Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1877 — The Continental Congress. [ARTICLE]

The Continental Congress.

JOHN F. LOROUGHS.

A lift 1b more ti.au ono hundred years ago, in tho cny ot l’iiiludclphia, by tlie btnuyfalH and Delaware, were asM-mtiled, in silk stouKings, pig tails miivl cocked hat*,, sixty genileityeii. tu<:y were quurte. ©din a room ..! .-ii,ail dim.’i..-in.-.s, in a l.uiidim.' ,il plaihesf Briclv, up a dark alley. Alia limy eon.-ulUted tlie Uoutilieiit.il Congress that wj respect; admire uud rerneina.r with a solemn reverence due only to those who were willing to pledge life, tor;uueat.d sac red iionor to pieser.e invi.ilaie tue Godgiven r:g ts ot Ufa i. in the House Uarptdsl r's fl-.i std 11-ose veheraole iuer. ot Sii'tViK-. TyU-ix, "wTliri>rovvs knit, gazing one upon another iu aspect grave, anxious to achieve the deliverance oi a •iovvii-irodden people. Yhe) wore.not nil educated men, although they pusses-ed u great share ol saving sound sense, and that practical Kiivw.edge comI'iloh.y C.il’e-I ’.V. rtiily wlsudhi: Each will. . beam’d head nnd troubled lieaft heard tin,: prophetic j siilni and prayer —. lie first ever listened U> -by an Amhric'au congress: •‘lTc.a UioiiAny eaUj,*, D Lord, xviih tliCtU tn.il sm.e wiih Inc. Fight thou' against them that lig.ii> against me. Lay hand un t,e shield and buckler and stand up to u.:p .e. IS.iiig turth the spear arid slop tiie way. again si mein that persecute me. Uot .hern be turned back and. t.rougat t., eon!usß.m that- imagine- mischief for me. hetilifeuibe as the m;-t belore tho w ild, nel 'lie angel ol the x>ord scalier them.” And truly lout prayer ascended lo heaven, lull owed by the low, heartfelt, a men, from the i reiu-ts of men such as John Langdou, the sturdy, bold hearted ioruicr, -tnaiiner nu t mereiiam until British p.rates drove min as (lore and tu v ..iigress tn rally area no the good old banner of resrsieuee; Roger Shriiiiali, «d UonneUieut, another farmer, stioeuiafier s appreau.e. storekeeper, surveyor, lawyer and lumber of Goiigress, wi.o, am.dt hem :ei tain pupluxiti.s of every day, rose to be the grandest example of seii-til.ai.ee our nation lias ever knuwii; benjamin Franklin, tbit phihs .pher who euti.d ci mom pass tlie hghtoiugsr ot heuVeii, and, with hr# comprehen ivc miud, penetrate into thes'eeret cells of scientific revelation; llcnry Lee; John Adaui~; John butledge, who could wield tfie convincing g.U ot eloquence with a force and tase

j equal io tlu- ..rat.nsof Rome; Samuel Ad.uus, v.nh fits mdi7ii.iiqf.de courage who time afar tim; faced grim death for hi* country ;o,d uu-qteoplcs i-e frank, explicit aud decisive jeileisoa and Uviug*fou7 Wi.u wvoulu have Leon men of ilwu-lu, mui of aotiuu, uien of u.fluvuee in. any age These aie s.mpUs.it those luave men who diuyd to •to. 1* it a.a just for us, while we gather | lure to celehtjud the l.ivtlul.iy of uur nai .loptp offer merited tribute toils tleparu-.d j l.ilieis, for to them do we pot owe gratitude i anu j.lie. I lull. They bivde asunder the 1 *h.cafe.- of a muvduous tyrant and Iviropesn a.d opposed a kingdom which had j.t't bumbled the proudest tiiToue of Europe, wiiose armies had bee:; vietorteus in .Uje Old World aud New, whose | fleets mtd chased those of every alive:sary rrfoTit she tic-au. Her came was hoard, wdi. ‘ terror by distant and savage tribes. Al.u beejin to auticij ate the day alien llio llri;i*ii Kjupire, l.kc-tlie, sea she ruled, *lk.uM - oneiivle the bahitabie globe; and with her plundering hands tlie Western colonists nere ravaged. Yes. already tliese patriode men saw .he Scattered and on buried bones .»f ilie.r sluugiiti-red countrymen lying on the plains of 110.-t.ui. Tho holy s;ftnfa of o*;r iilwrly-loeing fathers had been a aSeuvd. On the 7ti> day of June, Richard

I Henry Leo; of Yirgiuia, gave Britain a ■ him of separation by introducing a reso’.u- ---; ttott in Congress ueclaVihg the colonies i free ami independent states. Then the : ejes <d the eager flatun were w-iiteri4; , ! upon Vtiis the most siupeutions body of men I evt-r assembled upon ihe American con to i ticatfor its L.,i-d VUSiJiatu told t.n incredui (ous House ot Lords, “no body «d tnen | ever snip vSied It in solidity of rea.-ouiiig, ' fatee of sagacity, and wisdom of eoadusion.” It is an eterual monument tfl otuu uiouhl histor*. it is thaiitiir in the East ursuocaediug; gen«n:U»S'. li shall be coevi.l with the .rod ot our race. The del ate 1 questioning the separation of tho Colonies ! 11 uni the Rgitishgovernment i-ot fnuK-d with ! a emated and untiring force} while from . the t loriuos to the i'lains rs Abraham, anil ; from Hu.-ton H\v to the Western feentier, ! atl was one. tremor of excitenif-rit, ah.\inus ’ t ■ he-tr the result c>j n resalctjoa which

Mi. bm •»* ~w«Mir war, ninl In old Independence Hull those Wortlgr sires hoping, planning, thinking they iniglit smother the tiro aisiut to kindle fitouod by the merciless .wrslh of is tyrannical king. Uut the fear of kings and armies could not cow their lofty spirits, for the nourishing shower had falhdi; the bud of irt't’dotn had blossomed. On the memorable Second day of July, 1770, the resolution was adopted, uud a toruial Declaration Irom the pen of old V irginia's brightest son, wm presented, adopted and signed about 4 O’clock, tfie Fullrtll day of July, 1770. Thus went forth' the most brilliant page of our country's law, supported by the lives, fortunes and sacred honor of its makers, to proclaim to the world the birthday ol' a trae Republic. This was when Freedom on her nntal day Within her war-rocked cradle lay; A monarch's army iound her stood. As she baptised her iufunt brow iu blood. Yet if we would appreciate the worth of these benefactors we must not look to the war of independence, of which they were the lulht-rs, but to its benefits. The American revolution was the first war ever waged by tlie people for the people ineLcud ot a special class. If, gave to us those great principles ol political equality, it elevated the poorest member of the commonwealth to an equul participation with the richest in the choice of his. rulers. And teaching that the state must rely upon toe industry and economy of its citizens, and not on the military furce, for support, invoked some of the most powerful sentiments of human nature ever recorded in the annals of time. The old men here today, who have lived long and industrious lives, nnd have ever been watchful to perpetuate lid blessed principles of our Colonial fathers, will; when they pass from the world, bequeath to their children a legacy far greater thM> minted gold, a land free from the netoemt’s oppression, the bigot’s blasted heart, and the tyrants bloody hand. Atidhow, whife we revive the recollection of those brave and heroic members of the Continental Congress, we know they have grandly, truly, beautifully taken their abode .n ainther land of the I'rec and the brave reared by tlie mighty hand of God.