ployed in the management and direction of Indian affairs within the territories reserved, as aforesaid, for the use of the said Indians, to seize and apprehend all persons whatever, who standing charged with treasons, misprisions of treasons, murders, or other felonies or misdemeanours, shall fly from justice and take refuge in the said territory, and to send them under a proper guard to the colony where their crime was committed of which they shall stand accused, in order to take their trial for the same. Given at our court at St. James's, the 7th day of October, 1763, in the third year of our reign.God save the king. APPENDIX No. II. STATE OF THE KING'S QUIT-RENTS IN NORTH AMERICA. Note on the Report. THE preceding proposition, report, and answer are very intimately connected with the history of the revolution of America. The answer to the report, as coming from the pen of Dr. Franklin, is entitled to great attention. He bestowed great pains to render it clear, close, and conclusive in its reasonings; it is indeed a triumphant argument. The variety, extent, and exactness of the information which it contains; and the foresight which discerned at so early a period the settlement, cultivation, and riches of that country; and even the building and sailing of ships on the Ohio, and thence to the ocean, render these tracts highly interesting. When the answer was called up in the privy council on the 1st of July, 1772, it was heard with attention mixed with surprise; it seemed to reveal a new world; and such was the impression which it made, that the prayer of the petitioners was approved. But the first effect of its approval was very single. The report of the board of trade was drawn up by the president lord Hillsborough, who immediately upon the decision of the privy council, resigned his place. This minister had formed a plan of limitation for the colonies, resembling that of the French when they possessed Canada, which was to circumscribe all settlements by a line to coincide with some northern position and the Mississip pi. The answer of Dr. Franklin must have rendered his lordship's want of knowledge of the geographical, physical, and historical circumstances of the American interior, very striking; and his conduct on former occasions, compared with the present, so irreconcilable with an honest or a sound judgment, that his pride appears to have rendered it necessary that he should retire. Dr. Franklin's answer had been put to press, with a view to immediate publication, but on hearing that lord Hillsborough had resigned, the publication was stopt, when only five copies had been issued. The copy here published from is that which Dr. Franklin him self retained. Comparison of Great Britain and America as to Credit,* in 1777. In borrowing money a man's credit depends on some or all of the following particulars. First, His known conduct respecting former Fourthly, The amount and the certainty of his income, and the freedom of his estate from the incumbrances of prior debts. This paper was written, translated, printed, and circulated, while Dr. Franklin was at the court of France, for the purpose of inducing foreigners to lend money to America in preference to Great Britain. VOL. II.... 2 H 21 Fifthly, His well founded prospects of greater future ability, by the improvement of his estate in value, and by aids from others. Sixthly, His known prudence in managing his general affairs, and the advantage they will probably receive from the loan which he desires. Seventhly, His known probity and honest character, manifested by his voluntary discharge of debts, which he could not have been legally compelled to pay. The circumstances which give credit to an individual ought to have, and will have, their weight upon the lenders of money to public bodies or nations. If then we consider and compare Britain and America, in these several particulars, upon the question, "To which is it safest to lend money?" We shall find, 1. Respecting former loans, that America, which borrowed ten millions during the last war, for the maintenance of her army of 25,000 men and other charges, had faithfully discharged and paid that debt, and all her other debts, in 1772. Whereas Britain, during those ten years of peace and profitable commerce, had made little or no reduction of her debt; but on the contrary, from time to time, diminished the hopes of her creditors, by a wanton diversion and misapplication of the sinking fund destined for discharging it. 2. Respecting industry; every man in America is employed; the greater part in cultivating their own lands, the rest in handiAn idle crafts, navigation, and commerce. man there is a rarity, idleness and inutility are disgraceful. In England the number of that character is immense, fashion has spread it far and wide; hence the embarrassments of private fortunes, and the daily bankruptcies arising from an universal fondness for appearance and expensive pleasures; and hence, in some degree, the mismanagement of public business; for habits of business, and ability in it, are acquired only by practice; and where universal dissipation, and the perpetual pursuit of amusement are the mode, the youth, educated in it, can rarely afterwards acquire that patient attention and close application to affairs, which are so necessary to a statesman charged with the care of national welfare. Hence their frequent errors in policy, and hence the weariness at public councils, and backwardness in going to them, the constant unwillingness to engage in any measures that require thought and consideration, and the readiness for postponing every new proposi tion; which postponing is therefore the only part of business they come to be expert in, an expertness produced necessarily by so much daily practice. Whereas in America, men bred to close employment in their private affairs, attend with ease to those of the public, when engaged in them, and nothing fails through negligence. 3. Respecting frugality; the manner of a war is an inducement with many, to cry out living in America is more simple and less ex- for war upon all occasions, and to oppose evepensive than that in England: plain tables, ry proposition of peace. Hence the constant plain clothing, and plain furniture in houses increase of the national debt, and the absolute prevail, with few carriages of pleasure; there, improbability of its ever being discharged. an expensive appearance hurts credit, and is 4. Respecting the amount and certainty of avoided in England, it is often assumed to income, and solidity of security; the whole guin credit, and continued to ruin. Respect-thirteen states of America are engaged for ing public affairs, the difference is still great-the payment of every debt contracted by the er. In England, the salaries of officers, and congress, and the debt to be contracted by the emoluments of office are enormous. The present war is the only debt they will have king has a million sterling per annum, and yet to pay; all, or nearly all, the former debts of cannot maintain his family free of debt: se- particular colonies being already discharged. cretaries of state, lords of treasury, admiralty, Whereas England will have to pay not only &c. have vast appointments: an auditor of the enormous debt this war must occasion, the exchequer has sixpence in the pound, or but all their vast preceding debt, or the intea fortieth part of all the public money expend-rest of it,-and while America is enriching ed by the nation; so that when a war costs itself by prizes made upon the British comforty millions, one million is paid to him: an merce, more than ever it did by any commerce inspector of the mint, in the last new coinage, of its own, under the restraints of a Britsh moreceived as his fee 65,000l. sterling per an- nopoly, and the diminution of its revenues, num; to all which rewards no service these and of course less able to discharge the pregentlemen can render the public is by any sent indiscreet increase of its expenses. means equivalent. All this is paid by the peo- 5. Respecting prospects of greater future ple, who are oppressed by taxes so occasion- ability, Britain has none such. Her islands ed, and thereby rendered less able to contri- are circumscribed by the ocean; and exceptbute to the payment of necessary national ing a few parks or forests, she has no new debts. In America, salaries, where indispensa- land to cultivate, and cannot therefore extend ble, are extremely low; but much of the public improvements. Her numbers too, instead of business is done gratis. The honour of serving increasing from increased subsistence, are the public ably and faithfully is deemed suffi- continually diminishing from growing luxury, cient. Public spirit really exists there, and and the increasing difficulties of maintaining has great effects. In England it is universally families, which of course discourage early deemed a nonentity, and whoever pretends to marriages. Thus she will have fewer people it is laughed at as a fool, or suspected as a to assist in paying her debts, and that dimiknave. The committees of congress which nishing number will be poorer. America, on form the board of war, the board of treasury, the contrary, has, besides her lands already culthe board of foreign affairs, the naval board, tivated, a vast territory yet to be cultivated; that for accounts, &c. all attend the business which, being cultivated continually increases of their respective functions, without any sa- in value with the increase of people; and the lary or emolument whatever, though they people, who double themselves by a natural spend in it much more of their time than any propagation every twenty-five years, will lord of treasury or admiralty in England can double yet faster, by the accession of stranspare from his amusements. A British mi-gers, as long as lands are to be had for new nister lately computed, that the whole ex- families; so that every twenty years there pense of the Americans, in their civil govern-will be a double number of inhabitants obliged ment over three millions of people amounted to discharge the public debts; and those into but 70,000l. sterling, and drew from thence habitants, being more opulent, may pay their a conclusion, that they ought to be taxed, until shares with greater ease. their expense was equal in proportion to that 6. Respecting prudence in general affairs, which it costs Britain to govern eight mil- and the advantages to be expected from the lions. He had no idea of a contrary conclu- loan desired; the Americans are cultivators sion, that if three millions may be well go- of land; those engaged in fishery and comverned for 70,0007. eight millions may be as merce are few, compared with the others. well governed for three times that sum, and They have ever conducted their several gothat therefore the expense of his own govern- vernments with wisdom, avoiding wars, and ment should be diminished. In that corrupt- vain expensive projects, delighting only in ed nation no man is ashamed of being concern-their peaceable occupations, which must, ed in lucrative government jobs, in which the public money is egregiously misapplied and squandered, the treasury pillaged, and more umerous and heavy taxes accumulated, to the great oppression of the people. But the prospect of a greater number of such jobs by considering the extent of their uncultivated territory, find them employment still for ages. Whereas England, ever unquiet, ambitious, avaricious, imprudent, and quarrelsome, is half of the time engaged in war, always at an expense infinitely greater than the advantages to be obtained by it, if successful. Thus they |tish merchants would operate to prevent that made war against Spain in 1739, for a claim distress, intended to be brought upon Britain, of about 95,000l. (scarce a groat for each in- by our stoppage of commerce with her; for dividual of the nation) and spent forty millions the merchants receiving this money, and no sterling in the war, and the lives of fifty thou- orders with it for farther supplies, would eisand men; and finally made peace without ther lay it out in public funds, or in employobtaining satisfaction for the sum claimed. ing manufacturers to accumulate goods for a Indeed, there is scarce a nation in Europe, future hungry market in America upon an against which she has not made war on some expected accommodation, by which means the frivolous pretext or other, and thereby impru- funds would be kept up and the manufacturers dently accumulated a debt, that has brought prevented from murmuring. But against this her on the verge of bankruptcy. But the it was alleged, that injuries from ministers most indiscreet of all her wars, is the present should not be revenged on merchants; that against America, with whom she might, for the credit was in consequence of private conages, have preserved her profitable connex- tracts, made in confidence of good faith; ion only by a just and equitable conduct. that these ought to be held sacred, and faithShe is now acting like a mad shop-keeper, fully complied with; for that, whatever pubwho, by beating those that pass his doors, at- lic utility might be supposed to arise from a tempts to make them come in and be his breach of private faith, it was unjust, and customers. America cannot submit to such would in the end be found unwise-honesty treatment, without being first ruined, and, being in truth the best policy. On this prinbeing ruined, her custom will be worth no- ciple the proposition was universally rejected; thing. England, to effect this, is increasing and though the English prosecuted the war her debt, and irretrievably ruining herself. with unexampled barbarity, burning our deAmerica, on the other hand, aims only to es- fenceless towns in the midst of winter, and tablish her liberty, and that freedom of com- arming savages against us; the debt was merce which will be advantageous to all Eu- punctually paid; and the merchants of Lonrope; and by abolishing that monopoly which don have testified to the parliament, and will she laboured under she will profit infinitely testify to all the world, that from their expemore than enough to repay any debt which rience in dealing with us they had, before the she may contract to accomplish it. war, no apprehension of our unfairness: and 7. Respecting character in the honest pay- that since the war they have been convinced, ment of debts; the punctuality with which that their good opinion of us was well founded. America has discharged her public debts was England, on the contrary, an old, corrupt goshown under the first head. And the gene-vernment, extravagant, and profligate nation, ral good disposition of the people to such sees herself deep in debt, which she is in no punctuality has been manifested in their faith-condition to pay; and yet is madly, and disful payment of private debts to England, since honestly running deeper, without any possithe commencement of this war. There were bility of discharging her debt, but by a public not wanting some politicians [in America,] bankruptcy. who proposed stopping that payment, until It appears, therefore, from the general inpeace should be restored, alleging, that in the dustry, frugality, ability, prudence, and virtue usual course of commerce, and of the credit of America, that she is a much safer debtor given, there was always a debt existing than Britain;-to say nothing of the satisfacequal to the trade of eighteen months: that tion generous minds must have in reflecting, the trade amounting to five millions sterling that by loans to America they are opposing per annum, the debt must be seven millions tyranny, and aiding the cause of liberty, which and a half; that this sum paid to the Bri-is the cause of all mankind. PHILOSOPHICAL. ESSAYS AND CORRESPONDENCE. ELECTRICITY. To Peter Collinson, Esq. F. R. S. London. * PHILADELPHIA, March 28, 1747. as among YOUR kind present of an electric tube, with directions for using it, has put several of us on making electrical experiments, in which we have observed some particular phenomena that we look upon to be new. I shall therefore communicate them to you in my next, though possibly they may not be new to you, the numbers daily employed in those experiments on your side the water, it is probable some one or other has hit on the same observations. For my own part, I never was before engaged in any study that so totally engrossed my attention and my time as this has lately done; for what with making experiments when I can be alone, and repeating them to my friends and acquaintance, who, from the novelty of the thing, come continually in crowds to see them, I have, during some months past, had little leisure for any thing else.—I am, &c. B. FRANKLIN. To the same.. Place an iron shot of three or four inches diameter on the mouth of a clean dry glass bottle. By a fine silken thread from the ceiling, right over the mouth of the bottle, susof a marble; the thread of such a length, pend a small cork-ball, about the bigness side of the shot. Electrify the shot, and the as that the cork-ball may rest against the ball will be repelled to the distance of four or five inches, more or less, according to the quantity of electricity.-When in this state, if you present to the shot the point of a long, slender, sharp bodkin, at six or eight stroyed, and the cork flies to the shot. A inches distance, the repellency is instantly deblunt body must be brought within an inch, and draw a spark to produce the same effect. То prove that the electrical fire is drawn off by the point, if you take the blade of the bodkin out of the wooden handle, and fix it in a the distance aforesaid, or if you bring it very stick of sealing-wax, and then present it at near, no such effect follows; but sliding one finger along the wax till you touch the blade, and the ball flies to the shot immediately.If you present the point in the dark, you will see, sometimes at a foot distance and more, a light gather upon it, like that of a fire-fly, or Wonderful effect of points.-Positive and negative Electricity-Electrical Kiss.-Counterfeit Spider-Simple and commodious electri-glow worm; the less sharp the point, the cal Machine. nearer you must bring it to observe the light; and at whatever distance you see the light, you may draw off the electrical fire, and destroy the repellency.-If a cork ball so suspended be repelled by the tube, and a point be presented quick to it, though at a considerable distance, it is surprising to see how suddenly it flies back to the tube. Points of wood will do near as well as those of iron, provided the wood is not dry; for perfectly dry wood will no more conduct electricity than sealing wax. To show that points will throw off* as well *This power of points to throw off the electrical fire, was first communicated to me by my ingenious friend Mr. Thomas Hopkinson, since deceased, whose virtues and integrity, in every situation of life, public and private, will ever make his memory dear to those who knew him, and knew how to value him. 244 |