The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-07-26

last on "John Porter and the Cary Re
beITon" was such a valuable contribution
to North Carolina history, and presented
the subject in such a new and original
light that we publish herewith the full
text of the address:
Mr. Bryce, the English statesman
was a speaker at the international Con
gress of Historical Sciences, held al
Rome in April of this year. HE sad al
the outset that there had been so little
real teaching of history in the English
universities that he hardly needed to
speak of it. Within the memory OF men
now living one university had only one
professor of history, who was expected 10
teach both natural history and human
history combined"
There may be some satisfaction IN
knowing that past neglect IN TINS par
ticular is not peculiar to ourselves; but
there is no excuse for further lndlffer-
ence. There must be a certain sense OF
shame in knowing that there Is no ade-
quate history of North Carolina for the
library and no school history of the State
upon the list of books required to be
taught in our public schools For tins
last there is no excuse. There is at least
one primary history of real excellence,
and one or more school histories in manu-
script ready to be published when the
school authorities say the word.
1t would be interesting to inquire why
our history has not been written. Ger
tainlv not for lack of events worthy to
hot
mo one of the early colonies possessed
larger experience than Carolina; the
disputes of thousand years were crowd
ed into a generation" The absence of
careful preliminary studies will explain
in part. Ludicrous and almost sensation
al prominence given to comparatively I'M
important matters is further responsible
for the condition. Take, for instance, the
Roanoke Island settlement. In recent
treatment of this event, all sense of his
torical perspective has been ignored. 1t
has been called the foundation of our re-
ligion and the basis of our civilization:
that citizen and official of the State who
holds first place in the affections of our
people, is credited as saying in a recent
address, that our capital was named after
Sir Walter Raleigh because he had done
so much for the State. Yet the facts re-
main, that Raleigh never saw our shores;
there is no mark of his mind or his hand
upon our institutions: and the Roanoke
settlement, which was only an incident OF
English exploration and adventure, dis
appeared more than half century before
the California settlement and never touch
ed the real life of the State at any point;
unless, indeed the Croatans embrace the
lost colony, and even their influence upon
the State has not been conspicuous.
The stories of Virginia Dare, Flora Nc
Donald and Esther Wake have delight
full flavor and enliven some pages of per
haps otherwise dull history; they are part
of the sentimental, perhaps romantic his
tory of the State. Let us cherish and
preserve such things for what they are
But we have had events and movements
in which 1.-The disputes OF a thousand
years were crowded into a generation, "
and commissions that wrought out results
of deep and lasting significance. These
make history. We will consider one such
today in a discussion OF John Porter and
the Cary Rebellion.
Bancroft, discussing the details of our
Charter, says: Nothing was neglected
but the interests of the English sovereign
and the rights of the colonists.'
The King came to his own in 1929 when
Carolina became a royal province.
The colonists came to their own in 1882
when Our Glorious Revolution" closed
in the acknowledgement of American In
dependence, after long and bitter strug-
gle. That struggle did not begin with
the War of the Revolution. That war
was its elimination. 1t began with the
first infraction of the peoples rights and
their protest against it. The men of the
Revolution were not those of rs only,
but all who through the early days of
our history asserted the doctrines of civil
and religious liberty, and taught men to
maintain them. These were also men of
the Revolution even fathers of the Re
volution and fathers of Liberty! And
the enemies of liberty were not merely
those who cried rebel and traitor to
the men of rs, but all who, by trick and
fraud, and contrivance, and management
and force sought to fix upon the early
settlers irons of government contrary to
the genius of free people; and set them
selves to traduce and degrade those who
opposed their wicked schemes.
Civil connections were not unusual in
Carolina. Many of them had their origin
in England, just as the one we consider
today was the outgrowth of political
movements in the mother country, which
are necessary to be considered for a clear
understanding of our subject.
Possibly the greatest political question
that ever stirred England has been and
is the relation of Church and State
Happily, this is for us a question of the
past and possesses only a curious inter
est. except as it clears the mists from
much that is obscure and perplexing il
our history. AS early as Hen. w., the
first penal statute was passed in England
against teachers of erroneous opinions
contrary to the faith and blesseS deter
limitations of the Holy Church. Under
this the diocesan alone might c hvict O
heretical tenets: and, the she fife was
bound ex-officio to commit the unhappy
victim to the flames, without waiting fol
the consent of the crown" The church
es of Rome and England successfully en-
joyed the advantages of discriminating
legislation until the time of Cromwell an(