The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-06-28

OF MS EdludOle ldinlly, aS VIC OWc g
many other blessings, to the ignoranc
and arrogance of George the Third.
He came of line of worthy mel
who exercised, in parish of Englisl
l Derbyshire, the joint offices of school
| master and parish-clerk-vocation
that were frequently exercised by th
same individual in the olden time
His father, Joseph Gales the elder
chose to learn the trade of printer, anC
being young man of much intelli-
, gence and energy, found the means il
, due time to establish himself in busi-
, ness at ;''hefield; which was fas
rising into Importance. both as a cen
. tire of manufactures and n nursery o
liberal opinions. In 1877, he started
!. the Sheffield Register, weekly paper
of liberal politics, which brought hin
swift prosperity and extensive infiu
ence.
The French Revolution had burs
forth. Every country in Europe wa:
deeply agitated, and none so much as
England. As the poet, James Mont
gomery, remarked at the time:
"There was such a conflict of minds,
such activity of the highest powers Of
the human soul, as had never been
exhibited since Britain was an island
Every man, woman and child in the
kingdom was politician.
These words were written in Shef
field at the period in question. Mont
gomcry, in fact, was the assistant
editor of the Sheffield Register, the
eloquent though moderate mouthpiece
of the liberal party in The county oi
Yorkshire. In the midst of this
excitement, who should come upon
the scene, fresh from the conflict in
America and the Revolution in France
but Thomas Paine. then in the unfair
nished lustre of his original fame p
Edmund Burke wrote his celebrated
pamphlet entitled, reflections on the
Revolution in France" in which the
conduct of the revolutionists was
denounced with the matchless elo-
quence of which that great genius was
master. Paine replied in his "Rights
of Man." Ten of thousands of copies
of both pamphlets were sold. Joseph
Gales printed and sold vast numbers
of Paine's work.
Strengthened by the melancholy
detection of Burke, the government at
length resolved to repress the agitation
by force. Many conspicuous leaders
of the liberal movement were arrested,
prosecuted and condemned One day,
when Joseph Gales was absent IN
London, an American of distinction,
named Thomas Digges, called at his
store, and asked to see Mrs. Gales
This gentleman had frequently been
at the shop before, where his frank
demeanor and interesting details of
American life had captivated every
mind, and given the family their first
impulse toward the young republic.
On this occasion, Mr. Digges took the
lady aside, and asked her with a Sc
rious and anxious countenance
"Have you any Of Paine's works
in the shop?"
eyes," She replied, "a great many"
"Let me, then" said he, ''as true
friend, entreat you to put them all
carefully aside, and, if inquired for,
to deny the possession of a single
copy. I have indisputable authority
for saying that to disregard my advice
would be productive of positive dan
GER"
1t added to the weight of these
friendly words, that Mr.. Digges was
visiting at the time the Duke of Nor
folk, and had other means of knowing
the intentions of the government
Mrs. Gales acted upon his advice,
put away the books and notified her
husband This lady, from whose
letters these facts are derived, speaks
in warm praise of the character and
behavior of Thomas Paine at the
time; bearing testimony, as the recent
biographer OF her family remarks, "to
Paine's sincerity, the simplicity and
sweetness of his nature, and the
sprightly wit that charmed the social
circle" AT this time, the reader will
remember, he had not published any |
of those works which afterward brought
such odium on his name.
Riots occurred in the manufactur-
ing districts of England; particularly
at Birmingham, where DIR. Priestly
invited the friends of liberty to cele
brate the anniversary of the destruc
ton of the Bastile. The Tories mus
tered in great force, and burned DR..
house, with the apparatus,
the manuscripts and the library which
he had been forty years in collecting +;
and drove the venerable champion of
liberal principals to seek an asylum in
Yorkshire grew too |
hot fer so decided n republican as
Joseph Gales, and he removed to
America also.
Arriving in Philadelphia after a
lcng voyage, he had little property
beyond his skill as printer and short
hand writer. AT that time, shorthand
being still an unknown art in the
United States, the daily report of the
debates in Congress were meagrc and
incorrect. We may imagine the
of the people of Philadel-
ohia, when they saw, one morning, in
heir newspaper, q full report Of the
previous days debate. 1t created
what we now call a sensation. The
,dition rapidly disappeared, and the
lew feature was the topic of tho day.
Che possessson of this art almost inn
nediately enabled Joseph Gales to
become the proprietor of the Independ-
mt Gasetteer, which became SO popu- {
ar and prosperous that he was soon
gain in circumstances of pccuniary I
ase.
The recurrence of the yellow fever {