OCR Text |
Show AN AMERICAN PATRIOT j , Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Signer of ' Declaration of Independence. Distin- gnished Patriot. Member of First Sen- ate of Maryland. Daniel Webster's j Tribute. ;j Te all lovers of history, especially Catholics, ' the reeolli'ction ef this noble' Christian and patriot -. should arouse- great enthusiasm; for. though noo tlistinguishe'el for any naval or military deeds, h was nevertheless a nie.st loyal e-itize-n and chain- : pion in the achievement of Anie-rie-an liberty. By ( putting his signature- to that immortal document; in which the right of life, liberty and the pursuit i of happiness is authorized for the people of thi- country, he riskeel more than all his fifty-four colleagues col-leagues combined. His patriotism ami loftiness of character won the- respee-f and admiration of George Washington. Benjamin Franklin, Thoma ' Jefferson ami the other Revolutionary i-elehritb's. ; Born at Annapolis. Mel.. 'September -0. 1 7:17, this patriot in his earliest years imbibed that spirit to his religion and the hmd of his birth which eve-r i afterward characterized his life. He was the I grandson of Charle-s Carroll of King's county, the former of whom immigrate! to Maryland about the year lOSrt, ami located at Carrollton. At the data ' of the future signer's birth the Catholics in the j colonies were severely oppressed by those' odiom 1 enactments known as Penal Laws. They were' even forbidelen to have schools. The good and piom i Jesuits, true to their rule the education of youth -. succeeded without attracting the attention of th authorities, in opening a grammar se-hool at Bohemia Bo-hemia on the eastern shore of Maryland. Here Charles Carroll received the rudiments of his education. edu-cation. . When eleven years of age he wiis sent. In com- . .; pany with his first cousin. John Carroll, afterward A the first Archbisbo. e.f the United States, to the- I Jesuits of St. Omers. France?, where' he pursued if the study of the classics six years. Thence he went j to the Jesuit College at Rhe-ims. where he spent a -S - year, subseerueatl studied at the College xf "Loui-i fi le Grand for two years. At twenty he entered upon the study of law. in which he ripeneel into manhood, and returnee! to Jiis native state in 17H-I. jj The subject of American oppression by the British - ministry was freely discussed in Europe during his stay ami hail prepared his mind for the crisis that ' awaiteel the colonies. In Charles Carroll the patri- t ots found an unflinching and able advocate. At the time of his return from Europe not only were the Catholie-s of Maryland under the ban of "t disfranchisement, but all persons ef every faith i were taxeel to support the Established Church I the Church of England ami this in a province f which, to use the words of the Protestant historian in describing the landing of Lord Baltimore and his Catholic colony in Maryland: "Here for tho first time religious liberty fouml a home in the wiele worhl. And there, too, Protestants were sheltered ! from Protestant intolerance." The discussion as to the right of taxation for f the support of "religion' soon extemleel from the j legislature to the public press. In 1772 Charle-s- S Carroll, over the signature "The First Citizen,'" in a series of articles in the Marylanel Gazette at- j tacked the validity of the law imposing the tax. The "church'' was defended by a Mr. Delany. tho leader of the colonial bar. whose authority on colonial colo-nial law was so generally acknowledged that hi-i opinions were quoted as authority. In this discussion discus-sion the foremost of the Irish signers ef the Declaration Dec-laration acquitted himself with such ability that lu receiveel the thanks of public meetings all over the province. The article's in question proelucpel such an impression that the Governor of Maryland issued is-sued a proclamation, in which he said that the law woulel remain. "So. fully were the people convinced by the essays es-says of Mr. Carroll." says the historian Juelsoii, "that they were clearly right, that they hung the proclamation upon a gallows ami bid defiance to the minions of despotism." Before it was known who was the writer the citizens of Annapolis, irrespective irre-spective of religion, instructed their representatives in the legislature te record a vote of thanks to the author, ami when the-y subsequently ascertained that Charles Carroll of Carrollton was the champion cham-pion who hael bearde'd the British lion the-y repaired in a body to his house and maele the welkin ring with heartfelt thanks and plauelits of praise. In October. 1774. a ship arriveel at Annapolis with a cargo of tea, the first arrival of the proscribed pro-scribed article at that port. The e-itizens sum-moneel sum-moneel to a general meeting, reserved that the tea should not be landed. To allay the feelings of the people, the agent of the ship, acting on the advice of Charles Carroll, ran his vessel ashore ami burni-d ( its contents. In December. 1771. he was appointee! one of the Committee of Corresponelence. and the following year elected to the Council of Safety. On August 22 he took his seat in the Continental Congress anil affixed his name te the chart of liberty. He had previously endeared himself to them by a mission to Canada, ill conjunction with Bishop Carroll. Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Chase. The object was to persuade the people of Canada, to unite with the colonies ami throw off the yoke that hael been forceel upon them by the Parliament of England. Unhappily, the elefeat and death of that brave Irish-American patriot. General Hi chard ch-ard Montgomery- anl the dark prospects of futur" success caused the Canadians to refuse. On his return frem this mission the patriot found, to his great surprise, that the delegates from Marylanel then in Congress had been instructed to vote against the Declaration of Independence. I It im-( im-( Continued on Page "-"' j AN AMERICAN PATRIOT. (Continued from Page 1.) mediately repaired to the convention and. by his eloquence and cogent reasoning, convinced the members of their error, who immediately rescinded the former and unanimously directed its representatives repre-sentatives in Congress to unite in declaring the "colonies free and independent States.'' On August 2. 1776, when the roll was called for the signing of the Declaration, slowly and solemnly solemn-ly the delegates walked up the aisle and affixed their signatures to that imperishable document. Charles Carroll was asked by John Hancock would he sign. "Most willingly,' said he, and went with the rest to stake by that act larger personal interests inter-ests than any man present, for he was, not even excepting Boston's merchant prince, Hancock, the richest of all the delegates. As he took up his pen to sign a bystander remarked, in words to which all at least men t all v assented: "There goes a few cool millions.". But some one having suggested that there were so many Charles Carrolls the British Brit-ish legislators would have some difficulty in securing secur-ing the right one, Mr. Carroll immediately dashed off the expressive words which have ever since been appended to his name, whether written or spoken, words which ever distinguished him by the generous gen-erous import they convey, "of Carrollton." Although an active and efficient member of Congress, Charles Carroll occasionally returned to Maryland and aided in the formation of its Constitution Con-stitution ami laws. In November. 177f. he was made a member of the Board of War, and in December De-cember was chosen a member of the first Senate of Maryland, and the following year Avas again senlt to Congress, serving on the committee that visited Washington and the patriots during their memorable memora-ble winter at Valley Forge. In 177S he was elected the first Senator from Maryland in the Senate till 1801. when he retired from the great theatre of public action, where he had acted a conspicuous and glorious part, that stamped his name with unfading un-fading glory, his memory with lasting gratitude and enduring fame. For thirty years he, enjoyed the cheering comforts of private life and survived to hear the funeral knell of all the other signers. In October, 182J, tbe several bishops had been attending the First Council of Baltimore, before leaving for their diocese, proceeded to Carrollton Manor to pay their respects to the aged patriot. "The aged patriot,'' says one of the bishops ''though iu his ninety-second year, appeared to enjoy en-joy perfect health and to be full of life. We conversed con-versed with him and had full opportunity of witnessing wit-nessing the surprising retentiveness of his memory mem-ory and how perfectly he retained his mental powers." pow-ers." The patriot died on Xevemher 14., Daniel Webster, in a speech delivered in com memoration of the lives and services of John Adams Ad-ams and Thomas Jefferson, in Faneuil liall. Boston, Bos-ton, on August 2. 1S26, paid the following tribute to Charles Carroll: "Of the illustrious signers of ihe Declaration of Independence there now remains only Charle Carroll. lie seems an aged oak, standing alone on the plain, which time has spared a little longer after all its contemporaries have been leveled with the dust. Venerable object 1 we delight to gather round its trunk while yet it stands, and to dwell beneath its shadow. Sole survivor of an assembly of as great men as the world has witnessed, in a transaction one of the most important that history records, what thoughts, what interesting reflections, reflec-tions, must fill his elevated and devout soul! If he dwell on the past, how touching its recollec- j tions; if he survey the present, how happy, how joyous, how full of the fruition of that hope which his ardent patriotism indulged. If he glance at the future, how does the prospect of his country's advancement ad-vancement almost bewilder his conception! Fortunate, For-tunate, distinguished patriot! Interesting relic of the past! Let him know that, while we honor the dead, we do not forget the living; and that there is not a heart here which does not fervently pray that heaven may keep him yet back from the society so-ciety of his companions." |