i. ...,--..il. tt...iUleol indiHeretice as to which bode aliould ; noticed. He m-xl showed ihal Major Garden , gianre, furonistent with a tire lo'is ileclara- i wa darinz the revolution in ln-e's legion. i t"n uf independence; lor lluse interpreter !.'. . ' " "L.I ft.... .11 t .... . . . ' I . a)Mi ilunng nart l the tune, one ol Iten. Gircnc' luvfamdv; Ihal in both of these .: l:. i.l i., ft.:... ... . .Kti,uHil. low flUiie wnun noH imi so- Uiaiit communication with Mecklenburg and Lit o. I .k.i .n.i u.nt. tm. '.... ..r r..uirv..l lo.l.r i.,.....it wiiii all il.u doioi in Mecklrnborg. j g. Aitoiher, ami the last fact adduced br iihe sneaker in Ihi orl of Ihe case, wa thai 'anolii-r cony ol the document nol emanating ,oiii Alex's'n.ler, and never under Ins con- i... . i!...,...'. ,! ! wilb llmi i coiiv .r.ioH, wsi.ide t the lime ol the meel - i t iv one inesent .who kept I tjiarjr in which t.,i ,k, .. and staled the date. ! f. g-ii., l-i t i.is Jiarv wa nresetted 1 in the family . f t', Key. II. Humphrey, who , l(4,de ji, tn& if yet in existence. On this mass of direct testimony, Dr.' II.1 thought we might safely adopt two conclu sions, via; 1st, if there was a large meeting in Charlotte of the Mecklenburg men on the 19th and 20th day of May, I.T5; if they were then and there greatly excited by the news of the aftair at Lexington just received; if they resolved unon a public expression ol, their opposition to tyranny and called for independence eo nomine, and if they caused any paper at all to ue prepareu ai mo mcci iag (and these things he submitted must be believed, or we must relinquish all faith in human testimony,) then it must loiiow tnai the attempt to make the documcntof the 30th of May the Mecklenburg declaration of inde pendence utterly laiis; ami w, tnai an toe particulars above named having occurred here on the 19th and 20th days of May, 1T73, the document we now produce ol that date is the declaration of independence that was then promulgated in this town. THK DOCUMENT OF 30TII OC MAY. The sneaker then, returuinz tu this, sub jected it tQa minute, searching analysis and conclusively showed that it was no more man a temporary bodyot laws, or.astuey exprea. sed it in the instrument, " Certain rules and regulations for the internal government of thucounty," necessarily as they judged, "for the better preservation of good order." He showed from one of the witnesses of tne meeting of the 20th, that, at that meeting, a committee was appointed for that very pur pue mat me -f th 30th was com posed of the members of that committee; that they auppoed themselves to be without laws, courts, or civil officers, because par. liament in (he preceeding February had declared them to be in rebellion. They proceeded, therefore, under the name' of reiolvri to make laas. The meeting of May 30th had done no more than assert, as a general principle, their voluntary adoption of the existing laws f the col ony "as a rule ol lite, with an ex press disclaimer ol any recognition mere by of the Crown or any of its officers. The co iimittee was now to prescribi in detail measures which would carry out the general principle? with its disclaimer. Accordingly they passed, twenty resolves. When we examine them we find that from the 3d to the lUih, they relate entirely to nutter purely civil, in the administration of justice in the county ; and in the 19th and litlili they put the military in a lit state fnr service, and provide a proper authority over them. Thus, they extemporize a specie l court in each military company's district, fit the extent of jurisdiction, provide oiln era to execute pro cess, established an appellate tribunal, regu late the duties of tax collectors and other accounting officers, and 'MridtntHtlff, to inure die Working of the system thus devised, and prevent a conflict nf authorities, they officials of thecountv.and pledge lhetnelve tu save harmless their own othcer whom they now appoint. As t the meeting, they had by their action on the COth, con tinued in command all officers -who would eiinfiirm to the nrinple ol the declar ation and they now give directions lor providing the men with arms and am munition, with infraction to hold them- selves m readme tu' execute the orders received from tliem or the prttvinc'wl Con grass, 'l itis sketch embodies all the law ihey made, and constitotes nearly the whole document of. the 30th. The 'only oiher that these law are to be in force no longer than necessity absolutely demands; and this is made in these words, "that these retnUes be in full forre and virtue unlit instruction from the Provincial Congress, regulating the jurisprudence nf the province, shall provide otherwise ; r the legislative body nf Ureal liritain resign its unjust and arbitrary pre tension with respect to America. The i latter clause of tin passage ha been ured proof that they never made a previous j declaration renouncing allegiance, or they , orvrr wuuni, anvrr, nave iinpmu a wining' lies to submit themselves azain to British legislation. Dr. II. remarked that had those who have thus interpreted this clause, been a well acquainted as Mecklenburg men are, with I 'he then existing facta, they would scarcely make them say,-"our action shall I when either of two bodies now in a si epn antagonism and hostility shall ac I cease state of, act with (reference to us; and as we are indifferent jon the subject, we will yield at onre to that I body which acts first ;" and thi declaration, ' too, must be made in the face of their own . jmsitiv assertion in the wrond resolve of the very same instrument, that the right to act was then in one ol those antagonistic boilie only, via i the provincial Congress; and further, that they meant their resolves to be mere temporary substitute for laws, only until that Congress did act. It might nave been teen too, without any extraordinary sagacity, that thi aMmaif"! i . . . i. - I . . I...I- i..l. ...! . . u,. L n i rule them, (contradicted a we know it to; have been bv all ronrurrent hislorv) even if ! real, implied no ai krmwMgmetit f alle - o" ,,ul ii"" a iuhiih-iii hi us manual working on the happening of one of the I routiti.. iftrii. siui.mM.. f,,,. inaluee. tlm -" ri ' ;' ( ifieet action to proceed from the provincial, ,1'ongn s. what must follow? Why. on their s hypothesis of an indifferent ihuii e between t"" alternative, the roloui.i would neressa- rily subinit to the Congress; and Ihen, of iCowrae, s submission could be yielded but one authority, any at lion of Parliament afterward, no mutter what, wo uid have bern too late to induce otiedie nre to it ; and l then f (nurse again, the rulonisl must have . jbeen 111 open opposition to the llritish gov - I eminent, refusing In ai knowledge allegiance j'o il though the very hypoihesi( whirh ! this iucvitafity leads l this opposition and rrtul ol alii giame to (treat liritain, as sume tin ' willmgti of the rulonisl to; submit to Great Britain. i lie who would nndcntanl the attmn the Mecklenburg men, must inform himself i accurately of the facte which were then e isting around jhe'm. A knowledge of these will show why the clause was inserted, and what it meant; and will demonstrate the perfect consistency of the actors. What wer the facts? Briefly these; The British Parliament had a short time before declared these men to be in rebellion, out of the Limr'a nrotection. Ihcv conceived, that "'"Or. I - ... , . ;L the. ettectot this Was tO leave tnein. wiinmn officers, civil or military, without law to govein them, and without courts to an in in - later law. even tf the had it. 1 here was ennaennentU. in their view, nothwz to onnose anv restraint to the wildest anarchy But they saw this would very soon destroy the ncace and quiet of the whole country, and accordingly, at their pel meeting on the 2fUh of May. in the memorable docu ment ot that date, made primani v mr anoxner nurnoee. thev attempted to provide a remedy, so far as their own county was concerned by declaring in their fourth resolution, that as there was no taw or legai omccr m it county who could be recognised by men of any political opinion, loyalist or whig, (for the whole country was prociaimeu in reuci lion,) they would ordain and adopt as a rule of life, each and every of their former laws. already existing and known to all, saving only that they did not thereby mean to acknowledge me rmnisoi me power uwi ou thus wantonly and deliberately put them out side of the protection of those laws. They ! - K" general principle or ad hering to their existing and well known laws, not because the crown had once sanc tioned them, but simply because they chose to adopt them "as a rule of life." And they further declared that all existing offi cers in the county who chose to adopt the principles asserted on the JOth of May, might continue to exercise their office under this temporary arrangement until when ? until (say they) a more general ami organ i.ed government is established in the pro vince. Aim having done tins, tner appoint a committee of dele-rates to hofd future and arrange the details which would carry out these general principles. r ... it . ... .i... l il. wen, ten nays auerwam, me ui-it-nic convene to promulgate those detail which they had by that time arrangeii and on tne 30th, this work was done and sent to Wil mington to be printed, because it was to be " a rule ol lite" lor every man in that county that peace and order might oe preserved. In anansintr these details, the delegate had no difficulty in declaring for themelve and all other confirmed w hi-zs, that they re co-rnised the provincial Congress, and in 'shaping for themselves ordinances in har mony with such a recognition; out mere were others in the county, who, though not very numerous, were still influential, whos sympathies were not with the whig, wh rather inclined to the crown. These tnen were however to be brought under the influ ejice of the temporary laws, but thry were not prepared to admit that these laws ahoul cease upon the actum of a provincial l.nn gress, for they recognized no authority in such a Congress. And the existence and opinions of these men form a most important Historical laci wnirn nas oeen enureij over looked by those who have undertaken to in terpret the document of the 3oth. " What was to be done with those men?" wis question presented to the minds of the dele gatc 'I o have insisted on their obeying llw if.iy law mn4 r.giiiin; the pro ttncuu Longteee, would, at once, nave pro duced a forcible contest; civil strife would probably have then commenced. But th on every account was to be avoided, and tint the least of the reasons why it should be avoided was, that many men who then wa vered, would (as events afterwards proved they did) find that their loyal hopes in the justice of the crown were doomed to diap iMiintinent, anil mat tney must cast in their lot w ith the mas of their rounlrvmen, or be tne victims oi a mispiaceu ami unrequueu loyalty, 'While, therefore, it was declared that for the preservation of peace and order, these men, like atl others, mut submit to the temporary ordinances of the 30th ; yet for their sake it was also inserted that the moment the British legislature should (and the language is remarkably guarded) "re sign its unjust ami arbitrary pretensions with respect to America" that i, revoke their edict of a pretended rebellion which nullified all law; thus reviving the ancient laws nf the tolony; that then, these men might obey these revived rnlonial law, and no longer ennsider themselves bound bv the temporary ordinance of the 30th May. This they could assent to 'with their ex isting loyalty unimpearhed, for thry did recognize the authority of the British legis lature; and this the delegate also could permit in perfect harmony with, their own declaration of the '20th, because in that they "adopted and ordained" these erj same law "a a rule of life." In framing the .i . .- r . i - . i clause, therefore, which made the resolve of the 30th obligatory on all, except on the happening of one or two contingencies, the delegates took care so to frame the contingen cies as to suit the prejudices or conscience of both classes in the community, and thus insure peace and order by the temporary obedience of all. As to the delegate themselves, they had already declared in the instrument itself that the only contingency wlii.h should re- lease tnem, wa tin action oi a provincial I .i . r . . I Cnnvress. The tithvi f-ftntit.nrv tn. x-ngreM erted tu serve the srruples of wavering and ; uncertain whig and avowed loyalists. If j mere nan ueen no irunu oi tne crown in Mecklenburg, it would not have been in- u.rl.1 a, .11 I I....I., it.. .I..l.. ... ... re m irjur, rl. llmibtleas they were not so visionary a to ,nc of.ioi ii ..ooirs iu ici yim , 4 , . . .i f, ,. entertain Ihe hope that thellrilish Parlia ment would ever undo ils iniquity, or re j e the laws bv revoking it wanton decree f ri lH-llinn. They saw what the end must he, and their mind were fully prepared fur to.ti; out there were other .whose vision a 'yet reached not so far, and who still though "i me crown wiiii lingering oi old habit mi nonew iiivaiiy oi anection. mil tiirse .. i , . . . i . . i. .. . .......... tcuuld be best cured of their delusion by the ! progress nf fst ripening events; and, in the meanlime, they a well a all others, must tey tne temporary laws made to pre serve peace and order. nd thi is the true and imple explani- 'ion of Ihi clause in the document of the i ?.0,,,.,",i U .mTh ,',,, '? h"rn ,"i,J, of, "r. II. Men atatod, that without the previous; iilaration of the 20ili, that of the 30th ould not be made to ppear appropriate and sensible. The two must be studied to gether as parts of one rei geeiai ami uium studied, that ot ine aiun, iuic . pm.s contradicted by, or found'incuusistent with, the 50th, receives irom it tne suongeai .oi roboration. . SPECIFIC 0Hjr.CT10NS. Dr. II. next proceeded to consider these : I. It whs aid that the paper of the 30th n not arinfeil at the time, nor alluded to in thn nrnreiMlini'S uf the 30th. Directly alluded to it was not, though its existence shaped the course of action on the am i. Kilt the cause was the same mat ieu to no direct illusion, and to not printing. It was because the paper of the 2utn asserteu great governmental principles, involving great national questions, even indepen dence ; and though the men of Mecklenburg might entertain and avow wnat principle they liked for themselves on this subject and though they might desire to influence the continental Congress, it tney couio, w the adoption and expression of opinions like tneir ownt yci wvj icn umv was a national, not a county, nor even a colony question. What they did was lor 7 . . . a the constitutional congress to juuge oi, nm fur the . neonle of the colonies at large. Hence, they would not prim, tor n migni interfere with plans and purposes of the Congress to do so ; but they sent ft special .... . . r, meswnirer to Conirre til lay their doings before that body, through their delegates, content to submit the great national matter .. . . . . .i to their judgment ana aniue ny weir uecw, ion 1 and on less than a question which they deemed national, they would never have sent a messenger to Congress, On a journey which at that day was aa long and laborious and almost aa expensive as a voyage to Eu rope now is. At the meeting on the 30th, there was nt need of allusion to the pro ceedings of the 20th, for the same individu als composed both meetings; ami as ine action of the 20lh was a matter not for the people, but for the continental Congress to determine, tney preserveii a silence on ine subject which luture events showed tu nave been discreet. i. But they did publish the proceedings oi me .)uiu. me reason was, mej cuiuouh-h e . i i. . i . L . .i , 1 laws for the people, " a rule of life " for the county. Hence, they printed, that the peo ple might know them. But does not the simple fact of their thus printing, show that tney never sent a special mesaenger at great trouble and expense to carry to Congress a document which they well "knew Congress would see in a few days in the public papers? Now, as a special messenger cer tainly was sent, and as certainly carried tome document, must it not have been some other paper than that of the 30th f and as the messenger hinisell railed the paper en trusted to him " a declaration of imlrpen denee," was it not probably that of the "iOth already produced f Dr. II. then proceeded to sav, that as the document of the 30th allowed the men who made it not to have been loots, a question presented itself which it was difficult natis factnrily to answer on the part of those who amrmeil. the document of the 30th to have been the only one made in Mecklenburg, in Mav. 1775. That (mention was this: How Could men, not fouls, suppose it was of the lightest moment to the Continental Cdhgresa of all the colonies in America to know how Mecklenburg County, in , Nwth Carolina, appointed her constable and Justice of the peace, the extent of jurisdiction given to the latter, the mode ol dealing with petty rogue and runaway debtor, with similar matters r What did the continental Con gress rare for all these thing i It is indeed quite possible that the me' setigrr may have had a copy of this paper of the 50th, though there was ho need of it, for br fore twenty days it was in print in Wilmington and in South Carolina, and on the 20th of June we know that Gov. Wright, uf Georgia, sent a newspaper containing it to the British government. But it i re markable that there is no resolve among those of the 30th ordering that paper to be sent to Congress, while in Brevard's first draught there is a resolution to send that paper; and there was sense and reason in seudiiig that, for on it was to be founded an application by our delegates to the general Congress to 'da for alt the colonic what Mecklenburg had done for herself, v it: Da c:f.i! lKD:rtr.M ! Well, the answer came bark that it was deemed premature I What! the eaiitmmtal tangrti informing Mecklenburg county that it wa premature to make constables ana jusnres til me peace, and to catch thieves and runaway rgni-s away far off in a settlement in the wild woods, mattered around its flourishing capital uf twenty log house! Why, what did the continental Congress know or care about the temporary local arrangements on subjects of thi kind? There were a hundred places in the country where that businra wa going on. Not a rolony existed from South to North, where the people were nut, in the beginning-. obliged to take the business of government into uieir own uanti, and extemporize some system of law. VA tugs were to be protected and torie watched and made powerlras for harm everywhere. The general Congress left all this to (oral authority, 'liny never ..!.! .1... I. .....,-..,' ' ' . hoi inai worn ui ion aiuii was premmure. But if thi document of the 3oth showed such action in Mecklenburg a was deemed oy tne contineiiui I ungres to be prrma ture, Dr. II. next asked, in what wa it pre mature; It must have been in one of but two thing, either in the entertainment of sudi sentiment a it contained, or in the pnWi'e expression of them. Now, we are told that the leading sentiment expressed in the document wa a willingness, on a certain contingency, to return again ander the do minion nf England, flow rnohj thin be deemed premature by the continental Con gres, when she had previously in her re spectful remonstrance expressed the same thing ? Mhe had said to Kngland, cease to ivraiiin.e ami wo will lie loval subject. Well, wa it premature to embody in writing the sentiment of the Mecklenburg mens to the best mode of improving a temporary government ? Why, every colony had done, or was ioing me same thing ; and the ronti. nenlat Congress not only approved of il, but actually, within a few .'lay after the pa tier reached them, advised the r ninnies to arm, and rrrninmendeil ;.. ...... ..t .x... """"J " le militia had already been organized by iWI mthoiily, (Mecklenburg of course was included,) to exercise their" discretion either in adopting the continental plan suggested, or by adhering to their own, according to circumstances. V ji . it. a.L P.. There was noming premature, mereiore, in entertaining the sentiments of which the document nf the 30th was the exponent. Well then; as to the other branch of the al ternative, we ask, did they suppose it pre mature to publish itf now coma mis oe When the continental Congress knew full well that it had been already printed in Wilmington and Charleston , before they ever saw it; that a printed copy of it was sent to the British government by Governor Wright of Georgia, just twenty days after the document was made, and that it was re- ( printed in New York from the Southern papers, at the very time the messenger from Mecklenburg was in riiiianeipnia r uui now just suppose the unprinted declaration of the 80th, which renounced allegiance and proclaimed independence, was in their hands, and we may .soon see from their own Ian- gunge tttnol it was tney ucemeu prnwiiwre. On th 8th of July, 1775, the continental Congress set forth a dogument which, from the date, must nave oeen in preparation i or about the very time the messenger front .. -i nt. .1 .i. 1. r. Mecklenburg reacneu rniiaueipnia, ior n in proof that his countylheh met him there in the latter part of June. This document was entitled, "The Twelve United Colonies, by their Belegates in Congress, to the Inhabitants of Great Britainr" whom it addresses a " friends, countrymen anil brethren." In this Instrument they declare their heartr tlesife for reconciliation on equitable and honorable terms, and thus speak I " Our enemies charge us with sedi tion, in wnat uncs it constat r in our re fusal to submit to Uhwarrantable acta of injustice and cruelty ? If an, show as a period in your history in which yoit have not been equally seditious. We are accused of aiming at indeptndeitef but how is this accusation supported f By the allegation of your ministersnot by our actions. Abused, insuiieu anu roniemnen, wnai iep nave w pursued to obtain redress f we have car ried our dutiful petitions to the throne ; we have applied to your justice for relief; we nave reircncneu our luxury, anu wuuueiu our trade. The advantages of our commercu were designed as a compensation for your protection. Whvtt you cMsed to protect, for what were we to compensate? What has been the success of our endeavors? The clemency of our sovereign is Bhhapnily di verted; our petitions are treated with in dignity; our prayers answered by insult. Our application to ynu remains unnoticed, and leaves u the melancholy apprehension of your wanting either the will or the power to assist us. Even under these circum stances what measures have we taken that betray a desire for mlrtietutenee t Have we called in the aid of those foreign powers who are therivalaof your grandeur? Whew your troops were few ami defenceless, did "we take advantage of their distress sad ex pel them from our towns? Or have we permitted them to fortify, to receive new aid. and to acquire additional defence ?" . With this solemn and elaborate exculpa tion of themselves from a desire of inde pendence, which they were Just on the eve of ushering into the world, it is easy to see what the continental Congress thought pre mature. It was nut a few resolutions pro viding temporary laws merely to serura peace and order in Merklrnburg county I it was that sterner, stouter Declaration which was uttered in fearless tones on the twenti eth that did, to ue their language, "betray a desire of independence." This was pre mature as long as the Congress indulged a hope of reconciliation !' ihe distinguished orator was frenoewtJe and enthusiastically applauded daring the delivery of the addres. which was pro nounced by all to be masterly ami ucceaar ful effort. THE WRITER LAND SPfXtXATICW rOKEWAR.NKU, roitEABwKD. ?ome twenty year ago De Quiocey pob lishcd "n Blarkwousr Magty.ine anareonM of the flight of a populous Tartar tribe, from Muscovite oppression, a crust the vast ex panse of desrrt which separates Ihe habitable portion of the Ktssian dominion from the Empire of China. Tbuuxb Ihe inc idents ana) details were fur the most part isasginary, th fact itself i recorded in Mussian history, to gether with a brief allosion to the etlraordr nary suffering endured by the fugitives v at numbers of whom died by the way before Ihey succeeded in reaching that famous bar rier, erected as a protection against the no madic tribes ol the Nottb, the famous Chi nese wall. A simitar exndu. originating in motive widely different, but pregnant wnh conse aursevs quite a disasiroa in saa tense ae that of Ihe flight of Tartars, it new taking place in tint country. The emigration epi demic which i spreading over all Ihe Eas tern States, hat already been referred In by us, and on more than one occssiun ; but the gravity of the movement, and the danger which it threatens to the monetary and com mercial interest of the adder blatet, render it ntcrssary wt should recur to the subject agsm. : . The speculation! now going a is West ern lands, and in town lots ma sped out in the wileVrnet, partake ol the tame charac teristics which distinguished Iht add Booth Sea -ami Mississippi Schemes the Tulip mains, and the morut tnulticsulit ettrava gnita. Having Ihe same clrtacult of com bullion at it congener, like them this West em bubble it it certain to explode, at tin distant day, leaving the credulout victim impoverished tnd dishrarlrnej. It i the tnpremr! folly for men to lea) the villages and rural districts of th interior to purchase town lota at almost fabulous prices, on the faith of surveyor 't plat and a specu lator's eloquent description of what the place may become at tome future day, or tu lake up wild lands, remote from a market and society, it co per acre scarcely lets, all thing considered, than old established (arms can be bought fur in the Atlantic Stales, where the sod is ante e pi table of being rcn drred rinallyTeriile, possessing all ihe at tendant advantages of near neighbors houses of worship public and private school and tome pnpiilnu city within cm distance where agricultural product can be told to the best tdttnt ige, tnd whert article! for domestic use and consumption can be bought at a reasonable price.. It it w Known that the ttiuice lapilt Iq