The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-27
TATUE OF WILLIAM PITT,
Erected in Charleston. S. c., in 1865.

| Special Correspondence Of The Sunday Republic.
Charleston, S. G, April 23.-Ten years be-
fore the Declaration of independence was
! proclaimed. the people of Charleston caused
| to be erected in their city Il beautiful mar
BILE statue in honor of William Pitt of Eng
land. who had spoken eloquently fC- the
Colonies in the British Parliament.
This sI.iue. having passed through many
reuiarEsi'- vicissitudes. is again in position
in Washington Square. near the corner of
Broad and Meeting street. where visitors
to the South Carolina Exposition gaze upon
1t with curiosity, and yet with scant knowl-
edge of its history.
1t is an odd statue-not alone in its his
tory. but equally in its formation. The
figure is more than life-size. costumed as
a Roman Senator. with the toga, the tunic
and the Sandallcd feet. In the left hand.
with the arm falling loosely. is a scroll
with the words Magma Charta." The
light arm was originally raised to denote 4
speaking posture, but only a stump of it
remains. BY a singular coincidence. a cam
ncnball from a British warship shot off the
uplifted arm. tae years ago.
Moreover. there is 4 black. significant
line around the neck of the figure. show
ing where the French enthusiasts OF
Charitstou in 1874 tore down The statue. the
head being broken oil in the fall.
During seventy-tfres years this famous
statue-the only one Of William Pitt in this
-coUntry-stood in the yard of the Charles
ton Orphan House. and among literary men
and artists had been numbered among the
lost. But in 1881 Mayor William Z. Courte-
nay dragged It from obscurity and caused
it 10 be remounted within 100 feet of its
original place. near the corner of perhaps
the most Travelled section of Charleston.
story of Statues Arrival
in Cid Newspaper.
NON anars ~, flo ", tho Cborlac-
ton Library give a quaint and decidedly in
,eresting story of the ordering and arrival
of the statue. Prom these files the fact is
disclosed that news Of the repeal of the
stamp act was received in Charleston on
Saturday, May 3. I165. 1t was brought by
CAPTAIN Josiah Dickinson of the sloop
Sukey and Nancy. from Barbados. The
South Carolina Gazette of May 6 says:
LAS soon as the foregoing very agreeable
and important intelligence was known, n
general joy appeared in the countenance of
every well wisher of the country and the
glorious cause of liberty. At 4 O'Clock in
the afternoon the artillery company. COM
manded by Christopher Gadsden. Esq, and
the company of light infantry. commanded
by Thomas Savage. Esq. appeared under
arms and went through their exercise, FIR
ing, etc. In the evening the town was
handsomely illuminated, and the day closed
with loyalty and mirth, echoing with loyal
toasts to his Majesty King George III. the
great patriot Mr.. Pitt and our worthy
friend in England
But the gratitude of the people did not
step here. 1t is of record that the Com
mons House Assembly. which was in ses-
sion at that time. unanimously resolved, on
motion Of Rawlins Lowndes, Esq. TO APP
propriate 1900. Carolina currency. for de-
fraying the expense of procuring from Eng
land a marble statue of the Right Honor
able William Pitt to be erected IN TINS
Province as a memorial and testimony OF
the great generation and respect they have
for his person, and the obligations they lie
under for his services in general to the
King and country as for his noble. d!sin-
terested and generous assistance toward OBJ
tanning the repeal of the stamp act
1t appears. further. from the ancient
newspaper files. that a committee of cor !
respondence was named, who
Gated the. action of the Assembly to one
Charles Garth, Esq. at that time the agent
of the Province in London Mr.. Garth at |
once consulted the English sculptors OF that
day and awarded the contract of making
the statue of MIR. Pitt to Mr.. Wilton, who |
had Just then completed a splendid statue
of Pitt for the city of Cork, Ireland.
Mr.. Garth's Report
to Charleston Committee.
In a letter under date of July 9. 1866, Mr..
Garth thus reports to the Charleston Com
mittee of Correspondence:
"At present 1 have given in your direc-
tons to rave him (PitO at full length, in a
speaking attitude and suitable dress. with
a roll in one hand inscribed Magma Charta
and a proper pedestal to it, that Mr.. VIII
ton may turn in his mind in what design
to execute it. As to the expense. l cannot
send you precise information. The artists
vary In their accounts. but much must de-
ponds on the design. In general they talk
of from 800 to 500 guineas, If IL be set in an
open square, which seems the noblest
scheme. Till n model of the design is fin !
ished there is no making any agreement
with propriety. as that might be a means
of limiting his fancy in the ornamental
part about the pedestal I don't find 1t
to finish the models of the
statue and pedestal. and afterwards the
therefrom. in less than fifteen or
eighteen months"
In answer to the foregoing letter, the
Commons House Assembly, on October g.
1866, determined to have the statue liked
in the most public part of our town. where
streets that run east and west and north
and south intersect each other at right an
giles, one of which is sixty. the other sew
enty feet wide. and both as straight as an
arrow. In the crossway of these two streets
the statue is supposed to be erected, and
will have our New Church the Church of
st. Michael'sl, Our New Market, the State
House and Armory. all public buildings. at
the several corners, of 1t. Mr.. wiIton's
form. designed for an open space Is