The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-21

claim by some OF their descendants that she
by her "casting vote decided the question,
is-modest. Unhappily for this theory, there
was no casting vote about the matter. There
was no tie at any time, either when Richard
Henry Lees resolution was passed in commit
tee Of the whole, OF when 1t was afterwards
passed in the Congress. Although the jour
mails do not record the votes, Mr.. Jefferson,
who could not be in error about matter in
which he bore so great part and who wrote
his autobiography in 1921, when he was no
older than seventy-seven, has left a circum-
stantisl account of the proceedings relating
to independence, which explodes this modern
Pennsylvania claim of q casting vote into
utter Donentity.
Lees famous resolution, "that these united
colonies are and of right ought to be free aud
Independent States, etc., was introduced in
Congress on the 7th of June, '76. But its
consideration was postponed until the 1st of
July, to give time to prepare some of the
doubling colonies for so great step. COM
mittee, however, was appointed to prepare a
Declaration of Independence. This docu-
ment was reported by Mr.. Jefferson on the
2Sth of June, and was then laid upon the
table. Lees resolution was taken up on the
1st of July in committee of the whole. II
was debated through the whole day in secret
session, John Adams making for it that re-
markable speech which Mr.. Webster, from
the scanty material Of a letter written the
next day by Mr.. Adams to his wife, imi-
tated with So much power of thought and ex-
preston that the supposititious speech passed
for long time as a report of the genuine ora
ton. The vote was taken at the close of the
day, and Mr.. Jefferson says that the resolu-
tion received the votes of nine States, namely:
New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts,,
Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, and Georgia. South Carolina
and Pennsylvania voted against it. Two only
of the Delaware delegation were present, aud
as they were divided the vote of the State
could not be cast. The delegation of New
York had not then been authorized by her
convention to vote upon the question either
way. When the Committee OF the Whole rose
and reported the resolution to the House,
Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, moved
a postponement to the next day (the 2d), in
order to induce his colleagues to vote for it,
On the I'd it was passed in Congress by the
votes of twelve States, made up to that num-
Der by the additional votes of South Carolina,
Pennsylvania, aud Delaware. Mr.. Jefferson 3
account of these last two votes is that third
member from Delaware had come post ex-
pressly to vote for the resolution, and thus
the vote of that State was cast for it.;
and he adds that members of q
different sentiment attending that morn
ing from Pennsylvania her vote was
changed, 80 that the whole twelve colonies
who were authorized to vote at all gave their
voices for it; and within few days (July 81
the convention of New York approved of
it, and thus supplied the void occasioned by
the withdrawing of her delegates from the
vote" 1t is thus apparent that whether the
vote of Pennsylvania was changed by a single
member of her delegation, or, as Mr.. Jeffer-
son intimates, by more than one there never
was moment in the whole proceeding when
the resolution needed the casting vote of
that or any other State. If there is any i'm
portant historical incident to be symbolized
in the completion of an arch through the ad-
dition of a keystone, it would seem that the
accession of New York to the measure is that
incident. But we lay no claim to this posi-
ton for New York, because we are satisfied
that the phrase ''the Keystone State" had its
origin in the accidental formation of that
bridge over 'Rock Creek, and that the posi-
ton of Pennsylvania as the keystone was
equally the foftuitous position of the State
in the order of enumeration common at that
time, with six States on one side of it and six
on the other