State Papers issued by Congress. Debates. Diversity of Opinion. Dartmouth's Circular. Joseph Galloway. with such enemies of American liberty were to be immediately broken off. and fifty copies of the Articles of Association were ordered to be printed. One hundred Short letters to the colonies of 1774. A memorial to the inhabitants of the several British-American colonies, written by Richard Henry Lee, and an eloquent address to the people of Great Britain, from the pen of John Jay, were adopted by Congress on the 21st. A petition to the king, drawn October, by John Dickenson, was approved of on the 22d. St. John's Island (now Prince Edward's, Nova Scotia), Georgia, and the two Floridas, inclosing the doings of Congress, and inviting them to join the Association, were also adopted on that day; and on the 26th, the last day of the session, they approved of an elaborate address to the inhabitants of Canada. This was drawn up by Mr. Dickenson with his usual ability. Having made provision for another Congress to meet on the 10th of May following,' the first general council closed its session by adopting a second humble petition to the king, and a vote of thanks to the advocates of colonial rights in both houses of Parliament. Congress was in actual session only thirty-one days out of the eight weeks of the term, the remainder of the time being occupied in preparatory business. It was a session of extraordinary activity, and a great amount of business of vast importance was transacted, notwithstanding many unnecessary speeches were evidently made. They were certainly more to the purpose than are most of the harangues in Congress at the present day, or, considering the diversity of opinion that must have existed upon the sentiments of the various state papers that were adopted, the session would have continued for several months. We have no means of knowing what harmony or what discord characterized those debates. The doors were closed to the public ear, and no reporters for the press have preserved the substance of the speeches. That every resolution adopted was far from receiving a unanimous vote, is very evident; for we find, by the subsequent declarations and acts of delegates, that some of the measures were violently opposed. Many deplored the probability of an open rupture with the mother country, and refused acquiescence in any measure that should tend to such a result. Indeed, the sentiments of a large majority of the delegates were favorable to an honorable reconciliation, and the Congress was determined not to present the least foundation for a charge of rushing madly into an unnatural contest without presenting the olive branch of peace. Such was the tenor of its petitions and addresses; and every charge of a desire on the part of Congress for a war that might lead to independence rested solely upon inference. Galloway, Duane, and others, even opposed the American Association; 3 1 The following circular letter was sent to all the royal governors in America, soon after the proceedings of the Continental Congress were received in England. It was a "bull" without horns, and did not alarm the patriots. "Whitehall, Jan. 4th, 1775. "Certain persons stiling" (sic) "themselves delegates of his majesty's colonies in America, having presumed, without his majesty's authority or consent, to assemble together, at Philadelphia, in the month of September and October last; and having thought fit, among other unwarrantable proceedings, to resolve that it will be necessary that another Congress should be held in this place on the 10th of May next, unless redress for certain pretended grievances be obtained before that time, and to recommend that all the colonies in North America should choose deputies to attend such Congress, I am commanded by the king to signify to you his majesty's pleasure, that you do use your utmost endeavors to prevent such appointment of deputies within the colony under your government; and that you do exhort all persons to desist from such unwarrantable proceedings, which can not but be highly displeasing to the king. "I am, sir, your most obedient servant, DARTMOUTH." 2 "Every man in this assembly,” wrote John Adams to his wife, "is a great man, an orator, a critic, a statesman; and therefore every man, upon every question, must show his oratory, his criticism, his political abilities. The consequence is, that business is spun out to an immeasurable length." 3 Joseph Galloway was one of the most popular of the leaders in Pennsylvania when the war of the Revolution broke out. He was once the confidential friend of Franklin, and had worked shoulder to shoulder with him against the proprietaries. He was elected a delegate to the first Continental Congress. In that body he submitted a plan, as a measure of accommodation, which seemed quite feasible. It proposed a union of the colonies, with a grand council authorized to regulate colonial affairs jointly with the British Parliament, each to have a mutual negation on each other.* This plan was favorably received, and on the * This plan is printed in Sabine's Lives of the Loyalists, p. 309. Opinions concerning the Adamses. Sketch of Galloway's public Life. Disposition of his Estate. and they regarded the Adamses as men not only too much committed to violent measures by the part they had taken in Boston, but that they were desperate men, with nothing to lose, and hence unsafe guides to gentlemen who had estates to forfeit. And yet Galloway, when he became a proscriptive Loyalist, and one of the most active enemies of the Republicans, was forced to acknowledge the stern virtues of many of the patriots of that assembly, and among them Samuel Adams. He eats little, drinks little, sleeps little, and thinks much," he said, "and is most indefatigable in the pursuit of his object. It was this man who, by his superior application, managed at once the factions in Congress at Philadelphia, and the factions in New England." The proceedings of this first Congress went forth to the world with all the weight of apparent unanimity, and throughout the colonies they were hailed with general satisfaction. The American Association adopted and signed by the delegates was regarded by the people with great favor, and thousands in every province affixed their signatures to the pledge. These formed the fibers of the stronger bond of the Articles of Confederation afterward adopted, and may be considered the commencement of the American Union. Irs Galloway The debates were very warm, and it question of its adoption it was rejected by a majority of only one. was on this occasion that Samuel Adams, regarding the proposition as a concession to tyranny, exclaimed, "I should advise persisting in our struggle for liberty, though it were revealed from heaven that nine hundred and ninety-nine were to perish, and only one of a thousand were to survive and retain his liberty! One such freeman must possess more virtue and enjoy more happiness than a thousand slaves; and let him propagate his like, and transmit to them what he has so nobly preserved."* Before the meeting of the next Congress, Galloway manifested lukewarmness; and in 1776 he abandoned the Whigs, and became the most virulent and proscriptive Loyalist of the time. He joined the royal army in New York, where he continued until 1778, when, accompanied by his only daughter, † he went to England. There he remained until his death in September, 1803, at the age of seventy-three years. His pen, for many years, was continually employed in correspondence with Loyalists in America, and upon subjects connected with the war. The prominent position which he at first held among the Whigs, and his virulence against them after his defection, made him the target for many an arrow of indignant wit. Trumbull, in his M'Fingall, gave him some hard hits; and a writer in the Pennsylvania Journal of February 5, 1777, thus castigates him with some lines, after saying to the printer, "If you think them severe enough, print 'em, egad!" "Gall' way has fled, and join'd the venal Howe, A friend to tyrants and their cursed cause. To sink the money thou thyself cried down, And stabb'd thy country to support the crown. Go to and fro, like Lucifer on earth, And curse the Being that first gave thee birth. Coal dust and brimstone is their only fare; Who wrong their country and deny their God. Galloway's estate, valued at $200,000, was confiscated by Pennsylvania. A large part of it was derived from his wife. A considerable portion was restored to his daughter. 1 Galloway's Historical and Political Reflections on the Rise and Progress of the American Rebellion: London, 1780. In this pamphlet the writer handles Sir William Howe and other British commanders with severity. * Mr. Adams reiterated this sentiment when debating the resolution for independence twenty months afterward. Just before he left Philadelphia he discovered that his daughter was about to elope with Judge Griffin, who was afterward president of Congress. This doubtless hastened his departure. Murray, confidential secretary to the Pretender, Prince Charles Edward. Hancock's Chair. Portraits of Penn and La Fayette. The State House. Independence Hall. CHAPTER XI. "This is the sacred fane wherein assembled "Here stood the patriot-one union folding The Eastern, Northern, Southern sage and seer, "Here rose the anthem which all nations, hearing, Our continent repeats it to the world. "This is the hallowed spot where first unfurling, GEORGE W. DEWEY. ROM Carpenters' Hall I went up Chestnut Street to the venerable State House, situated upon its southern side, between Fifth and Sixth Streets.' Hallowed by so many patriotic associations, it has become a Caaba to every American when first visiting the city of Penn. It is cherished by the people of Pennsylvania because of the memories of colonial times, immediately antecedent to the Revolution, which embalm it; and it is cherished by the people of the whole Union as the most revered relic of the war for independence, because it contains the hall wherein the Declaration of that independence was discussed, and adopted in council, and signed, and sent forth to the world. Being used for public business, this edifice, unlike Carpenters' Hall, is free from the desecrations of mammon, and the Hall of Independence is kept closed, except when curious visitors seek entrance, or some special occasion opens its doors to the public." Nothing now remains of the old furniture of the hall except two antique mahogany chairs, covered with red leather, one of which was used by Hancock as president, and the other by Charles Thomson as secretary of Congress, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. On the walls hang two fine paintings; one a full-length portrait, life size, of William Penn, by the late Henry Inman, and the other a portrait, 1 The erection of this edifice was begun in 1729, and completed in 1734. The two wings were added in 1739-40, and it was then one of the largest and most costly edifices for civil purposes in America. Previous to its erection, the annual sessions of the Legislature of Pennsylvania were held at private houses. The first purchase of grounds for the building included only about half the depth to Walnut Street. In 1760 the other half square was purchased, and the whole space inclosed by a heavy brick wall. John Vaughan, who came from England to reside in Philadelphia, planted the grounds with elm-trees and shrubbery in 1783. Afterward the brick wall was removed, and the present neat iron railing erected in its place. The cost of the main building of the State House and its steeple was about $28,000. The style of the architecture was directed by Dr. John Kearsly, Senior, the same amateur who gave architectural character to Christ Church. The glass and lead sashes cost $850. The glazing was done by THOMAS GODFREY, afterward celebrated as the inventor of the quadrant. It was made the hall of audience for La Fayette in 1824, when, as the "nation's guest," he visited Picture of the Treaty Tree. Statue of Washington. Liberty Bell. Its History. same size, of La Fayette, taken from life by the late Thomas Sully. The former is a superb picture, and exhibits, in the back-ground, a representation of the Treaty Tree. Upon the THE STATE HOUSE AS IT APPEARED IN 1774. floor stands a statue of Washington, upon a high pedestal, wrought in wood by Mr. Rush, of Philadelphia. Near it is a piece of stone, said to be a part of the door-step of the balcony in the rear of the State House, upon which John Nixon stood and read the Declaration of Independence to the people' for the first time, on the 8th of July, 1776. These compose the souvenirs of Independence Hall. I ascended to the steeple, where hangs, in silent grandeur, the "Liberty Bell." It is four feet in diameter at the lip, and three inches thick at the heaviest part. Its tone is destroyed by a crack, which extends from the lip to the crown, passing directly through the names of the persons who cast it. An attempt was made to restore the tone by sawing the crack wider, but without success; the melody of the "glory-breathed tone" that thrilled the hearts of the people on the birth-day of the nation could not be reawakened. The history of this bell is interesting. In 1752, a bell for the State House was imported from England. On the first trial-ringing, after its arrival, it was cracked. It was recast by LIBERTY BELL. Pass and Stow, of Philadelphia, in 1753, under the direction of Isacc Norris, Esq., the then speaker of the Colonial Assembly. And that is the bell, "the greatest in English America," which now hangs in the old State House steeple and claims our revererence. Upon fillets around its crown, cast there twenty-three years before the Continental Congress met in the State House, are the words of Holy Writ, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." How prophetic! Beneath that very bell the representatives of the thirteen colonies "proclaimed liberty." Ay, and when the debates were ended, and the result was announced, on the 4th of July, 1776, the iron tongue of that very bell first "proclaimed liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof," by ringing out the joyful annunciation for more than two hours, its glorious melody floating clear and musical as the voice of an angel Philadelphia. The room had been materially altered by the removal of wainscoting and other architectnral ornaments, yet its general features were sufficiently preserved to awaken in the bosom of the veteran the liveliest emotions. In that hall John Hancock signed the commission of the marquis as major general in the Continental army; and there, during the struggle, the young hero was frequently greeted by the supreme legislature as a public benefactor. It was there that he shared the honors (not on the same day) with Washington, of a grateful reception by Congress, after the capture of Cornwallis; and there he took leave of that body, for the last time during the war, and returned to France. In that room the body of the late ex-president, John Quincy Adams, lay in state while on its progress to the family vault at Quincy. 1 Watson says that Captain Hopkins, of the navy, read the Declaration on that occasion, but testimony appears to predominate in favor of the claims of John Nixon to that honor. When the British army approached Philadelphia, in 1777, this bell was taken down and carried to a place of safety. Already the ancient steeple, on account of decay, had been taken down, and a simple belfry put in its place. The present steeple is quite modern. 3 Leviticus, xxv., 10. Independence not Early nor generally Desired, except by a Few. Patrick Henry's Prediction. above the discordant chorus of booming cannon, the roll of drums, and the mingled accla mations of the people. "That old bell is still seen by the patriot's eye, Oh yes! if the flame on our altars should pale, All the stars and the stripes of the flag of his heart." WILLIAM ROSS WALLACE. Here, upon this dusty beam, leaning against the old "Liberty Bell," let us sit a while, and peruse that brilliant page in our history, whereon is written the record of the DECLARATION OF OUR INDEPENDENCE. It is now impossible to determine the precise time when aspirations for political independence first became a prevailing sentiment among the people of the colonies. The thought, no doubt, was cherished in many minds years before it found expression; but it was not a subject for public discussion more than a few months before it was brought before Congress by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia. A few men, among whom were Dr. Franklin, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Timothy Dwight, and Thomas Paine, seem to have had an early impression that political independence was the only cure for the evils under which the colonies groaned; yet these ideas, when expressed, met with little favor, even among the most ardent patriots.' English writers declare that, from the beginning. the colonies aimed at political independence; and Chalmers asserts that there were documents among the Board of Trade to prove that such had been the desire and intent of the colonies through every administration, from the time of the Revolution in England, in 1688. As early as 1773, according to Mr. Wirt, Patrick Henry, speaking of Great Britain, said, "She will drive us to extremities; no accommodation will take place; hostilities will soon commence; and a desperate and bloody touch it will be." This, Mr. Wirt asserts, was said in the presence of Colonel Samuel Overton, who at once asked Mr. Henry if he thought the colonies sufficiently strong to oppose successfully the fleets and armies of Great Britain. "I will be candid with you," replied Mr. Henry; "I doubt whether we shall be able, alone, to cope with so powerful a nation; but," continued he, rising from his chair with great animation, "where is France? where is Spain? where is Holland? the nat ural enemies of Great Britain. Where will they be all this while? Do you suppose they will stand by, idle and indifferent spectators to the contest? Will Louis XVI. be asleep all this time? Believe me, no! When Louis XVI. shall be satisfied, by our serious opposition and our Declaration of Independence, that all prospect of a reconciliation is gone, then, and not till then, will he furnish us with arms, ammunition, and clothing; and not with them only, but he will send his fleets and armies to fight our battles for us; he will 1 Says Dr. Dwight, “I urged, in conversation with several gentlemen of great respectability, firm Whigs, and my intimate friends, the importance, and even the necessity, of a declaration of independence on the part of the colonies, and alleged for this measure the very same arguments which afterward were generally considered as decisive, but found them disposed to give me and my arguments a hostile and contemptuous, instead of a cordial reception. Yet, at this time, all the resentment and enthusiasm awakened by the odious measures of Parliament, by the peculiarly obnoxious conduct of the British agents in this country, and by the recent battles of Lexington and Breed's Hill, were at the highest pitch. These gentlemen may be considered as representatives of the great body of the thinking men in this country. A few may, perhaps, be excepted, but none of these durst at that time openly declare their opinions to the public. For myself, I regarded the die as cast, and the hopes of reconciliation as vanished, and believed that the colonists would never be able to defend themselves unless they renounced their dependence on Great Britain."-Dwight's Travels in New England, i., 150. |