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RICHARD HENRY LEE.

THE name of Lee occupies a prominent and honorable position in the political, religious and domestic history of the American colonies. Richard, the great-grandfather of Richard Henry Lee, removed from England to Virginia, during the reign of Charles the First, and after making several voyages to his native country, finally settled in the county of Northumberland, between the valleys of the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. During the civil war between Charles the First and the British Parliament, this Richard Lee, and Governor Sir William Berkeley, conducted, on the part of Virginia, the negotiations consequent upon her resistance to the armed ships and troops of Cromwell, which had been sent to reduce her to an allegiance. Unable to defend the colony against this force, but refusing fidelity to the Protector, they consummated a treaty, in which Virginia was styled an "independent dominion." On the death of Cromwell, Lee, with the assistance of Sir William Berkeley, procured a declaration, proclaiming Charles the Second "King of England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Virginia," two years previous to his restoration. For this manifestation of loyalty, Charles, after he was restored to his throne, ordered the arms of Virginia to be added to those of England, France, Scotland and Ireland, with the motto "En dat Virginia quintam." After the union of England and Scotland, the arms of Virginia were quartered with those of England, &c., with the motto "En dat Virginia quartam;" and from these circumstances Virginia derived her title of "Ancient Dominion." In gratitude for the eminent services of Mr. Lee, Richard, his second son, was appointed to an honorable and influential seat in the king's council of Virginia. This office was transmitted to Thomas, the third son of the last mentioned Richard Lee, and the father of Richard Henry, the subject of the present sketch.

Richard Henry Lee was born on the twentieth day of January, 1732, in Westmoreland county, Virginia. At this period there were very few seminaries of learning in the colonies, at which the higher branches of education were taught, therefore young Lee, after passing a few years under the care of a private tutor, was sent to England to complete his studies. At the age of nineteen, two years after the death of his father, in 1750, he returned to his native country, and for some time resided with his brother. Although at this time he passed his days in ease and pleasure, he was never idle. The extensive library his father had collected was his resort, and among the books he found abundant resources to improve his intellect. He studied with profound admiration the classic histories of Greece and Rome, and from the story of their patriotic and republican ages, he derived that extensive fund of political knowledge which he so successfully used in the service of the colonies, in after life. Thus prepared, Mr. Lee entered upon the field of public action. At the time England sent troops to protect the frontiers of the colonies from the predatory incursions of the Indians, who were employed by France to carry on the seven years war" in America, Mr. Lee, on their arrival, marched at the head of a volunteer company to Alexandria, or Belhaven, on the Potomac, and tendered his services to the unfortunate General Braddock, who had command of the regulars. The general deeming the services of the provincials of little importance, declined to take them under his command, and Mr. Lee returned to his home. This occurred in 1755. In 1757 Mr. Lee was appointed a justice of the peace, and upon a petition from the other magistrates to the governor, he was made president

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of the court. The same year he was elected to the House of Burgesses, in which position he became thoroughly versed in the laws of legislation, and the rules of parliamentary proceedings. For a long time, through want of confidence, and natural diffidence, he took very little part in debate; but the occasion arrived when he rose to a position among the first in ability and eloquence. A bill was before the House "to lay so heavy a duty on the importation of slaves, as effectually to stop the disgraceful traffic." It met with the strongest opposition. Mr. Lee spoke in favor of the imposition. "As the consequences, sir," said he, "of the determination which we must make in the subject of this day's debate, will greatly affect posterity as well as ourselves, it surely merits our most serious attention. If this be bestowed, it will appear both from reason and experience, that the importation of slaves into this colony, has been and will be attended with effects dangerous to our political and moral interest. When it is observed that some of our neighboring colonies, though much later than ourselves in point of settlement, are now far before us in improvement, to what, sir, can we attribute this strange and unhappy truth? The reason seems to be this-that with their whites they import arts and agriculture, while we with our blacks, exclude both. Nature has not particularly favored them with superior fertility of soil, nor do they enjoy more of the sun's cheering influence, yet greatly have they outstripped us. * * * In my opinion, not the cruelties practised in the conquest of Spanish America, not the savage barbarities of a Saracen, can be more big with atrocity than our cruel trade to Africa. There we encourage those poor ignorant people to wage eternal war against each other; not nation against nation, but father against son, children against parents, and brothers against brothers; whereby parental and filial affection is terribly violated; that by war, stealth or surprise, we Christians may be furnished with our fellow-creatures, who are no longer to be considered as created in the image of God, as well as ourselves, and equally entitled to liberty and freedom, by the great law of nature, but they are to be deprived, for ever deprived, of all the comforts of life, and to be made the most miserable of all the human race. I have seen it observed by a great writer, that Christianity, by introducing into Europe the truest principles of humanity, universal benevolence and brotherly love, had happily abolished civil slavery. Let us who profess the same religion, practise its precepts, and by agreeing to this duty, convince the world that we know and practise our true interests, and that we pay a proper regard to the dictates of justice and humanity." Mr. Lee's eloquence on this occasion was highly applauded, but the principles he advocated were not popular, and the bill was rejected.

The next important service rendered by Mr. Lee, was the exposure of the frauds and corruptions practised by Mr. Robinson, the treasurer of the colony of Virginia. Mr. Robinson was a man of immense wealth and social power, and was very popular with the aristocratic party, of which he was a member.* These circumstances, together with that of his occupying the speaker's chair in the House of Burgesses, before whom Mr. Lee was to speak, required great boldness, energy and sagacity to introduce the investigation successfully. This he accomplished with the skill of a master, and proved clearly that the treasurer had been guilty of re-issuing reclaimed treasury bills, to his friends and favorites to support their extravagance; thereby defrauding the colony.

When Patrick Henry proposed his resolutions in 1765, against the Stamp Act, Mr. Lee lent the full force of his splendid mind and eloquence to their support. In the debate upon this important act people knew not which most to admire; the overwhelming might of Henry or the resistless persuasion of Lee. Mr. Lee also contributed powerful articles against the "odious act," to the newspapers of the day, and he furnished an array of arguments against it to his friends in England, that were sufficient to convince every one of the ruinous policy of the measure. His letters about this period are the embodiment of energy and patriotism. In one addressed to John Dickinson, dated July 25th, 1768, in speaking of the declaratory act which accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act, as a just cause of complaint to the colonies, he says:

* At this time two parties divided the House of Burgesses. Although they could not be strictly termed "whig and tory," they were called aristocratic and republican. Mr. Lee was a firm and ardent republican, in the sense in which that word might be applied to Cato or Hampden.

"To prevent the success of this unjust system, an union of counsel and action among all the colonies, is undoubtedly necessary. The politician of Italy delivered the result of reason and experience, when he proposed the way to conquest, by division. How to effect this union, in the wisest and firmest manner, perhaps, time and much reflection only can show. But well to understand each other, and timely to be informed of what passes both here and in Great Britain, it would seem that not only select committees should be appointed by all the colonies, but that a private correspondence should be conducted between the lovers of liberty in every province."*

Early in 1769 Mr. Lee introduced into the House of Burgesses, resolutions "denying the right of the mother country to bind the colonies in any case whatever," and firmly remonstrated against the act authorizing the crown to have "the inhabitants of the colonies transported to England to be tried for offences alleged to have been committed in the colonies." These resolutions were considered by the friends of the Crown as seditious, and the Governor dissolved the House so soon as he was informed of their adoption by that body. On the dissolution of the assembly, the members convened at a private house, where they drew up articles of convention, agreeing not to import or encourage in any way British manufactures, while the revenue acts remained in force. In the enforcement of these measures Mr. Lee was very active. In his own family he strictly adhered to the articles, and he was vigilant in watching those whom he suspected of a reluctant acquiescence. "To the domestic loom he had recourse for clothing for himself and family, and for 'wine and oil' he resorted to his own hills."

The years 1770 and 1771 passed away in comparative quiet. Mr. Lee during this time wisely persevered in the course he had marked out; continued his correspondence and widely spread the information, respecting the probable intentions of the ministry, which he was continually receiving from England, through the vigilance of his brother, Arthur Lee.t In 1772 Parliament determined to establish in the colonies, courts with admiralty jurisdiction and powers. By this proceeding trial by jury was suspended, and the property and lives of the colonists placed at the mercy of judges who were to be appointed by the Crown. Mr. Lee opposed this measure, in the House of Burgesses, and proposed to address an humble petition to his majesty, which, after reciting the grievances of the colonists, should pray, "that he would be most graciously pleased to recommend the repeal of the acts passed for the purpose of raising a revenue in America, and for subjecting American property to the determination of admiralty courts, where the constitutional trial by jury is not permitted."

On the assembling of Congress at Philadelphia, on the fourth of September, 1774, Mr. Lee took his seat in that body together with George Washington and Patrick Henry, who with him had been deputed delegates from the colony of Virginia. In this august assembly, and throughout his Congressional career, Mr. Lee distinguished himself by the boldness of his propositions,

By this letter it appears Mr. Lee devised a plan of having committees of correspondence between the colonial assem blies and of private corresponding clubs, as early as 1768, and this is in support of General Gadsden of South Carolina, who, a few years previous to his death, remarked on a public occasion, that Richard Henry Lee had invited him to become & member of a private corresponding society, as early as the year 1768, which he (Mr. Lee) was endeavoring to establish between the influential men of the colonies. He stated that Mr. Lee described his object to be, to obtain a mutual pledge from the members to write for the public journals or the papers of their respective colonies, and converse with and inform the people on the subject of their rights and their wrongs, and upon all seasonable occasions to impress upon their minds the necessity of a struggle with Great Britain, for the ultimate establishment of independence.-See Life of Richard Henry Lee, vol. i. p. 64.

+ Dr. Arthur Lee, the youngest brother of Richard Henry Lee, was born on the twentieth of December, 1740. He was educated at Edinburgh, and for some time pursued the practice of medicine at that place. On his return to America, he practised his profession for several years at Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1766 he again went to London, and studied law in the Temple, at the same time becoming an intimate friend of Sir William Jones, the learned lawyer and able historian. In England he rendered very important services to his native country, by sending to America the earliest intelligence of the plans of the ministry. In 1769 he wrote the able Monitor's letters, and a few years after a series of letters appeared from his pen, under the signature of “Junius Americanus." As the agent of Virginia in 1775, he presented the second petition of Congress to the king. In 1776 he went to Paris, as colleague with Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane, and assisted in negotiating the treaty with France. On the appointment of Dr. Franklin as sole minister to the French Court, Mr. Lee returned to America. In 1784 he was appointed a commissioner to treat with the Indians of the Six Nations, which trust he executed with much honor to himself and great satisfaction to his country. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, in February, 1790. Two years afterwards he died. His life, by R. H. Lee, was pub

lished in 1829

and the energy with which he supported them. The address he prepared by the direction of Congress in 1775, on behalf of the twelve United Colonies, is an imperishable evidence of his patriotism and eloquence. The important motion of the seventh of June, 1776, "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved," was prepared and introduced by Mr. Lee, and he supported them in a brilliant and powerful speech. A few days after the introduction of this motion Mr. Lee was called home on account of the illness of his wife, which circumstance prevented his taking his seat as chairman of the committee upon his resolution according to parliamentary rules. Mr. Jefferson was appointed in his place. In August he returned to Congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence. The following June he returned to Virginia. Again in 1778, he took his seat in the Congress, and for the next two years rendered eminent services, either as the head, or a member of important committees. In the spring of the year 1780, he was re-elected a delegate to the General Assembly of Virginia. The royal troops, defeated in the north, now turned their operations to the southward. The incursions of the enemy upon the coasts of Virginia kept the inhabitants in a state of continual alarm and danger, and the small fleets, which could pass up the rivers, landed troops and pillaged the country. Westmoreland, the county in which Mr. Lee resided, from its situation, was much exposed to these distressing incursions, and he was called upon by the State to take command of the militia and repel the enemy. In this position he evinced his characteristic judgment and activity, annoying the enemy on their approaches and making excellent arrangements for a successful defence.

During the years 1780, 1781, 1782, Mr. Lee remained in the Assembly of his native State, believing that his services would be more profitable to his country in that position, rather than in the Congress of the United Colonies. At this time propositions were introduced in the assembly, to pay debts due to England; to make paper money a legal tender; and to impose a tax to support the clergy. These propositions were advocated by Mr. Lee, and opposed by Mr. Henry with great power.* In 1784 Mr. Lee again returned to Congress, and was chosen president of that body. Under the Federal Constitution he was one of the first members of the United States Senate, in which assembly he fully sustained the exalted reputation he had early acquired. In 1792 he retired altogether from public life, and on the nineteenth of June, 1794, at his home in Chantilly, Virginia, he died in the sixty-fourth year of his age.

THE COLONIES TO GREAT BRITAIN.

By a resolution of Congress passed on the | committee, and Mr. Lee, as chairman, drafted third of June, 1775, a committee was appointed the following address, which was adopted by to prepare an address to the inhabitants of Congress on the eighth of July, 1775, and forGreat Britain. Richard Henry Lee, R. R. Liv-warded to England in charge of Mr. Penn.t ingston and Edmund Randolph composed that

your judgment by storm. His was the mediate class of eloquence described by Rollin in his Belles Lettres. He was like a beautiful river meandering through a flowery mead, but which never overflowed its banks. It was Henry who was the mountain torrent, that swept away every thing before it; it was he alone who thundered and lightened, he alone attained that sublime species of eloquence also mentioned by Rollin."

An interesting comparison of the merits of these great men, at this period of their lives, is given by a correspondent of the author of the life of Patrick Henry. "I met with Patrick Henry in the Assembly, in May, 1783; I also then met with Richard Henry Lee. These two gentlemen were the great leaders of the House of Delegates, and were almost constantly opposed. There were many other great men who belonged to that body, but as orators they cannot be named with Henry or Lee. Mr. Lee was a polished gentleman. He had lost the use of one of his hands, but his manner was perfectly graceful. His language was always chaste, and, although somewhat too monotonous, his speeches were always pleasing, yet he did not ravish your senses or carry away | gress, vol. 1. pp. 19, 26, 79, 106.

There were two addresses from the colonies, by their delegates in Congress, to the inhabitants of Great Britain, one which was written by John Jay, in accordance with a resolve of Congress of October 11th, 1774, and the one selected; prepared in accordance with a resolve of Congress of June 8d, 1775. The circumstance of there being two, has often caused debate as to their authorship.-See Journals of Con

To confirm this assertion, let us recall your attention to the affairs of America, since our last address. Let us combat the calumnies of our enemies; and let us warn you of the dangers that threaten you in our destruction. Many of your fellow subjects, whose situation deprived them of other support, drew their maintenance from the sea; but the deprivation of our liberty being insufficient to satisfy the rean-sentment of our enemies, the horrors of famine were superadded, and a British Parliament, who, in better times, were the protectors of innocence and the patrons of humanity, have, without distinction of age or sex, robbed thousands of the food, which they were accustomed to draw from that inexhaustible source, placed in their neighborhood by the benevolent Creator.

The twelve United Colonies, by their delegates in Congress, to the inhabitants of Great Britain: FRIENDS, COUNTRYMEN AND BRETHREN!-By these, and by every other appellation that may designate the ties which bind us to each other, we entreat your serious attention to this our second attempt to prevent their dissolution. Remembrance of former friendships, pride in the glorious achievements of our common cestors, and affection for the heirs of their virtues, have hitherto preserved our mutual connection; but when that friendship is violated by the grossest injuries; when the pride of ancestry becomes our reproach, and we are no otherwise allied than as tyrants and slaves, when reduced to the melancholy alternative of renouncing your favor or our freedom; can we hesitate about the choice? Let the spirit of Britons determine.

In a former address we asserted our rights, and stated the injuries we had then received. We hoped that the mention of our wrongs would have roused that honest indignation which has slept too long for your honor, or the welfare of the empire. But we have not been permitted to entertain this pleasing expectation. Every day brought on accumulation of injuries, and the invention of the ministry has been constantly exercised in adding to the calamities of your American brethren.

Another act of your legislature shuts our ports, and prohibits our trade with any but those States from whom the great law of selfpreservation renders it absolutely necessary we should at present withhold our commerce. But this act (whatever may have been its design) we consider rather as injurious to your opulence than our interest. All our commerce terminates with you; and the wealth we procure from other nations, is soon exchanged for your superfluities. Our remittances must then cease with our trade; and our refinements with our affluence. We trust, however, that laws which deprive us of every blessing but a soil that teems with the necessaries of life, and that liberty which renders the enjoyment of them secure, will not relax our vigor in their defence. We might here observe on the cruelty and inconsistency of those, who, while they publicly brand us with reproachful and unworthy epithets, endeavor to deprive us of the means of defence by their interposition with foreign powers, and to deliver us to the lawless ravages of a merciless soldiery. But happily we are not without resources; and though the timid and humiliating applications of a British ministry should prevail with foreign nations, yet industry, prompted by necessity, will not leave us without the necessary supplies.

After the most valuable right of legislation was infringed; when the powers assumed by your Parliament, in which we are not represented, and from our local and other circumstances cannot be properly represented, rendered our property precarious; after being denied that mode of trial to which we have been long indebted for the safety of our persons and the preservation of our liberties; after being in many instances divested of those laws which were transmitted to us by our common ancestors, and subjected to an arbitrary code, compiled under the auspices of Roman tyrants; after those charters, which encouraged our predecessors to brave death and danger in every shape, on unknown seas, in deserts unexplored, amidst barbarous and inhospitable nations, were annulled; when, without the form of trial, without a public accusation, whole colonies were condemned, their trade destroyed, their inhabitants impoverished; when soldiers were encouraged to imbrue their hands in the blood of Americans, by offers of impunity; when new modes of trial were instituted for the ruin That once populous, flourishing, and commerof the accused, where the charge carried with cial town, is now garrisoned by an army, sent it the horrors of conviction; when a despotic not to protect, but to enslave its inhabitants. government was established in a neighboring The civil government is overturned, and a miliprovince, and its limits extended to every part tary despotism erected upon its ruins. Withof our frontiers; we little imagined that any-out law, without right, powers are assumed unthing could be added to this black catalogue of unprovoked injuries: but we have unhappily been deceived, and the late measures of the British ministry fully convince us, that their object is the reduction of these colonies to slavery and ruin.

We could wish to go no further, and, not to wound the ear of humanity, leave untold those rigorous acts of oppression, which are daily exercised in the town of Boston, did not we hope, that by disclaiming their deeds, and punishing the perpetrators, you would shortly vindicate the honor of the British name, and re-establish the violated laws of justice.

known to the constitution. Private property is unjustly invaded. The inhabitants, daily subjected to the licentiousness of the soldiery, are forbid to remove, in defiance of their natural rights, in violation of the most solemn compacts. Or, if after long and wearisome solici

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