Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-05-20
Average Daily Circulation, 1900
The Meckienburg Centennial.

they Claim took place In the town OF Char
Iotte on the 10Th day of May. i.3J, and there
lore prior 10 that at Philadelphia Accord
ing TO the tradition upon which they cele-
brate, Col Thomas Polk. then colonel of the
militia OF the county Of Mecklenburg. called
convention OF the people OF the county, in
consequence OF the generally disturbed
condition of society. occasloned BY the OPP
pressions of the mother country, by and
through the illegal eXactions of the Off sers
Cf the British Crown. That convention as
semblei I'm Charlotte on the 10Th day of May.
15T5, and so great was the feeling on the part
Of the participatOrs In the proceedings
Of the convention that the session was
prolonged until the morning of the 20th
Later in the evening OF the 10Th an express
messenger arrived with Information of the
battle of Lexington. bringing Intelligence
that blood had been split in defence of
American freemon just one month before.
and, under the feeling of The moment. the
convention at once committed itself to an
open declaration ofindependence. Thus goes
the tradition, for there is, unfortunately. no
documentary evidence 10 sustain so import
ant claim The question of the authenticity
of ''the Mecklenburg Declaration" has. how
ever. been widely discussed. and the weight
OF historical evidence is altogether against il.
PerhapS the most conclusive showing of the
merits Of the controversy l. that by Dr.
j. c. yelling, president OF Columbian
University, who has every motive of
state pride To give the strongest weight
possible TO the arguments and evil
dence in favor OF the North Carolina
side OF the case but who is forced TO the
conclusion that the truth of history will not
justify the claim. Dr yelling made his first
publication on this topic in 1856 in the Va
iona intelli1C1'cer, and has since taken part
IN the historical cODfrnyersy- HIS lat aSt ,,ro
Guction being an exceedingly able and lucid
exposition OF the whole question in the New
York Herald OF Monday last. He shows con-
ciuSively in the first place that what is called
the "Mccklenburg Declaration" is not a gen.
Uine document, aud next takes up the ques-
ton: Was there Ur,g declaration OF indepen-
dence made by portion of the people OF
Aeckienburg on the 10Th of May IT'S,
Did the patriots of Mecklenburg, on that
day, formally and forever dissolve the DO
liticai bands which had connected them with
the mother country, and absolve themselves
from al allegiance To the British Crown
The impossibility of such superstition is
Hegatived by great variety of most ire
tragable proofs derived from the contempt
raEeOUs history of North Carolina. In the
nTst place, he points to the fact that the same
patriots vino, il is alleged, took part In this
declaration of May 10, 1I75. are known from
n committee meeting of Mecklenburg
county only eleven days afterward. To wit:
On the 3lst OF May, and at that meeting they
adopted "a set of resolutions which. though in
the highest degree credita bic to their revolu-
tlOnaTy patriotism, are, nevertheless, of such
= tenor as to Hence the hypothesis that these
same men had only eleven days before re-
nOGnced their allegiance to the Bri ish
Crown. unless, indeed, We are to believe that
ia spite Of the brave words spoken by them
on the 18th of May, they were swift TO speak
N words Of "bsted breath after the brief in
ieryal OF reconsideration that had befallen
them for. yelling sums up the evidence in
this connection as follows:
Where tue documentary evidence is so
conclusive against the authenticity of the
Alexander version Of the Mecklenburg prO-
ceeding>. IL hardly need De said that all Goa
temporary and subsidiary evidence points in
the SANE direction For instance, lit iS atte>ted
10y many witnesses thar the Mecklenburg
proceeding Of MAY, 1115, whatever NAV have
been their purport or their precise date I'm
hat month, were dispatched by messenger
10 the Continental Congress. then IN session
IN Philadelphia. Well, we have contempt
TaAk documentary evidence in the shape OF
an official letter. written by Governor Mar
tin-tEe Colonial Governor OF North Caro-
lina-under date of June 80. 1115. that ID was
tine resolutions of May 81 which were sent.
We have the asseveration of Mr.. jefferson
that the Alexander version of these proceed
iugS never came to- his knowledge in Pnila-
delphia. We have the same a~>eVerationS
i.Cm John adams, accompanied with
MS reasons Tor holding 10 morally i'm
possible thar such paper cOuld have come
40 Philadelphia without lis knowing the
tact AT The time We Fave documentary
declaration of Independence on the 10Th of
Nay. lis. was unknown in the adjoining
county OF Rowan Ca the fTst do,B If J.i,e. I1.5,
iOT Oh that day, twelve days after the date
Of the alleged Declaration. the committee of
Rowan county invited their neighbors of
NeCkienbu burg TO unite with them in PRAYERS
for ..the House of Hanover and its legal sue
ces>ion.' We have the written statement
Of James lreyleil, an eminent citizen of
North Carolina. afterwari an Associate
Justice % the United States Supreme Court
= statement made in the year i111, when his
memory OF current events i'm North Carolina
must have been fresh-tbat until very near
the time OF tine National Declaration OF July
=. I'ss, he "never heard a man speak on the
srbgec; OF independence who did not speak of
u with adherence and Ind gnatiOn, and
Pace the hope OF all his felicity in q
happy and honorable reconciliation with
Great Britain the reader does not neei To
ne reminded that this was the common SEN
tncnt Of ali patriotic Americans In the early
part Of the year T1j, and that this sentiment
prevailed AZ even a much later period. y
tetnitive declaration OF Independence aS
carly as May. 14.5. in any part OF the Amer
scan continent, IL a historical anachrOnism
which would require the most positive evil
8euce 10 subStantiate IL against the antece
cent force Of the probabilities weighing
against z. But in this case all the positive
bfOssl> tbff~lifr Win the dnIsctueHt prDDa-
slities 10 show that there was no such decla-
on a. Mr.. Alexander concocted from his
best recollec;iOns-
The patient researches OF Bancroft. the late
Peter cfce. Bensoa ]. Losing and Mr.. ~
&. -POaOrd, Librarian or Congress have all
I.Jed "a tte same conclusion, lat the pat
I-Otic resolutions adopted May 3lst, 11,J,
serve - the base for tine myth OF the Meek
lsuburg declaration OF May 9th These
resolutions did not contain an unconditional
and irrevCcable declaration OF independence,
LAT assumed its provisional existence in con-
sequence 81 the lapse OF British authority.
As i'T yelling says in this connection:
''1t4. patriotic traditions of a people are
justly Gear TO them The people of North
Carolina are not 10 be blamed for cinging
with 20 much tenacity to the Mecklenburg
lcgeflt- Many among them do not care 10
inquire too narrowly into the grounds of the
modern >cepticism that has aimed TO dis
credit the popular belief; but there are
others among them who, renouncing their
-. F.NN