The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-07-27
Hon, John 81. Small
On the Sound Section.

U0 Inc 0Ouuu 0SCIAUu'
He spoke as follows:
The subject assigned to me is notable |
for what it emphasizes. II it was IN |
tended to elicit discussion of the his |
tory of that section of North Carolina
bordering on and tributary to our /
sounds, there would be opened most
inviting field for profitable "Reminiscences.
Its history has never been written into /
a consecutive narrative and he who
would do justice to the subject must
read many disconnected pamphlets and
biographies Candor cOnstrains admis-
sion that 1 have not drunk deep at this
fountain of knowledge and inspiration
and the brief notice of my subject did |
not find me in that condition of pre-
paredness which would enable me with
out review to speak in detail of the his
tory of this great section.
l cannot at this stage fail to commend
the efforts of the State Historical Asso-
citation to encourage the study of our
past, to recall the lives of the yirile
men and women who have done things
in other years and who are fostering
that spirit which is gathering and pre-
serving much valuable material and will
yet evolve the future historian of this
commonwealth North Carolinians have
been iconoclasts regarding their past
They are frequently hero worshippers
of the present, but sometimes ungrateful
when their heroes have garnered the
last sheaf and left the field of their
activities. A people who do not treasure
the memory of their men and women
who have led unselfish lives and con-
tributed to the veal of the State whether
in politics, on the field of battle, in the
professions or to the material progress
of their age, have failed to exhibit one
essential characteristic of greatness. We
have seen others write the history of
their States Or sections and disparage
our own, or write the history Of our
country and falsify omit the crucial
acts contributed by our own people, and
we have submitted with only weak pro-
tests. More than that. we have read
these histories and been entranced by
their lacdations and the glamour of their
rhetoric and have permitted the parts
played by our own ancestors in the same
great drama to be obscured and forgot
ten. The children in our schools have
read of the patriotic seizure of tea in
Boston harbor with open-eyed wonder
ment and admiration, but they have
IeaTQeU nOIHlUS VI tAC
Tea Party of October 25, 1774, which
breathed the spirit of patriotism and in
dependence and voiced the indignant pro-
test of the best women of our land. Our
children have read in our school his
teries of the famous Declaration of In
dependence at Philadelphia by the Con-
tinental Congress, but they have not al
ways had an opportunity to read of the
ffAra Of HnlF-
lenburg patriots more than one year
previous, or of the resolutions of the
Provincial Congress at Halifax on April
z, 17G6, which authorized it's delegates
to the Continental Congress to vote for
resolutions declaring independence and
forming foreign alliances Our children
have read depicted in glowing cOlors,
of the bravery of the patriots at the
battle of Lexington, but they have never
always read of the stubborn resistance
and heroism of the patriots at Moores
Creek, at Guilford Court House and at
Kings Mountain. Successive generations
have seen the great men of our State
upon the stage, or playing their part in
the arena of greatness, conscious of
their masterful ability and of their in
f1uence upon contemporary history, and
a monument to their memory or perpet-
uated their deeds in the living por-
traiture of literature. We have per-
mitted thousands of our countrymen
from every section of this great Republic
to pass through Statuary Hall in the
Capitol at Washington ard gaze at the
scultured images of the great men who
have helped to make the history of other
fotn no Mich
North Carolina, one of the oldest colo
MES. one of the galaxy of the original
thirteen States. the State which has
produced men not only for her own adorn-
ment but for the enrichment of others,
to remain vacant and to whisper in the
silent language of neglect that this State
has not one son worthy to be thus
commemorated.
1t is not surprising that the thoughtful
among our people commend the action
of this Historical Association in it's eff
forts to provide a worthy chronicle of
the past and to foster the study of our
history.
We owe a loving tribute to the dead
who have garnered this treasury of facts
and to the living such as the venerable
Creecy and Kingsbury and others like
Clark and Ashe and Weeks and Bassett
and many others who are exhibiting their
own patriotism and distinction by paying
tribute to the actors who have created
and preserved for us the civilization and
the liberty we now enjoy.
/ have digressed and must return to
my subject l cannot hope to trace on
this occasion the part played by this
section in our history. history of the
Sound Section of North Carolina would
in large degree, be history of the
State. It's early settlers from Huguenots
to Cavaliers have possessed one charac-
teristic which distinguished them, they
loved liberty and have always been will
ing to fight for it. The royal governors
never found an easy berth among these
people. Here the Stamp Act found Its
most aggressive enemies. Taxation with
out representation was nowhere more
vigorously opposed and political indie
pendence found here it's earliest support
ers. Even those who at that time were
communicates fthe established church
did not permit their loyalty as churchmel
TO overcome their zeal for liberty. The