The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-07-07

Il
AS<res. e :. q Ha.srs k's-
rr,ow A.r.rc.ss "a lev Of us. sons Of the
Gre.A Republic. have met together to-day, on tnns
one of the far OF Tales Of the Pacific, for the pu1poss
of celebrating the eighty-third anniversary 2
our national independence. ,,or n0-o1 fhe ;efaD. WINS
brought into existence by the united LABOR Oh tue
peopie of Thirteen Colonies, and sucn a1c'ors y -
ferson and Adams, and Franklin ana hancock =
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, were present; snu
especially of6ciated at the accouchment, ana gave
pnbl;c declaration of the fact. that the event haa on
that day transpired. the 4th day OF July; 49, H.
What an interesting ceremony was uien .uu 49,
performed. How important the results OF una. aay :
action. or what magnitude the principles that were
on that day inaugurated. ..o,
The glory of that day sun dazzles even the mentni
vision. The blessings flowing from i, 10 % = ~ afer
us, no one can estimate. Haiiowed' thrice na J"
be the memory of that day, consecrated ABOVE a..
other days, in the estimation OF Amer'ca = 9 .he
least. N The shirt of freedom and the liberties OF the
people. On that day, the chains that had SO iohe
encircled the limbs of the youthful giant were oers'
asunder, and freedom Of thought, speech ana acuon,
was proclaimed to exist throughou! .he c1. ~rae, con
required great nerve, great resolution ana great con
6depce. on the part of our heroic ancestors, In the
justice of their cause, to enable them 10 MAKE sucn
a declaration under such circumstances Inc Decia-
ration of independence was equivalent 10 a ueci"la
t;on of war-war with a nation, 1t not the most
powerful, certainly the equal in prowess' OF any EN-
pire on the face of the earth. -
England was even then a kingdom OF immense
financial resources, and magnificent in her military
eon;nments. The sun never set upon her possessions,
and the reveille of the British drum kept t.ne VIII
the revolution of the earth upon It's AXIS anu ceaseu
not its morning call. Her merchant marine spre"e
its sails wherever keel had plowed the ocean, anu hr
broad penant Haunted in the breeze of every cline
known to civilization. Her army was powerful III
numbers and composed of well-drilled soidiers' accus-
toned to service in camp and field. her navy swept
the seas, the proud mistress on the bosom OF broad
ocean.
What had the infant colonies to bring in opposition
to this splendid array of land and naval forces anu
exhaustless supply of the sinews OF war! lney nao
neither army, navy or money. Ihey were poor III
purse and unskilled in the arts of war. Their mum,
Der too, in respect to population, when compared
with their proud opponent, was discouraglngiy small
Three millions. no more, men, women anu cnluren'
all told. What was there then, we may ask, 10 give
them hope. even the most faint, of success In this
terrible conflict. 1t was the all-sustainlng conscious
| ness of right. The irrepressible spirit OF liberty, a
hopeful reliance upon an overruing frovioence,
brave hearts, strong arms, a firm resolve to conquer
| or die, TO fill q freeman's grave, rather than live IN
palaces, wearing the manacles of political bondage.
Were not sentiments such as these calculated 10 IN
spire confidence in the final result! =
1t is true, the continental navy was yet IN the WHO
forests of America, in full leaf, untouched as yet by
either the builder or the woodman, whilst that OF
England was well-built, full-rigged, full-nanned,
weil-skilled, and was stretching its wings far and
wide, all over the face of illimitable waters, justly
proud of the glories it had already won and eager Tor
those that it vainly imagined were to come after.
The land forces of the antagonist were IN like relative
positions of preparation. Those of the one, already
enrolled, mustered, drilled, equipped, numerous and
practicei in war; those of the other yet at the pillow,
the anvil, the workshop, and those other avocatlons
which constitute a people, energetic, prosperous and
progressive.
All these advantages on the one side, disadvan-
tages on the other, were well considered and duly
appreciated by our revolutionary fathers. They
were weighed in the balance. and their many def
ciencies were frightfully apparent. But there was
principle at stake ; their fathers before them had
fled from their native country, and sought shelter
from religious bigotry and intolerance in the wilds
of the Western Hemisphere, the land their descend
ants then held, and felt that they had a right to
hold and occupy free from further persecution. Now
that the colonies of North America, through the
energy, and courage, and toll. and deprivation of
our hardy ancestors, were grown to some degree in
commerce, agriculture and manufactures, the Mother
Country desired to impose n tax upon them, without
at the same time granting the right of representation,
which was contrary to custom and an outrage upon
the dignity of freemen.
There were other measures adopted toward them,
in the way of restrictions to their commerce. that
were CALLING and unjust enough. But the idea of
taxation, without being allowed the privilege of send
ing representatives to the legislative body that i'm
posed the tax, was a direct reflection upon their
social and political position. 1t implied an inequal-
ity, an inferiority of condition., on the part of the
Americans, when compared with their cousins across
the water. that did not comport at all with the we'll
founded opinions of our progeniors- The Anglo
StXOu DiOOu U III SlTcS WIS dTOuStu III IL Oiueu
Temple and brow crimsoned at the thought, that
such a reflection should be cast upon their manhood.
such an insult offered to their pride and their intelli-
gence. They had always borne due allegiance to the
British crown, and were as loyal subjects of George
III. as any over whom he exercised the prerogative of
executive constitutional dominion. They felt too,
that they were the equals of those subjects. That
they had n right to consider themselves so, and
to be so considered by all others, and that degrada-
ton below that degree of equality was not for a mo-
ment to he submitted tot would be too intolerable
to be borne. Honorable death and patriots graves
were much to be preferred to SYNONYMOUS life, an
existence of political inferiority. They felt that
they could die like men, but they could not live de-
graded and ~disgraced. The alternative then was
war. or an acknowledgment of inferiority. which
would have been ignominious. The latter they
would not, they could not do.
This day, eighty-three years ago, our fathers de-
clared their independence of the British crown, sand
went earnestly to work to meet the coming storm,
and prepare, if need be, to seal their declaration with
their blood. They pledged to each other their lives,
their fortunes, and, above all, their sacred honor, to
make good their determination. The last patriot of
the Congress had signed the instrument. The deed
was done. The hand WAS to the plough-there was no
looking back. Onward, onward, was the word. indie
pendence, liberty, or a winding sheet, was the
enthusiastic impulse of every noble heart. O., what
an hour was that What hopes and anxieties and
sympathies, rushed in upon and gathered and clus-
tered about the affections and memories at that
terrible moment. What the sensations of the father
as thoughts of his home, of his little ones, and
the domestic circle about his family hearth, gathered
upon his brain, and started great drops of agony
from his brow! And as the clarion notes of war
swept rumpet-tongued through village and hamlet,
over mountain-top and verdant plain, startling the
inhabitants by its terror-inspiring sound, the young
and vigorous, and the more advanced, and the aged
rose up as one man, and answered to the call of
country. Hasty organizations took place of raw
recruits, into companies, regiments and divisions.
Officers were appointed and elected. and arms and
ammunition were supplied as rapidly and abundantly
as circumstances permitted.
The conflict that had already began at Bunker
Hill ~deepened. The strife, ragged through long years,
and the blood of our fathers dyed deep the soil of
their country from the extreme North, to the South's
most distant verge. Yet there was no such word as
surrender. The will to do was yet rs firm as when
the first blow was struck. The spirit of liberty glow