hemselves "rebels" by
_stamping underfoot the stamp paper_ intended for the use of the
Colony--an act "worthy of all Roman, or Grecian fame." The celebration
of the 20th of May, 1875, was a grand success--such a celebration as
has never before occurred in the history of North Carolina, and will
never again be witnessed by the present generation. May the Centennial
of the 20th of May, 1975, be still more successful, pass off with the
same degree of order and good feeling, and be attended with all the
blessings of enlightened civil and religious liberty!

JAMES BELK--A VETERAN INVITED GUEST.

Among the honored invited guests of the Mecklenburg Centennial, on the
20th of May, 1775, was James Belk, of Union county (formerly a part of
Mecklenburg), now upwards of one hundred and ten years old! As
recorded in a family Bible, printed in Edinburg in 1720, he was born
on the 4th of February, 1765. He still resides on the same tract of
land upon which he was born and raised, his father being one of the
original settlers of the country. He is a man of fine intelligence;
acted for many years as one of the magistrates of Mecklenburg county,
and is still well preserved in mind and body. He recollects the death
of his father, who was mortally wounded in the Revolutionary war, near
the North Carolina line, and knows that his mother, fearing the
mournful result, visited the place of conflict, and found him,
severely wounded, in the woods near the road-side. She assisted him to
their home, but soon afterward had him transferred to the residence of
his grandfather for better attention, where he died.

He remembers distinctly the great meeting in Charlotte (then upwards
of ten years old) on the 20th of May, 1775, when a Declaration of
Independence was read by Colonel Polk, and heard his father speak of
it, in presence of the family, after his return from Charlotte. His
mother seemed to be greatly disturbed, supposing it would bring on
war. Although then but a youth of tender years, the _scene_ and the
_declaration_ made an indelible impression upon his memory. He says
his recollection of events of that period, and a few years
subsequently, is more vivid and distinct than those which transpired
thirty years ago.

He has been twice married, having ten children by the first, and
twelve by the last wife. He was accompanied to the centennial meeting
by one of his younger sons, a lad _forty-one years_ of age. His oldest
child, a daughter,