union and independence, pledging their fortunes and their lives in its defense.

Independence Chamber has been the scene of a multitude of historic events, of which only a few can be mentioned here. In this hall the citizens of Philadelphia assembled on September 11, 1764, and, in reply to a mes

sage sent by the people of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, resolved that no imposition of taxes against natural and legal rights was to be allowed. Here three hundred and seventy-five of the most prominent merchants and citizens of Philadelphia signed the Nonimportation Act, November 7, 1765. From here the Pennsylvania Assembly sent Franklin to England as their representative in 1757, again in 1764, and to France in 1776. It was in the

east room of the Statehouse that the second Continental Congress met, and on June 16, 1775, commissioned Colonel George Washington commander in chief of the American forces. Here, on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offered his famous resolution for the independence

of the colonies, which resolution was passed in this room July 2, 1776, and its sequel, the Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, and signed by all the members present August 2. Here Congress, before they adjourned to meet in Baltimore, created the United States by an order dated September 9, 1776, which reads: "All Continental commissioners and instruments shall be made to read United

States where heretofore the words United Colonies' have been used." It was in this room that the design for the first American flag was adopted by Congress, June 14, 1777. Here the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were signed by eight of the states July 9, 1778, and fully ratified March 1, 1781. It was in this room that Chevalier Conrad Alexandre Gerard, the first accredited minister from any foreign power, was formally received by Congress August 6, 1778. The Federal Convention met in this room from May 14 to September 17, 1787, to frame a constitution for the United States of America, with General George Washington as presiding officer, and here it was engrossed and signed. On November 20 of the same year the State convention met in Independence Chamber to take action upon and ratify the Federal Constitution, approving of the same December 13, 1787. Here also in 1790 met a convention to frame a constitution for the State of Pennsylvania, by which the legislature was divided into two houses, a Senate and a House of Representatives. Here, on September 17, 1824, Philadelphia gave a welcome to Lafayette on his visit to the United States. On this occasion he said: "The great and beautiful town of Philadelphia, which first welcomed me as a recruit, now welcomes me as a veteran."

In Independence Chamber have been entertained many whom the nation has delighted to honor. Here Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Lincoln, Grant, and Hayes. received ovations. Here other noted men, such as Anthony Wayne, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Winfield Scott, have been welcomed and have been tendered

the freedom of the city. Here the illustrious and honored dead have lain in state,-John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Abraham Lincoln,-and it was to this room that a grateful nation came to mourn their departure.

In this building may be found the portraits of Penn, Washington, Hamilton, Morris, and many other eminent men, the original charter of the city, granted by William Penn in 1701, a piece of the original treaty tree, and the famous old Liberty Bell.

I

INDEPENDENCE SQUARE.

NDEPENDENCE SQUARE extends from Chestnut to Walnut and from Fifth to Sixth streets, and covers an area of four and a half acres. Independence Hall, Congress Hall, City Hall, and the hall of the American Philosophical Society, are located on this square.

The land was purchased at various times from different persons. In 1729 the first purchase of ground was made on which to erect the Statehouse. At an early date the grounds were ordered to be laid out in walks and planted with trees, but nothing was done until after the Revolution. In 1783 John Dickinson reminded the Assembly of the delayed proposition to improve the grounds, explaining that it would be "reputable to the State, particularly useful to the inhabitants of the city, and agreeable to strangers." Samuel Vaughan took an interest in the adornment of the square, and planted choice trees February 28, 1785, and in April of the same year one hundred elms were

planted, the gift of George Morgan of Princeton, New Jersey. In a few years' time Independence Square became the Statehouse Gardens and the city's fashionable resort. In 1791 the high wall on Fifth and Sixth streets was replaced by an iron fence. In 1813 the wall on Walnut Street was removed, and this side of the square was made to correspond with the other sides. On the 11th of March, 1816, the State sold to the city the entire square, reserving certain rights to the American Philosophical Society, and also to the public, one of which was that it is to be kept as a park for the people. The city received its deed for Independence Square June 29, 1818, paying for it seventy thousand dollars, on the condition that "the same shall be and remain a public green and walk forever." On September 25, 1851, the council of Philadelphia resolved that, in the name of the citizens, they would pledge themselves "to hold the grounds of Independence Hall free from all encroachments upon the monuments to be erected, and to guard the same equally with the hall itself as a sacred and national trust forever."

In early times Independence Square was a great meeting place for Indians, and here large delegations of chiefs were received and entertained. These Indians were occasionally lodged in the east wing of the Statehouse previous to 1759, but after this year a long row of sheds was erected for their accommodation in the Statehouse yard on the south side of Sixth Street. Here many Indian chiefs came at various times to hold councils and make treaties with the governors. To this place they fled for protection from the Paxson boys in 1764. On this ground Washington made a treaty with the Indian chief, Corn