The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-03
TODAY IN HISTORY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1910.
The Celebrated JunIus Letters.


''Junus'' was born on November 3,
1868, but who he was. what he was and
how he came TO be. has never Dcen
ascertaincd, more than on that date his
name appeared attached to IL political
letter In Woodfall's Public Advertiser"
In London which attracted a great deal
OF attention, and was followed by con-
siderable series OF letters that. by their
forces OF invective, their leeonncss or
sarcasm. and the clear. brilliant style In
b which they. were written. produced n
wonderful Impression and they nave
since taken place among the standard
works In The English language
Every effort that could be devised by
the British government, or prompted by
private indignation, WAS made TO dis
the authorship remains an unsettled ques-
| tion TO this day, They have been most
generally ascribed to Sir. Philip Fran
els. but long list of other prominent
| Enslishment have been accused of being
| their author. S'I ann the depository Of
my own, secret. and it shall perish within
The Junius letters attacked the British
government. they haycd public abuses
and and demanded greater liberty for the
British people at large. The writer as
sailed the foremost men OF the day. even
King George III himself, The letters
were couchcd In polished hawiess Eng
lish; They were brilliant. fearless, mcTci-
iessly direct. Their Language was fero-
cious in its intense bitterness. The sig
nature was simply ".Junius."
These letters appeared in tho Adver-
tiser from 1858 to l7I@. The editor Of the |
paper denied all knowledge OF the mys |
terious author, declaring that the letters |
camo from an unknown source, and that |
ell efforts to get Into personal communi- |
cation with their writer had failed,
From the state secrets JuniuS so often |
exposed, ii was evident he must he a man |
OF very. high rank and intimately associ- |
atcd Win the government and the king |
But. OF all the statesmen thus placed, on |
none could the authorship he liked. No |
less than thirty seven people-one or two |
women among the number-wcre accused |
l,.. TF,r- ;t.G l., ,I,.ra
The Marquis of LanSdoWuc once said |
ne mad proof as to Junius's identity and
lhat he would soon publish the facts. Eut
he died shortly aftcrwird. with his prom
ise uuInlillled. Pitt, prime minister OF
England. whom Junius defended III his
letters; also claimed to know who the
ing that IL was Francis, he would not
dIvulgc the secret, Dr. Samuel John
son told Boswell. his own blographcr;
II know no man but Edmund Burke who
Is capable of writing these letters. And
Burke denies &C." II seems marvellous
that any man for four years could have
moved safely and fearlcSsly among the
very people he assailed and yet have
eludcd all suspicion. The whole affair
must always he "a mystery.
Junlu5s reasons for remaining unknown
are much easier to guess. Not only
could he strike more deadly blows whom
secure se from exposure or punishment, but
lent TO his letters a strange influence that
no identified man could hope for.
-hS llIlc went on thcrc was nor n. pub |
!!c man who did not trcnlblc lest ne HIM
self should be next 10 fail under the
Viulolic sarcasm OF tho unknown. In
parliament the matter came UP for fro
quent discussion. The great Edmund
Burke once made an impasSioned address
on the subject IN the House OF Com
mons, beginning; How comes this Junius
TO have broken through the cobncbs of
me law and to range uncontrolled. un-
punished, through the land? The myr-
midons of the court arc pursuing MIN in
vain The mighty boar Of tho forest has
broken through all their snarcs. When
ran cnldi'
In January, 1772, the series OF terrible
anonymous letters ceased suddenly as
VI had begun, Did Junius die, then. or
did he feel that discovery was too close
at hand?
On November 3 the Plymouth company
was organized in 1920; the ssDeclara ton
OF Rights" was adopted by Maryland In
! 80, ana provincial government was
in Texas in ;, |