OCR Text |
Show TyME STORY Off THE'inR PKSnigOTNsJrS I Washington Busy With Ml? Private Af. fair The Colonlsta Demands Received With Contempt WlaBGachusetta Proclaimed Pro-claimed In rtebelllon and New England Portr. Declared Closed Washington Announces Hn Intention to Devote Himself to tho Revolutionary Cause. (Copyright, 1S06, by Harper & Brothers. All rights reserved.) tCopyright, ISJII!. by tho McClurc Newspaper News-paper Syndicate) WASHINGTON turned steadily to hlB private business for tbo winter, win-ter, nevertheless, an wan hla wont pushed forward the preparation prep-aration And settlement of his western lands and sluod guard, as before, over the foldlnrs" grnnt.-s upon tho Ohio, agalnnt official bad faith and negligence. THE BUSIEST MAN IN VIRGINIA. "Kor a year or I wo past there has been searco a moment that I could properly prop-erly cull my own." ho declared to a friend who solicited hlo promlso to act an guaidlan for his 0011. "What with my own buiiinesH, my present vard'a, my mother's, which l wholly In my hands, Colonel Fairfax's, Colonel Mor-cer'p, Mor-cer'p, and tho little assistance I have undertaken un-dertaken to give In the management of my brother Augustine's concerns, to-gothcr to-gothcr with the share I take in public affairs, I have been constantly ensraged In writing letters, settling aeeounty and negotiating on? pleco of business or another: an-other: by which means T havo really been deprived of every kind of enjoyment, enjoy-ment, and had almost fully resolved to engage In 110 fresh matter till T had entirely wound up the old." ffe promised to undertake the new. charge, nevertheless. It was stuff of hla nature to spend himself thus, and keep his poworn stretihcd always to a great compass. With the new yar (175). public affalra loomed bltr again, and ornlnouB. Tho petltlonp of the congrese at Philadelphia Phila-delphia had bcon received In England almost with contempt. Chatham, indeed, with that broad and noblo sagacity which made him so great a. statesman, had proposed pro-posed that America's demando should be mot. to tbft utmost length of repeal and withdrawal of monace, and that sho should bo accorded to the full the self-government self-government she demanded in respect to taxation and every domestic concern. CIIATIIAM'S FERVID WABNTNG-. "Lt Ie not canceling a piece of parchment," parch-ment," he cried, "that can win back America." the old fire burning hot within with-in him: "you must resptUu il0r feara and her resentments." Tho merchants, too. In fear for tholr trade, urged very anxiously that there ohould be Instant nnrj ample concession. But the king's stubborn anger, the parliament par-liament a Indifference, tho ministry's Incapacity, In-capacity, mado it. Impossible anything wise or generous should bo done- ADDING- INSULT TO INJTTB.Y. Instead or nal concession there wac fresh menace. The ministry did. Indeed, offer to exompt from taxation every colony that would promlso that by Its own vot it would make proper contribution contri-bution to tho expenses of public defense and Imperial administration In the hope thereby to diHcngage the luke-warm mld-doj mld-doj colonics from tho plot now thickening against the government. 3ut MacrachuHetts was at onco proclaimed pro-claimed in rebellion, every port In Xew "England wan declared closed against trade, Xew England fishermen were denied de-nied access to tho Newfoundland fisheries, fish-eries, and ten thousand fresh Iroopr; i wore ordered to F.onton. I LOOK TOR NQ CONCESSIONS. Neither tho pleas of their friends nor the threats of their enemies roached tho cars of the colonists promptly from over sea. that portentous spring; but they wcro not olow to percolvo that they must look for no concessions; and they did not wait upon parliament In their preparation prep-aration for a doubl'ui future. Vpon tho very day the "congress of 'oninilttoes" ot Philadelphia adjourned, a "provincial coneroee" In Maneaohueette. formed of Its own authority In the stead of the house of delegates tho Kovernor had but Just now dissolved, had voted to orsnnlr.e and etulp the militia of the colony and to collect stores and arran. VIRGINIA IN ARMS. Vlrelnia had boen equally boy, and almost equally prompt, far away no she aoemed from the klngr's troops at Boston. Bos-ton. By the end of January Oharlos Lee could write from Wllllajnsburff: "The wholo country Is full of noldlera, all furnished, fur-nished, all In arms. . . . Never was such vigor and concord heard of, not r single traitor, scarcely a. silent dissentient." "Every county is now nrmlnsr a. company com-pany of men for the avowed purposo of protecting their committees." Diinmorc had ronorted to the ministry before the year 1(71 wan out, "a.nd to be employed against government If occasion require. As to the power of government which your lordship dlrecltJ should be exerted to counteract tho dangerous measures pursuing here. T can assure your lordship that It Is entirely disregarded. If not wholly overturned. There Is not a Justice Jus-tice of peace in Virginia, that acts except ex-cept as a committeeman; tho abolishing of courts of Justice was the first stop taken, in which tho men of fortune and pre-eminence joined equally with the loweat and meanest." WASHINGTON ASKED TO LEAD. Company after company, aa it formed, asked Colonel Washington to assume command over lt. not only in his own county of Fairfax, but In counties also nt a "distance and ho accepted the responsibility re-sponsibility as often as it was offered to him. "It Is my full intention," he fald, slm ply, "to devote my life and fortuno to the cause wo are engaged In, If needful," and he hod little doubt any longer what was to como. STILL RUNS WITH THE HOUNDS. Ho found time, oven that stirring year, to quicken hla blood once and aguln, nevertheless, while winter held, by a run with the hounds; for he .was not turned politician ho Ftcrnlj rveji Mi as to ihiuw fl.way his leisure urou anvth'r:?; )r?, VtMrn wholesome than the halo pport j, o rd iffO |