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print, acted the part of a second to him, became as fatal to him as it was fortunate to Logan.

added to this unfortunate list; concerning whom the least that can be said, is, that either none but men of fortune shall be appointed to When the next assembly met, it soon ap- serve in such dignified offices: or otherwise, peared, that though the governor used the that, for the honour of government itself, such same patriot-language to it, he had not the as are recalled without any notorious impusame ascendancy over it. Two several ne- tation on their conduct, should be preserved gatives were put, upon two several motions from that wretchedness and contempt which to furnish him, the first with six hundred they have been but too frequently permitted pounds, the second with five hundred pounds, to fall into, for want even of a proper subsisttowards his support. No more than four hun- ence.

dred pounds could be obtained: and, notwith- The reader is desired to pardon this distanding all engines and all devices were em-gression, if it is one. It was necessary to ployed, no farther compensation could be pro-show, that the province of Pennsylvania, when cured for him.

It is equally the lot of this nation to be more specious than virtuous, more splendid than consistent, and to abound more in politicians than philosophers. Keith had more of the former than the latter in his composition, though he was neither in any eminent degree. A politician would not have furnished his adversaries with a plea to excuse his removal, by communicating a private paper to a popular assembly. A philosopher, governed by principle, and proof against passion, would not have been in the power of any issue whatsoever: and if the assembly had been capable of consistency, they would have set a lustre on his dismission, by accompanying it with all the douceurs in the power of the province to have heaped upon him, that other governors might have thought it worth their while to proceed on his plan.

Instead of which, on the first intelligence of a new governor, which was as carefully imparted to them, as concealed from him, they even affected to procrastinate the business of the province; and when upbraided by Keith with this backwardness, and, not without some mixture of indignation, required to give the public a testimonial of his administration, they proceeded in it, as if rather constrained than inclined; and at last took care to say as little as possible, though they had room to say so much.

In short, after a nine years' administration, unembarrassed with any one breach between the governor and assembly; and, as acknowledged by the latter, productive of much positive good to the province, they parted with reciprocal coldness, if not disgust: Keith disdaining to follow Gookin's example in desiring a benevolence; and they not having consideration enough left for him to offer it.

There is no man, long or much conversant in this overgrown city, who hath not often found himself in company with the shades of departed governors, doomed to wander out the residue of their lives, full of the agonizing remembrance of their passed eminence, and the severe sensation of present neglect.

Sir William Keith, upon his* return, was * He staid in Philadelphia some time after his being daspard; and, seduced by his resentments, condeVOL. II... D 3

well governed, is easily governed; and that whichever branch of the legislature inflames the proprietary jealousy, or interferes with the proprietary interest, the result is the same: the obnoxious assembly is reprimanded and vilified, and as before observed, the obnoxious governor is recalled.

So that, unless the province stoops to be loaded with a triple tier of subsidies; namely, one for the public service, ordinary and extraordinary, one for the governor's annual appointments, and one for the gratification of the proprietaries and their creatures, it seems reasonable to conclude it is never to enjoy any established state of tranquillity.

And now, in addition to the points of proprietary encroachment and proprietary resentment already mentioned, we are naturally led to such other points of controversy, as at various times have arisen for want of sufficient foresight and sufficient preventatives; and of which several are unhappily in agitation at this very day.

It cannot but be recollected, that Mr. Penn, in his discourse with his joint adventurers, concerning reserved rents for the support of government, made a remarkable distinction between his two capacities of proprietary and governor: and from hence, as well as from the nature of the trust, it must obviously follow, that when he withdrew himself to England, and transferred the government to his deputies, those deputies could not but be possessed of all the powers originally vested, by the crown, in him. Adroit as he was at refinements, he could not do by his trust as he did by his land;-withhold a reserve of power, and, like the drunken sailors in the play, appoint a viceroy, and retain a power to be viceroy over him.

And yet even Mr. Penn himself in his commission to Evans, a man, as we have seen, determined enough to push any proprietary, and defeat any popular point whatsoever, could venture to slip the following clause into his commission, to wit: "saving always to

scended to act a part neither becoming nor prudent: procuring himself to be returned as an assembly-man, and taking all the measures in his power to divide the province, embarrass the governor, and distress the proprietaries.

me and my heirs, our final assent to all such bills as thou shalt pass into laws in the said government, &c."

The assembly, however, to whom this commission was communicated, were shrewd enough to start the following doubt upon it, and to send it by way of message to the council, to wit: whether the said vote is void in itself, and does not vacate the rest of the said commission or render it invalid?" And the council, with the proprietary's eldest son at the head, and secretary Logan at the rear of it, were so startled at it, that, in order to evade the last inference, they found themselves under a necessity to return the following answer. We of the council, whose names are hereunto subscribed, are of opinion, that the said saving is void in itself: and that those bills which the present lieutenant-governor shall think fit to pass into laws, and cause the proprietary's great seal to be affixed thereunto, cannot afterwards be vacated or annulled by the proprietary, without assent of the assembly of this province."

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vernor's part: that thou make no speech, nor send any written message to the assembly, but what shall be first approved in council; that thou receive all messages from them in council, if practicable at the time; and shall return no bills to the house, without the advice of the council; nor pass any whatsoever into a law, without the consent of a majority of that board, &c."

What, therefore, the governor's bond has not been sufficient to obtain, this new expedient was to extort. If the governor would not act as required, he was thus to be disabled from acting at all: and after so many various frames of government had been granted and regranted, proprietary will and pleasure was to be the last resort of all.

In vain both governor and assembly freely and fully remonstrated against such an innovation, in a government supposed to be guarded by charter against all innovations whatsoever; more especially such as were neither consistent with the rights of the people, the powers already vested in the governor, nor the respect due to the crown.

The next piece of practice, to answer the same purpose, that was found out, was to im- Logan discovered the assembly were not pose certain conditions of government on the authorized by charter to advise, though they deputy, under the penalty of a certain sum. were to enact; because the word advice was This was first submitted to by Keith, and has not to be found in that last given to them; been a rule to all his successors, with this dif- that governors were not to be trusted to act ference, that whereas the penalty exacted without advice; consequently the said exfrom him was but one thousand pounds ster-pedient to bridle them was a good one; and ling, it has been since raised to two or three if we may judge by events, his sophistry has thousand pounds. given the law ever since.

From what has been thus far recited, it is obvious, that the proprietary of Pennsylvania was of too little consideration here at home, to be of much use to the province either as a protector or advocate; and yet, that he was there so much above the level of his freemen and tenants, that, even in their legislative ca

If ever the case of this colony should come before parliament, which is not altogether improbable, no doubt these conditions will be called for; and if they should then be found irreconcilable with the charter, and a check upon the legislative, altogether unconstitutional and illegal, the wisdom of the nation will, no doubt, pronounce upon such a tres-pacity confederated with the governor, they pass according to the heinousness of it.

Again: the widow Penn, in her private instructions to sir William Keith, having admitted and complained, that the powers of legislature were lodged in the governor and assembly, without so much as a negative reserved to the proprietary when absent, proceeds to avow, that it was never intended [by the proprietary must be understood] the said governor and assembly should have the exercise of these powers; as also to pronounce it a dangerous invention of Keith's to enact laws in conjunction with the assembly, and transmit them directly to the king's ministers without any other check; and then, after thus arrogantly interposing between the king and his lieges of this province, clenches the whole with the following injunction; "therefore, for remedy of this grievance, it is required, that thou advise with the council, upon every meeting or adjournment of the assembly, which requires any deliberation on the go

could hardly maintain their rights they were so many ways entitled to, against the artifices and encroachments of his emissaries.

As lord of the soil, is the light he is next to be considered. The charter Mr. Penn obtained of the crown, comprehended a far greater extent of territory, than he thought fit to take up of the Indians at his first purchase.

And even in the very infancy of his colony, it was by act of assembly inconsiderately, because unconditionally, provided, that in case any person should presume to buy land of the natives, within the limits of the province, &c. without leave first obtained from the proprietary, the bargain and purchase so made should be void.

Rendered thus the only purchaser, he reckoned he might always accommodate himself at the Indian market, on the same terms, with what quantity of land he pleased; and till the stock in hand, or such parts of it as he

thought fit to dispose of, were in a fair way of being sold off, he did not think it for his interest to incumber himself with more.

may be reclaimed and re-assumed at any time, it cannot be too soon reclaimed and reassumed.

That assembly then, which first discovered this lapse, or which at the requisition of their constituents, first endeavoured to retrieve it, did no more than their duty; and the precedent they set cannot be too closely followed.

This happened sooner than he foresaw; though it must be acknowledged the founders of few cities appear to have had more foresight than he. The growth of his colony exceeded his most sanguine expectations; and, when successive new purchases came to be made, an inconvenience by degrees became manifest, which, perhaps, had not been thought of before, or if thought of, had not been guard-an use, which even he, with all his shrewded against.

Men who want a present convenience must not be over solicitous about future contingencies; and, in general, we choose to be blind to such objects as we fear we have not strength enough to remove: he that is too much of a huckster often loses a bargain; as he that is too little so, often purchases a law

suit.

It was no hard matter to induce a belief, that occasional treaties with the Indians, under the pretence of keeping up the same brotherly correspondence which had been at first established with them, was a necessary measure of government; nor to prevail with the province, while this was understood to be the sole consideration, to bear the expense of them. But when it appeared, as in the course of time was unavoidable, that a treaty and a purchase went on together; that the former was a shoeing-horn for the latter; that the governor only made the compliments, and the assembly the presents, &c. it could not but appear also, that there must be somewhat unfair in a procedure where one paid all the cost, and the other engrossed all the profit; and that it was high time to put some stop to a practice so injurious to their understandings. It is not indeed necessary in private life to bargain, that those who purchase for their own use and advantage, should pay the price out of their own pockets; but in public it is. Persons who stand on the same ground will insist on the same rights; and it is matter of wonder, when any one party discovers folly or insolence enough to demand or expect any pre-eminence over the other.

Whereas prerogative admits of no equality; and presupposes, that difference of place alters the use of language, and even the very nature of things.

Hence, though protection is the reason, and, consequently, should be the end of government, we ought to be as much upon our guard against our protectors as against our enemies.

Power, like water, is ever working its own way; and wherever it can find or make an opening, is altogether as prone to overflow whatever is subject to it.

And though matter of right overlooked,

Again: the distinction made by Mr. Penn in the case of the quit-rents, between his two capacities of governor and proprietary, had

ness, did not perhaps advert to, when it was made; or at least expect it would be adverted to by any body else.

For the support of the governor and government, it must be recollected they were submitted to; for the support of the proprietary, when absent from his government, and when the government charge was otherwise supported, they were paid: and as he and his agents went on, not only to reserve such rents out of all the parcels of lands they disposed of, but even to rise in their demands, as the value of lands rose; so it could not but follow, that in process of time these quit-rents would of themselves become an immense estate.

When, therefore, the proprietary no longer acted as governor, nor even resided in the province, nor expended a fifth of his income there, could it be supposed, that this estate, thus obtained and thus perverted from its original purpose, should not be liable, in common with all other estates, to contribute to those charges it was first in the entire allotted for, and the whole amount of which it so many fold exceeds?

No property in England is tax-free: no difference in the amount, or value of property, makes any difference in the duty of subjects: and nothing is more consonant to reason, than that he who possesses most, should contribute most to the public service.

And yet, for want of a specific clause to declare their property taxable, the present proprietaries insist on having it exempted from every public obligation, and upon charging the difference on the public, who, it cannot be too often remembered, gave it in the first instance as the price of an exemption from all other taxes.

Clear, however, it will be made to every unprejudiced mind, that such a specific clause neither is nor ever was necessary; and, that in virtue of the inherent right, as well as the power and authority reposed in the freemen to tax themselves by ways and means of their own providing, all the property of the province lies indiscriminately at their discretion, subject to an equal taxation.

The paper currency of the province is next to be mentioned; and as that was out of pros

pect while the several frames of government | as possible on a par with gold and silver, they were under consideration, it could not be imposed sufficient penalties on all those who comprehended in any of them.

The currency then was, and so continued to be, for many years after, gold and silver of any species by weight; at first in so irregular a manner, and at such uncertain rates, as gave the crafty many opportunities to prey upon the ignorant and necessitous; consequently was productive of much contention, embarrassment, and confusion.

By royal proclamation, in the fourth of queen Anne, the rates and values of all foreign coins current in the English colonies were limited and ascertained; and, in her sixth, the contents of the said proclamation were enacted into a law, which is still in force.

But the annual influx of these foreign coins, through what channel soever, or from whatsoever source, by no means answered the demands of an annual issue.

From England came all the manufactures consumed in the plantations; and all the returns they could make by their commodities sent thither directly, or the product of them at other markets, fell far short of the balance growing against them.

The defect, therefore, was to be made good in gold and silver, and was so as long and as often as any could be found. Every colony, in its turn, was, consequently, drained of its specie; and, as it is an impossibility known and avowed, for any trading community to subsist without some medium of circulation, every colony in its turn was obliged to have recourse to the same expedient of uttering provincial bills of credit, and making them answer, as far as possible, all the topical purposes of gold and silver; by which their severa. capitals were enlarged; the gold and silver became commodities that could be spared for exportation; and the merchants at home were paid in that gold and silver, without any provincial detri

ment.

Pennsylvania, however, if not the very last, was one of the last, which gave into it. It was not till the year 1722 (Keith, governor) that they made their first experiment; and even then they proceeded with the utmost caution and circumspection, in every step they took.

Knowing, for example, that the danger of depreciation was the only danger they had to guard against, and that nothing but an over quantity, defect of solid security, and of proper provision to recall and cancel them, could create that danger, they issued at first but fifteen thousand pounds; they made no loans but on land-security or plate deposited in the loan-office they obliged the borrowers to pay five per cent. for the sums they took up; they made their bills a tender in all payments of all kinds, on pain of vacating the debt, or forfeiting the commodity: to keep them as near

presumed to make any bargain or sale upon cheaper terms, in case of being paid in the one preferable to the other: they provided for the gradual reduction of them, by enacting, that one eighth of the principal, as well as the whole interest money, should be annually paid. And it was not till they were convinced by experience of the utility of the measure, and the insufficiency of the sum, that they adventured to issue thirty thousand pounds more.

Such, moreover, was the benefit apparently resulting from it; such the inconveniency apprehended by every body from the scarcity of money sure to follow a too precipitate discharge of the loans; and such the apparent growth of the province during this interval, that, in the year 1729 (Patrick Gordon, governor) it was thought advisable to increase the provincial capital by a new emission of bills, to the amount of thirty thousand pounds, and to render the repayments still easier to the borrowers, by reducing them to one sixteenth a year.

Again: in the year 1739 (George Thomas, governor) occasion was taken from the discoveries repeatedly made, that these provincialbills had been counterfeited, not only to call them all in, in order to their being replaced with others of a new impression, &c. but also for the reasons before given, to issue the further sums of eleven thousand one hundred and ten pounds five shillings, (which, added to the sums already in circulation, made their whole capital amount to eighty thousand pounds) to be current for sixteen years.

Lastly finding, that the like, or a greater sum, in case the province should grow still greater, would in all probability be always necessary, the assembly moreover provided, that so fast as any of the former borrowers should repay their provincial-money, the trustees of the loan-office might re-emit the same sums during the said term of sixteen years, on the same conditions, either to them or others, without any new authority for that purpose.

And, upon the whole, it is to be observed, that the assembly, in establishing this paper currency, in taking upon themselves, as representatives of the province, to appoint the trustees and other officers charged with the administration of it; in providing that the said trustees and officers should be responsible to the province for their conduct in it; and in reserving to the assembly, for the time being, the disposition and application of the annual product, met not with any such objection from their governors, or the proprietaries, or the ministry here at home, as could excite the least apprehension of any such contest, as might either embroil the province, affect the interest, or incommode the government of it.

It is true, the proprietaries and their agents | been at first opprobriously called by that of did, from the beginning, discover a repugnance quakers, have been forced, by the joint tyto this measure, till they found themselves ranny of imposition and custom, to answer to considered in it; like the snail with his horns, it ever since. they had no sensations for the province, but what reached them through the nerves of power and profit. Profit, though ranked last, they consulted first; and when possessed of one point, they thought they might wrangle more successfully for the other.

If the widow Penn acquiesced in the papermoney acts passed by Keith, she reprimanded him for passing them; and in a manner forbid him to pass any more.

Of these, the majority carried along with them a scruple better accommodated to the forming of a society and preserving it in peace, than to the protecting it from those insults and depredations which pride and lust of dominion have at all periods committed on their weaker neighbours; and from the visitation of which, no system of politics, morals, or religion, hath as yet been able to preserve mankind.

All their views, purposes, and endeavours were narrowed, therefore, to the forms and uses of civil life; and to link the several parts of their own little community in the most expedient manner together.

The French were too feeble in America and too remote from Pennsylvania, to be then apprehended. The provinces adjacent were branches from the same root, and responsible for their conduct to the same laws; and the Indians, from the very beginning, had been considered and treated as equally the sons of one common father.

Gordon (Keith's successor) having over and over again acknowledged his conviction of the conveniences arising to the province from a reasonable increase of their paper currency, gave the assembly to understand, in so many words, that nothing but the gratification of the Nor, indeed, had they at that time any proprietaries in the affair of their quit-rents, other object before them: alike to wage war would prevent the opposition they were other- against any power in alliance with England, wise to expect to the act then before them in and to correspond with any power at war with England. her, was expressly forbid both to the proprieBy special contract with the several pur-tary and the province, by the fifteenth section chasers, these quit-rents of theirs were to be of the royal charter. paid in sterling money; and, as it was impossible, by any provision whatsoever, to make the provincial currency answer the universal purposes of gold and silver, so no provision could hinder these metals from having the preference of paper. To convert paper into specie or bullion could not of course but be attended with some cost; and hence the proprietary-remittances could not but come shorter home. When, therefore, by the eighty thousind pounds act, paper was to become the provincial establishment, they would not allow their share of the provincial advantage resulting from it (which was, at least, equal to that of the province, as will hereafter become apparent) to be what it really was, an adequate consideration, but insisted, not only on having the difference between paper and specie or bullion made up to them, and that the difference of exchange should be made up to them also; or, in other words, that the pounds sterling due to them in Pennsylvania, should be paid to them nett in England.

In short, the sum of one thousand two hundred pounds was in this manner extorted from the province, together with an annuity of one hundred and thirty pounds, to continue during the circulation of those bills; which will serve to show, at least, that the province could not be more stubborn, upon other occasions, than the proprietaries were selfish on this.

There remains yet another topic to be touched upon, which will require a more tender consideration from the reader than perhaps it may always find.

Mr. Penn and his followers were of that sect, who call themselves by the amiable and levelling name of Friends; and who having |

Land wanted by us was a drug to them. The province, then to be allotted, peopled, and cultivated, had not been wrested from them by violence, but purchased for a suitable consideration. In the contract between the proprietary and his sub-adventurers, all possible care had been taken that no cause of complaint should be administered to them: in trade they were not to be overreached nor imposed upon in their persons they were not to be insulted or abused; and, in case of any complaint on either side, the subject-matter was to be heard by the magistrates in concert with the Indian chief, and decided by a mixed jury of Indians and planters.

The same regard to conscience which led them into this wilderness, adhered to them afterwards; and having thus resolved and provided, never to be aggressors, and not being sovereigns, they left the rest to Providence.

Governed by principle in all things, and believing the use of arms to be unlawful, the case of defence by arms could not come within their plan.

But then as their community was left open to Christians of all persuasions, and the conditions of union could be abhorrent to none, they might well presume on being joined by numbers, which has since happened accordingly, who, being devoid of such scruples,

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