СНАР. LIII. 1776. "believe, felt a little tender under these censures, "for though their people had very few slaves "themselves, yet they had been considerable car"riers of them to others."* It is remarkable that Jefferson, in his first draft, had not scrupled to avail himself of the low and most unworthy prejudice which then prevailed against the nation north of Tweed. We find him therein complain of the King and people at home because they have permitted themselves "to send "over not only soldiers of our common blood, "but Scotch and foreign mercenaries." But this passage also was struck out by his colleagues. 66 Such numerous mutilations of the Draft were by no means welcome to those who had framed it. Franklin, who was sitting next to Jefferson, turned round to him, and said, "I have made it a rule, "whenever in my power, to avoid becoming the "draftsman of papers to be reviewed by a public body. I took my lesson from an incident which "I will relate to you. When I was a journeyman printer, one of my companions, an apprentice hatter, having served out his time, was about to open shop for himself. His first concern was "to have a handsome sign-board, with a proper "inscription. He composed it in these words :"JOHN THOMPSON, HATTER, MAKES AND SELLS "HATS FOR READY MONEY; with a figure of a "hat subjoined. But he thought he would sub * Memoirs and Correspondence, vol. i. p. 16. ed. 1829. "mit it to his friends for their amendments. The CHAP. "first he showed it to thought the word HATTER tautologous, because followed by the words "MAKES HATS, which showed he was a hatter. "It was struck out. The next observed, that the "word MAKES might as well be omitted, because "his customers would not care who made the "hats; if good to their mind, they would buy, by "whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third "said he thought the words, FOR READY MONEY, 66 were useless, as it was not the custom of the place to sell on credit. Every one who pur"chased expected to pay. with; and the inscription Thompson sells Hats.' 66 66 6 66 They were parted now stood: 'John SELLS hats, says his "next friend, why nobody will expect you to give them away. What, then, is the use of "that word? It was stricken out, and HATS followed, the rather as there was one painted on "the board. So his inscription was reduced ultimately to JOHN THOMPSON, with the figure of a “hat subjoined.” * It is the part of an historian (so at least it seems to me, and on that principle are the foregoing chapters framed,) to neglect no tale or incident, however trifling it may appear, that can best illustrate the feelings which produced, or the circumstances which attended, any great crisis in human affairs. But the changes in the Draft of the De *Life of Franklin, by Sparks, p. 407. LIII. 1776. The CHAP. claration, though galling to the pride of its authors, LIIL were in truth mere matters of detail. On its 1776. general principle-on the main point, that is to say, of Independence-a division was taken at the beginning of July. Nine colonies declared in its favour. Four others-namely, South Carolina and Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware - either voted against it or would not vote at all. But within a few days, or even hours, means were found to elude or to overcome that obstacle. delegates of South Carolina were induced to deelare that, although they continued to think the measure hurtful, they would vote for it for the sake of unanimity. In the Pennsylvanian delegation a minority assumed unto themselves the part of a majority, and undertook to give their signatures as such. By such means a seeming concord - an unanimity on paper-was attained.* The Declaration of Independence, appearing as the act of the whole people, was finally adopted and signed *These transactions, which for a long time remained secret, are explained by Mr. Jefferson, partly in his Memoirs, and partly in his appended Letter to Mr. Wells, dated May 12. 1819. He states that as to Pennsylvania, "The Convention, "learning that the Declaration had been signed by a minority only of their delegates, named a new delegation on the 20th "(of July)." None of the New York delegates were present on the 4th, and the signatures from that State were delayed for several days in order to obtain fresh powers from their provincial Convention. One Member (Mr. Thornton, of New Hampshire) was permitted to add his signature so late as the 4th of November. a LIII. 1776. by every member present at the time, except only CHAP. Mr. Dickinson. This was on the 4th of July. day which has ever since been celebrated as a festival by the Americans as the birth-day, for thus they deem it, of their freedom. And among all the coincidences of date which History records, there is none perhaps so striking as that John Adams and Jefferson, the two main movers of this Declaration, should both—after filling with signal reputation the highest office in their native landexpire on the fiftieth anniversary of the day on which this their own handiwork, this the foundation of their own greatness, was first sent forth. This memorable Declaration, on which the fate of so many millions of people, present and future, has depended for weal or for woe, commences by briefly stating, that men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, —and that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it. The document then proceeds at great length, and with much bitterness of language, to enumerate what it terms the "repeated injuries and usurpations' proceeding from "the present King of Great Bri"tain." As already explained, the Congress had purposely, so far as possible, avoided any acrimonious allusions, either to the Parliament or to the people of that country. "We hold them," says the Declaration, "as we hold the rest of man 99 LIII. 66 СНАР. kind, — enemies in war, in peace friends." The last paragraph, or summing up of this document, 1776. sets forth with these words:-"We, therefore, "the representatives of the United States of Ame"rica, in General Congress assembled, appealing "to the Supreme Judge of the world for the recti"tude of our intentions, do, in the name and by "the authority of the good people of these Colo 66 nies, solemnly publish and declare, that these "United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES." From that day, -exclaim the native chroniclers of these States, with a not unbecoming pride, -from that day the word COLONIES is not known in their history! At this period, the culminating point in the whole American War, I may be forgiven for desiring to interrupt its narrative in order to review its course and its results.-That injurious and oppressive acts of power had been inflicted by England upon America, I have in many places shown, and do most fully acknowledge. That from the other side, and above all from Massachusetts, there had been strong provocation, I must continue to maintain. I should not deem it consistent with candour to deny that the Americans had sufficient grounds for resisting, as they did resist, the Ministerial and Parliamentary measures. But whether these had yet attained a pitch to justify them in discarding and renouncing their allegiance to the Sparks's Life of Washington, p. 182. |