The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-06-11

ters Of fa7c R~evoIutionD. It has FOR
several years undertaken to present
for d~iscusSO1 Great Events in North
Carolina E51ory.' 1 nave had pleasure
and instruction from the reading Or
many Of its' contributions. Its roll Of
contributors * now extensive IS are
the themes discussed. | found the
April lumber well worth attention. It
is a Quarterly, and the price is Sl.0p
a wear. North C~aroIinians who VIII
read all il has published VIII be un-
der obligations 70 the patriotic women
who are conducting 1t 80 successfully.
While the old war upOn the genuine
ness Of the Glorious M~ecklenDurg Dec
laratfon Of jurisprudence Of 2Oth MAY,
17I5. is being again Waged by North
ern writer's ans. Others. who say there
is nothing in It, and they rely upon
q hook lately publ shed by a descend
ant of one Gf the great North Caro-
Inians in the early part of the Nine
teenth Century, the belief in the fact
of a goth May Declaration has wild
ened. 1 once doubted, the g~enuineness
Of the MeciIleI1burg Declaration, and
no to about 1872, but a careful, can
did. persistent search after the truth,
caused me to tnK,ow all doubts to the
winds. | have never had cause 10
change my views since. ~ in the least
degree to relinguish my convictions as
70 the truth and genuineness of the
great event at Charlotte on goth MAJ.
1775. North Carolina has a splendid
record as to the War Of the First Rev
olution as she has also in the econd
War of independence. / do not 30
into the Decoration here, nor would
| try now to show forth the great pa
triotic deeds Of the people in his
State in the two great wars. A tenn
porary government was formed at
. Hillsborough I take the following
from a short paper in~the IN. G. Book
Ft E---, A1A 1870
Mr.. Robert G.. Strong, of Raleigh, who
is a son, [ oppose, of~rly almost life
long friend, the late Judge George
Strong. whom I first knew about-1845.
Read the following ana continue proud
of our great old North Carolina:
""Thi convention met on August 20,
1775. and especially to be noticed in
the full representation of the counties
was that from the western counties.
concerning which such useless fears
had been expended. Saunders, in his
PREDATORY Notes. saws: Time prove all
things. and it needed not much time
after the struggle for freedom and for
independence began to show what was
the worth and what was the temper Of
the center and west
This convention atNHillsborough was
nearly a year AHEAD of the Philadel-
phia or National Declaration. The
Meck1enburg Declaration preceded the
National by thirteen and a half
months. North Carolina was to the
front early. Now read this, from one
of the valuable predatory Notes in
Col. William l. saunders editing Of
the most valuable Colonial Record Of
North Carolina. L take it from the
contribution of Mr.. Strong. page 222,
in IN. c.. Booklet for April:
And SOC we have another instance
Of the efficiency of the temporary gov-
eminent established at Hillsborough.
In a short twelve months it sent troops
to the help of Virginia, and twice 70
that OF South Carolina, fought the
battle of MOOre's Greek. and Sent some
three thousand men against the Chero-
KEGS. Within the yca" it put near ten
thousand men into service in the field,
certainly a very large proportion of its
fighting population in so short q time"
Now read farther, and see how wide
aWak the North Carolina patriots
were in the time that tried mems
souls" Mr.. strong writes:
General Washington had but seven
thousand men under his command
when he took the field in the sprilg
of 1777. almost too weak to oppose
the British: but the defeat of Sir Pc
ter Parker and Lord COrnwaNis at
Charleston, in June, 1716. left the way
open for North Carolina to send him
six batalliOnS- numbering four thou
sand muskets. The first and second
batallions we've of experience, and all
We're of great courage. In the battles
of Princeton ana BrandyWine they Won
honor. and honor greater still at Ger
mantOWn. " "
Having won distinction at the bat
tie of Monmouth Courthouse in the
engagement of June IS, 177S, and
there being more need for their ac-
tive service in the army of the South,
five bataliions of North Carolina troops
were sent with General Lincoln to
Charleston In the beginning of the
ear 1879 two thousand North Caro-
lima militia were sent to South Caro-
lima"
That is a lesson to be learned. North
Carolina was first in war" and faith
full to the end.
Since writing the above, I have con-
Guided to make a short addition.
While my careful study of the Neck
lenburg Declaration of goth May, ITS,
settled my views firmly upon the fact
of such a Declaration it did not alter
in the least my conviction as to the
fact and genuineness of the widely
known and almOst universally accept
ed Resolutions adopted at Charlotte
eleven days later, and on 31st May,
1775. These Resolutions We're pub
lished at the time, and copies We're
published in newspapers and are still
extant. A opy appeared in Charles
ton, June 18th, 1875, and the eminent
New England historian, George Ban
croft, discovered q copy while in Lon
don, that had been sent to the British
Government by the British Governor
of Georgia, Wright. The effort is TO
shut out the goth May Declaration Of
Independence altogether, and to con-
Centrate every thing upon the 30th
May Resolutions. I believe fully in
the fact and genuineness of bot
events. ! know that able North Caro-
linians nave rejected lhe Goth May,
and men Of prominence outside have
made a bitter war upon the Declara-
ton. I think a careful, unprejudiced
study of all the facts and evidence will
lead an inquirer to accept both. But if
there were no Declaration of the goth.
far away IN advance Of all the other
Colonies in the matter of declaring
against British tyranny n oppres-
sion, and in issuing the affirmation of
a purpose to secur Independence if
circumstances shall demand it. What
can any p~ai1staking student of history
conclude from the Resolutions of the
5Oth May, but that q spirit of revolt
was in the Charlotte section? The Re-
solve were bold and defiant enough
to say that the inhabitants of this
county do choose officers Who shall
mold and exercise. their several pow
erS by virtue of this choice and indie
pendent of the Grown of Great Rri+-