CHAPTER III.

66 THE OLD STATE HOUSE."

"As he with his boys, shall revist this spot,

He will tell them in whispers more softly to tread: Oh! surely, by these I shall ne'er be forgot

Remembrance still hallows the dust of the dead!"—Byron.

THIS venerable edifice, which excites so much patriotic veneration from the American people, and is regarded with profound esteem abroad, was known until the year 1776, as the "STATE HOUSE." From that memorable period-when the representatives of the nation resolved to be free-the room on the east side of the main entrance has been designated by the appellation of INDEPENDENCE HALL. For wise and patriotic reasons it has never been altered. By that designation it will remain hallowed to all time. So long as a single genuine spark of freedom remains in the human heart, so long will Independence Hall be regarded as the birth-place of liberty-the immortal spot where the manacles of oppression were sundered, and despotism received its most formidable rebuke. The "State House," originally constructed for the purpose of accommodating legal business, the dispensation of Colonial statutes for Pennsylvania, and the transaction of various other matters, was commenced in the year 1729, and completed in 1734. Its dimensions and architectural plan -the design being fur

nished by an amateur architect, named John Kearsley, Sr., were regarded by many as too large and expensive; and the erection of the building was, therefore, quite strenuously opposed. Had the men who first conceived the noble enterprise of building it foreseen the exalted character which their contemplated edifice would assume in future, there would not probably have been a single dissenting voice in the liberal plan projected by its founders. It is a singular historical fact, that most of those who opposed the plan of the edifice in the commencement, and who were still living at the time, were opposed to the adoption of the "Declaration of Independence," which occurred within its very walls about a quarter of a century afterward. According to bills and papers kept by Andrew Hamilton, one of the three Commissioners who had the superintendence of the financial matters connected with its construction, it appears that the edifice cost originally $16,250. The two wings which now form important addenda to the building, however, were not erected until the years 1739-40, and increased the total amount to $28,000-but their cost cannot be counted in the original bill. Watson, in his Annals, says:

"Edmund Woolley did the carpenter work, John Harrison the joiner work, Thomas Boude was the brick mason, William Holland did the marble work, Thomas Kerr, plaster, Benjamin Fairman and James Stoopes made the bricks; the lime was from the kilns of the Tysons. [These kilns were situated in Manship township, Montgomery county, about one mile west from Willow Grove, and fifteen miles from the Hall of Independence. This property has ever since re

mained in possession of that family. Joseph C. Tyson, Esq., is now owner of the kilns, and carries on the lime business very extensively.] The glass and lead cost £170, and the glazing in leaden frames was done by Thomas Godfrey, the celebrated. I may here usefully add, for the sake of comparison, the costs of sundry items, to wit: Carpenter's work at 4s. per day; boy's 1s.; master carpenter, E. Woolley, 4s. 6d. ; bricklaying, by Thomas Boude, John Palmer, and Thomas Redman, at 10s. 6d. per M.; stone-work in the foundation, at 4s. per perch; digging ground and carting away, 9d. per yard; bricks, 31s. 8d. per M.; lime per 100 bushels, £4; boards, 20s. per M.; lath-wood 18s. per cord; laths, 3s. per C.; shingles, 20s. per M.; scantling, 137. per foot; stone, 3s. per perch, and 5s. 5d. per load. Laborers receive 2s. 6d. per day; 2100 loads of earth are hauled away at 9d. per load." These items are only given as specimens of curiosity, and will serve to amuse, if not to instruct.

The wood-work of the steeple by which the building was first surmounted, on examination in 1774, was found to be so much decayed, that it was decided to remove it, and it was accordingly taken down, leaving only a small belfry to cover the bell for the use of the town-clock-which had but one dial-face, at the west end of the building. In that condition it remained until 1829, when the steeple which now crowns the building, was erected on the plan of the original one. Some years ago the interior wood-work to the room in which the "Declaration of Independence" was signed, was removed, for the purpose of modernizing the plans, but public sentiment soon demanded its restoration, and it now presents the same appearance

it did on that memorable occasion. In 1854, the City Councils of Philadelphia* very patriotically resolved to place in this sacred room-where they properly belong-all the relics associated with the brilliant history of the Hall and the times cotemporaneous with the American Revolution, which they could obtain. With commendable zeal and enterprise they have obtained and arranged in their appropriate places portraits of nearly all the distinguished "Signers of the Declaration of Independence," as well as many other valuable relics, all of which are sacred mementoes uniting the present and the past with ligaments of inseverable affection. Hence it is that, when we visit that holy place-that Mecca of freedom's children-that shrine where Liberty's sons and daughters bow in holy reverence—we feel that the eyes of the mighty are gazing upon us, watching our conversation and our national characteristics, to see whether we who enjoy so many rich and glorious privileges, rightly respect and appreciate what they hazarded their lives and enjoyments to effect! There are incidents connected with Independence Hall sufficiently impressive to excite our warmest patriotism. "When the regular sessions of the Assembly were held in the State House," says Watson, "the Senate occupied upstairs, and the Lower House the same chamber, since

*The object of the City Councils in this was, to secure such relics a permanent position in the Hall of Independence, and to afford visitors a source of gratification. Many of these portraits are of inestimable value, and are the only authentic ones of the distinguished persons they represent. They should ensure the respect of every American who desires to look upon the portraits of departed heroes, while they elicit the admiration of strangers and the great from abroad.

called Independence Hall. In the former, Anthony Morris is remembered as Speaker, occupying an ele. vated chair facing north-himself a man of amiable mien, contemplative aspect, dressed in a suit of drab cloth, flaxen hair slightly powdered, and his eyes fronted with spectacles. The Representative chamber had George Latimer for Speaker, seated with his face to the west a well-formed manly person, his fair large front and eyes sublime declared absolute rule." For many years previous to 1855, the upper apartment of Independence Hall was divided into rooms which were occupied by the Supreme Courts of the United States, and was rented for offices of various kinds. But in that year the municipal authorities had the partition walls which separated the rooms torn away and the apartments tastefully fitted up and appropriated to the use of the City Councils, both branches of which now hold their sessions within its sacred precincts.

When we consider the associations which cluster around this venerable room-how many incidents have occurred here to remind us of our nation's rapid progress from dependent colonies to a great and prosperous empire-how steadily and surely our institutions have given demonstration of the practical workings of a Republican form of Government; we feel constrained to believe that a municipal corporation which has the honorable task of framing codes and ordinances to govern nearly a million of human beings, might act with motives as pure and lofty as those which prompted the members of the Colonial Assembly, who met in the same building, and the same room! But exigencies and extraordinary occa