The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-30

| still held back. but before Congress as- sembled the next morning a majority TOT
 the resolution had been secured in each
 delegation excepting that of New 1ork so that when the vote was finally taken twelve colonies were ready to declare that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent" As a matter of fact the passing of MT
 Lees resolution effected the separation of the colonies from Great Britain. and
 the End of July is really Independence
 Day. It was this day, John Adams wrote his wife on July 8, that future generations would celebrate. "The 2nd day of July 1778, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America" he wrote. T am apt to believe that 1t will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great ami versary festival. It ought to be com memorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty It ought to be solemniZed with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns.
 bells, bonfires and illuminatlons, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."
 But it was on July that the document which makes the formal expression of independence was adopted. That formal declaration came before the house im- medately after the adoption of Lees res olution, and was taken up, clause by clause, for debate The members, after their two days struggle, were not In any mood to deal easily with MT. Jefferson's production. On the contrary, they set themselves vigorously to pull 1t to pieces.
 With two exceptions the changes they made were verbal, and to the great im-
 provement of tho document. The two really important points which Congress refused to allow to go into MT. Jeffersons paper were, first, paragraph In which he arraigned with terrible severity the slave traffic; and second, charge that the English people had been equally guilty
 towards America with the King and Par lament.
 The free criticism of the Declaration in- duIged in during the debate annoyed MT. Jefferson exceedingly. He made 1t a point of courtesy to reply to none of II, but 1t was easy to see that he took 1t badly.
 Just how long the debate on the Decla- ra ation continued on the Fourth is un- known. While it was going on the rad icals were marshaling all their strength to secure big vote; McKean of Delaware even sent an express at his own expense to Dover for Caesar Rodney "I met him at the state house door In his boots."
 wrote McKean afterwards. He resided eighty miles from the city, and arrived just as Congress met"
 It was probably late in the afternoon
 when, according to the Journal, the vote was taken and the Declaration was
 agreed to-" Forty out of fifty members
 present are supposed to have voted for 1t,
 including one member from New York Henry Wisner. The document was then ordered authenticated and printed" It is improbable that there was any signing on that day, excepting that by John Han cock, the President, and Charles Thomp-
 son, the secretary. Their names were put
 into the copy which MT. Jefferson had
 presented, but no others, as Indeed would have been unwise. It was most important that the document have a unanimous ap-
 proval, If possible. By little waiting and maneuvering 1t seemed pretty certain to the wiser members of Congress that this unanimity could be secured.
 Not only was there no general signing
 of the Declaration of Independence on the
 4th day of July, 1776, but tradition has in- vested the day with other dramatic fea- lures which unhappily are false. It is
 pity not to believe, fs most of us were