The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-05-01

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to picture the miseries of such days.
Think of it; that nation OF human beings
became, body and soul, the property of a
single man, a tyrant, d usurper, Sacrelig-
iously claiming to rule by divine right.
There could be no progression as there
could be no happiness under such circum-
stances. Luther broke the chains of relig-
iOus despotism; the Anglo-SaXons made
great inroads upon the perogatives of roy
atty; mems minds we're unShackled, and
having once slipped of liberty they thirsted
for deeper draught. England, though the
freest of nations, had not yet progressed to
perfection, and sought TO burden the colo
MES without the right under the princi-
pies Of government. The chief cause Of
the American revolution was the right Of
arbitrary government, asserted by the
mother country and disputed by the colo
MES: so long as the cOloniStS were let alone
they were good subjects. But by non-in-
reference they learned the lessons that
afterwards prompted them TO rebellion.
They learned to regulate their own affairs;
they loved independence in religion and
would not brook enforced conformity to
the established church: they refused to
recognize
THE DIVINE RIGHT OF THE BRITISH KING
to rule, and were especially incensed at
George III and his ministry. The people
of the colonies claimed the full rights of
Englishmen. They resented as unconsti-
tutiOnal the efforts of the British parlia-
ment to tax them without representation.
Despite their protest, with blind faulty,
the ministry insisted upon measure after
measure in derOgatiOn of the claims of the
colonies. Parliament taxed importations,
forbade the erection of iron-WOrls and the
manufacture of steel in America; placed
an Introduction upon the telling of
pine trees; authorized search warrants:
and passed confscatiOn laws. No step of
the British ministry excited as much in
dl%natiOn as the stamp act, providing that
no contract should be of binding force UNI
less written on paper bearing the royal
stamp. The mUftied bells of several large
cities tOlled funeral pcals. Flags We're hung
at half mast Turbulent crowds assem-
bled. The eloquent and fearless Patrick
Henry exclaimed, 'Tarquin and Caesar
had each his BrutuS: Charles l. had his
Cromwell, and George III.-may profit by
their example, he concluded upon being
| interrupted with a cry Of Treason With
q rare patriotism with a hOmeiy devotion
to principle, the cOlOnists entered into a
solemn compact to import no more goods
from Great Britain until the stamp act was
repealed The obnoxious measure was re
I pealed, but parliament added to the repeal
a resolution that it had the righttO bind the
colonies in all cases whatever. Other
| taxes followed, and the spirit of resistance
! became stronger. Conflicts between the
! British sOldiery and the pOpulace occurred
| In New York and Boston. The Boston tea
party and resistance to the port bill were
followed by annulmeut Of the Massachu-
sets charter. Bad led TO worse, until
finally the smothered flames Of rebellion
| burst violently forth upon the common at
| Lexington.
TIE OCCASION DEMANDED MEN.
/ A
! Of great men, educated in the school of pa
| triotisn, We're at hand to control the popu-
! lar efforts Greatest in this resplendent
! galaxy of stars was the immortal hero
whose first inauguration we come to com
memorate This is the man of whom
Lowell says, in his inspiring apostrOphe to
Virginia:
Mother Of States. and undiminished men,
Thou gaveSt US country, giving him.
Nor is the praise too high.
Washington was man whose
worth and talents did not lie
upon the surface. He was modest in de-
meanOr, and he accepted no Office of trust
without an earnest and sincere expression
of unwOrthiness. Not characterized by bril-
lance; without the snowy attributes which
have raised far less able men to eminence;
by soundness Of judgment and persistence
Of purpose, he showed himself to be one of
the most successful CT generals, and one of
the most sagacious statesmen of any age.
Called unexpectedly to the command of the
continental forces, he accepted reluctantly
with a sense of his untitness for the respOn-
sibilities Of the Office. But having accepted,
he refused all compensation for his services,
and entered into the cause OF the colonies
with a fixed determination, characteristic
of the man, not to abandon the cause while
hope remained. From the moment he as
sumed command at Cambridge, in the sum
mer of l715. until the surrender of Corn
wallis at Yorktown IN 1TSi, his experiences
We're Of a character to have thrice discOur-
aged Il less earnest patriot and less patient
and perseYering man.
II was with the greatest difficulty that he
procured men and supplies. His troops
were often without adequate food or cloth
ing; his regiments were SO reduced in num-
bcrs at times that but mere handful fol
flowed him in the contest. He mas been
criticised for his reVerseS and retreats. 1t
is said, with truth, that he won but few
victories, and comparisons are, upon these
grounds alone, sought to be made between
Washington and Napoleon, or others of the !
great captains Of the world. That his
victories were less numerous must be
conceded, but such comparisons are wrong.
We must look into the surrounding cir
cumstances. No general has ever labored
under greater difficulties than Washington.
With
RAW, RAGGED AND ILL-FED TROOPS,
few in numbers. often denied the support
of Congress, which at best was weak and
enforced its acquisitions with difficulty;
criticised by his cOmpatriOts for his seeming
inactivity: often thrown upon his own in
dividual resources to equip his troops and
REINFORCE his battaliOns; opposed by
veteran troops, more numerous than his
own, and perfectly equipped and supplied,
and commanded by trained officers; he was
placed at a disadvantage that must be con
sidered in estimating the military talent
of this remarkable man. He seemed never
to despair; burdened with troubles, suffer
ing under grievances that would have over
whelmed another man, he worked stead
tasty towards the goal. 1t would have
been an easy matter for him, 1t would have
been diStinctively human to have answered
the taunts of his friends, in a moment of
despair, by throwing himself and his
battalions upon the stronger foe, and to have
persisted himself, and to have hopelessly
ruined the cause he represented by suffer
ing a glorious defeat. Such was not the
character of the man. He was content to
suffer the ignominy of criticism and dis
favor, and that, TOO, without murmur.
Circumstances were such, as he describes
ia his farewell address, that the passions,
agitated in every direction, were liable to
mislead, amid appearances somewhat
dubious, vicissitudes Of fortune often dis
couraging, in situations in which,
not unfrequently, want of success has coun-
tenanced the spirit of criticism Criticized,
he was denied the privilege of exculpating
himself in fear of divulging his weakness