The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-06-29

$50 years ago RI
month. Paine was chiefly Know
the time of the Revolutio, NV, \
some years afterward as q vr,ta.
political subjects. 1t was NOT men
er years that the religious vritia1
peared which earned him 4 ronnta
as a critic of the orthodox tba,lorl,
his time. He was never an atbot
his attacks on accepted beliefs or1..
ed many of his earlier friends on1,t
scured for years the fact that III,
ices TO his country were of yra,t ,.t,.
Paine was born in Thetford \.
folk, England. in 1887. His f3tho,Ir..
a Quaker and staymakcr and h.,
was brought up to his fatbnrs j..
and also to his beliefs. but ba ia n.
adhere to either very long. He vb,,
Methodist preacher in London ;,
bacconist at Lewes, Sussex. AMI },
eXciseman before his departure nT
his native land in 1774. He had Ia5,
the acquaintance of BENJAMIN n hi.
lin during the latter'S rasiden4 /,
England as agent for the colonies ana
this stateslnan's influence found M.
for his pen when he arrived in ho,
lea. The work that attracted M
most attention at the time and th,
upon which his character as nj MA.
is chiefly based was his pampbll on
titled Common Sense" in with ho
advocated absolute separation fro ha
mother country. 1t came ont 9rv
in 117G and greatly influenced ha
movement which resulted in the dim.
ton of the Declaration Of Ind9mi
ence later in the year WhethF he
wrote that immortal document Of na
he furn, she'd many arguments that
were used III ei!pCting its paSSagd IA
to the question of Painp's I'D Ha
authorship of the Declaration. thtlqe
ry has been advanced that lie wbtaa
paper of similar import and >hoN il
to Jefferson and Franklin, with +hOn
he was on intimate terms. that when
these two were appointed on th1cQa
mittee to draw up a declaration Jef
fersOn went to Paine to Get hiSIlaft
and, using it as Il basis, wrote d doc,
ument whose authorship is uhaly
credited to him.
On account Of his authorsIb Of
Common Sense" the American phile
sophical society admitted him to mem.
bership. the University of Penn Viva.
mia conferred upon him the de5e Of
NJ. A.. and the state legiSlatureE Voted
him the sum of 5000. He ser led
short time in the army as aid ID Gen.
eral Nathaniel Greene. ami III 17A
he was influential in ObtainingIOaus
from France and Holland for IN new
nation. and so much were his S6lces
in this and other ways appreciateAhat
congress voted him $1,000 aud the
state of New York gave him the arn
Mt New Rochelle where he SpaI file
closing years of his life. The tate
was originally one of 300 acres ano
died at New Rochelle in 1909, nj Bis
body was buried on his farm. II in
1919 it was taken to England | The
Radical William Goblet. with thlNe
of arousing enthusiasm for the liluo
lican ideas of which Paine was eI
emplar. The monument for thch
Paine provided in his will stiil flndS
near his first grave. The occup4t Of
the Old farmhouse for the past Forty
years has been Wesley See.
The storlniest period of the Ie Of
this writer AMI sage was that pftiof
passed in lrdnc" III the closing Tears
of the eighteenth century. II was
received IS q hero by the reyo ton
lists and made Il member OF the ndona
assembly, but his repub!icaniSH was
not radical enough to please ja
collins He voted against the btead
ing of Louis and was thrown ntiprS
on by ROhespierre He was re laSe'
through the efforts of James Nope