Evening star., 1925-05-21
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

North Carolina began yesterday the
celebration of the first Declaration of
Independence. dated May 20, 1ll5.
Some Americans have been under the
impression that the first Declaration
of Independence was voted in July,
1875, and in Philadelphia.
The Mechlenburg (North Carolina)
Declaration of Independence was
never put down in printers ink until
1S19-decades after Thomas Jefferson
had penned his defiance to King
George. and which the Mecklenburg
adherents believe is more or less a
plagiarism of the expressions in their
own county challenge to their tyrants,
the British Empire.
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When the shot was fired at Lexing-
ton and Concord which was heard
around the world, North Carolina was
listening in with the loud-speaker
we'll attuned to the New England
waves. Among the tall pines had
come the sound of the vote in the
British Parliament, February 9, 1775,
denouncing the rebellious action in
Massachusetts. In Parliament there
had even been talk. close to a threat,
that England should punish the rebel
lious and troublesome colonies in
America by expelling them from the
British union. much after the fashion
of expellinS from school unruly pu-
pills That "cruel and unusual punish
ment," so vigorously advocated by
many a speaker, was not finally adopt
ed But who can decide how much
psychological influence it had in
thought suggestion as to what would
really happen if the colonies were
thrust out into a cruel world and told
to "sink or swim. live or die, survive
or perish for England would have
nothing more to do with such I'M
grateful progeny?
Some quibblers declare that the
Mechlenburg Declaration of Independ-
ence was not passed until May 81,
but what were IL days to printer in
1919, telling what had happened in
May, 1875? Date experts explain the
discrepancy by stating the May 20
was the same day as May 81, because
one belongs to the "old calendar" and
one to the new" Every schoolboy
knows that in the pre-Revolutionary
period there were II days between the
old and new methods of reckoning
time.
What a commentary upon the in
efficiency of European time measure
ment, as compared with that of the
Aztecs of Mexico! The Aztec calen-
years for it's inaccuracy to accumulate
one days error. Eleven days of dis
crepancy, if computed in Aztec. would
indicate a span of time of $1,000 years.
X X y
| 1t is undisputed that the Mecklen-
! burg public meeting in the town of
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, did
adopt resolutions denouncing the act
of Parliament known as the stamp
act, and other legislation by Parlia.
ment depressing the American col
onies, and radically revising all CO
| lonial charters. They protested the
| colonial right to independence and de
clared all ties to Great Britain broken
| They enjoined obedience of all citizens
to laws of colonial authority, and de
nounced any persons thereafter who
accepted a commission from British
! authority as traitors to Mecklenburs
| County, and invested the delegates
and militia officers with power to keer
| the peace.
| A copy of the declaration was for
warded by special courier to the Con
gress in Philadelphia, but it was ther,
received with little sympathy. No
until IA months later had general sen
| timent developed a readiness to de
mand complete separation from thu
| authority of England. When Gen
| Washington assumed command of tn,
Continental Army at Boston the ides
] Of Independence was abhoryent to him