USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > An historical account of the old State house of Pennsylvania now known as the Hall of Independence > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
The Governor suggested numerous amendments. These, however,
THE FIRST TOWN HALL AND COURT HOUSE.
9
COMMENCEMENT OF STATE HOUSE.
were all disregarded by the Assembly, except in the reduction of the amount to be issued to £40,000. This brought upon the House an indignant speech, in which the Governor expressed his astonishment that not the least alteration had been made in any material point. The House replied in a formal address, which ended in a conference on the 4th of April at the Governor's house. The amount to be issued was then again reduced by another £10,000, and on the last day of April a fresh bill, pursuant to the alterations, was transcribed and delivered in at the table.
It was at this stage of the bill, on the first of May, 1729, the Journal informs us, that upon motion made "the House took into consideration the necessity of a House for the Assembly of this Province to meet in," and the question being put, it was unanimously resolved, that two thousand pounds of the £30,000 then to be emitted in paper cur- rency should be appropriated towards building such a House. On the same day, however, and apparently without any provision to meet the requirement, the original bill was ordered to be compared and sent to the Governor for his concurrence ; the latter, however, promptly re- turned it on May 6th, with numerous objections, but the House insist- ing upon its action, and incorporating a clause for the appropriation of £2000 towards the building of a State House, the Governor yielded his points, and the bill was at once ordered to be engrossed.
The original draft of this bill, with its interlineations and amend- ments in the handwriting of Andrew Hamilton, has been fortunately preserved, and is now deposited in the National Museum, Independ- ence Hall.
The page relating to our subject is herewith presented. (See p. 10.)
During the discussions this bill engendered between the Governor and the Assembly, and in view of what was destined to transpire in the very building erected under one of its provisions, it is a little amusing to find how the Governor in his message expatiated on the deference due to the royal authority, " under which," he says, " we have the great happiness to live, and from which we derive all our protection. It is our glory as well as our happiness that we are sub- jects to the Crown of Britain under which and the Proprietary we enjoy our vast privileges."
This law as finally passed is entitled " An Act for emitting of thirty thousand pounds in bills of credit for the better support of government and the trade of this Province." Its concluding section is as follows : " And forasmuch as a House for the Representatives of the Freemen of this Province to meet and sit in General Assembly in the City of
L
3 1833 02223 8767
10
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
Otro forasmuch as a House for of Conveni. eney and use of the politics of Retrofelting iftira fremwenn
this Provence -is very much wanted Berit therefor Enacted that it sum of two thousand pounds of Biler of fred it made farwest but this act be Delivered Guy 4) truffes of of Joan Office.
-
Gerfons herby
appointed for Building Maszyny on of Dame in Such Jums Vat Auch fine as of aformbly of this Provence Shall herafter Order & Direct and I Sawfees of of General Joan ofice that it said fun of two thousand Prosty
Greati shall be sunk by an aruce_ Sinking & bethoping of two Hundred Counts Sorteroft money brifing by this act- Bout of Triffces infrance of
11
SITE AND PLANS FOR STATE HOUSE.
Philadelphia, is very much wanted . Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the sum of two thousand pounds of bills of credit made current by this act be delivered by the Trustees of the Loan Office to Thomas Lawrence, Andrew Hamilton, and John Kears- ley, who are hereby appointed for building and carrying on the Da Koy same ; who shall give their re- ceipt to the trustees for the said bills," etc. Passing through the usual formalities on the eighth, the bill was signed by the Speaker on the tenth of May. On the same day the House, as was then the custom, waited in a body upon the Gov- ernor, that this and . gordon other bills should be passed into law-the concurrence of "his honour " having been graciously accorded.
Such is the modest provision made for the State House of Pennsylvania, now the world renowned " Independence Hall."
Still another formality was required, "the affixing of the Great Seal of the Province," and this demanded the presence of a committee of the House. Messrs. Thomas Tress and William Monington, were assigned to this duty. Even now the law might be disallowed by his Majesty's Government, and in anticipation of an adverse action the House had appointed another committee, consisting of John Kearsley, Andrew Hamilton, and William Webb, to prepare an address to the King, and one to the Penns, in favor of the law as passed.
It was not for many months that his Majesty's royal pleasure in favor of its validity was made known.
A contrariety of opinion among the members of the building com- mittee, both as to site and plans, delayed any action for nearly three years. While the legislative body had determined upon neither, it will be remembered that its action was based upon a petition from the citizens of Philadelphia, who had designated " High Street " near the Prison (Market Street, near Third), as the locus in quo, and wished a " Market " in connection with it.
Dr. Kearsley evidently favored this location. As an amateur archi- tect, too, he had planned and superintended the erection of Christ
12
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
Church, a building which gave universal satisfaction, and had con- . stituted the Doctor an authority in such matters. He conceived a plan for the State House, and submitted it to his colleagues, but so also it appears did Mr. Hamilton. That of the latter was preferred and adopted by the majority of the committee. They also determined upon the site at Chestnut Street, between Fifth and Sixth, in opposi- tion to the views of Dr. Kearsley. Thus while the latter has been strangely credited with the design and construction of the State House, it is fully shown by the records of the Assembly that he interposed every obstacle in his power, even after the site had been selected and the ground secured, "frequently insisting," complains Mr. Hamilton, "that the House of Representatives had never agreed that it should be built at that place."
William Penn, with his accustomed foresight, had reserved for the public buildings, city and State, "the Centre Square " at Broad and Market streets, but only forty-seven years had then elapsed, and it needed nigh unto two centuries to justify his anticipations.
The lots on Chestnut Street which Messrs. Hamilton and Lawrence selected, had been sold to various purchasers ; the former therefore authorized William Allen (even then a prominent merchant and sub- sequently one of the most distinguished citizens of Philadelphia) to buy in his own name, for the use of the Province, the necessary ground. On the 15th October, 1730, he made his first purchase of one hundred and ninety-eight feet (including the middle) of the present Chestnut Street front, and running back half way to Walnut, besides a small lot at the corner of Sixth Street, on Chestnut, and another small lot on Fifth, these last evidently intended as an entering wedge to the acqui- sition of the whole of the Chestnut Street front - a project nearly completed by additional purchases made by Mr. Hamilton himself, in 1732, in the spring of which year ground was actually broken.
The plan adopted included alone the present main or central build- ing (the State House proper), and was designed to accommodate the Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the Governor's Council only.
It fell to Mr. Speaker Hamilton, personally, to carry out the design of the noble building he had planned ; and as usual, in those days as in our own, while seeking conscientiously to serve the public without fee or reward, he was repaid by malicious insinuations and active opposition.
Inferior mechanics who wanted " jobs," and were rebuffed ; office- holders who sought to subserve their own selfish ends, regardless of public convenience or public interests ; disappointed schemers, and
-
13
PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS.
even well intentioned citizens, enamored of their own notions, con- tributed to impede or thwart the work, till at last Mr. Hamilton, pro- voked beyond endurance, brought the whole subject before the Legis- lature. In the presence of Dr. Kearsley he requested that the House would resolve itself into a committee of the whole in order to hear and discuss the subject of location, plans, and contracts, etc. This was accordingly done, and full opportunity given to Dr. Kearsley, to present his own design and all the objections to that of Mr. Hamilton, whose plan and elevation of the State House were also submitted to the members. By formal resolution the action of Mr. Hamilton, both in regard to the site selected and to the manner of conducting the building, was approved.
Mr. Hamilton informed the House that the charge of superintending the erection of the building and providing incidental materials and workmen had almost entirely been devolved upon himself ; that he found from experience that the affair was attended with great difficul- ties and with much prejudice to his own private concerns ; and desired that the House should appoint some competent person to superintend the work, who could devote his attention to the subject, and be in- vested with needful authority to enforce his orders. The House, how- ever, declined to release Mr. Hamilton. They fully indorsed all the arrangements hitherto made by him, with the request that he would continue to act with the existing committee, and promised due com- pensation.
Mr. Allen had purchased the lots in his own name, and expended his own money in so doing, relying no doubt on his friends, Hamilton and Lawrence, for repayment. Accordingly the House on 8th of Aug- ust, 1732, took into consideration the expediency of " vesting in trust in some body politick and corporate, capable of succession, who should be compellable to execute that trust in such manner as may be directed by the General Assembly of the Province for the time being." On the 11th they passed a resolution, that the committee should pay to William Allen the purchase money for the ground he bought for the State House, upon the said William Allen making a declaration of trust with stipulation of conveyance to such persons as any subsequent House of Representatives should see fit to appoint for that service.
The preliminary arrangements having been thus finally adjusted, work was recommenced in earnest. Mr. Hamilton's two colleagues seem to have relinquished all supervision, Mr. Lawrence probably from confidence in his friend's judgment, and Dr. Kearsley in sullen dis- gust. At this early day the Philadelphia mechanics still retained
14
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
their English pride of "Guilds," and competent workmen could be found to supply all the requisites except fancy plaster work.
No trades-unions then interfered with learning the trade adopted by the apprentice ; no cooperative association existed to foist upon an abused public inferior work through irresponsible and incompetent laborers.
Skilled masons, skilled carpenters, and skilled plasterers, as the work now attests after nearly a century and a half, faithfully per- formed the labors assigned them.
The names of some of them employed at various times have been preserved.
Edmund Woolley, Ebenezer Tomlinson, carpenters and builders ; John Harrison, joiner and carver ; Thomas Shoemaker, with whom were Robert Hind, and Thomas Peglar ; Joseph Hitchcock ; Thomas Boude, bricklayer ; Daniel Jones, James Stoops, and Benjamin Fair- man, brickmakers ; William Holland, marble mason ; Thomas Kerr, plasterer ; Jona. Palmer, Thomas Redman, stone masons and cellar diggers ; Brian Wilkinson, wood carver; Thomas Ellis, glazier; and later still Thomas Godfrey, who afterwards became famous as the inventor of the Quadrant.
The painting was done by Gustavus Hesselius, who subsequently . removed to Maryland, and became well known as a portrait painter.
During the session of 1735-6, the question was again agitated of placing the State House with its croft, toft, and loft in proper legal plight. It was determined to vest the whole in Trustees, and William Allen was very properly selected by the House, with associates the chief Burgesses of Bristol and of Chester. Mr. Allen had now become mayor of the city, and for personal reasons as well as from feelings of delicacy earnestly asked to be excused, whereupon it was resolved that John Kinsey, Joseph Kirkbride, Jr., Caleb Cowpland, and Thomas Edwards, should be named as Trustees.
An act of assembly was passed accordingly, February 21, 1736, re- citing the purchases by Andrew Hamilton and William Allen, and the fact of the erection of a State House and other buildings, and re- quiring a conveyance by these gentlemen to the Trustees named.
This act contains the proviso so often made merry over, -" It is the true intent and meaning of these Presents, that no part of the said ground lying to the southward of the State House, as it is now built, be converted into or made use of for erecting any sort of Building thereupon, but that the said ground shall be enclosed and remain a public open Green and Walks forever,"-a requirement doubtless made originally by Mr. Hamilton.
15
FIRST USE OF STATE HOUSE.
Directions had already been given in 1732, that "the ground be- longing to the State House may be with the least expense, and with all convenient speed levelled and enclosed with a board fence, in order that walks may be laid out and trees planted to render the same more beautiful and commodious," but while a wall was finally erected as a protection no attempts to plant or embellish the grounds seem to have been made down to the period of the Revolution. In March, 1733, a plan was exhibited to and adopted by the House for the erection of two offices adjoining the original edifice to be used as places of deposit for the " greater security of the public papers of the province."
Spurred on by the fact that the Assembly was sitting in cramped quarters, -a small tenement on one of the lots purchased for the State House Square, - the work was now pushed rapidly forwards, especially the chamber designed for the Assembly itself. But even before its occupancy, the first public use, to which any portion of the building was put, was, appropriately enough, for what might be called a raising frolic. Here in the second story, in "the long room " and its two ante- chambers was held the great banquet described in Franklin's " Penn- sylvania Gazette, "under date of September 30, 1736, as follows : -
" Thursday last William Allen, Esq., Mayor of this city for the year past, made a feast for his citizens at the State House, to which all the strangers in town of note were also invited. Those who are judges of such things say that considering the delicacy of the viands, the variety and excellency of the wines, the great number of guests, and yet the easiness and order with which the whole was conducted, it was the most grand, the most elegant entertainment that has been made in these parts of America."
Thus was inaug- urated the Banquet- Will. Men Mayo. ing Hall of the city, a name that it re- tained till the com- mencement of the present century, while its reputation seems to have been kept constantly alive, as we shall presently see, by the giving therein all ceremonial banquets, whether to celebrate the King's birth- day, the arrival of a new Governor or any member of the Proprietary family, or of a commander-in-chief of the royal forces.
Apprehensive of censure on the score of too heavy an expenditure, it was determined at first to wainscot the Assembly Room only in part and finish it in plaster, but upon consideration this was deemed false economy and while still in a rough state with the windows not even
16
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL. .
fully glazed, it was prepared for the occupancy of the Legislature at their October session, 1736.
The first Assembly using the chamber was composed of the follow- ing members : -
Philadelphia County .- Thomas Leech, John Kinsey, Robert Jones, Edward Warner, William Allen, Job Goodsonn, Jonathan Robeson, Septimus Robinson.
Bucks County. - Joseph Kirkbride, Jr., Jeremiah Langhorne, Christian Vanhorne, Andrew Hamilton, Lawrence Growdon, William Biles, Matthew Hughes, Benjamin Jones.
Chester County. - Joseph Harvey, Thomas Cummings, John Evans, Caleb Cowpland, William Webb, William Moore, Thomas Chandler, John Parry.
Philadelphia City. - " Burgesses : " John Kearsley, Israel Pember- ton.
The new county of Lancaster was represented by James Hamilton, Andrew Galbraith, Thomas Armstrong, and Thomas Edwards.
Andrew Hamilton was elected Speaker for the seventh time.
Benjamin Franklin was elected clerk, vice Growdon, then turned out ; James Mackey, sergeant at arms ; and Stephen Potts, door- keeper of the House.
The Council was at this time sitting at the house of the President, James Logan. After choosing a Speaker (always the first act of the
Shy Hearty Loving & Go Logan
session), the whole House waited upon the Governor in person, " to present him " for the approbation of the Governor, in a very curious formula, - for the Speaker was expected to request the Governor to make another choice, he the Speaker elect declaring his want of proper qualifications for that office. A departure seems to have been made by Andrew Hamilton, in 1738, who on the formal presentation dis- claimed in a dignified and becoming manner the holding of such opinion of himself and declined to say with his mouth that which was not agreeable to the sentiments of his heart, etc.
Mr. Hamilton's increasing ill health induced him in the following year to retire from public employment, though apparently he still re- tained some part in the supervision of the building of the State House. The active agency of Mr. Hamilton, the credit of which has been so
-----.
ANDREW HAMILTON.
17
ANDREW HAMILTON.
strangely accorded to another, joined to the fidelity with which he dis- charged every public duty he assumed, and the fearlessness with which he asserted the rights of the citizen, rights that have descended to this day, entitle him to something more than a mere passing notice at our hands, among a generation which almost ignores his name.
The paternity as well as the early life of Mr. Hamilton are in- volved in mystery; partially on this account and partially from the fact of change of name from Trent to Hamilton, and by the un- usually finished education he received professionally, as well as aca- demically, an air of romance has been thrown around him. Family tradition has been invoked to justify a suggestion that " he probably killed a person of importance in a duel, and was compelled to fly from his native country," Scotland ; and again, that " political difficulties had induced his emigration, and original change of name," while less considerate suggestions have been made of a conviction for some crime though admitted less than a felony.
Educated to the bar in Maryland, where for a short time he practiced, he was admitted to Gray's Inn, London, and shortly after established himself in Philadelphia, became a member of the Gover- nor's Council and Attorney-general of the Province, a position he retained from 1717 to 1726. He was appointed successively Pro- thonotary of the court and Recorder of the city ; while at the same time he was a member of the Assembly from Bucks County.
Elected Speaker in 1729, he received annually the suffrages of his fellow members for the same office for ten consecutive years; - 1733 alone excepted, -retiring finally from public life in 1739, save only from the position of Recorder, then a highly important office, which he retained fourteen years, till his death on the 4th of August, 1741.
" He lived," says Franklin, in announcing his decease, " not without enemies, for as he was himself open and honest, he took pains to un- mask the hypocrite, and boldly censured the knave, without regard to station or profession. Such, therefore, may exult at his death. He steadily maintained the cause of liberty ; and the laws made during the time he was Speaker of the Assembly, -which was many years, - will be a lasting monument of his affection to the people, and of his con- cern for the welfare of this province. He was no friend to power, as he had observed an ill use had been frequently made of it in the colonies, and therefore was seldom upon good terms with the gov- ernors. This prejudice, however, did not always determine his conduct towards them, for when he saw they meant well he was for supporting them honorably, and was indefatigable in removing the prejudices of
2
ELEVATION OF THE STATE HOUSE.
18
19
ANDREW HAMILTON.
others. He was long at the top of his profession here, and had he been as griping as he was knowing, he might have left a much greater fortune to his family than he had done. But he spent much more time in hearing and reconciling differences in private (to the loss of his fees) than he did in pleading causes at the Bar."
His professional ability was such as to induce his retention in all the important cases of the day in the Province of Pennsylvania, and frequently was he applied to for counsel and advice by the governors, as well as citizens, of the other colonies.
It was, however, the famous " Zenger trial case " that earned him immortality. The defendant was John Peter Zenger, -" a Palatine child," who had been apprenticed by the State to William Bradford, to learn the trade and mystery of printing, after the removal of the latter to New York. Zenger had evidently imbibed from his master, with the handicraft itself, the principles which should guide him in its con- duct. Bradford, it will be remembered, had abandoned Philadelphia, in consequence of interferences on the part of the Governor and Coun-
A BRIEF
NARRATIVE
OF THE
CASE AND TRIAL OF
JOHN PETER ZENGER, Printer of the. NEW-YORK WEEKLY-JOURNAL.
NEW-YORK Printed: LANCASTER Re-printed, and Sold by, .W. DUNser. as the New. Pressing Office, in QuierSind $756.
20
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
cil, and of his arrest made on account of his publications, but both before the Council and the court he maintained his right to publish the truth without sedition, and claimed that in such cases the jury were judges of the law as of the fact.
With BrasLow
In 1733, Zenger set up for himself, and published in that city the "New York Weekly Journal," with apparent satisfaction to all con- cerned, until at last he undertook to criticize the mismanagement of public affairs ; remarking that the people of New York "think as
matters now stand that their liberties and properties are precarious, and that slavery is like to be entailed upon them and their posterity, if some things be not amended, and this they collect from many past proceedings."
Again, in the following April, after commenting upon the general interests of the country, he concluded an article by observing that as to New York, " We see men's deeds destroyed, judges arbitrarily dis- placed, new courts erected without consent of the Legislature, by which it seems to me trials by jury are taken away when a governor pleases ; men of known estates denied their votes contrary to the received prac- tice, the best exposition of any law. Who is there in that Province that can call anything his own, or enjoy any liberty longer than those in the administration will condescend to let them do it ? " etc.
Over these publications the government was much exercised, and after trying in vain to secure the action of the grand jury, finally re- quired the Attorney-general of the Province to lodge " an informa- tion " against Zenger. The Chief Justice, De Lancey, before whom
-------
21
ANDREW HAMILTON.
the case would be tried, was also a member of the Governor's Council, and thus participated in the preliminary steps against the intended criminal.
Zenger's original counsel, at the outset, having taken exceptions to the competency of the court, were by the latter excluded from practice, and the defendant was thus left at the mercy of the royal Justices, who thereupon appointed, to take charge of his defense, a gentleman who proved himself so obsequious, as to render it likely to result in the imprisonment of his client. Under these circumstances, Andrew Hamilton undertook the case " without fee or reward, and though laboring under the weight of many years and great infirmities of body," he entered into it with such ardor as to induce him to ask pardon, during the progress of the case, for his zeal on the occasion. "It is an old and wise caution," said he, "that when our neighbor's house is on fire we ought to take care of our own. For though - blessed be God - I live in a Government where Liberty is well under- stood and freely enjoyed ; yet experience has shown us all (I'm sure it has to me) that a bad precedent in one government is soon set up for an authority in another, and therefore I cannot but think it mine and every honest man's duty that (while we pay all due obedience to men in authority) we ought at the same time to be upon our guard against power wherever we apprehend that it may affect ourselves or our fellow subjects."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.