The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-07-09
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
HOW the Declaration of Indepen
dence Wns Celebrated by our An

ceStOfS.
N. y. Shipping List, July q. 1896.
, The week which has just had i,
centennial anniversary was remarl
able In this country, and especially |
! this city, FOR its popular and joyfu
celebration of the nineteenth birthda
OF the Declaration of Independence.
Prior to that an important Stat
ard political ceremony was gon
through on July |. On that day. Joh
Jay, the recent returned Ambassado
to Great Britain whose treaty wa
then the uppermost subject in all mon
minds, was duly. sworn in as Cover
nor OF the State of New York, T.
which Office he had been elected dur
Ing his absence. The simplicity O
the ceremony was democratic in tn,
extreme. MIR. Jay remained ouietl,
at his residence on Broadway, aut
mere ABOUT noon the Secretary OF State
waited upon him. In the presence O
lew gentlemen the oath OF Office was
then administered in the prescribed
,orm 10 Mr.. Jay as Governor. and also
to Lieut.=Gov. .-elect Van Rensselaer,
This function was followed by a re-
ception, attended by all the prominent
citizens of the town, when the Cover
nor received congratulations on his
accession to office.
| Inc next event was the Fourth OF
July, and preparations were made for
I the greatest celebration New York
mad known. Notices were published
In the papers, calling upon all patriotic
cltlzens. to refrain from business of any
Kind, and the morning of a glorious
aay was ushered In by peals of bells
rom every steeple in the city, and u
Federal salute of cannon fired in Bat
terry Park. This salute was repeated
at midday and again in the evening.
FOLLOWING the morning salute every-
oody In the city started for the Bat
terry. where the procession Of the Lay
was to form. Promptly ut III O'Clock
Col. Rutgers, commander of the Legion,
took up with his brigade the line of
march up Broadway. Following were
the Mechanic, Tammany and Dsmo.
cratic societies, Capt. Montaigne's
company of Light Rangers, Il guard of
militia officers and others, nearly a
Thousand men being in the line.
The procession marched to the New
Presbyterian Church, where the sery
ices of the day were held. They were
opened with the reading Of that i'm
mortal document, the Declaration of
Independence, by MIR. Edward Living
ston. After this came the oration.
delivered by Mr.. Miller, and charac.
terizcd in the public prints of that time
as an elegant and patriotic dis
COURSE" The procession then reformed
and returned to Battery Park, where
those troops who were under arms dis
charged feu de joie, amid great
enthusiasm, and the parade was dis
missed.
Each company then repaired to its
particular chosen spot for dinner, and
the jovial and social celebration proper
to the spirit of the times was begun.
At the famous old Tontne Coffee
House the merchants of the city gave
a great banquet, at which were pres
ent as guests such distinguished men
as His EXcellency Gov. John jaw.
Major-Gen. Norris, Judge IredeiI, |
Senator Reed of South Carolina, Mavor |
King, Judge Hobart, Col. Hamilton, |
Judge Lawrence, Secretary of State !
DR.. johnson and others. The toast list
was a long one and patriotic to the last
word. Another big dinner was that
given i'm the rooms of the Frary, at
the Artillery Regiment were the
guests.
At the conclusion of the dinners the
various societies seated about their
boards sent and received deputations
With congratulatOry and patriotic
messages. Among the organizations
,hus exchanging courtesies were the
the Society of the Gin
'innati, the Militia Offers. the Me-
,hanic, Tammany, Democratic. New
ork Rangers and others. In the
evening the days festivities were con-
,luded with an elaborate display of
fireworks by Col. Bauman and the
Regiment of Artillery, which was
great treat for that time.
Celebrations also took place in other
,ities, Boston, in particular, having a
great parade and accompanying SER
yices and oratiOns. In philadelphia
'nly was the day marred by any dis
,urDance. Here early in the morning
I crowd of disaifected ones, whose OBJ
position to the recent treaty was still
strong, attempted to burn in etfgy
John Jay. The magistrates, learning
of the plot in time, were prepared,
and the attempt frustrated, six or
elght OF the ringleaders being arrest
ed. Toward evening another mob,
numbering perhaps 300, which had
formed out in the Northern liberties,
into the city and repeated
the attempt. A troop of the city
cavalry were at once called out and
charged the mob with drawn swords.
After brief struggle, in which sew
eral were slightly injured, the rioters
broke and ran, and the trouble was
Abroad the week was scarcely more
eventful. The French Republic was
with the expedition of the
Royalist emigrants landed by Great
Britain at the Bay of Quiberon, and the
Chouans and Vendeans were increas-
ing their hostile activity. At Paris,
the American minister, James Monroe,
celebrated the Fourth of July by q
royal fcte. The Pre- sident of the |
National Assembly was present and |
proposed the toast, Congress and |
President Washington" which was
greeted with tremendous enthusiasm.
Nearly three hundred guests were
present, including nearly all the foreign
Ministers, many Deputies of the con
ventiop. and public and prominent
men. a guest whose brilliancy orna-
mented the occasion and did credit to
his native country was Thomas Paine,
the author of tho famous "Agc of
Reason"
One other event, and this deed of
magnanimity and mercy. marked the
celebration Of the American Independ-
ence Day abroad. At Brunn, the
year before, DR.. Bcllman had at
tempted by force to carry of the noble
Marquis de Lafayette. His attempt
had tailed land he himself was caught
a p1 in,nriunnol In