The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1912-12-10
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government I

our country had
relied. and whom g5@
he Revolutionists
had trusted. He JOHN ZUBLT
was a patriot who suddenly turned
traitor at a time when America and
liberty needed every true mans aid
The colonies had long groaned I'M
der British oppression When they
rose against England, in ITS, it was
less with an idea of breaking loose
| from the mother country than of show
| ing resentment by force of arms where
argument and appeal had failed They
simply wished to bring England to her
! senses and to obtain relief from in
justice. Even George Washington
in later years confessed: The idea
of independence was at first abhor-
rent to me"
But soon he and all the rest of the
patriots realized that the time for
halfway measures had passed There
must be either dumb submission or
open defiance. And, should they choose
I defiance, they must free the colonies
wholly from the British yoke and de-
clare our country free and independ-
ent.
1t was to discuss this that the con-
tinentai congress met at Philadelphia
in f776.
We are apt to think that congress
was collection of ardent patriots, pant
ing for liberty at any price. This
was not wholly true. While the ma
jority of the delegates were firm In
their resolve to declare for independ-
ence, several of them threatened to
balk at SO rash a STEP
Nor can they be severely blamed
for hesitating. They were men of
property and Importance. They had
more to lose than had most Amert
cans. Should the Revolution fail their
goods would doubtless be seized by
the British government and they them.
selves would be hanged. AS Benja-
min Franklin said, in grim jest:
We must hang together or wen
hang separately"
But to their eternal credit, these
wary delegates at last yielded to the
popular voice. The Declaration of In.
dependence was drawn up, and on
July 4, 1916, was adopted (although
it was not signed until the next
month";. The grave step was taken
The congressman stood committed
The had crossed the Rubicon" and
were ready to take the consequences
There was one exception to this
band OF patriots He was John Joach.
i'm Znbyyv
grated to America in early lite and
had settled IN Georgia Zublv was
not only prominent as a Scholar and
a statesman. but was a preacher as
We'll He mad shown great lndlgua.
ton at the colouists wrong. and mad
both written and spoken III protest
against tyranny.
So patriotic was he that Georgia
chose him as one OF its five DELEGATES
to congress in 1779. There he worked
hard for the peoples cause and even
drew up petition to King George III. /
upon the present unhappy situation
OF affairs Altogether. ne was look.
ed upon as an ardent patriot. indeed.
1t is hard to understand the sudden
and terrible change in the man.
As soon as Zubly found congress I
was determined to adopt the Declare. I
ton, he fought the proposition most /
bitterly and utterly refused any part
in it. He denounced the idea of a
republic and did everything in his |
power to stem the tide of opinion /
Had this been all he did no great |
shame need to have been attached to /
MIN. But he was not content with |
refusing TO vote for the Declaration.
he actually entered into secret cor. /
respondence with the enemy. betrav.
ing to the British the patriots private
plans and giving warning that the
declaration was about to be adopted.
what further harm he might have
done the cause of liberty cannot be
guessed, for a fellow congressman
samuel Chase of Maryland) found
reason to suspect him. A reasonable
letter from ZubIy was intercepted.
Chase exposed the mans whole black
treachery to congress.
Zubly fed in hot haste from Phila-
phla to escape punishment He
went at once to Georgia. There. ut.
terIy casting away his cloak of patriot
ism, he sided openly with Americas
Toes. For this he was banished from
Georgia and half of his property was
declared forfeit. He rushed to the
british for protection. After a few
years Of misery and disgrace he died.
IN 1871, with the Revolutionary war
was still at its height.