Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / June 30, 1927, edition 1 / Page 9
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rvLJi ii i i ui' inn riuuwiin&i w LJ .-ij J lfti. . jl.l' I,: VOLUME XLII FRANKLIN, N. G, THURSDAY JUNE 30, 1927 NUMBER TWENTY-SIX CITIZENS OF NORTH CAROLINA FIRST TO DEFY KING GEORGE Proclamation of Freedom Made at Mecklenburg More Than 152 Years. Ago. In spite of doubting Thomas Jeffer son and the reluctance of certain less Interested Virginians to admit that anything good ever came out of North Carolina, no sufficient reason now exists for questioning the proud boast that the citizens of Mecklenburg county, in the latter state, did Ulng defiance in the face of Great Britain 1 In the form of a declaration of Inde pendence Just thirteen months and fifteen days before the Continental congress In Philadelphia saw fit to make the same decisive move. The date was May 20, 1775, the place was Charlotte, N. C, and the immediate provocation of precipitate action was iliA nHntiml f T i - fiii nnn nrlfh ffld news of the shooting down or uapt. ; John Parker's Minute men by British regulars under Major Pltcalrn on Lex ington common. It was in 1819 that a newspaper re print of what was said to be the declaration Itself a document con talning several of the phrases of his own famous paper was called to the Attention of Thomas Jefferson by John Adams. Writing to Adams from Mon tlcollo, Jefferson said he believed it spurious, because up to that moment he had never heard of It, though he lived la the adjoining state of Vir ginia. He called attention also to the circumstance that the witnesses ap pealed to were, most of them, dead. Jefferson's Mind Open. However, Jefferson was careful to add that he based his opinion on neg- , ative evidence which positive evidence ! was perfectly competent to overthrow. One of the most valiant collectors of this evidence has been Archibald Hen derson, who is otherwise known as the American familiar of Bernard Shaw. Another furiously assailed when he . first collected the data was Dr. i George Washington .Graham, who has written a whole book on the subject. The controversy was heated and acri monious. , On the affirmative side it extended to the Insinuation, that one of the Vir ginia champions of Jefferson's priority bad used hlsfyosition as minister from this country to the Court of St. James to abstract from the British colonial archives a copy of the Cape Fear Mercury, which was material evidence because It contained the text of the Mecklenburg declaration printed with in the month after It was Issued. It was known that such a copy had, in fact, been sent to Lord Dartmouth by Josiah Martin, the royal governor of North Carolina at the time. Martin described it as "the late most treason able publication of a committee in the county of Mecklenburg explicitly re nouncing obedience to his majesty's government" and added that it "sur passed all horrid and treasonable pub lications that the Inflammatory spirit of the country has produced." On the negative side there were charges of forgery and mendacity the manu facture of history out of whole cloth. Events Loading to Action. Assuming the evidence as sufficient, the story of what happened becomes a part of a well-connected series of events In the province whose position between two ostentatiously aristo cratic neighbors has sometimes, it is said, deprived her of due considera tion. In March, 1771, Governor Martin had dissolved an unruly assembly. In August of that year a convention had et under the governor's nose in New Berne and sent delegates to the Con tinental congress. For the rest of that year the separate counties had been busy with meetings and prepara tions, and in April, 1775, the assembly which met by the authority of the crown the last one was also a conven tion of the people. They "transformed themselves from time to time" ' into ,one and then the other, so Governor Martin, who was a soldier, said, and thus, as Doctor Morrison sees It, strained the British constitution to the utmost or, in other, words, the break ing point At the same time, a certain Col. Richard Henderson and his asso ciates, all North Carolinians, had formed a company, with Daniel Boone for field leader, and set up a govern ment In a tract of land! which they hurl hnnrrht from tho CliernVtJiH with- r Scene of Washington's Funeral Ceremonies I- i-Hh -i8 T KS MPS vjf W'ftS flflffl i- 1 ! -lH - T iT'; h -'v 'nM3 1 ;?l 1"' it h !. I HJu -- s ' , ,,.,l"v jji, 'Is,., nttll I SSITto- - H & villi General view of historic Christ church In Alexandria, Va., and tha churchyard where many notable figures of Revolutionary times lie buried. On the left is the rectory which through the years has been occupied by many famous Episcopal clergymen. The church was completed In 1773. Washington and Robert E. Lee were among Its worshipers, and Washington's funeral services wore held here In 1799. In the churchyard are burled contemporaries and friends of Washington, Including several who acted as pallbearers '.'at his funeral. The church has a number of relics of Washington's time. out royal warrant. That land, which ithey named Transylvania and which Included a great part of Tennessee and Kentucky, they had practically .'proclaimed to be Independent not only 'of Great Britain but of North Caro lina, and Virginia as well. They asked, jlndeed, to have it acknowledged by congress as the fourteenth province of the Confederation. Denounced King George. Obviously, the North Carolinians were not In submissive mood when the news of the first blood shed in .the North arrived. Whnt happened ut Anson county courthouse when the messenger rode into that place Is recorded In a certain family Bible , to which Doctor Henderson has had .access. The writer Is a young mam .named Morgan Brownj an eyewitness. Tie says that the messenger found the '.county court in session and the magis trates, some of whom were tories. on the bench. . The people forced the court to adjourn without the form of doing it in the king's , name. Then ;they rushed out tearing the sheriff jwlth them, leaving the tory magistrates ;stlll sitting on the bench. Afterward : "The people consented for them to Imeet and close some unfinished busi ness upon condition that It should not jbe called fn the king's name or that ;the words 'God save the king' should jbe added by the crier, 'for,' said they, 'we will have nothing done in the name of a king who has his troops slaughter our citizens.' And thus end led the royal authority. For the court, after closing their record, never sat again." Gathering of the Citizens. At Charlotte, some fifty miles away, the messenger appears to have found an assembly of the leading citizens of Mecklenburg summoned from the various "companies" throughout the county by the colonel commandant, Thomas Polk. According to the re ceived chronology, the messenger ar rived May 19 and threw the gathering Jnto a fever. The secretary, John Mc Knltt Alexander, says they, "sat In the courthouse all night, neither pleepy nor hungry nor fatigued," and In the morning passed a set of resolu tions prepared by Ephraim Brevard. In the resolutions occurred the fol lowing declarations: "Resolved : That we dis solve us with the mother country and absolve ourselves from allegiance to the British crown ; and "Resolved, That we do hereby de clare ourselves a free and Independ ent people ; that we are and of right ought to be a sovereign and self-gdv-ernlng people under the power of God and the general congress." It should be noted that the text is taken from Judge Francois X. Martin's "History of North Carolina," which teit is supposed to be the same that was printed in the lost Cape Fear Mercury, for . even the more ardent North Carolinians do not deny that the original document was destroyed In 1800 when Alexander's house was burned. " Sought Only Their Rights. Returning again to the story: These resolutions were read to the people outside the courthouse hy Colonel Polk and received with "shouts and huzzas." In accordance with a provi sion in the resolutions themselves, they were transmitted to the Conti nental congress, where the persons approached said that the "subject of the resolutions was premature to be . laid before the congress." At that time the cooler heads still hoped to compose matters with the mother country without an actual breach. The strongest statements of the Colonists' determination not to submit to coercion or to what thej regarded as the abridgment of their liberties, as subjects' of the British crown were coupled with expressions of loyalty to the crown itself. Indeed among Americans who were far from being tories there were -many -'who were proud of their own connection with. Britain and reluctant to sever It. George Washington himself about thai period, as Archibald Henderson re minds us, "abhorred Independence" which meant that he desired to be a good Virginian and still remain a good .Englishman. .' Independence Not Sought. As a matter of fact, even Jefferson at this date was not -an open advo cate of Independence, nor did Patrick Henry In bis "ringing resolutions" (as Jefferson called them), adopted in Vir ginia after the Lexington bloodshed, take so rash a stand. The sum of the matter Is that the declaration of Independence which Mecklenburg, N. C, Issued one year ahead of time and the revolution which Virginia started a century abend of time had each to wait till the country at large was ready for the real thing. They were dramatic gestures, not things accomplished. Nevertheless, the -Virginia affair cost - many - lives of patriots and some of those who were not so Counted, and tons of Ink have been spilled over the North Carolina outbreak. New York Times Magazine. APPEAL TO HEAVEN IN THE DARK HOUR Washington's Fervent Pray er at Valley Forge. This is said to be word for word the prayer that Washington sent up jto the Great White Throne of God In 'that dark hour of the republic when ,his barefoot army shivered in the snows of Valley Forge: "Almighty God, we make our earn est prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States In Thy holy protection ; that Thou wilt Incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to gov ernment ; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for each other and for their fellow ,itizeus of the United Status ul large; und finally, that Thou fi V w AX ?3 K" rrfT','',!W'M" 0v, ,''"Tfc':-:o::-:)i,i,a,ll - Washington's Headquarters - During the Agony at Valley Forge. wilt most graciously be pleased to dis pose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific tem per of mind which were the character istics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example In these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplica tion, we beseech Thee, through Jesus .Christ our Lord. Amen." ' So the prayer run so wonderful then and still more wonderful now when there are those In the land who seek not only to sow the seeda of hatred and dissension but who also In their blindness shake their fists In the face of God. Los Angeles Times. PAUL REVERE HOME made WTO SHRINE Practically as It Was in the Revolutionary Days. The home of Paul Revere In North square, Boston, Mass., was built some time between '.iii0 and 1080. It was purchased by Paul Revere In 1770 and he lived in it until 1800. The house, which is now owned by the Paul Re vere Memorial association, has been restored to Its original condition and Is open to the public. Once Inside the small paneled entry one sees the flight of stairs that rise pharply to the second floor. From the entry one posses through a left-hand doorway and finds himself In a pine sheathed room. The walls on all but the fireplace are covered with quaint wall paper. The other downstairs room Is the old kitchen. This room Is both pan eled and plastered. Above the fire place on a narrow shelf are found sundry candlesticks and other para phernalia. Ono of tha most Interesb Ins thlnca In the entire kitchen is the mimm mm toddy warmer, shown In the accom panying sketch, which was made by Paul Revere hlmsolf. When in use, the straight Iron rod of this utensil was removed from Its resting place in the tliimbie-like cap, and after being heated in "the coals of the fireplace.. The toddy stick or toddy warmer In its holder (upper left) and the cradle are two of the prized antiques In the Paul Revere homo (shown below). was thrust red hot into the cold wine or ale, producing a burned taste which was much esteemed In those days. Near the fireplace Is a battered baby's cradle fashioned from a barrel (see Illustration). Its worn rockers and scarred sides testify to Its ancient 'ori gin and faithful service. Though Revere's memorable ride was undertaken over 150 years ago, . thanks to Longfellow's Immortal I poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," practl- : cally every school child knows th j story welL When criticised for wen-; tionlng neither William Dawes, 8am- ' uel Prescott, Sexton Robert Newman, nor Captains Pulling and Barnard In " the poem for the parts they played on I that memorable night,1 Longfellow re plied, it is said, that the name Rarer ; was a poetic one, and that it would do no one any harm because the poem would soon be forgotten. But hlstoriep . show that he was wrong, for they have been founded on that poem. In J fact, it is claimed that If it had not . been for the poem, Revere would not have been honored In so many ways. Pathfinder Magazine. THE MINUTE MAN By ISAAC BASSETT CHOATHI - ' A v. it' lit Blithe speeds the plow this warm sweet day of spring", When April's sun has broken winter's reign, Unclasped the hold frost had on lake and plain; Swift hurry swallow '3 north on eager wing; To plowboy's whistia thrush and blue bird sing. The brook runs glad, escaped from Icy chain Which tyrant winter forjjed, but forged In vain; Alt fields and woods with songs of freedom ring. Now halts the plow In furrow, ready hand Grasps ready musket In defense of right; The plowboy Is a soldier at command, His country serving well; before the night ' j Shall sound of musketry assurance bring . That now hath Minute man succeeded king. Mi'viiyt .. . . if. H ff f I 1
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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June 30, 1927, edition 1
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