Chapter XVI: Part I: John Adams (12)

In 1774 Mr. Lee was a delegate to the Congress convened at Philadelphia. At that memorable meeting he acted a conspicuous part. After Patrick Henry had broken the seal that rested on the lips of the members as they sat in deep and solemn silence, he was followed by Mr. Lee in a strain of _belles-lettres_ eloquence and persuasive reasoning that took the hearts of his audience captive and restored to a calm the boiling agitation that shook their manly frames as the mountain torrent of Demosthenean eloquence was poured upon them by Henry. He was upon the committee that prepared an address to the king--the people of Great Britain and to the Colonies. Those documents were written by him and adopted with but few amendments. He was upon the committee that prepared the address to the people of Quebec and upon the committee of rights and grievances and non-intercourse with the mother country. In the warmth of his ardor he proposed several resolutions that were rejected because considered premature at that time--not that the purity of his motives were doubted. Many of the members still hoped that timely redress of grievances would restore peace. They had clearly and forcibly set forth their complaints and desires and could not yet be persuaded that ministers were madly bent on ruin. For solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity and wisdom of conclusion--the proceedings of that Congress stand without a parallel upon the historic page. So thought Lord Chatham, Burke and many of the wisest English statesmen at that time.

In 1775 Mr. Lee was unanimously elected to the Virginia Legislature where the same zeal for Liberty marked his bold career. He received a vote of thanks for his noble course in Congress and was made a delegate for the next session. A more congenial field now opened for this ardent patriot. Temporizing was no longer the order of the the day. Vigorous action had become necessary. His zeal and industry had ample scope. With all his might he entered into the good work. Upon committees--in the house, everywhere he was all activity. In 1776 he was a member of Congress. In obedience to the instructions of the Virginia Legislature and his long nursed desires, on the 7th of June he rose amidst the assembled patriots of the nation in the Hall of Liberty and offered the resolution for the adoption of a Declaration of Independence. This resolution he enforced by one of the most brilliant and powerful displays of refined and forcible eloquence ever exhibited in our country. On the 10th of the same month he was called home by the illness of his family which prevented him from taking his place as chairman of the committee upon his resolution agreeably to parliamentary rules. Mr. Jefferson was put in his place. The wrath of British power against him was now at its zenith. During his short stay at home an armed force broke into his house at night and by threats and bribes endeavoured to induce his servants to inform them where he could be found. He was that night a few miles distant with a friend. They were told he had gone to Philadelphia.

In August he returned to Congress and most gladly affixed his name to that sacred instrument upon which his imagination had feasted for years. He continued at his post until June 1777 when he returned home to confute a base slander charging him with unfaithfulness to the American cause in consequence of having received rents in kind instead of Continental money. He was honorably acquitted by the Assembly and received a vote of thanks from that body for his fidelity and industry in the cause of freedom--rather a cooler to his semi-tory enemies. During the two ensuing years his bad health compelled him to leave Congress several times, but his counsel was at the command of his colleagues at all times. Nothing but death could abate his zeal in the good cause.

The portals of military glory were now opened to Mr. Lee. He was appointed to the command of the militia of his native county and proved as competent to wield the sword and lead his men to action as he was to command an audience by his powerful eloquence. Defeated in the north the British made a rush upon the Southern States. Whenever they approached the neighbourhood under the charge of Mr. Lee they found his arrangements a little too precise for their convenience and abandoned their visits entirely. In 1780-1-2 he served in the Virginia legislature. The proposition of making paper bills a legal tender--of paying debts due to the mother country and of a general assessment to support the Christian religion--were then before the House and excited great interest. Mr. Lee advocated and Mr. Henry opposed them. From the necessity of the case he was in favor of the first. Upon the sacredness of contracts he based his arguments in favor of the second and from ethics he drew conclusions in favor of the last. He said refiners might weave reason into as fine a web as they pleased but the experience of all time had shown religion to be the guardian of morals. He contended that the declaration of rights was aimed at restrictions on the form and mode of worship and not against the legal compulsory support of it. In this Mr. Lee erred. He probably had forgotten that Christ declared his kingdom was not of this world and that the great Head of the Christian religion had for ever dissolved the bans of church and state by that declaration. In other respects the position is untenable in a republican government and can never promote genuine piety in any.

In 1784 he was again elected to Congress and chosen President of that body. At the close of the session he received a vote of thanks for the faithful and able performance of his duty and retired to the bosom of his family to rest from his long and arduous toils. He was a member of the Convention that framed the Federal Constitution and took a deep interest in the formation of that saving instrument. He was a U. S. Senator in the first Congress that convened under it and fully sustained his previous high reputation. Infirmity at length compelled him to bid a final farewell to the public arena. His last public services were rendered in the legislature of his own state. On his retirement a most flattering resolution of thanks for his numerous valuable services was passed by that body on the 22d of October 1792. He then retired to the peaceful shades of Chantilly in his native county crowned with a chaplet of amaranthine flowers emitting rich odors lasting as time. There he lived--esteemed, beloved, respected and admired until the 19th of June 1794 when the angel of death liberated his immortal spirit from its clay prison--seraphs conducted his soul to realms of bliss there to enjoy the reward of a life well spent.

Mr. Lee was a rare model of human excellence and refinement. He was a polished gentleman, scholar, orator and statesman. In exploring the vast fields of science he gathered the choicest flowers--the most substantial fruits. The classics, _Belles Lettres_--the elements of civil, common, national and municipal law--the principles of every kind of government were all familiar to his mind. He was ardently patriotic, pure and firm in his purposes, honest and sincere in his motives, liberal in his principles, frank in his designs, honorable in his actions. As an orator the modulation of his voice, manner of action and mode of reasoning were a _fac simile_ of Cicero as described by Rollin. He richly merited the appellation--CICERO OF AMERICA.

His private character was above reproach. He possessed and exercised all those amiable qualities calculated to impart substantial happiness to all around him. To crown with enduring splendor all his rich and varied talents--he was a consistent Christian--an honest man. As his dust reposes in peace let his examples deeply impress our heart: and excite us to fulfill the duties of life to the honor of ourselves, our country and our God.

FRANCIS LEWIS.

The patriotic sages and daring heroes of the American Revolution were from different countries and of various pursuits. One feeling pervaded the bosoms and influenced the actions of all--the love of LIBERTY. This main spring of action was confined to no business or profession. All classes who loved their country and hated chains flew to the rescue. Self interest lost its potent powers and thousands pledged their lives and fortunes to defend their bleeding country against the merciless oppression and exorbitant demands of an unyielding monarch. No class of men better understood the injustice of the mother country than those engaged in commerce. Many bold spirits rushed from the counting house to the forum and the field, resolved on victory or death.

Among them was Francis Lewis, born at Landaff, in the shire of Glamorgan, South Wales, March 1713. His father was an Episcopal clergyman, his mother was the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Pettingal of the same sect who officiated at Caernarvonshire in North Wales.

Francis was an only child and lost both his parents when only fifteen. A maternal aunt, named Llawelling, became his guardian. She had him early instructed in the Cymraeg language which he never lost. He was subsequently sent to a relative in Scotland where he was taught the original Celtic language. From there he entered the Westminster school at London and became a good classical scholar. He then entered a counting house and became thoroughly acquainted with the entire routine of commercial transactions which prepared him to enter into business understandingly and with safety.

When arrived at his majority he inherited a small fortune which he laid out in merchandize and embarked for New York where he arrived in the spring of 1735. He found his stock too large for that city--entered into partnership with Edward Annesley, leaving with him a part of his goods, proceeding with the balance to Philadelphia. At the end of two years he settled permanently in New York and married Elizabeth Annesley, sister of his partner in trade. To these ancestors may be traced the numerous and respectable families of the same name now residing in and about New York.

Commercial transactions frequently called Mr. Lewis to the principal ports of Europe and to the Shetland and Orkney Islands. He was twice shipwrecked on the coast of Ireland. His great industry, spotless integrity and skill in business, gave him a high position in commercial circles, showing clearly the great advantage derived from a thorough apprenticeship in business before a young man sets up for himself.

At the commencement of the French war he was the agent for supplying the British army with clothing. At the sanguinary attack and reduction of Oswego by the French troops under Gen. Dieskau, Mr. Lewis was standing by the side of Col. Mersey when he was killed. He was taken prisoner and held a long time by the Indians enduring the severest sufferings. As a small compensation the British government granted him five hundred acres of land.

Mr. Lewis was among the early and determined opposers to the unjust pretensions of the British ministers. He was a distinguished and active member of the Colonial Congress that assembled in New York in the autumn of 1765 to devise and mature measures to effectuate a redress of injuries. A petition was prepared to the King and House of Commons and a memorial to the House of Lords. The language was respectful but every line breathed a firm determination no longer to yield to injury and insult. The chrysalis of the Revolution was then and there formed. The eruptions of the volcano occasionally subsided but as the lava of insubordination would again burst out the crater was enlarged and the volume increased until the whole country became inundated by the terrific flood of war, red with the blood of thousands.

In 1771 Mr. Lewis visited England and became familiar with the feelings and designs of the British ministry. From that time he was fully convinced that the infant Colonies in America could never enjoy their inalienable rights until they severed the parental ties that bound them to the mother country. On all proper occasions he communicated his views to the friends of freedom and did much to awaken his fellow citizens to a just sense of impending dangers.

When it was determined to convene the Continental Congress Mr. Lewis was unanimously elected a member by the delegates convened for that purpose on the 22d day of April 1775. He immediately repaired to the Keystone city and entered upon the important duties assigned him. The following year he was continued in Congress and recorded his name upon the chart of Independence. His great experience in commercial and general business united with a clear head, a patriotic heart, a matured and reflecting mind richly stored with intelligence--rendered him a useful and influential member. As an active and judicious man on business committees he stood pre-eminent. As a warm and zealous advocate of his country's rights he had no rival.

He was continued a member of Congress to April 1779 when he obtained leave of absence. He had suffered much in loss of property which was wantonly destroyed by the British troops.

Time or angel's tears can never blot out the damning stigma that rests upon the escutcheon of Great Britain for personal abuse and the wanton destruction of private property during the Revolutionary War. Talk of savage barbarity. He is a Pagan and knows none but his own mode of warfare. England has professed to be the conservatory of Christianity for centuries. Compared with the brutality of her armies in America, looking at her in the light of even a _civilized_ nation, savage barbarity is thrown in the distance so far that it could not be seen through a microscope of a million power.

Not content with destroying the property of Mr. Lewis, the British seized his unprotected wife and placed her in close confinement without a bed--a change of clothes--almost without food and exposed to the cowardly and gross insults of wretches who were degraded so far below the wild man of the wilderness, that could an Archimedian lever of common decency have been applied to them with Heaven for a fulcrum and Gabriel to man it, they could not have been raised, in a thousand years, to the grade of common courtesy. No true American can trace the cruelties of the British troops during the times that verily tried men and women's souls, without having his blood rush back upon his aching heart--his indignation roused to a boiling heat.

Mrs. Lewis was retained in prison several months and finally exchanged, through the exertions of Gen. Washington, for a Mrs. Barrow, the wife of a British paymaster retained for the express purpose but treated in the most respectful manner and made perfectly comfortable with a respectable family. The base imprisonment of Mrs. Lewis caused her premature death.

At the close of the war Mr. Lewis was reduced from affluence to poverty. He had devoted his talents, his property to the cause of Liberty and what was infinitely more--the wife of his youth--the mother of his children had been brutally sacrificed by the hyenas of the crown. Notwithstanding these heart rending misfortunes the evening of his life was made comfortable by his enterprising children and on the 30th day of December 1803, calm and resigned, peaceful and happy, he closed his eventful and useful life.

He left a well earned fame that will survive, unimpaired, the revolutions of time. His private character was a fair unsullied sheet as pure and valued as his public life was useful and illustrious. As a man of business he stood in the front rank. He was the first merchant who made a shipment of wheat from America to Europe. He was the pioneer in the transporting trade. He was a full man in all that he undertook. His shining examples are worthy of our imitation in all the walks of a good and useful life.

PHILIP LIVINGSTON.

Men often originate and engage in transactions that produce results in direct opposition to their desires. Religious persecution scattered the primitive Christians to various parts of the world and instead of annihilating the doctrines of the Cross they were thus more widely spread over the earth. For the enjoyment of the liberty of conscience the emigrants to New England left their native homes. For the same reason the Huguenots of France fled before the blighting edict of Nantes in 1685, many of them settling in the city of New York. To the persecuted and oppressed--America was represented as a land of rest. Immigrants poured in upon our shores from France, Holland, Germany, England, Ireland and Scotland--among whom were many eminent for piety, intelligence and liberal principles. They were also men of courage and fortitude, at that time considered necessary requisites in the perilous undertaking of leaving the old for the new world. Among those who came to our country were men of all the learned professions, the liberal arts and sciences, trades and occupations.

Robert Livingston was the son of an eminent Scotch divine who died in 1672. Robert then came to this country and obtained a grant for the manor along the Hudson River. He had three sons--Philip, father of the present subject--Robert, grandfather of Chancellor Livingston, and Gilbert, grandfather of the Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston.

Philip, the subject of this brief sketch, was born at Albany on the 15th of January 1716. He was one of the few who enjoyed a collegiate education at that period. After his preparatory studies he entered Yale College and graduated in 1737. He had strong native talent improved by the lights of a liberal education. Religion and moral rectitude prepared him for a career of usefulness. In those days of republican simplicity and common sense the graduates of an American college did not believe themselves licensed to ride rough shod over those whose literary advantages were less--nor did they believe themselves exonerated from the field, the shop and the counting house and destined only for the learned professions. They thought it no disparagement to apply themselves to agricultural, mechanical and commercial pursuits and wear apparel spun and wove by the hands of their noble mothers and hale sisters. An enervating change is visible.

Mr. Livingston engaged extensively and successfully in mercantile business in the city of New York and became noted for punctuality, honesty and fair dealing. Reposing full confidence in his integrity, _then_ a necessary passport to public honors, his fellow citizens elected him an alderman in 1754, which office he filled for nine consecutive years, doing much to promote the peace and prosperity of the city. In 1759 he was elected to the colonial assembly which had important business on hand. Great Britain was at war with France which brought the northern Colonies in contact with the French and Indians. Twenty thousand men were to be raised by the colonials to guard the frontier settlements and carry the war into the Canadas. The province of New York raised 2680 men and 250,000 pounds to aid in the proposed object.

Mr. Livingston took an active and judicious part in these deliberations. He introduced laws for the advancement of commerce, agriculture and various other improvements--manifesting a sound judgment and liberal views. He was an active member on the Committee of Foreign Relations that wisely selected Edmund Burke to represent the interests of the Colony in the British Parliament. Through the lucid communications of Mr. Livingston that celebrated statesman and friend to America was made thoroughly acquainted with the situation, feelings and interests of the colonists.

After the dissolution of the Assembly by the death of George II. Mr. Livingston was elected to the one organized under the new dynasty. In 1761 he wrote an answer to the message of Lieutenant Governor Colden, pointing out, in bold but respectful language, the oppressions and infringements of the British ministry upon colonial rights. He at once became the nucleus around which a band of patriots gathered and formed a nut too hard to be cracked by the sledgehammer of monarchy. The governor uniformly dissolved the Assembly at the commencement of its session if he found a majority of the members were liberals.

In 1768 the Assembly consisted of the brightest luminaries of talent then in the Colony. Mr. Livingston was unanimously elected Speaker. Discovering that a majority of the members were not pliant enough for tools nor submissive slaves, Governor Moore dissolved them and ordered a new election. He succeeded in obtaining a majority of creeping things but patriots enough were elected to hold the minions of the crown in awe. Disgusted at the tyranny of the governor, Mr. Livingston declined a re-election in the city but was returned to the Assembly by the people upon his manor. On mature deliberation he took his seat but was objected to because not a resident of the district for which he was elected. The Argus eyes of the patriots quickly discovered that by this very plan the governor had succeeded in obtaining a majority in his favor--most of his creatures being in the same predicament. To save their own glass houses from a smash they withdrew their objection to Mr. Livingston. During the session he offered a resolution setting forth the grievances of his countrymen and the violation of chartered rights. This gave great umbrage to the adherents of the crown and they determined to expel him from his seat on the ground of his non-residence in the district he represented. This was done by a vote of 17 to 6, a very large majority of the members being in the same situation. This blind act was on par with the whole course of the infatuated ministry and their hirelings. It constituted a thread in the web that England wove to make a straight jacket for herself.

A wider field now opened for Mr. L. He was elected to the first Congress at Philadelphia and became a brilliant star in the galaxy of national patriots. He was one of the committee that prepared the spirited address to the British nation and roused from their lethargy those whose attention had not been turned to the all important subjects then in agitation--involving a nation's rights and a nation's wrongs. He was continued a member of Congress and when the grand birthday of our nation arrived--aided in the thrilling duties of the occasion--invoked the smiles of Heaven upon the new swathed infant and gave the sanction of his name to the Magna Charta that secured to our nation a towering majesty--a sublime grandeur before unknown.

In 1777 he was a member of the convention that framed the constitution of New York. He was elected to the Senate and attended the first legislature of the empire state. The same year he was elected to Congress, then in session at York, Penn. having been compelled to flee before the conquering foe. Deeply afflicted with _hydro-thorax_ [dropsy of the chest] he felt that his labors must speedily close. It was in the spring of 1778 when the dark mantle of gloom hung over the bleeding Colonies. Under these circumstances he was willing to devote his last hours to the interest of his beloved country. He had freely given her his best services and a large portion of his pecuniary means. His family had fled to Kingston on the approach of the enemy. He repaired there to arrange his private business in the best possible manner. He wrote a valedictory letter to his friends at Albany--urged them to remain firm in the cause of Liberty--trust in God for deliverance and bade them an affectionate--a final farewell. He then clasped his lovely wife and dear children to his bosom for the last time on earth--commended them to Heaven's guardian care--gave them a look of tenderness--a fervent kiss and was gone.

On the 5th of May he took his seat in Congress, exhausted and feeble, but determined to remain at his post until the lamp of life should burn out.

Although standing on the confines of eternity, his zeal in the cause of human rights shone brightly to the last. For himself he could not anticipate the enjoyment of the fruit of his numerous and protracted toils but for his family and his countrymen he felt deeply--hoped ardently. He had full confidence that Independence would be sustained and that a glorious Republic would rise upon the ruins of monarchy.

In June his health failed rapidly and on the 12th of that month, 1778 he yielded to the monarch Death to whom he owed a momentary allegiance--paid the debt--took a release and a passport to mansions in the skies. He was buried the same day with all the mournful honors due to his great worth--deeply lamented by all the friends of freedom. His amiable wife was not with him but he had a friend that sticketh closer than a brother--one that had been his stay and support in every hour of trial and smoothed the pillow of death--RELIGION. Angels waited for the transit of his immortal soul--opened wide the gates of Heaven to let the patriot in--the King of glory decked him with a robe of white, enrolled his name in the book of life and crowned him with that peaceful rest which is the reward of a pure heart and a virtuous life.

The private character of Mr. Livingston was a continued eulogy upon virtue, philanthropy, benevolence, urbanity, integrity, nobleness, honesty, patriotism, consistency and all the leading qualities that render man dignified on earth and fit for Heaven.

His public career was an exemplification of all the noble qualities that render a patriot complete and endear him to a nation of freemen. With such men to wield the destiny of our expanding nation--our country is safe--our UNION secure.

THOMAS LYNCH JR.

The prudent man soars in peerless majesty above the trifling vanities and corrupting pleasures of this world and lives in constant readiness to enter the mansions of bliss beyond this vale of tears. He regards the past, present and future in the light of Revelation and views mankind in the bright sunshine of charity--exemplifies the golden rule in his intercourse with the world. He investigates impartially, reasons logically--condemns reluctantly. Prudence is not the necessary result of shining talents, brilliant genius or great learning. A profound scholar may astonish the world with scientific discoveries--pour upon mankind a flood of light--enrapture the immortal mind with theological eloquence--point erring man to the path of rectitude and render himself powerless by imprudent conduct. One grain of prudence is of more value than a cranium crowded with unbridled genius or a flowing stream of vain wit. Dangers gather thick around the frail bark of man without it and harry him lo destruction. It is the real ballast of human life. So thought and so acted the Sages of the American Revolution, else their efforts would have been vain, their exertions powerless.

Among them stood the young patriot Thomas Lynch Jr. born on the plantation of his father on the bank of the North Santee river in the parish of Prince George S. C. on the 5th of August 1749. His paternal ancestors were of Austrian descent and highly respectable. The direct ancestor of young Thomas removed to Kent in England, from thence to Ireland, a son of whom, Jonack Lynch, removed from Connaught to South Carolina in the early time of its settlement. He was the great grandfather of the subject of this short sketch--a man of liberal views and pure morals.

In childhood Thomas Lynch Jr. was deprived of his mother by death. At the proper age he was placed at the Indigo Society School at Georgetown, S. C. where some of the most eminent sages of the south were educated. Warmed by the genial rays of science the mind of young Lynch soon burst from its embryo state and exhibited a pleasing and luxuriant growth. His progress was rapid and highly gratifying to his anxious father whose only child he was. At the age of thirteen he entered the far famed school at Eton, Buckinghamshire, England, founded by Henry VI. At that school he commenced his classical studios. After completing his course there he was entered as a gentleman commoner in the University of Cambridge where he became a finished scholar and polished gentleman, esteemed and respected by his acquaintances. He then entered the law temple and became well versed in legal knowledge and general science and was well prepared to enter upon the great theatre of action.

During his stay he cultivated an extensive acquaintance with the whigs of England and became familiar with the designs of British ministers upon the Colonies. He investigated closely the relative situation of the two countries and came home in 1772 prepared and determined to oppose the oppressions of the crown and strike for LIBERTY. As the dark clouds of the Revolution loomed up from the horizon and increased in fearful blackness the firmness of his purpose increased. These were fostered by his patriotic father and responded to by the people of the parish. Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder did the sire and son march to the rescue resolved so put forth their noblest efforts to throw off the chains of tyranny.

The first attempt of this young patriot to speak in public after his return was at a large town meeting in Charleston. His father had just addressed the assembled multitude on the subject of British oppression and sat down amidst the enthusiastic cheers of his fellow citizens. His youthful son then rose. A profound silence ensued. The eyes of the dense mass were fixed upon him. For a moment he paused. The blood rushed back upon his aching heart. It returned to its thousand channels--his bosom heaved--the struggle was over--an impassioned strain of eloquence burst from him that carried the insulating fluid of patriotism to the hearts of his astonished and delighted audience with irresistible force. Tears of joy ran down the furrowed cheeks of his father--bursts of applause from the enraptured multitude made the welkin ring. Such men could not remain slaves.

When the crisis arrived for physical action he was among the first to offer his services. In July 1775 he received a captaincy and repaired to Newbern, N. C. where he unfurled the star spangled banner and in a few weeks enlisted a full complement of men. His father objected to his acceptance of so low a grade to whom his affectionate son modestly replied--"My present command is fully equal to my experience"--a reply worthy the consideration of every young man who desires to build his fame upon a substantial basis. If a man is suddenly placed upon a towering eminence to which his is unaccustomed, the nerves of his brain must be unusually strong if he does not grow dizzy, tremble, totter--fall. If he ascends gradually--pauses at different points of altitude as he advances, he may reach the loftiest spire, preserve his equilibrium and stand in safety. Sudden elevations often prove disastrous.

On his way to Charleston with his company Capt. Lynch was prostrated by the bilious fever from which he never entirely recovered and was not able to join his regiment for several months. Soon after this he received intelligence of the dangerous illness of his father--then a member of Congress at Philadelphia. He applied to Col. Gadsden for permission to leave for that city which was refused on the ground that his services were paramount to all private considerations. His unexpected election to Congress to succeed his father, by a unanimous vote of the Assembly, enabled him to leave at once. With great diffidence he look his seat in the Congress of 1776 amidst veteran sages and statesmen whose combined talents and wisdom are without a rival on the pages of history.

On his arrival at Philadelphia he found his revered father partially relieved from a paralytic attack and in August started with him for home. They only reached Annapolis where the venerable sage died in the arms of his son.

On entering the national legislature Capt. Lynch became a bold and eloquent advocate for the Declaration of Independence and soon convinced his senior colleagues that he had a full share of wisdom to conceive, patriotism to impel and prudence to guide him in the glorious cause of freedom. He cheerfully and fearlessly affixed his name to the Magna Charta of our rights and did all in his power and more than his feeble health would warrant to advance the best interests of his excoriated--bleeding country. He was finally compelled to yield to increasing ill health and relinquish his honorable station.

Medical skill proved futile and as advised by his physicians, he and his accomplished wife embarked for Europe at the close of 1779 with Capt. Morgan, whose vessel was never heard from after she had been a few days at sea and then from a Frenchman who left her from some cause unexplained and went on board another vessel. Soon after he left her a violent gale came on and beyond all doubt the vessel went down with all on board. Previous to embarking he made a will bequeathing his large estate to three sisters in case of the death of himself and wife, having no children.

The private character of this worthy man was pure and in all respects amiable. Had his valuable life been spared his eminent talents and great zeal promised important services to his country and an elevated rank among the sages and patriots of the eventful era at which he commenced his brilliant but transient career. Short as was his public tenure he did enough to immortalize his name. Although his bright morning sun did not reach its meridian, its splendor contributed largely in illuminating the horizon of LIBERTY and shed a rich lustre over his name that will render his memory sacred through all future time.

The brief career of Thomas Lynch Jr. admonishes us that life is held by a slender cord and that exalted talents and splendid accomplishments, like some rich flowers, often bloom just long enough to be gazed at and admired--then close up their petals and hide their beauties for ever from enraptured sight.

THOMAS McKEAN.

Great designs require the deep consideration of strong, vigorous and investigating minds. Imposing events open a wide field for fame and bring to view powers of intellect that would never unfold their beauties under ordinary circumstances. Hence the brilliancy of talent that illuminated the glorious era of the American Revolution. Many who became eminent statesmen and renowned heroes during that memorable struggle would have remained within the sphere of their particular occupation in time of peace. The public gaze would never have been fixed upon them--they would have passed away with a rich mine of undeveloped mental powers. Hence the erroneous expression I have heard from men who do not analyze all they read, hear and see--that we have no men among us _now_ with the exalted talents of the sages of '76. Just such an occasion would explode the error.

That many of the patriots of that eventful period were men of unusual ability and acquirements--I freely--proudly admit. That the momentous transactions that engaged their attention served to add an unequalled lustre to their names is emphatically true. The perils that encompassed them--the dangers that surrounded them--the mighty work they conceived, planned and consummated--all combine to shed a sacred halo around their well earned fame.

Prominent among them was Thomas McKean, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, born on the 19th of March 1731. He was the son of William McKean who immigrated from Ireland at an early age. He placed this son under the tuition of Rev. Francis Allison then principal of the most popular seminary of the province. He was a gentleman of profound erudition and science.

The intellect of Thomas budded and bloomed like the rose of spring. He was a close student--his rapid attainments gave an earnest of a bright future. He left the seminary a thorough linguist, a practical mathematician, a moral philosopher, a finished scholar, an accomplished gentleman--esteemed, respected and admired by his numerous friends.

He then commenced the study of Law under David Kinney, of Newcastle, Delaware. He explored the interminable field of this science with unusual success and was admitted to the bar under the most favorable auspices. He commenced his professional career at Newcastle--soon acquiring a lucrative practice and proud reputation. He extended his business into his native province and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1757. His strict attention to business and superior legal acumen made him extensively and favorably known. He avoided the modern error of too many young lawyers who suppose an admission to the bar closes the toils of the student. Fatal mistake my young friends. You are at the very threshold of your reading. Relaxation is professional suicide. This is a rock on which many have been shipwrecked in all the learned professions. The laws of nature demand a constant supply of food in the intellectual as well as in the physical economy. The _man_ requires more and stronger food then the _child_. The corroding rust of forgetfulness will mar the most brilliant acquirements of science if laid upon the shelf of neglect. Much study is required to keep up with the march of mind and the ever varying changes produced by the soaring intellect and reaching genius of man. It has been said that the basis of law is as unchangeable as a rock of adamant. Of elementary law this is true. It does not follow, _a priori_, that the superstructure is so. Precocious legislators have made _that_ a labyrinthian maze. _They_ use a political kaleidoscope in legislating and that not skilfully. It puzzles _competent_ judges to arrive at a satisfactory construction of statute laws. The _incompetent_--not few and far between--use the instrument above named carelessly if not politically. Hence no lawyer can succeed without an endless round of reading.

In 1762 Mr. McKean was elected to the Delaware Assembly from Newcastle county and continued in that body for eleven consecutive years. He then removed to Philadelphia. So much attached were the Delawarians to him that they continued to elect him to their Assembly for six years after his removal although he could not serve them in that. Under the old regimen, he was claimed by both Delaware and Pennsylvania and served them conjointly in the Continental Congress.

In 1765 he was a member from Delaware to the Congress in New York. He was upon the committee that drafted the memorable address to the House of Commons. His patriotism, love of liberty and firmness of purpose were fully demonstrated in that instrument and by his subsequent acts. He was republican to the core--despised the chains of political slavery--the baubles of monarchy and the trappings of kingly courts. He struck high for Liberty and scorned to be a slave.

On his return from New York he was appointed Judge of the Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions and Orphans' Court of Newcastle county. The Stamp Act was then in full _life_ but not in full force in Delaware. Judge McKean was the first judicial officer who put a veto on stamped paper--directing the officers of the courts over which he presided not to use it, as had been ordered by the hirelings of the crown. He set them at defiance and was sustained by the people of the nation. That circumstance, trifling as it may _now_ seem to superficial readers, was big with consequences. It was one of the entering wedges to the Revolution that made an awful opening in the monarchical mass that was ultimately split into atoms and annihilated by the wedges and malls of the hard-fisted sons of America. From that time Judge McKean was hailed as one of the boldest champions of Freedom--one of the ablest defenders of his country's Rights.

He was a prominent member of the Congress of 1774. He had talent to design--energy to execute and at once made himself useful. He was the only man who served in the Continental Congress during the whole time of its duration. He was a strong advocate for the Declaration of Independence and promptly put his name to that revered instrument. When it came up for final action, so anxious was he that it should pass _unanimously_--that he sent an express for Mr. Rodney who arrived just in time to give an affirmative vote.

Notwithstanding the arduous duties that devolved on him as a member of Congress--of several important committees and Chief Justice of Pennsylvania--so ardent was his patriotism that he accepted a colonel's commission--took command of a Philadelphia regiment and marched to the aid of Gen. Washington, remaining with him until a new supply of recruits was raised. During his absence his Delaware constituents had elected him to a convention to form a constitution. On his return he proceeded to Newcastle, put up at a tavern and without consulting men or books, hastily penned the constitution that was adopted by the convention. Understanding the feelings and wants of the people--well versed in law and republicanism--a ready writer, he performed the labor in a few hours that has required a large number of men nearly a year to accomplish in more modern times. How changed are men and things since the glorious era of '76. How changed the motives that impel many politicians to action--how different the amount of useful labor performed in the same time and for the same money. _Then_ all were anxious to listen--_now_ nearly all are anxious to speak. _Then_ legislators loved their country _more_ and the loaves and fishes _less_ than at the present day. I do not blame the politicians--it is their trade and living. Office seeking has become a card game in which the applicants are the pack--demagogues the players and the _dear_ people and government the table played upon. The bone and sinew of our country can and should block this ruinous game at once. We have as good men as lived in '76 and a _few_ of them on duty. There should be no others selected. They will not _seek_ office but we should be careful to seek _them_ and cleanse the temple of our Liberty from political peculation and venality. If our country is ruined it will be the fault of the mass.

On the 10th of July 1781, Judge McKean was elected President of Congress but declined serving in consequence of his duties as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. He was then urged to occupy the chair until the court should commence the next term. To this he assented and made an able presiding officer. On the 7th of November he vacated the chair and was complimented by the following resolution:--"_Resolved_--That the thanks of Congress be given to the Honorable Thomas McKean, late President of Congress in testimony of their approbation of his conduct in the chair and in the execution of public business." His duties upon the Bench of the Supreme Court commenced in 1777 and were extremely onerous. He did not recognize the power of the crown and held himself amenable only to his country and his God. An able jurist--an unbending patriot--at the hazard of his life he punished all who were brought before him and convicted of violating the laws of the new government. No threats could intimidate--no influence reach him when designed to divert him from the independent discharge of his duty. His profound legal acquirements--ardent zeal--equal justice--vigorous energy and noble patriotism--enabled him to outride every storm and calm the raging billows that often threatened to overwhelm him. He marched on triumphantly to the goal of Liberty and hailed the star spangled banner as it waived in grandeur from the lofty spire of the temple of FREEDOM. He beheld, with the eye of a sage, philosopher and philanthropist, the rising glory of Columbia's new world. He viewed, with emotions of pleasing confidence, the American eagle descend from the ethereal regions beyond the altitude of a tyrant's breath and pounce upon the British lion. With increasing vigor and redoubled fury the mighty bird continued the awful conflict until the king of beasts retreated to his lair and proclaimed, in a roar of thunder--AMERICA IS FREE! Angels rejoiced--monarchs trembled--patriots shouted a loud--AMEN!!! The torch of England's power over the Colonies expired in its socket--the birth of a new nation was celebrated by happy millions basking beneath the genial rays of the refulgent glories of the sun of Liberty. The harvest was past--the summer ended--our country saved. The stupendous work of political regeneration was accomplished--the Independence of the United States acknowledged--an honorable peace consumated. Judge McKean then sat down under his own fig tree to enjoy the full fruition of the comforts resulting from his faithful labors in the cause of equal rights.

He continued to discharge the important duties of Chief Justice up to 1799 illuminating his judicial path with profound learning, sound discretion and impartial decisions. His Supreme Court opinions, based, as they generally are--upon equal justice, correct law and strict equity--delivered when the form of government was changed, the laws unsettled, the stale constitution just formed, the Federal Government under its Constitution bursting from embryo--are monuments of legal fame enduring as social order--revered, respected--canonized.

He was a member of the convention that formed the constitution of Pennsylvania adopted in 1790 and exercised a salutary influence in that body. In 1799 he was elected Governor of the Keystone state and contributed largely in adding new strength and beauty to the arch of our Union. For nine successive years he directed the destinies of the land of Penn--commencing at a period when the mountain waves of party spirit were rolling fearfully over the United States with a fury before not dreamed of. Amidst the foaming and conflicting elements, Governor McKean stood at the helm of his commonwealth calm as a summer morning--firm as a granite rock and guided his noble ship through the whirling storm--unscathed and unharmed. He proved himself a safe and skilful pilot.

For elegance and force of language--correct and liberal views of policy--a luminous exposition of law and the principles of government--his annual messages to the legislature stand unrivalled. The clamors of his political enemies he passed by as the idle wind. The suggestions of his friends he scanned with the most rigid scrutiny. Neither flattery or censure could drive him from the strong citadel of his own matured judgment.

The fawning sycophant--the designing demagogue he spurned with contempt. By honest means only he desired the advancement of the party that had elevated him to a post of honor. Open and avowed principles--fully proclaimed and strictly carried out were frankly and without prevarication or disguise submitted to the people by him. He was a politician of the old school when each party had plain and distinctive landmarks, significant names and fixed principles. Political chemists had not then opened shop and introduced the modern mode of amalgamation--producing a heterogeneous mass that defies the power of analysis, analyzation or scientific arrangement. No one of the yclepped classes is homogeneous.

Governor McKean respected those who honestly differed from him in politics and had among them many valued friends. He was free from that narrow minded policy based upon self, which is too prominent at the present day among those who assume the high responsibility of becoming the arbiters of the minds of their fellow men. His views were expanding, liberal--broad--charitable. He aimed at distributing equal justice to all--the rich and poor, the public officer and private citizen. He preferred future good to present aggrandizement. To lay the deep foundations of increasing and lasting prosperity in his own state and through our nation was the object of this pure patriot, enlightened statesman and able jurist. The vast resources of our country, her wide spread territory, majestic rivers, silvery lakes, mineral wealth, rich valleys, majestic mountains, rolling uplands, beautiful prairies, extensive sea board, enterprising sons and her virtuous daughters--were all arrayed before his grasping mind and passed in grand review. He was firmly convinced that our people have only to be wise and good to be great and happy. With this end in view he embraced every opportunity in public and private life to inculcate those great principles of moral rectitude, inflexibly virtue, purity of motive and nobleness of action--that alone can preserve a nation. He cast a withering frown upon vice in all its deluding forms. He exerted his strongest powers to arrest the career of crime. He was a terror to evil doers and inspired confidence in those who did well.

In 1808 he retired from public life. He had devoted forty-six years to the faithful service of his country and had earned an imperishable fame. He stood approved at the bar of his country--his conscience and his God. He had acted well his part and contributed largely in raising our country to a proud elevation among the nations of the earth. He outlived all the animosities that a faithful discharge of duty too often creates. On the 24th of June 1817 he resigned his immortal spirit to Him who gave it and fell asleep in the arms of death as peacefully as a babe slumbers. He died at Philadelphia.

The private character of Judge McKean was unsullied as the virgin sheet. His person was tall and erect--his countenance intelligent, bold and commanding--his manners urbane, gentlemanly and affable--his feelings noble, generous and humane--his actions open, frank and republican. He was a refined philanthropist, a sterling patriot, an acute philosopher, an enlightened statesman, a profound lawyer, an impartial judge, an able magistrate and a truly good man. Legislators, statesmen, magistrates and judges--imitate the bright examples of this friend to his country--then our Republic is secure--our UNION safe.

FRANCIS MARION.

The patriots of '76 proved the purity of their motives in the pursuit of emancipation more by _acts_ than _words_. They were a united band of brothers who aimed at the general good of their _whole_ country--pledged to make her free or perish in the effort. No local interests--no sectional jealousies--no fire-brands of discord could _then_ disorganize the phalanx of sages and heroes who struck for LIBERTY. Under the guidance of Heaven they were crowned with victory. They purchased FREEDOM with torrents of blood and millions of treasure. That sacred boon they transmitted to us in pristine purity. Do we _all_ fully appreciate this priceless legacy? Far from it. For years it has been the foot-ball of reckless demagogues--the neglected nursling of our people. Many _talk_ loud and long of their patriotism--sing the paeans of our FREEDOM--laud the dear sovereign people to the skies--whose _acts_ too plainly show that they look upon our UNION as a mere rope of sand and not as an invaluable treasure to be preserved at all hazards. They look upon the people as a mass of hood-winked worshippers at the shrine of party spirit--not as those who can, should and _must_ banish them from our councils or be plunged into the vortex of fearful destruction. People of America! open your eyes to our true position! Look at the mighty struggles, the herculean labors, the gigantic efforts of the few pure patriots in our national council who have nobly warded off the lightning thunderbolts of the disorganizers. See the upheaving throes of the volcano that is rocking us in the consuming cradle of civil discord! Ponder well the danger of concentrating men in Congress whose boiling passions cannot be restrained by the safety-valve of reason--men who do not prize our UNION above all other considerations--whose burning zeal for local measures--party success and self interest would be their ruling passion amidst the smoking ruins of the temple of our LIBERTY. People of America! it is for you to perpetuate this expanding Republic. You _can_ and _should_ preserve it. Banish all questions that can place it in jeopardy--permit all agitators to remain at home--let the people of each state strictly observe the eleventh commandment--then we may fondly hope that our course may be onward and upward for centuries to come.