Chapter XIV: Preface (12)

Mr. Ellery commenced business in his profession at his native town, took to himself a wife, soon became eminent and obtained a lucrative practice. He was highly honourable in his course and gained the confidence of his fellow citizens and of the courts. Up to the time of the commencement of British oppression, his days passed peacefully and quietly along and a handsome fortune accumulated around him. When the revolutionary storm began to gather, the mind of Mr. Ellery became roused and a new impetus was given to his physical powers. His townsmen were the first among the colonists who had dared to beard the lion and unicorn. On the 17th of June, 1769, in consequence of the oppressive conduct of her captain, the revenue sloop Liberty, belonging to his Britannic majesty, and then lying at Newport, was forcibly seized by a number of citizens in disguise, who cut away her masts, scuttled her, carried her boats to the upper part of the town, and committed them to the flames under the towering branches of a newly planted liberty tree. This was a hard cut and thrust at the revenue system that contemplated taxing the colonies contrary to the letter of the constitution and charters granted by the laws of England. This act was followed by another on the 9th of June, 1772, in which blood was spilt—that of seizing and burning the British schooner Gaspee. This was made a pretext for more severe measures on the part of the hirelings of the crown, and a disfranchisement of the colony was recommended and urged upon parliament. Already was the revolutionary ball in motion. In the midst of these turmoils, Mr. Ellery was not an idle spectator. He declared for the cause of liberty and the preservation of those rights that had become sacred by age and had the high sanction of the laws of nature, of man, and of God. In 1774, he was warmly in favour of the project of a general Congress, and, in conjunction with Governor Ward, who was a delegate with Mr. Hopkins to that august assembly, approved of a suggestion already made in a letter from General Greene, “that the colonies should declare themselves independent.” The same spirit soon became general in the province.

In 1776, Mr. Ellery was elected a member of the Continental Congress, and proceeded to the post of duty boldly and fearlessly, left by his constituents to act as free as mountain air. He had participated in all the incipient measures of the conflicts in his own colony, he now became a vigorous and active patriot of the national legislature. He was fully prepared to sanction, and well qualified to advocate the Declaration of Independence. An agreeable speaker, master of satire, sarcasm, logic, and philosophy, he exercised a salutary and judicious influence. He was an able member of committees and was immediately placed upon some of great importance. He was upon the committee for establishing expresses, upon that for providing relief for the wounded and disabled, upon that of the treasury, and upon the committee of one delegate from each state for the purchase of necessaries for the army. He was also upon the marine committee, and was a warm advocate for the navy. His constituents were many of them bold mariners, and he felt a just pride in referring to his fellow-citizen, commodore Ezek Hopkins, of Rhode Island, as the first commander of the little fleet of the infant Republic. It was him who took New Providence by surprise, seized a large amount of munitions of war, one hundred pieces of cannon, and took prisoners the governor, lieutenant-governor, and sundry others of his majesty’s loyal officers. When the time arrived for the final question upon that sacred instrument which was to be a warrant of death or a diploma of freedom, Mr. Ellery was at his post, and most cheerfully gave it his sanctioning vote and approving signature. With his usual vivacity, he placed himself by the side of Charles Thomson, the secretary, for the purpose of observing the apparent emotions of each member as he came up and signed the important document. He often recurred to this circumstance in after life, and observed, that “undaunted resolution was displayed in each countenance.” He was continued a member of Congress until the close of the session of 1785, which shows how highly his services were valued by the patriotic citizens of his native state. In 1777, he was one of the important committee of admiralty, the committee for replenishing the empty treasury, the committee upon commercial affairs, of the one to investigate the causes of the surrender of Ticonderoga, and of the one for preventing the employment in the public service of persons not clearly in favour of the American cause. He ably advocated the plan, supposed to have originated with him, and submitted by the admiralty committee, of fitting out six fire-ships from Rhode Island to annoy the British fleet.

When the enemy obtained possession of Newport their vengeance against this patriot was manifested by burning his buildings and destroying all his property within their power. This only increased his zeal in the glorious cause of liberty and scarcely disturbed the equanimity of his mind. In 1778, he advocated strongly a resolution making it death for any member of the colonies, _alias_ tories, who should betray or aid in delivering into the hands of the enemy any of the friends of the revolution, or give any intelligence that should lead to their capture. He also supported the plan of confederation adopted by Congress. He spent nearly his whole time in that body.

The ensuing year he was one of the committee on foreign relations, which at that time involved the unpleasant duty of settling some difficulties that existed between the United States foreign commissioners, in addition to the usual diplomatic affairs with foreign nations. He was also chairman of a committee to provide provisions for the inhabitants that were driven from the island of Rhode Island and were entirely destitute of the necessaries of life. The ensuing year he was arduously employed upon most of the standing committees, especially the admiralty committee, the duties of which became very delicate, as the powers claimed by some of the states conflicted with those of the general government under the articles of confederation. A committee was created for the express purpose of defining those powers, of which he was the prominent member. Their deliberations resulted in the determination that all disputed claims were subject to an appeal from the court of admiralty to Congress, where the facts as well as the law were to be finally settled. On all occasions and in all situations he was diligent, punctual, and persevering. In the house, whenever he discovered any long faces or forlorn countenances, even in view of the darkest prospects, his wit and humour were often so vivid as to dispel the lowering clouds that hung gloomily over the minds of dejected members.

In 1782, he was an efficient member of the committee on public accounts, the duties of which had become not only of great magnitude, but of a very perplexing character. Fraud and speculation had rolled their mountain waves over the public concerns, and to do justice to all who presented claims, was no common task. In 1783, Mr. Ellery had the pleasure of being appointed by Congress to communicate to his friend, General Green, a resolution of thanks and high approbation for his faithfulness, skill and services, accompanied by two pieces of brass cannon taken from the British at the battle of the Cowpens.

In 1784, he was a member of the committee appointed to act upon the definitive treaty with Great Britain. He was also upon the one for defining the power of the board of the treasury, the one upon foreign relations, and the one upon the war office. The next year he closed his congressional course, and, as the crowning glory of his arduous and protracted labours in the national legislature, he advocated with great zeal, forensic eloquence, and powerful logic the resolution of Mr. King for abolishing slavery in the United States. His whole force of mind was brought to bear upon this subject and added a fresh lustre to the substantial fame he had long enjoyed. He then retired to his now peaceful home, to repair the wreck of his fortune and enjoy the blessings of that liberty for which he had so ardently contended. In the spring of 1786, he was appointed by Congress a commissioner of the national loan office for Rhode Island, and shortly after, he was elected to the seat of chief justice of the supreme court of his native state. Upon the organization of the federal government under the constitution, President Washington appointed him collector of customs for Newport, which station he ably filled until he took his tranquil departure to another and a brighter world. The evening of his life was as calm and mellow as an Italian sunset. Esteemed by all, he enjoyed a delightful intercourse with a large circle of friends. Honest, punctual and circumspect, he enjoyed the confidence of the commercial community in his official station, as well as the approbation of all in the private walks of life. During the thirty years he was collector of customs, a loss of only two hundred dollars upon bond accrued to government, and upon that bond he had taken five sureties.

He spent much of his time in reading classic authors, and in maintaining an extensive correspondence with distinguished men. But three weeks before his death, he wrote an essay upon Latin prosody and the faults of public speakers. His bible was also a favourite companion, from which he drew and enjoyed the living waters of eternal life. Always cheerful, instructive and amusing, his company was a rich treat to all who enjoyed it. His writings combined a sprightliness and solidity rarely exhibited. His courtesy and hospitality were always conspicuous, the whole frame-work of his character was embellished with all the rich variety of amiable qualities, uniting beauty with strength, which can never fail of gaining esteem, and of rendering an individual useful in life and happy in death. His demise was as remarkable as it was tranquil. It was that of a christian and philosopher. On the 15th of February, 1820, he rose as usual in the morning and seated himself in the flag bottom chair which he had used for fifty years, and which was a relic rescued from the flames when his buildings were consumed. He commenced reading Tully’s Offices in his favourite, the Latin, language, without the aid of glasses, the print of which is as small as that of a pocket bible. On his way to the hospital, the family physician called in, and perceiving that his countenance was cadaverous, felt his wrist and found that his pulse was gone. The physician administered a little wine, which revived the action of the purple current. The doctor then spoke encouragingly, to which Mr. Ellery replied—“It is idle to talk to me in this way, I am going off the stage of life, and it is a great blessing that I go free from sickness, pain, and sorrow.” Becoming extremely weak, he permitted his daughter to help him on his bed, where he sat upright, and commenced reading Cicero de Officiis, with as much composure as if in the full vigour of life. In a few moments, without a groan, a struggle, or a motion, his spirit left its tenement of clay, his body still erect with the book under his chin, as if on the point of falling asleep.

Thus usefully lived and thus peacefully died, WILLIAM ELLERY. His whole career presents a rare and pleasing picture of biography, upon which the imagination gazes with admiration and delight, and which cannot be rendered more beautiful or interesting by the finest touches of the pencil of fancy, dipped in the most lively colours of romance and fiction.

LYMAN HALL.

Decision, tempered by prudence and discretion, gives weight to the character of a man. The individual who is always or uniformly perched upon the pivot of indetermination, and fluttering in the wind of uncertainty, can never gain public confidence or exercise an extensive influence. Decision, to render us truly useful, must receive its momentum from the pure fountain of our judgment, and not depend upon others to fill the lamp of philosophy, after our reasoning powers have become matured by experience, reflection and the solar rays of science. When the child becomes a man, he should think and act as a man, and draw freely from the resources of his own immortal mind. He may enjoy the reflective light of others, but should depend upon the focus of his own, rendered more brilliant by reflectives, to guide him in the path of duty and usefulness, that leads to the temple of lasting fame. The man who pins his faith upon the sleeve of another, and does not keep the lamp of his own understanding trimmed and burning, is a mere automaton in life, never fills the vacuum designed by his creation, and, when he makes his exit from the stage of action, leaves no trace behind, no memento to tell that he once moved upon the earth in the sphere of usefulness, or bore the image of his God.

The sages of the American revolution have left bright and shining examples of self-moving action and a discreet decision of character. Among those who were roused to exertion by the reflections of their own mind, was LYMAN HALL, who was born in Connecticut in 1731. He graduated at Yale College at an early age, studied medicine, married a wife before he arrived at his majority, removed to Dorchester, S. C., in 1752, and commenced the practice of physic. After residing there a short time he joined a company of about forty families, originally from the New England states, and removed to Medway, in the parish of St. John, Georgia, and settled under favourable circumstances. He became a successful practitioner, and was esteemed and admired for his prudence, discretion, clearness of perception and soundness of judgment, united with refinement of feeling, urbanity of manners, a calm and equable mind, a splendid person, six feet in height, an intelligent and pleasing countenance and a graceful deportment. He had only to be known to be appreciated. As years rolled peacefully along, Dr. Hall became extensively and favourably known. He took a deep interest in the happiness of those around him, and in the welfare of the human family. He was an attentive observer of men and things and of passing events, and understood well the philosophy of human rights and the principles of the tenure by which the mother country held a jurisdiction over the colonies. When the rightful bounds of that jurisdiction were transcended, he was one of the first to meet the transgressors and point his countrymen to increasing innovations. As dangers accumulated, his patriotism became fired with enthusiastic zeal, tempered by the purest motives and guided by the soundest discretion. The indecision and temporizing spirit of Georgia, at the commencement of the revolution, has been before described. This was extremely annoying to Dr. Hall, but only tended to increase his exertions in the work of political regeneration. Over the people of his own district he exercised a judicious and unlimited influence. He also attended the patriot meetings held at Savannah, in July, 1774, and in January of the ensuing year, and contributed much to aid and strengthen his co-workers in the good cause, then but just commenced. His constituents became equally enthusiastic in favour of liberty, and indignant at British oppression, with himself. All the other colonies had united in the defence of their common country against the common enemy. A frontier settlement, and more exposed than any other in the province, he prudently laid the whole matter before the people of his district, and left them to choose freely whom they would serve. They decided against the sovereignty of Baal and declared for liberty. They at once separated from the other parishes, formed a distinct political community, applied to be admitted into the confederation entered into by the other colonies, passed resolutions of non-intercourse with Savannah, only to obtain the necessaries of life, so long as it remained under royal authority, and organized the necessary committees to carry these patriotic and decisive measures into effect. Placed upon an eminence like this, they were welcomed into the general compact, and in March, 1775, Lyman Hall was elected to the Continental Congress to represent the parish of St. John, that stood like an island of granite in the midst of the ocean, separate and alone, regardless of the waves of fury that were foaming around her. This example had a powerful influence upon the other parishes, and from this lump of the leaven of freedom the whole mass became impregnated, and, in July following, Dr. Hall had the proud satisfaction of seeing his province fully represented by men honest and true, save Judas Iscariot, alias Zubly. Georgia now rose like a lion when he shakes the dew from his mane for the fight, and “shed fast atonement for its first delay.” To Dr. Hall may be justly attributed the first impetus given to the revolutionary ball in the district of his adoption. As an enduring monument of praise to the portion of the district in which he resided, which was formed into a new county in 1777, it received the name of LIBERTY.

On the 13th of May this devoted patriot took his seat in that august assembly that then attracted the attention of the civilized world. He was hailed as a substantial and devoted friend of the cause of human rights, and immediately entered upon the important duties of his station, enjoying the full fruition of the light of patriotism that illuminated that legislative hall. He was a valuable man upon committees, and although not a frequent speaker, he was heard, when he did rise, with deferential attention. He reasoned closely and calmly, confining himself to the point under consideration, without any effort to shine as an orator. His known patriotism, decision of character, purity of purpose and honesty of heart, gave him a salutary influence that was sensibly felt, fully acknowledged and discreetly exercised. He gained the esteem, respect and confidence of all the members.

In 1776 he took his seat in the national legislature, and became decidedly in favour of cutting loose from the mother country. He had induced his own district to present an example in miniature, which stood approved, applauded and admired. He knew the justice of the cause he had espoused—he believed Providence would direct its final accomplishment—he was fully convinced that the set time had come for his country to be free. With feelings like these, he hailed the birthday of our independence as the grand jubilee of liberty. He cheerfully joined in passing the mighty Rubicon, aided in preparing the sarcophagus of tyranny, signed the certificate of the legitimacy of the new-born infant and responded heartily to its baptismal name—FREEDOM.

Dr. Hall was continued in Congress to the close of 1780, when he took his final leave of that body, and in 1782 returned to his own state to aid in systematizing the organization of her government. In common with many of the patriots, the enemy had devastated his property and wreaked a special vengeance upon his district. His family had been compelled to fly to the north for safety, and depend upon the bounty of others for their support and comfort. In 1783 he was elected governor of Georgia, and contributed largely in perfecting the superstructure of her civil institutions and in placing her on the high road to peace and prosperity. This done, he retired from the public arena and settled in Burke county, where he once more was permitted to pursue the even tenor of his ways and enjoy the highest of all earthly pleasures—the domestic fireside, surrounded by his own family. He glided down the stream of time calmly and quietly until 1790, when he bade a last farewell to the transitory scenes of earth, entered the dark valley of death, and disappeared from mortal eyes, deeply mourned and sincerely lamented by his numerous friends at home, and by every patriot in his country. His name is perpetuated in Georgia by a county being called after him, as a tribute of respect for his valuable services.

The examples of this good man are worthy of imitation. Without the luminous talents that tower to the skies in a blaze of glory that dazzles every eye, he rendered himself substantially and extensively useful. He was like a gentle stream that passes through a verdant mead, producing irrigation in its course without overflowing its banks. Decision of character, prudence of action and discretion in all things, marked his whole career. Not a stain tarnishes the lustre of his public fame or his private character. He lived nobly and died peacefully.

JOHN PENN.

A federal republican form of government is an unlimited partnership of the purest, noblest character. Based upon an equality of original stock, an equality of interest in the welfare of the firm devolves upon each individual of the compact. Unlike monopolizing corporations, each stockholder has an equal right to act, speak and vote upon all questions in primary meetings, without reference to the number of accumulative shares one may hold above another. The specie of the firm consists in equality of representation, equality of natural rights, equality of protection in person and property, and equality of personal freedom. These precious coins cannot be diminished in quantity, or be reduced in quality by alloy, without courting danger. To aid in preserving them in their native purity, is the duty of _all_, not of a _few_. Separately and collectively, the great mass belonging to the compact is obligated to look to its prosperity, and use their best exertions in promoting the general good. Each one is bound to bring every talent into use, and to leave none buried in the dark quarry of ignorance, the quagmire of negligence, or the rust of inertness. The steward that had but one talent, was condemned because he had not put it to use. But who can tell what his talents are, until he brings them to the light? Rich ores often lie deep. Many men have arrived to, and others passed their majority, moving in a sphere not above mediocrity in point of intellect developed, and have then risen like a blazing comet and illuminated the world. By several of the signers of the declaration of rights, this position was fully and beautifully demonstrated.

Among these was JOHN PENN, a native of Caroline county, Virginia; born on the 17th day of May, 1741. He was the only child of Moses Penn, who married Catharine, the daughter of John Taylor. The education of the son was neglected by the parents, who sent him to none but the commonest of common schools, which unfortunately for the youth of the neighbourhood, were the only kind then in that vicinity. A _little_ learning has been called a dangerous thing, but the quantum taught in some common schools even at this enlightened age, is too small to be dangerous, too limited to do much good. As a redeeming trait in their neglect of duty towards their son, they taught him by example and precept, social virtue and moral honesty. Upon the retirement of a farm and in its cultivation young Penn plodded along with his father, who had no books of value or a desire for them, until he arrived at the age of eighteen, when his paternal guardian died, and left him a competence, but not a large fortune. About that time he became inclined to read, this inclination ripened, his mind began to expand and his thirst for knowledge increased. Destitute of a library, he communicated his ardent desire to improve his education to Edmund Pendleton, a neighbour and relation of his, who was an accomplished scholar, a profound lawyer and an able statesman. Convinced that Mr. Penn possessed strong native talent he made him welcome to his valuable library and became deeply interested in his improvement. After exploring the fields of science for a short time, this young philomath commenced the study of law, and soon exhibited mental ores, taken from his long neglected intellectual quarry, that were of a rich and rare variety.

He surmounted the barriers that lay before him with an astonishing rapidity, and before some of his friends supposed he had mastered the elementary principles of Blackstone, he presented himself at the court for examination, was admitted to practice, and at once exhibited the bright plumage of a successful lawyer and an able advocate. But three years before, his now soaring talents were buried deep in their native quarry, unknown and unsuspected; a strong admonition to the reader, if under similar circumstances, to examine closely the powers of his own mind. The professional eminence of Mr. Penn rose as rapidly as his appearance at the bar was unexpected. He gained the confidence of the community, the respect of the courts, and the esteem of his senior brethren. In 1763, he added to his original stock in the firm of the social compact by leading to the hymeneal altar the amiable and accomplished Miss Susannah Lyme, thus avoiding the hyemal frost that creeps chillingly over the lonely bachelor.

In 1774, Mr. Penn removed to North Carolina, and carrying with him a high reputation as a lawyer, soon obtained a lucrative practice. He had also participated largely in the patriotic feelings that were spreading over the colonies like fire in a praire, relative to the oppressions of the mother country. He had imbibed fully the principles of his venerable preceptor and friend, who was among the boldest of the bold Virginians in the vindication of chartered rights, and was a member of the Congress first assembled at Philadelphia. His liberal views and splendid talents did not escape the notice of his new acquaintances. On the 8th of September, 1775, he was appointed a member of the Continental Congress, to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Casewell. He repaired to the post of honour and of duty the next month, and became an active and vigorous member of that venerated assembly of sages, whose wisdom, sagacity, and intelligence emblazoned the historic page with a lustre before unknown. He served on numerous committees, and acquitted himself with great credit in the discharge of every duty that devolved upon him. In the committee room, in the house, among the people, in every situation in which he moved, he made the cause of liberty his primary business. So highly were his services appreciated by his constituents, that they continued him in Congress until the accumulating dangers that hung over his own state induced him to decline a re-election at the close of 1779. He was an early and warm supporter of the declaration of rights, and when the joyful day arrived to take the final question, he most cheerfully sustained the measure by his vote and signature; thus enrolling his name with the brightest constellation of illustrious statesmen that ever illuminated a legislative hall, surpassing all Greek, all Roman fame.

South Carolina had been devastated by Lord Cornwallis, who had dispersed the army under General Gates; and North Carolina was next to be visited by the conquering foe. Emissaries from the British were already within its precincts to prepare the way for the entry of his lordship. Already had the friends of royal power received instructions to seize the most prominent whigs and the military stores, with an assurance of immediate support. The cruelties that had been practised in South Carolina spread a terror over all “but hearts of oak and nerves of steel.” The sacrifice of Colonel Hayne at Charleston, will give the reader some idea of the spirit of revenge that actuated some of the British officers.

When that city fell into his possession, Lord Cornwallis issued a proclamation, promising all who would desist from opposing the authority of the king the most sacred protection of person and property, on condition that each should sign an instrument of neutrality, which, by legal construction, whilst it put its signers under an obligation not to take up arms against the mother country, exonerated them from serving against their own.

Being a prisoner and separated from his wife and six small children, then residing in the country and surrounded by the small pox, Colonel Hayne, with his mind long poising on the pivot of uncertainty as to what was his duty, finally, with great reluctance, signed the fatal instrument upon the assurances and solemn promises of the English officers, and James Simpson, intendant of the British police, that he never should be required to support, with his arms, the royal government. Colonel Hayne, like Bishop Cranmer, subscribed to that which his soul abhorred and detested, that he might be permitted to fly to the relief of his suffering family. And, as in the case of Cranmer, his enemies persecuted him the more, and never gave him any peace until their vengeance was wreaked upon him by inflicting an ignominious death, in violation of all law, justice and humanity.

Soon after his return to his wife and children, he was called upon by the British to take up arms against his country and kindred, and threatened with close confinement in case he refused to comply with the order. In vain he referred them to the conditions upon which he so reluctantly signed the article of neutrality. In vain he claimed protection under the militia law that imposed a fine where a citizen chose not to render personal service. To his relentless oppressors, all was a dead letter. He then pointed them to the partner of his bosom, the mother of his children, sinking under the small pox, and fast approaching the confines of eternity. In vain he endeavoured to excite their sympathy or move their compassion. In a few short hours, Mrs. Hayne took her departure to “that country from whose bourne no traveller returns,” “where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest.” Upon her own couch, peaceful and serene, she closed her eyes in death. A different fate was in reserve for Colonel Hayne. His foes still pursued him, and by their own breach of good faith, and of the contract of neutrality before entered into, absolved him from its obligations. It was no longer binding upon him, and he again entered the continental army, preferring death rather than enter the ranks of the invaders of his country. A short but brilliant career awaited him. He was soon made prisoner, and was sent to Charleston, where Lord Rawdon loaded him with irons, submitted him to a mock trial, exparte in its proceedings and determinations, based upon revenge and cruelty, resolved on the death of his victim, and that without delay. Colonel Hayne was doomed to be hung. This sentence produced amazement and dismay, indignation and surprise amongst all classes of people. The finest feelings of sympathy were excited in the breasts of a large proportion of the adherents of the crown, who deemed the transaction a species of murder. A petition, headed by the king’s governor and numerously signed by persons of high standing and advocates for the mother country, was presented to Lord Rawdon in behalf of the unfortunate prisoner—but all in vain.

“Fell revenge sat brooding on his dark and sullen brow,
And the grim fiends of hell urged his soul on to murder.”

The ladies of Charleston, the wives and daughters of both whigs and tories, next united in a petition, couched in the most moving language, praying that the life of Colonel Hayne might be spared. This met with a cold reception and a prompt refusal. As a last effort to rescue the father from the scaffold, his infant children, dressed in their mourning habiliments, were led before Rawdon, and on their knees, their cheeks bathed in tears, implored him, with all the thrilling and heart-rending eloquence of childish innocence, to spare their only surviving parent and earthly protector.

“But still he stood unmoved,
Hard as the adamantine rock,
Dark as a sullen cloud before the sun.”

So melting was this scene that veteran soldiers could not refrain from weeping, and all were astounded at the cruel severity of the unyielding and blood-thirsty Rawdon.

A request was then made that Colonel Hayne might be permitted to die as a military officer, instead of being hung as a felon. This was also denied.

As a devout Christian, the martyr resigned himself to his cruel fate, and prepared his mind to meet the approaching crisis. His youthful son was permitted to visit him in prison, who, when he beheld his father bound in irons, burst into tears. “Why,” said the father, “will you break my heart with unavailing sorrow? Have I not often told you that we came into this world but to prepare for a better? For that better life, dear boy, your father is prepared. Instead of weeping, rejoice with me that my troubles are so near an end. To-morrow I set out for immortality. When I am dead, bury me by the side of your mother.” No pen can fully describe that scene. When summoned to the place of execution, his firmness was worthy of the Christian, the hero, and the patriot. When upon the fatal drop, with the accursed halter around his neck, he shook hands with his friends, bade them an affectionate farewell, urged them to persevere in the glorious cause of freedom, recommended his children to the protection of three gentlemen present, and the next moment was struggling in death. The sight was too much for his son, his brain became disordered, his reason fled, and he soon died insane, lisping his father’s name to the last moment of his life.

Fortunately for North Carolina, the efficient and sagacious Greene and his brave officers and soldiers, checked the triumphant and murderous career of the British army. The operations of this brave general were greatly accelerated by the exertions of Mr. Penn. In 1780, when Lord Cornwallis penetrated the western part of the state to Charlottetown, the crisis became awfully alarming, and this bold patriot was placed at the helm of public affairs in the state, and invested with almost unlimited power. He was authorized to seize supplies by force, and to do all things that in his judgment were necessary to repel the approaching foe. He proved himself equal to the emergency. He understood his duty, and performed it efficiently and with so much prudence that no complaints of injustice were heard, and the state was saved from the grasp of a merciless foe. Tarleton was humbled, Ferguson killed, and Cornwallis retreated.

Mr. Penn, after discharging the public duties imposed upon him by his own state, again retired to private life and the pursuit of his profession. In 1784, he was appointed receiver of taxes for North Carolina; a high encomium upon his reputation for honesty and integrity. Fatigued with public service, he resigned this office in a few months after. This closed his public career, and he bade farewell to the busy and perplexing scenes of political life, decked with a civic wreath, surmounted with an unfading and permanent fame. He again entered into the enjoyments of domestic felicity, which were soon exchanged for those of another and a brighter world. In September, 1788, he was gathered to his fathers and laid in the silent tomb, there to await the resurrection of the great day.

In all the relations of private life and public action the examples of Mr. Penn are worthy of imitation. As a lawyer he stood pre-eminent. His forensic eloquence was admirable and strongly pathetic. The court and jury were often suffused with tears when listening to his appeals, and his own feelings of sympathy were not always suppressed on such occasions. As a patriot and statesman he stood approved and applauded by his country. His disposition was mild, benevolent and amiable, but firm in the performance of every duty. He was an honest man. Let every reader imitate JOHN PENN in the effort to become useful, and banish the doctrine _that merit is to be monopolized by a few_, which should never gain credence in a government like ours, where every individual is equally interested in the first and dearest principles of freedom—personal rights equally enjoyed and personal liberty equally secured.

ELBRIDGE GERRY.

That man who moves only within the circumference of self, reflecting no social rays upon the community in which he moves, contributing in no way to the advancement of human happiness, winding himself up in the hermitical cocoon of a miser’s cell or of total seclusion from the world, makes his life a vacuum and his death a burletta. The acutest metaphysician can never demonstrate the problem of his creation, the lemma of his existence has no corollary in philosophy. The following apothegm from ELBRIDGE GERRY should be deeply impressed upon the mind of every reader: “It is the duty of every citizen, though he may have but one day to live, to devote that day to the service of his country.” This precept he enforced by the examples of his brilliant career.

ELBRIDGE GERRY was a native of Marblehead, Massachusetts, born on the 17th of July, 1744. He was the son of an enterprising and respectable merchant, who bestowed upon him a classical education. He graduated at Harvard University in 1762, with a scholastic and mental reputation creditable to himself and pleasing to his friends. Judging the tree by its fruit, the seed from which it sprang must have been of the purest kind, and its vegetation not retarded by the absorbing and poisonous weeds of vice. Its incipient pruning and growth must have been directed by a master hand, to produce a form of so much symmetry and beauty.

After having completed his collegiate studies, Mr. Gerry entered the counting-house of his father and ultimately became one of the most enterprising and wealthy merchants of his native town. From the nature of his business he was among the first to feel the weight of the impolitic and unconstitutional revenue system, and by the nature of his mind, he was impelled to meet oppression at the threshold. A man of deep reflection and investigation, he examined closely the nature and extent of chartered rights and of British wrongs. He made himself acquainted with the structure and principles of government, law, political economy, and national policy. No one understood better than him, the natural, legal and practical relations between the mother country and the colonies. He was therefore prepared to act advisedly and disposed to act firmly. His extensive influence, his decision of character, his sound discretion and his exalted patriotism, pointed him out as one of the master spirits to guide the public mind and aid in the public affairs of the people. He at once became a participant in all the popular movements in favour of liberty. On the 26th of May, 1773, he commenced his official career as a member of the legislative body of Massachusetts Bay, then called “the general court.” That assembly and the royal governor took a bold issue upon rights and wrongs. The unconstitutional acts of parliament were sanctioned by the latter, and fearlessly censured by the former. The general court, moved by Samuel Adams, appointed a standing committee of inquiry for the purpose of watching closely the proceedings of ministers and parliament, and of corresponding with the other colonies upon the important subjects then under national consideration. This committee was appointed two days after Mr. Gerry had taken his seat for the first time in a legislative body, of which he was made a member. From that time forward he was a conspicuous actor upon the tragic stage of the revolution, in the drama of peace and in the construction of the federal government. He walked shoulder to shoulder with Adams and Hancock in the adoption of the bold measures that roused the lion from his lair and the people to their duty. At the Boston tea-party, the opposition to the port bill, the impeachment of the crown judges, the controversy with Governor Hutchinson and the establishment of non-intercourse with Great Britain, Mr. Gerry stood firmly at his post. Completely prostrated in his influence, and driven from every position assumed, Governor Hutchinson retired and was succeeded by General Gage. This change was of no advantage to the royal cause. The blending of military and civil power was an unpopular measure. He issued a commission for a new general court, but finding it would be composed of members inimical to his views he countermanded the order. The sovereign people, however, elected delegates, who assembled in October at Salem, an unusual place of meeting, to do the business of their constituents. The governor and council not appearing to administer the oath of office, they adjourned to Concord and organized a provincial Congress, of which Mr. Gerry was a leading member. They prepared an address to the governor in respectful but firm language, declaring their attachment to the mother country, and their willingness to obey all laws of parliament and the mandates of the king that came within the sacred pale of the British constitution and the well defined charters which had emanated from it. They pointed out the violations of right, the perversions of justice, the military array of foreign soldiers, all tending to reduce the people to slavery. They reasoned, they explained, they remonstrated, but all in vain. These appeals to Governor Gage fell upon his adamantine soul as the morning dew upon the desert of Sahara. The delegates then appealed to the legitimate source of a righteous government—THE PEOPLE—who nobly responded and sustained them in the hour of peril. They then proceeded to adopt measures for the vindication of their inalienable rights, and whilst they presented the olive branch of peace they prepared for war. Severe measures were adopted by parliament, the charter of Massachusetts was altered by exparte legislation under the crown, illegal taxes were imposed, the hirelings of the king became more insolent, the indignation of the people rose like a tornado, colonial blood began to flow, the tocsin of war was sounded, the clash of arms and fury of battle commenced, the struggle was terrific, the lion was conquered—AMERICA WAS FREE!!

During all the thrilling scenes that passed in Massachusetts previous to his election to Congress, Mr. Gerry was a leading member of the legislative body from its aurelia form to its more perfect growth. He was an active and efficient member of the two great committees that were for some time virtually the government—the committee of safety and that of supplies.

In April, 1775, he narrowly escaped the grasp of his foes. The night previous to the battle of Lexington, Messrs. Gerry, Lee and Orne were at Cambridge, through which the British passed on their way to the opening scene of hostilities. When they arrived opposite the house where these gentlemen were in bed, a file of soldiers suddenly separated from the main body and approached it rapidly. The patriots barely escaped by the back way in their linen as the enemy entered, not having time to put on a single article of their over-dress. After the military passed on they returned for their wardrobe, and immediately rallied the people to prepare for resistance.

The night previous to the fall of his intimate friend, the brave Warren, Mr. Gerry lodged in the same bed with him. The anxiety they felt for their country drove sleep from them, and their time was spent in concerting plans for future action. The lamented hero of Bunker Hill appears to have had a presentiment of his premature fate. The last words he uttered to Mr. Gerry as they parted were,

“Dulce et decorum est,
Pro patria mori.”[D]

[D] It is sweet and glorious to die for one’s country.

In the month of July, 1775, the government of Massachusetts assumed a systematic form. A legislature was chosen and organized, and in a few months a judiciary was established upon the basis of the new arrangement. Mr. Gerry was immediately appointed to the responsible post of judge of the admiralty court, but declined serving, preferring more active and exciting duties. He desired to be where he could render the most important services.

On the 18th of January, 1776, he was elected to the Continental Congress, a situation he was well calculated to fill. Bold and fearless, yet cautious and prudent, he was admirably adapted to meet the awful crisis of that eventful era. His public reputation already established on a lofty eminence, he was placed upon the most important committees, and among others upon the one sent to head-quarters to consult with Washington and mature plans of supplies for the army and for its augmentation. To the speculating sutlers and to peculating contractors, he was a terror during the war. He introduced in Congress many salutary guards against dishonest men, who, during a war more especially, always hang about every department of government like vultures. Even now, in a time of profound peace, they occasionally tap the jugular vein of our republic, and produce a laxity of the sinews of power.

When the declaration of independence was proposed in Congress, the soul of Mr. Gerry was enraptured in its favour. He had long been prepared for the measure and gave it his ardent support. When the thrilling moment arrived for final action upon this important question his vote was recorded in favour of equal rights, and his signature affixed to that venerated instrument which verified the truth of divine prophecy—“A nation shall be born in a day.”

In 1777, he was still continued a member of the national council, and continued to discharge his duty with unabated zeal. The committee rooms and the house were alike benefitted by his intelligence and extensive experience in general business. He was called to aid in the arrangement of the military hospitals, the discipline and regulations of the army, the commissary department, foreign commerce, and other branches of the new government, requiring the soundest discretion to place them on a firm basis. He was also associated with Messrs. Clymer and Livingston on their mission to the army to arrange existing difficulties. He took a conspicuous part in the debates upon the articles of confederation, and was listened to with great attention. He spoke well, reasoned closely and demonstrated clearly.

Like Mr. Clymer, he was truly republican in all his ideas and opposed to every thing that did not bear upon its face sound sense, practical usefulness and equality of operation. Hence he opposed a resolution of thanks proposed in Congress to his bosom friend, Mr. Hancock, for his services when he resigned the presidential chair. He contended that the president had done no more than to ably perform his duty, the rest of the members had done the same, and it would be a singular entry upon the journals of Congress to record a vote of thanks to each. Etiquette, however, prevailed over his logic, and the usual vote of thanks was passed, thus introducing a custom in the new government that has long since lost its original importance by too frequent use on occasions of minor interest.

Mr. Gerry was also upon the committee that devised the plan of operations for the northern army that effectuated the capture of Burgoyne, and upon the one to obtain supplies for the American troops during the winter of 1777, which took him again to the camp of Washington. These multiform and arduous duties, so constantly imposed upon him, are stronger encomiums upon his talents, perseverance, patriotism, and activity, than a volume of panegyric from the most enlivening pen that was ever wielded by mortal hand.

I have repeatedly referred to the religious and moral characters of the members of the Continental Congress as remarkable for purity. As a proof of the assertion, the records of that body of the proceedings of the session of 1778, show a resolution passed recommending the several states to adopt decisive measures against “theatrical entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners.” Another resolution strictly enjoins upon the officers of the army “to see that the good and wholesome rules provided for the discountenancing of profaneness and vice, and the preservation of morals among the soldiers, are duly and punctually preserved.” A third one was passed, which would be a _sweeper_ if revived at the present day. It arose from a disposition on the part of some officers to disregard the first one above cited. It reads as follows.

“Resolved, that any person holding an office under the United States, who shall act, promote, encourage, or attend such plays, shall be deemed unworthy to hold such office, and shall be accordingly dismissed.”

Mr. Gerry voted for these resolutions, which were passed by a large majority. He was upon the grand committee of one from each state, appointed during that session, to examine closely foreign affairs and the conduct of the foreign commissioners, about which considerable difficulty then existed, particularly relative to Mr. Deane. The committee used the probe freely, and recommended to Congress to use the amputating knife upon every limb affected by the gangrene of political corruption. The report of the committee was an able document and produced a warm debate, in which Mr. Gerry participated and supported it with great eloquence and force.

On the 14th of October, 1779, he proposed to Congress the expedition against the Indians, which was successfully executed by General Sullivan. He also proposed a resolution designed to guard against inducements to corrupt influence, that “no candidates for public office shall vote in, or otherwise influence their own elections; that Congress will not appoint any member thereof during its time of sitting, or within six months after he shall have been in Congress, to any office under the said states, for which he, or any other for his benefit, may receive any salary, fees, or other emolument.” He urged it strongly but was unsuccessful. As a member of the committee of finance Mr. Gerry stood next in rank to Robert Morris.

In 1780, he retired from Congress after five years arduous and faithful service. In all situations and at all times, he was energetic, zealous and active in the cause of liberty. When his duties called him to the army, if any fighting was on the tapis whilst he was in camp, he always insisted upon taking an active part. When the affair occurred with General Howe at Chestnut Hill, he actually shouldered a musket and entered the ranks; and when General Kniphausen engaged the American army at Springville, he took his station by the side of Washington, who invested him with a volunteer command during his stay. On both of these occasions he was one of the visiting committee from Congress.

The second year after his retirement, he was again induced to become a member of the national legislature and commenced his duties with the same zeal that had marked his whole career. The business of the nation was at that time more perplexing than when in the heat of the revolution. An empty treasury, a prostrate credit and a mammoth debt, presented a fearful contrast. To aid in settling the derangement in public affairs, he was an important member. Committee labours were heaped upon his shoulders as though he was an Atlas and could carry the world, or an Atalanta in the celerity of business. The local feelings and interests of the states began to be perplexing, and the half pay for life guaranteed by Congress to all officers who remained in the army during the war, was a source of dissatisfaction with many. This was finally settled by compounding the annuity for the full pay of five years.

In 1784, he was chairman of the important committee on foreign relations, and of the one to perform the onerous task of revising the treasury department. He also brought forward a resolution for the compensation of Baron Steuben, who had rendered immense service by introducing a system of military tactics and discipline, by which the armies of the United States were entirely governed, and which were strictly adhered to long after the revolution by the military throughout the union. This resolution was warmly supported by Mr. Jefferson, but owing, as I fondly hope, to the embarrassed situation of the financial department, it was lost. He also took a deep interest in the commerce of the republic, a subject which he understood well.

In 1785, Mr. Gerry closed his services in the Continental Congress. During that year he was arduously employed upon the committee on accounts. He also obtained the passage of his former resolution relative to public officers and elections and the appointment of members of Congress to office. At the close of the session he retired from public life for a season and settled at Cambridge, not far from Boston, with all the honours of a pure patriot and an able statesman resting upon him—crowned with the sincere and lively gratitude of a nation of freemen.