, 1854-11-11
History of the Declaration of
Independence.

! II Is 100 geueraly supposed by the young
men Of our nation, that the Declaration
was signed on the 4th of July, by all the
patriots whose names are appended to it
Such was not the case. 1t was passed by
the unanimous votes Of the States, and
published on that day but in conformity
with the usual practice, with no signature
but that Of the President, John Hancock
The truth Of this statement will readily ap,
pear from the following facts: The names
of some, who voted on the 4th of July, do
not appear on the instrument the names
Of others, who were not members of Con
gress on that day, and were not elected
then, are signed to it, Some who voted
for it did not sign it, and one at least who
voted against it, put his name to it. A
brief narrative will render the matter clear.
r. II. Lee, of Virginia, first proposed
the resolution, declaratory of the indepcnd-
ence of the colonies. 1t was referred to a
committee, from which emanated the Dec
laration, penned by Jefferson After de-
bate, vote was taken in committee Of the
whole on the first day of July, on which
occasion Pennsylvania voted against the
adoption of the Declaration, Delaware,
having two members present, voting on op-
posite sides, lost her vote. Governor Nc
Kean Immediately sent an express for Rod
ney, who was absent, and on the 4th, when
the question Of the adoption came up in the
House, all the States voted in the aflirma-
tive. Two of the Pennsylvania members
having absented themselves, and Rodney
having arrived, a resolution was offered
and carried on the 10th Of July, that every
member present and every one elected du-
ring the course Of the year should afIix his
name to the great document, and the sec
retary was directed to prepare a copy on
parchment for the reception Of the sigma.
lures. On the Cd day Of August the
parchment copy was ready and all present
signed it. Between the 4th of July and
the second of August, some change had
taken place in the representation in Con-
gress. The terms Of old members had ex-
pired and new ones had been elected.
Horace Weimer, who voted in favor of the
declaration, never signed it. Taylor, who
was in Congress till the goth Of July, put
his name to it, Thornton's name is seen
in the list Of patriots, though he was not
elected till September, and did not appear
in Philadelphia till November Mexican,
who voted afirmatively on the FIRST and
fourth, and was the agent that obtained
the vote of Delaware, did not see his name
in the first printed copies Before the I'd
of August, he left for the army, and did
not write his name on the parchment till
several months after the 4th. Charles
Carroll was not elected to Congress till the
4th of July, l776, and did not reach Phila-
delphia till the middle of July. When he
wrote his name is matter of doubt. It
is to be presumed, however, that he did it
with the others present, on the I'd of Au-
gust.
This is but hastily written sketch, suf-
fcient for the foundation of inquiry. =
Among the patriots Of those days, there
was no hesitation as to responsibility. The
declaration was passed, and at first signed
by the President, as were all other acts of
Congress. But little reflection evinced
that this act differed from all other acts Of
Congress, and the magnanimity of warm
hearted patriotism dictated that all who
voted for so momentous a resolution should
share personally in the event. This was no
ordinary law Of Congress, and all deter
mined to share the danger which menaced
THE ARCTIC SEARcH.-Intellgen from
Captain Inglefeld, commander Of the Pho
nix, has been received in England stating
that he was Disco at Island, at the end of
June. The season thus far had proved
highly unfavorable for his expedition. An
English paper says:
For many years it had not been known
so severe, and there is some fear that Cap
tasR Inglefield may not be able to cross
battin's Bay, and so reach Beechey Island; /;
in which case the absent vessels, and espe-
cially Captains Maclure and Colinson, will
not be relieved this year and we must re-
main ignorant of what has been done in the
prosecution Of the search of Sir John Frank
Inns expedition. 1t seems possible, howev-
er, that the unusually large quantities Of
ice which have been seen in the Atlantic
during the spring, and even the summer,
may have been occasioned by the disrup-
ton and descent of large bodies in the
northern part of Bafin's Bay, leaving it
comparatively free, while the narrow por-
ton at the Southern outlet has been
choked We trust tbarafora thot oe Nan-