| Show t 0 4 P aa W T W I 1 TI 4 henry ma kin q hia treason sp e e ca in the hous e of burgesses at FROM jhc PA HT NC by farder CK JN A H aron r H st bohns church in richmond va u bust henra in the hall of fame at N Y lf by ELMO SCOTT WATSON N MARCH 20 1775 1773 a group of virgin lans gathered in old st john s church in richmond they were delegates delegat eg to a co convention mention which in the future would be known as the second rev convention of virginia and they were ere assembled there in spite of the objections of lord dun more royal governor of the colony to consider ways and meins me ins of safeguarding their liberties as british subjects on march 23 patrick henry a young lawyer from hanover county offered a resolution ending thus resolved therefore that this colony be immediately put into a posture of defense and that a committee prepare a plan for the embodying arming and disciplining such a dunber nun ber of men as may be sufficient elent for that purpose u henry tien lien moved its immediate adoption this says st george tucker an e ee e witness of the scene that hist nc ric day produced an ani ant mated debate in which colonel bland sir air nicholas the flip treasurer and I 1 think colonel harrlson harrison of berkeley and mr pendleton were opposed to the resolution as conceiving it to be premature in opposing the resolution as premature these men patriots though they were and devote 1 to the tile cluse cause of liberty were giving a convenient excuse for tl air opposition bit b it one which probably was not the real reason these men were conservatives an 1 some of them at least considered 1 henry a dangerous radical ten years before he had been elected to the house of burgesses Bui gesses at williamsburg and had gathered about him a group of younger men and men from the discontented frontier counties of the colony in may he had presented a series of resolutions condemning the stamp tax which england had impsen upon her american colonies and these resolutions had resulted in a hot debate in which henry had been opposed by bland lend I 1 eddleton end leton randolph athe and other conservatives from the tidewater aristocracy it was durin this debate that henry had ended his speech with the words tarquin and caesar each had his brutus charles the first his crom nell well and george the third here he paused and as the speaker and other members of the assembly cried out angrily Trea treason soni 1 treason he had gone on may profit by their example if this be treason mike make the most of it brave words those as were the words which he was abot t to utter in reply to the statement of the conservatives that his resolution of maran march 23 1775 was premature As a matter of fact his resolution rather than being pre premature mattire was tardy when compared to action taken weeks and even months before time by other colonies and even enen by some of the counties in virginia which had already armed and beun drilling tl ti air men but bee ause this dangerous radical proposed it these conserva fives opt ased it the other factor involved how ever was this the tile colonists had talked of the possibility of war with angland but so far no put pill lie ile body in america had spot en ell of its inesita ability and in calling upon the convention to i I 1 adopt his resolution he was asking it virtually to declare war no wonder then that these conservatives should oppose it they were prudent politicians they did not see the necessity of taking such decisive action and for that we cannot blame them after listening to the animated debate on his resolution henry abose and began mr air president it Is natural to man to indulge in illusions of hope we are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts Is this the part of wise men engaged in a great arduous struggle for liberty are we vie disposed to be of the number of those who having ebes ejes see not and having ears hear not the things which so nearly concern their temporal salva tion for my part whatever anguish of spirit it may cost I 1 am willing to know the whole truth to know the worst and provide for it I 1 have hake but one lamp by which my feet are guided and that Is the lamp of experience I 1 know of no way of judging of the future but by the past and judging by the past I 1 wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the british nini n ministry stry tor for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the house Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has lately been rece received led trist it not sir it will ia prove a snare to yo byoir ir feet suffer not your helves selves to be betrayed with a kiss ask yourself how this gracious reception of our petition comforts comi orts with these warlike prep orations arat lons which cover 0 ir waters and daiken our land are fleets and armies necessary to a worl wort of love loe and reconciliation have lime we shown 0 r selves seles so unwilling to be reconciled thit that foice must be called in to win back our love let us not deceive ourselves sir these are implements of war and subjugation the last arguments to which kings resort I 1 ask gentlemen sir what meins means this martial array if its purpose be not to force us to submission can gentlemen as sign any other possible motive tor for it has great ore it britain any enemy in th s quarter of the world to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies no sir she has none they are meant for us they can be meant for no other they are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the british ministry have been so long forging and what have we to oppose to them shall we try aru argument ment sir we have been trying that for the last ten years have ime we any thing new to offer upon the subject noti ing we have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable but it has been all in vain shall we resort to entreaty and humble sup tion what terms shall we find which have haie not been already exhausted I 1 let et us not I 1 beseech aou ou sir deceive 0 ir seles longer sir we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on we have petitioned we have remonstrated we have supplicated we have prostrated ourselves before the throne and have implored its inter position to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament our i petitions have been slighted our have produced adal lional violence and insult our bual licati locations ons hive have been disregarded and we have been spurned with condemi t from the foot of the throne I 1 in vain after these things may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation there Is no longer any room for hoe hot e if u we e w wish I 1 sli to be free if we mean to preserve inviolate those ine inestimable eriv lieges for which we lia have ve been ben so long contend ing if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtain el we must fight I 1 repeat it sir we must fight I 1 an appeal to arms and to the god of hosts Is all that is left us I 1 it Is easy to imagine the intensity of that moment in the little white painted richmond church as patrick henry henrys s fellow virginians its felled to him utter the words they knew in their hearts were true but which so far they had been unable to bring themselves to use we must fight I 1 I 1 repeat it sir we e must fight 1 up to his time according to the eyewitness eye witness al at ready quoted henry had bad spoken with great calmness caim ness and restraint but now as he drew near the conclusion of his speech his passionate earnestness mounted to this stirring climax they tell us sir that we are weak unable to cope with so formidable an adversary but when shall we be stronger will it be next week or the next year will it be when we are totally disarmed and when a british guard shall be sta coned in every house shill shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our back and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot sir we are not weak if we make a proper use of tl it apse means which the god of nature hath placed in 0 ir power three millions of people armed in the holy cause of liberty and in such a coi as that which we possess are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us besides sir we sl all not fight fl ht our battles alone there Is a just god who presides over the destinies of natlis nati ns and who will raise up friends to fight light our battles for us the battle sir Is not to the strong alone it Is to the vigilant the active the brave besides sir we have no election if we were ere base enough to desire it it Is now too late to retire from the contest Is no retreat but in submission ind and slavery I 1 our chains are forged I 1 their clanking may be hearl hear on the plains of boston 1 the war Is inevitable and let it cornel comet I 1 repeat sir let it come it Is in vain sir to extenuate the matter gentlemen may cry peace peace but there Is no peace a rhe war Is actually begun I 1 the nest next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms our brethren are already in the field 1 why stand we here idle what Is it the gentlemen wish what would they have haie Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery sl aery forbid it almighty god godl I 1 know not what course others may take but as for me give me liberty or give gin e me death I 1 buch such was the speech which according to one of henry henrys s bi bl grap hers moses colt tyler in the american statesmen series kublis ed by the II houghton company has been committed to memory and declaimed by several generations of american schoolboys and Is now perhaps familiarly known to a larger number of the american people than any other considerable bit of secular prose in our language the old church at richmond in which he made this marvelous speech is in our time visited every year as a patriotic patrio tc shrine by thousands of pilgrims who seek r the very spot upon the flo r cherp the orator is believed to ha have hae e stood when he be uttered d those words of flame it Is chiefly the tradition of that one speech which today I 1 beeps ali alive ve in mill ons of homes homet the name of patrick henry and which lifts him in the ar faith aim alm st to the rank of some mythical liero hero of romance 0 by western ne union |
