The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-12-25
THE OLD LIBERTY BELL.

lscWeo, gives some interesting IaclN
concerning "The Old Liberty Bell, !"
with the prophetic inscription, which
really did"Prcclaim Liberty through
out all the land, unto all the inbabi-
tants thereof" on the 4th of July,
l776. In 1881 the State House st
Philadelphis was approaching com
plstion the lower floor had already
been occupied for some sixteen
years, one chamber by the Supreme
Court, and the other by the Repre-
sentatives of the freemen Of the
Province Of Pennsylvania, then CON
sisting of one bouy. By order az
the latter, a committee, Of which
MIR. Speaker Norris was chairman,
was empowered to obtain new bell
for the building.
The original lette, books OF Isaac
Norris can not now be found, bur,
fortunately, his descendant, Joseph
Parker Norris, had procured copies,
and it appears from these that Rob
ert Charles, then in Lon Ion, was
commissioned, Nov. l, 1851, to pro-
cure a good hell, of about 1000
lbs weight, at cost of about e1OO !;
it Was to be cast ny the best work
men, to be examined carefully bcfiwe
it was shipped, and to contain, eli
well-Shapped letters, round it . b.
order of the Assembly of the Prov
ince of Pennsylvania, for the STATE
House in the city Of Philadelpnis,
1852, and underneath, Proclaim LIB
erty throughout ali the land to all
the inhabitants thereof. Levt. XIV.
10.
The bell duly arrived at the end Of
August, 1852, in apparent good order;
but few days afterwards, notwi'L-
standing all The cautionary ~viHstrac
tions given, ''the superintendent
had the morti 6cation TO hear thst II
was cracked by n strnAe OF the ap-
per, without any other violence, a. il
was hug mp to sry the sound. An
stf,rt was then made to send it back
by Capt. Budden, who had brought
1t over iii the Matilda, but he could
not take it on board, upon which,"
Mr.. Norris writes. tive ingenious
w"rkmen undertook 10 cast IT here,
and am just now March 10, l753,)
informed tuey have this day opened
the mould, and nave got good bell,
which, confess pleasts me very
much that we should first venture
upon aud succeed in the greatest
bell cast, for sught know, in En-
glish- America"
The bell was hung in its place
some time during the month ef
April, 1853. A bill rendered by
Edmund Woolley against "tAe Pro
vince" for sundrles furnished the
worKmen while they were raising the
frame and hanging the bell has been
preserved. 1t bears date April IT,
1853. Among the items are "threS
gallons rum" and ''barrel of beer"
Potatoes must have brought pro-
dlgious price in those days, or else
Mr.. WooIley understood the art of
making ont heavy bills against the
Provincial Government, for we no
tice that he charges two shillings six
pence for one peck. Thera are gen
tlemsn in our Generation Who have
either inherited or acquired Mr..
WoolIey's large appreciation Of the
liberality of municipal governments.
1t seems that tho tone of this bell
wau defective. II was supposed to
contain too much copper, and the
Philadelphia wits were 30 facetious
over this tact that Messrs. Pass d
Stow insisted on taking it down and
making another essay. twas bro
ken up and recast, and In June, 1853,
was placed in position in the State
House stsspls.
The following news item appears
in The Maryland Gazette Of July S,
1853:
PHILADELPHIA, June 7 176S-Last
week WIS ralseG and fixed in he State
House steeplr the new great bell, cast
here by Pass q stowe, weighing BOSE
euna !, with tais nstt" "Proclalm lib
erty throughout all the land, unto ell the
inha hitsuts thsreof"-L.v. ky, ~.