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FOREFATHERS' DAY. 



On Aug. 28 the Republican State and Congres- 

 sional Convention was held at Ocala. Its nominees 

 were Leroy D. Ball for Comptroller, James It. 

 Challen for Justice of the Supreme Court, and 

 J. N. Stripling for Congressman in the Second 

 District. For Congressman in the First District 

 no nomination was made till late in September, 

 when J. E. A. Davidson was selected. He soon 

 declined the honor, and the district executive 

 committee selected ex-Go v. Harrison Reed. 



The election in November resulted in the suc- 

 cess of the Democratic ticket by the usual large 

 majority. The Democrats elected nearly all the 

 members of the next State Legislature, a major- 

 ity of whom are also members of the Farmers' 

 Alliance. 



The constitutional amendments designed to 

 change the date of the election for State officers 

 from November to the first Tuesday after the 

 first Monday in October, which were submitted 

 to the people at this time, were adopted by a 

 large affirmative vote. 



FOREFATHERS' DAY. Dec. 21 is the an- 

 niversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, or 

 first settlers, from the ship " Mayflower " at Plym- 

 outh, Mass. This event marked the beginning 

 of New England. The Pilgrims, or " forefath- 

 ers," were about one third of the English Sepa- 

 ratist or Congregational Church at Leyden, Neth- 

 erlands, Rev. John Robinson, pastor. In the 

 latter half of the sixteenth century, in the region 

 of northeastern England, where the three coun- 

 ties of York, Nottingham, and Lincoln come to- 

 gether, companies of worshipers according to the 

 Congregational polity gathered. At Gainsbor- 

 ough, in Lincolnshire, a church was formed as 

 early as 1602. When compelled by the rigid policy 

 of uniformity inaugurated by Elizabeth and con- 

 tinued by James to choose between persecution 

 and exile, one half of the congregation fled with 

 their pastor, John Smyth, to Amsterdam, Hol- 

 land. The western division of the Gainsborough 

 congregation of worshipers, scattered as they 

 were in places ten miles apart, formed in the 

 summer of 1606 a church at Scrooby, in Notting- 

 hamshire. In the manor house owned by the 

 Archbishops of York, and leased by Sir Sam- 

 uel Sandys, of London, William Brewster, the 

 chief layman of the congregation, was post 

 or relay agent of the Government, as Scrooby 

 hamlet' was on the highroad from London to 

 York. William Bradford, another prominent 

 layman, born in Austerfield, in Yorkshire, came 

 weekly, on Sundays, with others also, and the 

 congregation worshiped in the manor hall. Rev. 

 John Robinson was their pastor. Compelled by 

 advancing persecution to take refuge in the 

 country in which they knew " there was liberty 

 for all men," they left their homes, and after 

 many troubles all reached Amsterdam by Aug- 

 ust, 1608. After ten months' residence there, 

 they for various reasons made application to live 

 in Leyden, and hither the congregation of one 

 hundred persons came in May, 1609. Here these 

 people, mostly agriculturists, began to work at 

 trades and various avocations, being soon so 

 well prospered as to be able to buy a lot and 

 house worth about $12,800 in present money. 

 The church increased to three hundred com- 

 municants, and most of the men became citizens 

 of Leyden, paying the poll tax and enjoying the 



rights and privileges of citizenship. The time 

 was eminently favorable for their political edu- 

 cation, religious growth, and training as future 

 builders of a commonwealth and beginners of a 

 nation, for they lived at Leyden during the geat 

 truce of 1609-'21. Though enjoying toleration 

 and the right to worship in their own way, in 

 their own homes and their pastor's church house, 

 they were not allowed the privilege of public 

 propaganda. Desiring above all things to per- 

 petuate that form of the Christian faith most 

 dear to them, in which the autocracy of each 

 separate congregation was the fundamental prin- 

 ciple, they resolved to emigrate to America. War 

 with Spain was to break out again in 1021, and 

 the children must be educated not in the lan- 

 guage of the free schools of Holland, but in 

 English, and besides, the Dutch method of en- 

 joying the Lord's Day was not that of the Puri- 

 tans. Impelled chiefly by these motives, having 

 obtained commercial aid from some English mer- 

 chants, a minority of about one third, chiefly the 

 younger and stronger portion of the congrega- 

 tion, prepared to go to America. On July 21, 

 1620, accompanied by nearly all who were to be 

 left behind in Leyden, and by many fellow-be- 

 lievers from Amsterdam, the " Mayflower " com- 

 pany, in canal-boats, set out for Delftshaven. 

 There, it is believed, Robinson's famous sermon 

 was delivered, feasting and joyous singing were 

 indulged in, and after farewells and salutes of 

 artillery and small arms, the company of about 

 120 persons sailed down the Maas in the " Speed- 

 well." This vessel, of sixty tons, was bound for 

 Southampton, England, where the " Mayflower" 

 was to join them. Their hope was to 'be com- 

 fortably settled in " Virginia " before frost. Sad at 

 parting, " they knew that they were pilgrims." 

 From Southampton both ships started in com- 

 pany, but the " Speedwell " being leaky, both ves- 

 sels after eight days put in at Dartmouth, where 

 after a week's delay they sailed together again. 

 They had gone about three hundred miles from 

 Land's End when the " Speedwell " being (false- 

 ly) reported as in danger of sinking, return was 

 made to Plymouth. Here the discouraged were 

 allowed to go ashore and stay, and the " Speed- 

 well "was abandoned. On Sept. 16 the " May- 

 flower " sailed alone, Nov. 19 sighted Cape Cod, 

 and Nov. 21 cast anchor in the harbor (at Prov- 

 incetown). After several boat expeditions, a party 

 began the exploration of the bay Dec. 16, land- 

 ing on Clark's Island Dec. 18. On Monday, 

 Dec. 21, they " marched also into the land, and 

 found divers corn fields and little running brooks, 

 a place very good for situation." The issue of 

 the long controversies as to the place and date 

 intimated in the above extract from Mourt's 

 "Relation" is that on Dec. 11, (old style), 1620, 

 or by the Gregorian calendar (new style), Dec. 

 21, the Pilgrims stepped ashore on the well- 

 rolled and singularly erratic bowlder since no 

 other rock appears above the surface of soil or wa- 

 ter in Plymouth Township and on the ancient 

 maize lands of the Algonquins began their settle- 

 ment and New England. In carrying out their 

 social and political organization, they forsook 

 the semi-feudal principles of the manor-house 

 system, state church, and monarchy of England, 

 and reverted to the more primitive Teutonic 

 system in vogue before even the foundation of 



