The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1893-10-20

er specially notable event ofrevolutior
ary times. Look across the valley tc
the east and you will see the defile i'll
the mountain through which John
Stark and his men came to the rendez.
vous here when making ready to march
to Bennington and take part in the
fight that made John Stark's name i'm
mortal. That battle, though small
affair measured only by the numbers
of those who took part, was moment.
Gus as to its results By the defeat ol
Baum, General Burgoyne was deprived
both of valuable part of his army and
of the supplies which he greatly need
ed, and thus weakened fell an easy vic
| tim 10 the Americans at Saratoga
That victory marked the tarning-poInt
of the revolution, though it was five
years before peace and independence
were established. But the success at
Bennington was the prelude to the tri-
umph of the American cause, and thus
John Stark s march through Manches-
ter had tremendous consequences.
As to Ethen Allen, upon whose per-
sonal character some severe structures
have been made he was not a saint.
He Was product of his lime. Rough,
perhaps profane and coarse at times,
yet energetic, shrewd with ma ural
capacity for leadership and an intelli-
gence that fitted him to command.
Whatever his faults, he certainly was
patriot whose valor cannot be ques-
toned, and the importance of whose
services to the revolutionary cause
must be conceded. As near as l can
get at it, the harsh things said about
him are mainly because Of his relig-
ious belief-or lack of belief He was
what they called an infdel in those
days of strict orthodoxy. He had some
literary ability and wrote several pamph
lets, and this little book, treason the
Only Oracle of Man, published, as
you see by the imprint, at Bennington
IN 1874, is from his pen. He seems to
have been follower of Tom Paine and
much the same sort of man, for
Paine was patriot as we'll as All athe-
ist. In these days his opinions would
attract little attention.; he would be an
agnostic of the Colonel Ingersoll Or
der, and people who didn't agree with
him would laugh at him as they do at
that eloquent unbeliever. But then
they took things more seriously, and
thai is PROBABLY the reason why Allen
has been represented BY some later
critics as very wicked person.
Coming down to recent times. Ver-
mont, SAID Mr.. Orvis, is renowned for
its great men. 1t has been especially
fortunate ir the character and ability
of It's jurists. It's list of judges is in
deed rollof honor. l especially re-
member Judge Harrington, who made
declaration from the bench that
struck the keynote of the agitation a
gainst slavery. A negro fugitive from
New Yorkwhen slavery existed in that
State, had been caught in Vermont,
and his return to his owner was con-
tested in Judge Harrington's court.
The lawyer for the slaves owner sub
mi ted'proper proof of proprietorship
but Judge Harrington overrule> it
In great astonishment the counsel pro-
tested, declaring there could be nc
question about it. The legal claim tc
the slave was established, and the ne.
gro must be turned over to his mas er
Then Judge Harrington thundered
forth: mo, sir nothing short of bill
Of sale from God Almighty can take
that man on. of the State!' and he em
phasized the word man in way tina,
must have grated very harshly upor
the ca s Of every defende- of the pecu.
liar rinstitu,ion.' Thus was affirmed tina
''higher law"-.the right of a man t.
his own which became in la
ter years one Of the most powerful
pleas s:used in. advocacy Of ,emancipa
ton. 1t dates much further back thar
the phrase 'irrepressib'e conflict" t.
which your own g eat New Yorl
statesman, William II. Seward, after
ward gave expression,