The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-07

CenloO tEat armies hau been IalteN Win
desire Of separation from England Frank
liz would willingly have pledged lis private
fortune TO compensate the East India ''nl-
rany for its Il sses thro ugl the Bos- OIL 7 "A
Party. Not long leiore the close of ls.J,
delegate 10 the Confidential Corrrcss said
with horror that he had heard Of persons Ii
Ameri'a who wished TO break of with Great
Britain, ard that "a IroIcsal lad been made
to apply 10 FaI &c and 81 ain He threat
ened to Inform lis cor siitueits, AID added,
Il aprrehend the man who Should propose
IL would be torn TO pieces lihe De Witt In
word the resi- onsible 81 statesmen Of Ameii-
Il were slow 10 advocate TIE doctrine oil
indcY enuc, &C, Until. IN the winter Of l11j-iG
obscure Gong writer's and newell aper lumor.
i.ts set hc iG,a bua2ing in tie minds Of Cis-
contcit,G men. Among tie agencies Which
told powerfully for indeI endenCe, the pub
Eration of Pale's Common SCI Sc" was
col spicuous.
We are reminded that John Adams a.
serted many years later that in tie ,aI!y
rart Of 1879 New York and Pennsyly.l. ia
were so ,early diNiGed-if, indeed their
propensity was Tot against indcreudel &C.
Lat. il New England on the ole Id a, d
Vii ii ia on tho oil er had not htp hem il
awe, they would have ioire tire British
Timothy Pickering called Pea sylvia, a
the eHemy's couL,ry, and Curwel bought
iint the Quak,ib ara DutciMen had too
great regard for ease ard properly o aoliiioe
either OF the altar Of al unknown goddess
If rather doubtful. divinity. Mr., Van Iyne
has 10 doubt that in hat colony "the pro-
prize q gUNeIIment was abo To wicld a
powerful opposition Ii was rec forced by
tn. Qlak,rs, who wished 10 avoid war Oh
agy terms la convention tley dsEouno eu
he putting LOW. Of ,.gs a.u Governments,
ASSERT hat sue IA action wa, Coo + rlroga-
TIE aud not mems They proclaimed il
horror OF measures tending To Independence
his gentle AID leaccable disapproN al ell
orced by the cohser, atism OF the Penn syI-
vaiia Germans, delay ed favorable action 10y
that colony until the mass meeting at IT,
State House in the miCale OF May. l77C,
.eHounced the act Of lie Pennsylvania
Assembly. which had T. tructed its delegate
in Col gIess to OF ose Independence. his
event simply meant Il at the party favora' e
to IND, p Idei &c. failing to control tie
legally elected l. gislature, had now resort'd
TO extra-legal meals to ceieat tie evident
wish OF the egal majority 1t is roiIteo
out in a footrote tlat ] - majority was
Only Of the limited itmler to wlom III"
suffrage ad been restricted. Tie PEOPLE
at large were appealed to by the Wigs,
and late in June the extTa-legal conNention
called by them falteiingly pledged the
co.oay To iLdependel ce
In Maryland 30 great was the popularity
OF the Governor. Robert Eden, that the
Tory party possessed great strength, Moth
ing but the active campaign carried on by
Samuel Chase and Charles Carroll in every
county won that colony to the side OF inde-
pendence In Virginia there had been
very even balance Of forces. but the action
of the Governor, Lord Dunmore, gradually
estranged the loyal people Of the colony.
He first threatened to free, and then freed
by proclamation. all the negroes and in
dentured servants who should enlist for
the purpose of reducing the colony to
slbjection Subsequently, his relentless
burning Of Norfolk. the principal seaport
Of the colony. gave Virginia good a reason
a. Massachusetts for wishing independence.
The varying fortunes of the war greatly
influenced the strength of both parties.
From this fact our author draws an infer
ence that has often been lost sight of. 1t
which was always ready to move toward
the point of least resistance that has been
least regarded by those who have sought
to frame a theory of the American Revo-
luton That mass has never been AT
inviting object for the contemplation Of
either the Wing or Tory sympathizerS
As a result one student has pronounced
the Revolution the work of an unscrupu-
lous and desperate minority while another
has declared that it was the settled con-
viction of the people that the priceless
treasure Of self-government could be- pre-
served by no other means study of the
political struggle between the Wing and
the Tory seems to show that at both eN-
tremes Of political thought there was a
small body Of positive and determined men,
while between them lay the wavering
neutral masses. ready TO move unresist-
| ingly in the direction given by the success
| Of either Wing or Tory. Leagued with
| the positive Tory minority was the British
| Government, while the Wing minority
| began the ST ruggle with the aid Of the great
natural advantages of IA field vast and far
| removed from the resources Of the enemy.
| Then the aid OF foreign alliances turned the
! tide steadily and irrisistibly toward Wing
! victory, and, as the trend OF events be
| came evident to the mass of neutral Ameri-
cans, they also joined the favorable food,
| and assured the ult innate success"
| In view of this state Of facts, Mr.. Van
| Tyne declines 70 recognize the deserter as
necessarily a rascal. In many cases, no
| doubt, he might be induced by the differ
ence between d)ubloons and rags" to quit
| an improbable service for one m )re beno-
| fetal. Many deserter, however had a
| more laudable motive. He might be only
a thoughtless fellow who had been carried
into rebellion by the enthusiasm of other
men possessed Of more positive convictions.
| Then some terrible calamity TO the Ameri-
can cause, some real suffering and priva.
ton, or a proclamation containing a ter
| rible threat, or a fearful reminder that he
was a traitor, brought him to a realization
! of the true situation A revulson of feel
| ing brought back all his natural conscrva-
| ism, and he made he best Of his earliest
| opportunity 10 Join the cause to which his
| -Unso fence hound him. Cur author points
| out that the Tories understood the nature
| e this re.tral body Of men f.r better
| lhan did tho British, and constantly urged