The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-07-10
THE GL0RI0US FOURTH
How Your Uncle William Arp
Spent the Day.
REBELLI0NS AT A DISCOUNT
Arp Talks About Various Other
Matters.

The 4th of July is aIhg thing. We had for
gotten that it was so big and it is good sign
that our people are waking up to it again
The first rebellion gave it birth and we were
proud OF it but the last was such a failure and
brought so much trouble that rebellions were
at discount and we cult celebrating-we
hung our harps on the willows and like the
Jewish captives, refused to sing the Lords
song in a strange land, but we are all harmon
izing now and it is good sign to see our peo-
. pie celebrating the same old Fourth The
first rebellion was against the old man and
the boys whipped him but when the boys got
to fighting one another with no ocean between
it was different thing. The first declaration
ofindependence that great secession document
was conceived at Williamsburg, Va, in the
old Raleigh tavern, but it had to go over to
Philadelphia to be born, because there was
big bell there, 1 reckon. Williamsburg was
the seat of government OF the Virginia
colony and the declaration was read there on
the LIST of June, by Thomas Jefferson to the
house Of burgesses, and a more solemn scene
was never witnessed. There was no hilarty,
no gush, no enthusiasm. The whole thing was
like a funeral. Love for the fatherland and
fear of her power were mingled with burn
ing sense OF her tyranny and oppression. The
older members dreaded TO cut the cords that
bound them, and had the declaration been left
to a quiet vote it never would have carried,
but, when Patrick Henry closed his
Immortal speech, the house rose up as
one man, and with quivering emotion Endorsed
his closing sentiment-Give me liberty or give
me death. History says that one of the dele
gates said an hour afterward that he would
give five hundred pounds TO recall his vote.
1t was terrible trial, and reminds us of the
solemn passage of the ordinance of secession
in 1861. John Adams and Patrick Henry
were the orators and carried the day by storm.
There was no resisting their patriotic elo-
quence. 1t was like great tidal wave and
overwhelmed everything. The like of it had
never been heard before, and Daniel Webster
said would never be heard again. Let the
young men of this age read that history and
it will do them good. In soul-stirring emo
tons it surpasses all the romances ever writ
ten. 1t is far more sublime than Burke's i'm
peachmentof Warren Hastings, for the cause
was greater and the men were greater. The
old independence bell was rung until it cracked,
and strong men met upon the streets and wept.
Well, now, what was this all about? Moth
ing very much outside OF principle. We would
not call it a very great oppression now. The
biggest thing was little tax on tea-a sort of
tariff that did not protect. Nobody drank tea
but the New England yankees. The stamp act
had been repealed two years before. But all
the southemers from Maryland down were just
as mad about that tax as if it had been on
whisky. There was no whisky here, but New
England rum was all the same
even the citizens of the city of brotherly love.
They went to fighting, and they whipped the
fight, andit was glory, and we are all proud of
1t but if they hadn't whipped it and had been
forced back under old Johnny Bull it would
have been treason, and there would have been
more amendments made to the English consti-
tuition than you could tote on stick. When
these rebels made constitution after the war
was over, Patrick Henry and old Ben Harrison
refused to sign it for a long time because it did
not secure the rights of the states as strong as
they wanted. AT the last they signed under
protest, and the historian says that Henry
never recovered from his fears that some day
the states would lose their separate independ-
ence.
i heard an cid whig say not long ago that
Jefferson was more Of q demagogue than
statesman, and that the declaration of indie
pendence was no extraordinary document, and
most any smart school boy could write a more
grammatical composition. "For instance"
said he, take the first sentence, wherein he
says "a decent respect for the opinions of man.
kind. Now what kind OF respect is that; who
ever heard of an indecent respect. Why
.dident he say respect for the opinions of man
kind What made him put in that useless
and inappropriate adjective"
/ heard another man say that Jefferson
didn't compose very much Of that declaration,
no how, but got it from old Mecklenburg, in
North Carolina, where secession had its birth
two months before. That is what tar-heel
told me. was talking to a Scotch Presbyter-
ian yesterday, and he said that Jefferson got
the general hang of the thing from the con
fession of faith. Well, it don't matter. 1t is
a lively old document, and is still good reading
on the Fourth Of July, or any other day.
Last Wednesday ran over is Tallapoosa to
see how these imported yanks were getting
along and how they were going to celebrate
the day. They did it up in style. They
hoisted flag pole 10 feet high and foated
splendid streamer of stars and stripes from
he masthead Gay bunting adorned the
IOfn1 Nd 4 al Al
sand people filed the streets. A regiment of
men marched arm in arm iii pairs-a rebel on
one side and yank on the other, just as they
did at Gettysburg. Splendid music filled the
air and the Star Spangled Banner alternated
with Dixie and everybody shouted and cheered
for both. Patriotic songs were sung by a
choir of fifty trained singers. Then came the
reading Of the declaraton and lastly the
orators were on hand and distinguished Them
selves and made the turkey bumps
rise on the spinal columns Of every
patriot son and daughter Colonel Hanson,
the great apostle Of protection, made splendid
speech as he always does, and he captured the
audience, especially the yanks by his wit and
his wisdom. George Adair never fails and
General Young was in his glo:y. L didn't
catch all OF Georges thrilling speech for l was
too remote, but he told me himself that he
made a splendid one. He began with Bona
parties great speech TO his army in Egypt.
"Soidiers, forty centuries are looking down
upon you from the heights Of those pyramids"
But there are no useless pyramids here to mark
the tyranny Of kings or the downfall Of n
mighty nation. There are no soldiers here and
no forty centuries either. But only about forty
weeks are looking down upon us from the Tai
lapoosa lills-hills that are natures peaceful
monuments and that are today smiling down
their smiles upon this exhilerating scene.
Tell me yc winged winds
That round my pathway play,
Blow sc Oh ury sUUL
Like our own Ju.!eIoO-say.
And the winds said, nay. In due time he
got warmed up 10 his work and put in lively
on Marco Bozars.
Strike ios tic green grayes q your sircs,
stIlAe FOR you alars and your hrcs.
But don't strike for higher wages IN ITALIA
poosa town until we get the brick block and
the glass works done. lie closed with liberty NJ
peath and shook his amb0sial locks aud gave
tA9 nod for dinner and eYery body ahouted