The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1875-07-24

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~ NJ, 49, wfl'ng as follows M lh,
Clnn.nnnfl Oalniioi ODE Dedication
NJ lndtpNnipnro h Published iu all ntf
iltrnllf hlaimlfH ~ iho revolution M
ltH,luHH certain number NJ slgurn,
always the anmp, coming down Nv tIl.
pustwliy ~ ihn bold dOiofs NJ trrni
Britain IN regard iu n large majority
this " true. lIut there Are such strange
exceptions NJ ~ stnftle one who ROLES
upon history, oven NJ our own times,
~ exact authority.
The motion a. declare the colonies
Independent was made on June 4,
1860, 10y Richard Henry Ice, Of Vlr-
ginla, He was instructed by his con-
stiiuents, and the general voice Of the
people was In favor Of H. Yet II
would he well for the student Of hlslO-
ry to remember that not more than
Onc.thlrd of the whole people were i'm
favor of the revolution. Thiswe know,
both by general facts and the tcstimO-
ny Of John Adams aud Thomas Me-
Kean, signers of the declaration.
Lee having made the motion
for Independence, IL was follow
ed 10y an animated debate In
which the chief speakers were John
Adams and john Dickinson, the latter
opposing It.. When the vote came on,
two States voted against it-Pennsyl-
vania and Delaware, or, rather Della
ware was divided. Governor Mexican
says he then sent mt hia own expense
to Dover, Delaware, for Caesar Rod
ney, who arrived on the morning
Of the 18th of July, and MS two
Peunsylvaniaus, Morris and Diclin-
son, were absent, both Pennsylvania
and Delaware at last voted for the dec
laratiOn. All the facts relating to this
history are given in letter from
Thomas Mexican to John Adams
dated January, 1911, The curious facts
are these; |. That the names of Rob
ert Morris, of Pennsylvania and George
Read, of Delaware, are both signed 10
the declaration, though both voted
against it,, >. That six members, viz
Messrs. Rush, Clymer Smith, Taylor,
Ross Of Pennsylvania, and Thornton,
of New hampshire, were rot mem
bers of Congress on the ith of July, the
four from Pennsylvania not being APP
pointed until the 10Th OF July, and Mr..
NV ill'll 'Ns lllH Sttl WI lIlt tlli
OF November. Mexican and WiSna, of
New York, had not their names
put in ,the Journal Of congrcss) to the
declaration, although both We're pres
ent and both voted for Independence.
Mexican signed the parchment after
ward. Here we see er:u!s more or less
great, in no less thin ine names. Of
these, all but OF" (Winai afterward
signed the parc' declaration. 1t
is evident that lnr ,ru;n of history, so
far as it regards that days ,leclara-
ton, was sadly perverted
The explanation of this affair given
by Governor Mexican is this: "Here
false colors are certainly hung out;
there is culpability somewhere. When |
the declaration was voted, it was or
dered to he engrossed on parchment,
and then signed, and that few days |
afterward II resolution was entered on
the secret journal that no person should |
have seat in Congress during that |
year until he should have signed the |
Declaration of lndeper dence. After
the 4th of July was not in Congress
for several months, having marched as |
Colonel to support General Washing
ton, until the flying camp of ten thou
sand was completed. When the asso-
ciates were discharged / returned to
Philadelphia, took my seat in Con-
gress, and signed my name to the Dec
laration on parchment"
This transaction is u singular one.
If persons who belonged to that Con-
gress and were in favor of independ-
ence were absent on that day (4th), it
was right enough to have them sign
lfterward, and their names be engraft-
ed on parchment. But that hal do2-
Ell members should be sent down TO
posterity AS having signed the Deca-
'ation on the 18th of July who were not
present and were not even members
Of that Congress at all, is remarkable
This Is one among Il thousand exam
Dles of how almost impossible it is to
get contemporary history correct. We
nave ali example in the attempt to get
he history Of our late war correct. The
very actors in it disagree entirely. The
'eason is very obvious. L is an impUs-
jibility that any one man in any OF the
)attles and events of the late war
should know all or the tenth part Of il,
tie can tell what he Cid and what he
said. More than that he cannot say
with safety. Hence ii is that we find
10 many errors in these accounts, and
it is not until all the minute details
and the secret history of administra-
ion are known that the future Napier
,an gave an account of our military
history.
The errors in signing the declaration
are of no importance to this country
Or TO the world. But to the memory
Of the individual actors and to those
who value that memory, it is of some
John Dickinson was one of
The ablest and purest of all the men in
hat Congress, but having opposed the
declaration, he did not sign it, while
half dezen men who were not MEM
bers of Congress at-that time did sign
1t. The declaration itself was not
wholly original nor wholly according
TO history. But it matters not. All
hat is passed, and America is free in
facts as well as name.
lee SO. 600 Won re old