assembly. My election to this trust was repeated every year for ten years, without my ever asking any elector for his vote, or signifying either directly or indirectly any desire of being chosen. On taking my seat in the house, my son was appointed their clerk.

In 1751, Dr. Thomas Bond, a particular friend of mine, conceived the idea of establishing a hospital in Philadelphia, (a very beneficent design, which has been ascribed to me, but was originally and truly his,) for the reception and cure of poor sick persons, wheThe year following, a treaty being to be ther inhabitants of the province, or strangers. held with the Indians at Carlisle, the governor He was zealous and active in endeavouring sent a message to the house, proposing that to procure subscriptions for it; but the prothey should nominate some of their members, posal being a novelty in America, and at first to be joined with some members of council, as not well understood, he met but with little commissioners for that purpose. The house success. At length he came to me with the named the speaker (Mr. Norris) and myself; compliment, that he found there was no such and being commissioned, we went to Carlisle, a thing as carrying thing as carrying a public-spirited project and met the Indians accordingly. As those through without my being concerned in it. people are extremely apt to get drunk, and "For," said he, "I am often asked by those when so are very quarrelsome and disorderly, to whom I propose subscribing, Have you we strictly forbade the selling any liquor to consulted Franklin on this business? And them; and when they complained of this re- what does he think of it? And when I tell striction, we told them, that if they would con- them that I have not, (supposing it rather out tinue sober during the treaty, we would give of your line,) they do not subscribe, but say, them plenty of rum when the business was they will consider it." I inquired into the over. They promised this, and they kept their nature and probable utility of the scheme, promise, because they could get no rum; and and receiving from him a very satisfactory the treaty was conducted very orderly, and explanation, I not only subscribed to it myconcluded to mutual satisfaction. They then self, but engaged heartily in the design of claimed and received the rum; this was in procuring subscriptions from others: previous the afternoon; they were near one hundred however to the solicitation, I endeavoured to men, women, and children, and were lodged prepare the minds of the people, by writing in temporary cabins, built in the form of a on the subject in the newspapers, which was square, just without the town. In the even-my usual custom in such cases, but which Dr. ing, hearing a great noise among them, the Bond had omitted. The subscriptions aftercommissioners walked to see what was the wards were more free and generous; but bematter; we found they had made a great bon-ginning to flag, I saw they would be insuffifire in the middle of the square: they were cient, without some assistance from the assemall drunk, men and women, quarreling and bly, and therefore proposed to petition for it; fighting. Their dark-coloured bodies, half-which was done. The country members did naked, seen only by the gloomy light of the not at first relish the project: they objected bonfire, running after and beating one another that it could only be serviceable to the city, with firebrands, accompanied by their horrid and therefore the citizens alone should be at yellings, formed a scene the most resembling the expense of it; and they doubted whether our ideas of hell that could well be imagined; the citizens themselves generally approved there was no appeasing the tumult, and we of it. My allegation on the contrary, that it retired to our lodging. At midnight a num- met with such approbation as to leave no ber of them came thundering at our door, doubt of our being able to raise two thousand demanding more rum, of which we took no pounds by voluntary donations, they considernotice. The next day, sensible they had mis-ed as a most extravagant supposition, and behaved in giving us that disturbance, they sent three of their old counsellors to make their apology. The orator acknowledged the fault, but laid it upon the rum; and then endeavoured to excuse the rum, by saying, "The Great Spirit, who made all things, made every thing for some use, and whatever use he designed any thing for, that use it should always be put to: now, when he made rum, he said, 'LET THIS BE FOR THE INDIANS TO GET DRUNK WITH;' and it must be so." And, indeed, if it be the design of Providence to extirpate these savages, in order to make room for the cultivators of the earth, it seems not impossible that rum may be the appointed means. It has already annihilated all the tribes who formerly inhabited the sea coast, VOL. I....G

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utterly impossible. On this I formed my plan; and asking leave to bring in a bill for incorporating the contributors according to the prayer of their petition, and granting them a blank sum of money; which leave was obtained chiefly on the consideration, that the house could throw the bill out if they did not like it, I drew it so as to make the important clause a conditional one, viz: "And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that when the said contributors shall have met and chosen their managers and treasurer, and shall have raised by their contributions a capital stock of two thousand pounds value, (the yearly interest of which is to be applied to the accommodation of the sick poor in the said hospital, and of charge for diet, attend

ance, advice, and medicines,) and shall make the same appear to the satisfaction of the speaker of the Assembly for the time being; that then it shall and may be lawful for the said speaker, and he is hereby required to sign an order on the provincial treasurer, for the payment of two thousand pounds in two yearly payments, to the treasurer of the said hospital, to be applied to the founding, building, and finishing of the same." This condition carried the bill through; for the members who had opposed the grant, and now conceived they might have the credit of being charitable without the expense, agreed to its passage; and then in soliciting subscriptions among the people, we urged the conditional promise of the law as an additional motive to give, since every man's donation would be doubled: thus the clause worked both ways. The subscriptions accordingly soon exceeded the requisite sum, and we claimed and received the public gift, which enabled us to carry the design into execution. A convenient and handsome building was soon erect ed, the institution has by constant experience been found useful, and flourishes to this day; and I do not remember any of my political manœuvres, the success of which at the time gave me more pleasure; or, wherein, after thinking of it, I more easily excused myself for having made some use of cunning.

Our city, though laid out with a beautiful regularity, the streets large, straight, and crossing each other at right angles, had the disgrace of suffering those streets to remain long unpaved, and in wet weather the wheels of heavy carriages ploughed them into a quagmire, so that it was difficult to cross them; and in dry weather the dust was offensive. Í had lived near what was called the Jersey market, and saw with pain the inhabitants wading in mud, while purchasing their provisions. A strip of ground down the middle of that market was at length paved with brick, so that being once in the market they had firm footing; but were often over shoes in dirt to get there. By talking and writing on the subject, I was at length instrumental in getting the streets paved with stone between the market and the brick foot pavement that was on the side next the houses. This for some time gave an easy access to the market dry-shod; but the rest of the street not being paved, whenever a carriage came out of the mud upon this pavement, it shook off and left its dirt upon it, and it was soon covered with mire, which was not removed, the city as yet having no scavengers. After some inquiry I found a poor industrious man who was will, ing to undertake keeping the pavement clean, by sweeping it twice a week, carrying off the dirt from before all the neighbours' doors, for the sum of sixpence per month, to be paid by each house. I then wrote and printed a pa

It was about this time, that another projector, the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, came to me with a request, that I would assist him in pro-per, setting forth the advantages to the neighcuring a subscription for erecting a new bourhood that might be obtained from this meeting-house. It was to be for the use of a small expense; the greater ease in keeping congregation he had gathered among the our houses clean, so much dirt not being Presbyterians, who were originally disciples brought in by people's feet; the benefit to the of Mr. Whitefield. Unwilling to make my shops by more custom, as buyers could more self disagreeable to my fellow citizens, by too easily get at them; and by not having in frequently soliciting their contributions, I abso- windy weather the dust blown in upon their lutely refused. He then desired I would fur- goods, &c. I sent one of these papers to each nish him with a list of the names of persons I house, and in a day or two went round to see knew by experience to be generous and pub-who would subscribe an agreement to pay lic spirited. I thought it would be unbecom-these sixpences; it was unanimously signed, ing in me, after their kind compliance with and for a time well executed. All the inmy solicitation, to mark them out to be wor- habitants of the city were delighted with the ried by other beggars, and therefore refused cleanliness of the pavement that surrounded to give such a list. He then desired I would the market, it being a convenience to all, and at least give him my advice. That I will do, this raised a general desire to have all the said I; and, in the first place, I advise you to streets paved; and made the people more apply to all those who you know will give willing to submit to a tax for that purpose. something; next, to those who you are uncer- After some time I drew a bill for paving the tain whether they will give any thing or not, city, and brought it into the assembly. It and show them the list of those who have was just before I went to England, in 1757, given; and, lastly, do not neglect those who and did not pass till I was gone, and then you are sure will give nothing, for in some of with an alteration in the mode of assessment, them you may be mistaken. He laughed and which I thought not for the better; but with thanked me, and said he would take my ad- an additional provision for lighting as well as vice. He did so, for he asked of every body, paving the streets, which was a great imand he obtained a much larger sum than he provement. It was by a private person, the expected, with which he erected the capa- late Mr. John Clifton, giving a sample of the cious and elegant meeting-house that stands utility of lamps, by placing one at his door, in Arch street. that the people were first impressed with the

idea of lighting all the city. The honour of this public benefit has also been ascribed to me, but it belongs truly to that gentleman. I did but follow his example, and have only some merit to claim respecting the form of our lamps, as differing from the globe lamps we were at first supplied with from London. They were found inconvenient in these respects: they admitted no air below; the smoke therefore did not readily go out above, but circulated in the globe, lodged on its inside, and soon obstructed the light they were intended to afford; giving besides the daily trouble of wiping them clean: and an accidental stroke on one of them would demolish it, and render it totally useless. I therefore suggested the composing them of four flat panes, with a long funnel above to draw up the smoke, and crevices admitting air below to facilitate the ascent of the smoke; by this means they were kept clean, and did not grow dark in a few hours, as the London lamps do, but continued bright till morning; and an accidental stroke would generally break but La single pane easily repaired. I have sometimes wondered that the Londoners did not, from the effect holes in the bottom of the globe-lamps used at Vauxhall, have in keeping them clean, learn to have such holes in their street lamps. But these holes being made for another purpose, viz. to communicate flame more suddenly to the wick by a little flax hanging down through them, the other use of letting in air, seems not to have been thought of: and therefore, after the lamps have been lit a few hours, the streets of London are very poorly illuminated.

very pale and feeble, as just come out of a fit of sickness. I asked who employed her to sweep there; she said, "Nobody; but I am poor and in distress, and I sweeps before gentlefolkses doors, and hopes they will give me something." I bid her sweep the whole street clean, and I would give her a shilling ; this was at nine o'clock; at noon she came for the shilling. From the slowness I saw at first in her working, I could scarce believe that the work was done so soon, and sent my servant to examine it, who reported that the whole street was swept perfectly clean, and all the dust placed in the gutter which was in the middle; and the next rain washed it quite away, so that the pavement and even the kennel were perfectly clean. I then judged that if that feeble woman could sweep such a street in three hours, a strong active man might have done it in half the time. And here let me remark the convenience of having but one gutter in such a narrow street running down its middle, instead of two, one on each side near the footway. For where all the rain that falls on a street runs from the sides and meets in the middle, it forms there a current strong enough to wash away all the mud it meets with: but when divided into two channels, it is often too weak to cleanse either, and only makes the mud, it finds more fluid, so that the wheels of carriages, and feet of horses throw and dash it upon the foot pavement, (which is thereby rendered foul and slippery,) and sometimes splash it upon those who are walking. My proposal communicated to the doctor, was as follows:

poor people they may employ in the service.

The mention of these improvements puts "For the more effectually cleaning and me in mind of one I proposed, when in Lon- keeping clean the streets of London and don, to Dr. Fothergill,* who was among the Westminster, it is proposed, that the several best men I have known, and a great promo- watchmen be contracted with to have the ter of useful projects. I had observed that dust swept up in dry seasons, and the mud the streets, when dry, were never swept, and raked up at other times, each in the several the light dust carried away; but it was suffer- streets and lanes of his round: that they be ed to accumulate till wet weather reduced it furnished with brooms and other proper into mud; and then, after lying some days so struments for these purposes, to be kept at deep on the pavement that there was no cross-their respective stands, ready to furnish the ing but in paths kept clean by poor people with brooms, it was with great labour raked together and thrown up into carts open above, the sides of which suffered some of the slush at every jolt on the pavement to shake out and fall; sometimes to the annoyance of foot passengers. The reason given for not sweeping the dusty streets was, that the dust would fly into the windows of shops and houses. An accidental occurrence had instructed me how much sweeping might be done in a little time; I found at my door in Craven street, one morning, a poor woman sweeping my pavement with a birch broom; she appeared

"That in the dry summer months the dust be all swept up into heaps at proper distanceɛ, before the shops and windows of houses are usually opened; when scavengers with close covered carts shall also carry it all away.

"That the mud, when raked up, be not left in heaps to be spread abroad again by the wheels of carriages and trampling of horses; but that the scavengers be provided with bodies of carts, not placed high upon wheels, but low upon sliders, with lattice bottoms, which being covered with straw, will retain the mud thrown into them, and permit the water to drain from it; whereby it will become much lighter, water making the greatest part of the weight. These bodies of carts

to be placed at convenient distances, and the to have £600 a-year between us, if we could mud brought to them in wheelbarrows; they make that sum out of the profits of the office. remaining where placed till the mud is drain-To do this, a variety of improvements were ed, and then horses brought to draw them necessary; some of these were inevitably at away." first expensive; so that in the first four years the office became above £900 in debt to us. But it soon after began to repay us; and before I was displaced by a freak of the ministers, (of which I shall speak hereafter,) we had brought it to yield three times as much

I have since had doubts of the practicability of the latter part of this proposal, in all places, on account of the narrowness of some streets, and the difficulty of placing the draining sleds so as not to encumber too much the passage: but I am still of opinion that the former, re-clear revenue to the crown as the post office quiring the dust to be swept up and carried of Ireland. Since that imprudent transacaway before the shops are open, is very prac- tion, they have received from it-not one ticable in the summer, when the days are farthing! long; for in walking through the Strand and Fleet street, one morning at seven o'clock, I observed there was not one shop open, though it was daylight and the sun up above three hours: the inhabitants of London, choosing voluntarily to live much by candle-light, and sleep by sun-shine; and yet often complain, (a little absurdly) of the duty on candles, and the high price of tallow.

Some may think these trifling matters, not worth minding or relating; but when they consider that though dust blown into the eyes of a single person, or into a single shop in a windy day, is but of small importance, yet the great number of the instances in a populous city, and its frequent repetition, gives it weight and consequence; perhaps they will not censure very severely those who bestow some attention to affairs of this seemingly low nature. Human felicity is produced, not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day. Thus, if you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas. This sum may be soon spent, the regret only remaining of having foolishly consumed it: but in the other case, he escapes the frequent vexation of waiting for barbers, and of their sometimes dirty fingers, offensive breaths, and dull razors: he shaves when most convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its being done with a good instrument. With these sentiments, I have hazarded the few preceding pages, hoping they may afford hints which some time or other may be useful to a city I love, (having lived many years in it very happily,) and perhaps to some of our towns in America.

The business of the post office occasioned my taking a journey this year to New England, where the college of Cambridge, of their own motion, presented me with the degree of Master of Arts. Yale college in Connecticut had before made me a similar compliment. Thus, without studying in any college, I came to partake of their honours. They were conferred in consideration of my improvements and discoveries in the electric branch of Natural Philosophy.

In 1754, war with France being again apprehended, a congress of commissioners from the different colonies was, by an order of the lords of trade, to be assembled at Albany; there to confer with the chiefs of the Six nations, concerning the means of defending both their country and ours. Governor Hamilton having received this order, acquainted the house with it, requesting they would furnish proper presents for the Indians, to be given on this occasion; and naming the speaker (Mr. Norris) and myself, to join Mr. John Penn and Mr. Secretary Peters, as commissioners to act for Pennsylvania. The house approved the nomination, and provided the goods for the presents, though they did not much like treating out of the province; and we met the other commissioners at Albany, about the middle of June. In our way thither, I projected and drew up a plan for the union of all the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for defence, and other important general purposes. As we passed through New York, I had there shown my project to Mr. James Alexander and Mr. Kennedy, two gentlemen of great knowledge in public affairs, and being fortified by their approbation, I ventured to lay it before the congress. It then appeared, that several of the commissioners had formed plans of the Having been some time employed by the same kind. A previous question was first post-master-general of America as his comp- taken, whether an union should be established, troller in regulating the several offices, and which passed in the affirmative, unanimously. bringing the officers to account, I was, upon A committee was then appointed, one memhis death, in 1753, appointed jointly with Mr. ber from each colony, to consider the several William Hu- to succeed him; by a com- plans, and report. Mine happened to be premission from the post-master-general in Eng-ferred, and with a few amendments was acland. The American office had hitherto never paid any thing to that of Britain: we were

cordingly reported. By this plan the general government was to be administered by a pre