The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-08-02

serves the purpose now.
Again June 3rd, 1915" did not
fall ON Friday. 1t fell on Saturday.
1t is evident that Friday was the day
of publication of The Cape Fear Mer-
curry Ca weekly. for Gov. Martin re-
ferred to issues of July nth and July
28th Both of those days fell OH
Friday and June End fell on Friday.
Who made the mistake Of putting il
Friday, June 3rd,' the old printer of
the Mercury or the modern linotype
artist?
Chemically the same resolutions,
with even exactly the same punctua-
ton, were published on hroadside IN
Johnson's traditions Of the ReVolu-
ton Charleston, $3.50, and Dr.
Johnson then said:
..rhe COPY here attached is from a
handful, the oldest publication of TIE
Mecklenburg declaration yet found in
print 1t is beautifully printed, with
q great variety of lettering in a new
type, which elderly printers agree WaA
not the type used during the tseVOlu-
ton. They pronounce them to be
American types, and that this handbill
could not have been printed earlier
than 1900"
although it is admitted thar this
handful" which contains Only the
first three resolutions, was printed
from the declaration written from
memory by John McKnitt Alexander,
vet it contains exactly the same pune
tuation and capitalization rs that
given in the alleged original Cane Fear
Mercury, and the same names run
three to the line just in the order III
which the 'handbill' has them. But
the 'handbilr has the names al ranged
in three separate columns, While in
the paper they appear to follow each
other in close order. Truly, Alex
ander had a most wonderful memory.
DIR. Johnson also tells us that there
were three more resolutions to. the
declaration that were not printed on
the handful He quotes them as fol-
lows:
"4th. Resolved, That we do hereby
Crdain and adopt as rules of conduct.
all and each of our former laws, ana
the crown of Great Britain cannot be
considered hereafter, as holding any
rights, privileges or immunities
among US.
18th. Resolved, That all officers,
civil and military in this country, be
entitled to exercise the same powers
and authorities as heretofcre-that
every member of this delegation shall
be henceforth a civil officer, and eX~
ercise the powers of a justice Of the
mine controversies according to law,
preserve peace, union and harmony in
the county, and use every eXertion to
spread the love of liberty and of conn
Try. until a more general and better
organized system of government be
established.
9th Resolved, That copy Of these
resolutions be transmitted, by express,
to the president of the continental
nctC cd a
to be laid petfore that bodily
The 'declaratior' published in Vol.
TX of the Colonial Records of
North Carolina is said to have been
taken from the Statutes of North
Carolina and purports to be the de
claration" which John Mcknitt Alex
ander wrote off from memory, and yet
the declaration i'm Johnson's Ira
ditions differs from it, and that in the
3rd, 1775, differs from both of the
others. What did Alexander write
anyway?
And how many names did the de.
claration' have to it? The original
Alexander declaration had thirty
one, but the North Carolina legisla-
ture appended but twenty-seven while
the newly discovered declaration has
but twenty-five. But to return to the
Martin wrote (June 30th) to Lord
Dartmouth that he enclosed him q
Newspaper" and in place he calls at
tention to the resolutions of the Neck
lenburg committee" while in another
part of his letter he intimates that
there were other things in the News
paper to interest Dartmouth. This
clipping shows only the resolutions. Ii
is North Cardinals duty to prove the
genuineness of this newly discovered
Cape Fear Mercury, and if that cannot
be done, then the 31st of May should
be celebrated instead of the goth, and
the Inscription on the Charlotte monu-
ment should be SO changed as to meet
the truth as revealed by contempor-
airy records.
Most of Mr. Salley's objections are
not real objections, but some of them
have doubtless occurred to others. DR..
Millers attention will be called to
them and he will doubtless answer
them. for, having published the fac
smile he will no doubt be ready to
prove it's genuineness to the satisfac-
ton of the most skeptical.
SO far as the people of North Caro-
satisfied themselves as to the fact that
a meeting was held in Charlotte on
the goth of May and that resolutions
of independence were adopted, sub
stantially,. but of changed Verbiage,
with those written from memory by
John McKnitt Alexander. They have
threshed over all the old straw, and
need no additional evidence. The
first heard in this State of the discov-
cry of DR.. S. Wilmington Miller was the
publication in Golfers Weekly. If
genuine, it sets at rest in the mind of
the most skeptical the Mecklenburg
Declaration of independence. There
seems to be no earthly reason why DIR.
Miller should invent the missing copy
of the Cape Fear Mercury and the fa3
Simile.
ONE-THIRD LESS.