USA > Pennsylvania > Chronicles of Pennsylvania from the English revolution to the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1688-1748, Vol. I > Part 21
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John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, lost some favor with Charles II by writing the following, over the latter's bedchamber door, it is said:
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"Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King "Whose word no man relies on;
"He never says a foolish thing, "Nor ever does a wise one."
Surely no public act could have exceeded in folly the grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn. Some econo- mies, perhaps greater than the withholding of some of the jewels scattered on ladies of the court, would have enabled the debt of the Crown to his father to be paid. Yet, instead of this, there was sacrificed-a worse bargain that the Indians made for tracts of the land -something like 45,000,000 acres. Charles, to be sure, was ignorant of their mineral wealth, which, could the ore land have been retained until our day, would have made the Admiral's present heir-at-law the richest man in the World. What was then more to be considered, and should have been plain to any statesman, the fron- tier approaching the French, and the middle of the strip of territory which England owned in America, was to be peopled with non-resistants, was to be made smooth for the advance of an enemy designing to cut the territory in two! And the danger might remain even if relations with France were friendly: the Spaniards in Mexico could send an expedition without crossing the ocean, and no one could be sure that Sweden or Holland, possibly recovering the strength so recently lost, would not again secure footing on the shores of Delaware Bay. Even in the unhoped for contingency of the Proprietary and his tenants being willing to take up arms, military considerations called for a single strong colony in the space between New England and Virginia, instead of several under inde- pendent and disagreeing governments. New York, which protected New England on the west, was weak- ened by the creation of a rival with charter boundaries enclosing the seats of those Indians who had been New York's allies in war, as well as purveyors of New
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York's chief article of commerce. We need not lay stress on the agricultural productiveness of the region formerly claimed by, and thus taken away from New York; for such was not then known. It was seen, how- ever, by Gov. Dongan shortly after the grant to Penn, that the loss of the beaver and peltry trade would deter Europeans from settling in the Hudson Valley, if, indeed, it would not cause the departure of the whites; while the Indians in question, who had saved New England in the preceding Indian war, and could bring 3000 or 4000 warriors to decide a conflict, threatened to remove to the other side of Lake Ontario, rather than live under any government south of it other than that of New York. Dongan proposed that a line be run at the latitude of 41º 40' from the Delaware to the Susquehanna, which line, he understood, would strike the falls in what is now Bradford County, Pa., and that Penn be content with what was below that line. The attitude of the Five Nations has been mentioned in the chapter on the Red Neighbours. The authorities of the City of New York addressed the King as to the injury done to it. Governor Sloughter, appointed over New York by William and Mary, wrote that, to defray the charges of government, and for maintaining the war, it would be necessary to bring Connecticut, East and West Jersey, and Pennsylvania under New York, and, on Aug. 6, 1691, after Sloughter's death, the next Governor and the Council said that no step could be more conducive to the safety of their Majesties' sub- jects in America.
In time of peace, even, the direction of a great em- pire was interfered with by having an enormous dis- trict to which a uniform system of administration could not extend, where a feudal baron was at least to be notified, and the tenantry owing him allegiance, and perhaps under his influence, could nullify what the ma- jority of the race or nation favored. Witness the
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question of Admiralty courts in Maryland and South Carolina as well as Pennsylvania.
When war was declared by William and Mary against France, the Proprietary of Pennsylvania was a non-resistant suspected of treason, the Proprietary of Maryland was a Roman Catholic, the Proprietors of South Carolina included a Quaker and an aged ex- soldier under James. On May 16, 1689, the Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations de- cided to represent to the King that the relation in which those three provinces stood to the government of England should receive the consideration of Parlia- ment for bringing them under a near dependence on the Crown.
The needs of New York for assistance from her neighbours, and the accusations against Penn, singled out Pennsylvania for attention. It was argued by many persons that all powers granted by royal patent, being subject to the King's sovereignty, could be resumed by the King, if, by dereliction on the part of the grantee, the latter forfeited them, or if, by any circum- stances, there was imminent danger of that part of the realm being lost. Some lawyers went further, and thought that the powers of government granted to William Penn, involving the revenue of the Crown, legislation, life and death, arming the subjects, and waging war, were part of the regalia of the Sovereign, and that Charles II's alienation of them was valid dur- ing that monarch's life only. No judicial decision was sought by the government. There were sufficient com- plaints of failure in the administration of justice, the Proprietary was not able to perform personally the duties of Governor, there was clearly danger of foreign conquest, to justify, under the less radical theory, a measure necessary for protection. On March 9, 1691-2, the Committee for Trade agreed to report to the Privy Council that a temporary commission should be
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granted to Colonel Fletcher, Governor of New York, to command and lead out of the Jerseys as many as 700 of the militia thereof for the defence of New York and Albany, in case of any attempt by the French and Indians, also for Col. Fletcher to take the Province of Pennsylvania under his command. It was several months before the commission for these purposes was put in shape. Under date of Oct. 21, in the 4th year of the reign, Benjamin Fletcher was constituted Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Prov- ince of Pennsylvania and Country of New Castle and all tracts of land depending thereon, with like powers as in his commission of March 18 preceding as Captain- General and Governor-in-Chief of New York, and was commanded to act according to instructions given then or afterwards, and according to such reasonable laws and statutes as were then in force, or as he might agree upon with the consent of the Council and As- sembly of Pennsylvania and New Castle, he to appoint over the region a Lieutenant-Governor and not exceed- ing twelve Councillors from the principal freeholders and inhabitants, three to be a quorum. The commis- sion for New York gave him a negative in the making of laws, and power, with the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint Judges and officers. He was to exercise certain military authority. His governor- ship &ct. of Pennsylvania &ct. was to continue dur- ing their Majesties' pleasure, and in case of his death or absence, the powers were to be exercised by who- ever might for the time being be Commander-in-Chief of New York, and in the absence of such, by the Coun- cil of New York.
Penn, in 9th month, wrote to Robert Turner that it was a pity that the Delawareans had not remained united in civil affairs with the Quaker Province; for they could not only defend the whole of his possessions, but also resist this commission. He added: "I expect
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a firm adherence to the patent, my freehold and inheri- tance." He instructed his officers to object to Fletcher exercising his commission, and if he did not desist, then to draw up exceptions, and lay them before the Lords of the Committee for Trade, and also before "Friends concerned in the province here," who would appear before the Committee. Finally, Penn ex- pressed confidence that the courts at Westminister Hall or the House of Lords on appeal would do him justice. This seems like bluster in a man who may be considered lucky that he was allowed to live; but bold- ness was perhaps the best policy. Penn also warned Fletcher not to interfere with the deputies commis- sioned by Penn.
We do not find that there was any attempt in America to carry out Penn's plan of campaign against the appointee of the Crown; and it is noticeable how little anybody seemed to care for Penn's claims. The people of Delaware probably rejoiced at the change. We would have expected the Indians to say something nice about their great friend: on the contrary, some "from the upper part of the river," coming to ask Fletcher's protection from the Senecas, complained of the Quakers, because they never encouraged or assisted them to fight. Over one hundred inhabitants of Phila- delphia County signed an address acknowledging the favor done to them by the King and Queen. The Keithian Quakers were glad to escape subjection to Thomas Lloyd; while Lloyd welcomed removal from an office which was an expense to him.
After notice to Lloyd, Fletcher, between 11 and 12 o'clock in the forenoon of April 26, 1693, arrived in Philadelphia with a military escort. The Sheriff of the County went to meet him, and conducted him to the market place, then Front and Market Streets; and there, although the leading Quakers did not counte- nance by their presence the transfer of authority,
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Lloyd slipping away when the commission was about to be read, the royal commission to Fletcher was read to the public without protest. Penn was displeased at the acquiescence shown by Lloyd and others, who merely held aloof from the new government. After- wards Penn realized that they could have done nothing more.
Fletcher at once showed courtesy. He immediately sent for Lloyd, and offered him the first place in the Council. Lloyd refusing, as Fletcher was confident he would, that place was given to Markham, who the next day was nominated Lieutenant-Governor. The others whom Fletcher had chosen as Councillors, viz, Andrew Robeson, Robert Turner, Patrick Robinson, Lawrence (or Lasse) Cock, and William Salway, unanimously approved of the appointment of Markham. After- wards, William Clark, George Forman, and John Cann were taken into the Council, and, later still, Charles Sanders, Griffith Jones (probably the lawyer), and John Donnaldson. In order to have an Assembly meet on May 15, 1693, writs, under resolution of the Council of April 27, were issued for the election of four Assemblymen from Philadelphia County, four from New Castle County, and three from each of the other Counties. This caused a letter to be presented to Fletcher by seven of Lloyd's Councillors, in behalf of the freemen, asking that no other method of calling their legislative power be used than that prescribed by the received laws. The letter was addressed to "Ben- jamin Fletcher, Esqr., Captain Generall and Gover- nor-in-Chief &ct.," but, by not naming Pennsylvania and Country of New Castle, did not express a recogni- tion of his authority over the region. Fletcher's Coun- cil decided that, with such an address, it would not be consistent with his commission to pay any attention, or give an answer to the letter. Fletcher offered to reap- point Jennings, Cooke, Ewer, Owen, and Morris as
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Justices, but all except Morris declined. Samuel Car- penter declined appointment.
The Lloydian Quakers, but not Thomas Lloyd him- self, undertook to maintain their privileges before Fletcher, who, however, was more powerful than Blackwell, being armed with authority from the King and Queen, not hampered by instructions, and not re- quired to fight his Councillors, of whom, although two, Markham and Turner, had been friends of the Pro- prietary, none were followers of Lloyd. The Quakers were driven back to the Assembly, holding fourteen out of the twenty seats filled at the first election. David Lloyd was one of the members from Chester, and, being the only lawyer in the body, is to be largely credited with what was accomplished at the session. For about thirty years afterwards, he was the leader of the de- mocracy of the Province. Unlike Blackwell, the bluff, downright, and energetic Fletcher made no stand on the etiquette due to him, and, to secure the main point, was willing to come to an accommodation in minor de- tails. As an act of grace, with the stipulation that it was not to be treated as a precedent, he allowed the Quaker members to serve without taking an oath, but the declaration of faith and test was presented to and subscribed by them. Complimenting Growdon, who was elected Speaker, Fletcher laid before the House a letter from Queen Mary, dated Oct. 11, 1692, signed by the Earl of Nottingham, directing the Governor of Pennsylvania to send such assistance in men or other- wise as the colony could furnish, for the defence of Albany, upon application from the Commander-in- Chief of New York, and to join with the Governors of New England, Virginia, and Maryland in fixing upon the quota of each colony. Fletcher told the Assembly : "If there be any amongst you that scruple the giving of money to support war, there are a great many other charges in that government for the support thereof as
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officers' salaries and other charges that amount to a con- siderable sum: your money shall be converted to these uses, and shall not be dipt in blood." He then argued to them that the walls around their gardens and orchards, the doors and locks of their houses, the mastiff dogs which they made use of to defend their property against robbers, were the same as forts, garrisons, and soldiers, which their Majesties made use of to defend their king- doms and provinces and all their subjects, including those whom he was addressing. The House, replying with a preamble that the King and Queen had appointed him to supply the want of the Proprietary's personal attendance, asked that the procedure in legislation be according to the usual method and laws founded on the late King's letters patent, which the members con- ceived to be yet in force, and that the same be confirmed to them as their rights and liberties. Fletcher, point- ing out how inconsistent the Frame of Government was with his commission, plainly told them that they could not keep the former, it having fallen at Charles II's death, but, if the Assembly would propose any laws for the convenience or safety of the colony, he, the Governor, would concur therein, if consistent with the trust reposed in him. The House then resolved unani- mously that it could act in legislation with the Gov- ernor, and added a proviso that the People could be governed under the laws and constitution as far as consistent with Fletcher's commission. Fletcher re- plied that certain of their laws, being repugnant to those of England, he would not reenact. The Assembly in a Petition of Right, presented on May 24th, taking care to omit the laws to which Fletcher objected, set forth that 203 laws, passed under King Charles's Charter, and which, according to the Petition, had been transmitted to the King, and not disapproved of as the Charter provided, had not been repealed, and were still in force, and asked the Governor to cause them to be
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executed. Fletcher asked for a certified copy of them, doubted their presentation to the King, and argued that the seal of Penn or his deputy was essential to their enactment, but, the House having made a codi- fication into 86 chapters, Fletcher, on June 1, ordered the code to be enforced until their Majesties' pleasure were known. Thirty other laws were passed, by one of which the representatives of the People expressed their humble submission to the King and Queen's pleasure in taking the government into their own hands, and pre- sented to them, "as a testimony of our dutyful affections towards them," a tax to be spent by the Governor for the support of the government, asking their Majesties to allow one half to Governor Fletcher himself. The rate was 1d. per l. of the valuation (to be fixed by the Assemblymen from the county with the assistance of three substantial freeholders) of all real and personal estate over and above the owners' indebtedness, and 6s per head on certain freemen not worth 100l., with an exemption in favor of those who had a great charge of children, and were not worth 30l. The Proprietary and his late deputies were exempted, which was not unreasonable in the case of Thomas Lloyd, who had been at considerable expense as Lieutenant-Governor. One act of Assembly is worthy of note, and Fletcher had done the colony a service in suggesting it, viz : that for the extension to Pennsylvania and Territories of the post office inaugurated by Andrew Hamilton (sub- sequently Lieutenant-Governor). The act fixed the rates for private letters and packets, that for carrying a letter from New York to Philadelphia or in the re- verse direction being 43d.
Fletcher refused to pass a law offered by the Assem- bly, disqualifying a man getting drunk from voting or being elected, which Fletcher declared the freeholder's birthright as much as his name. Fletcher said "I will give you leave to banish me out of the government
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when you shall find me drunk." He expressed his readiness to impose fine or corporal punishment, but, not flatteringly, said that he believed, if the proposed bill were applied to the present Assembly in the strict- ness of it, there would be but a thin House.
A quarrel with the Council was the last event of the session. The Assemblymen proposed a bill giving 6s. a day wages to themselves. The Governor asked why not also for the Councillors, particularly Lieutenant- Governor Markham? The Assemblymen were unwill- ing, and the Councillors rejected the bill. Fletcher, de- parting on the day or the day after the Assembly was adjourned, left Markham at the head of affairs. The impossibility of securing any appropriation directly for war, induced Fletcher about this time to urge upon the King the union of Pennsylvania (including the Lower Counties), New York, the Jerseys, and Con- necticut under one Assembly, which Assembly could not be controlled by Quakers. It is said that William III personally favored this.
In the year 1693, the Lieutenant-Governor, with the advice of the Council, moved the market from Dela- ware Front and High Streets to the middle of High Street where Second Street crossed it, and ordered the market to be kept on Wednesdays and Saturdays after the ringing of a bell, and provided that all provisions, viz: flesh, fish, tame fowl, butter, eggs, cheese, herbs, fruits, roots, &ct, brought to town for sale be sold in the market place, even if not coming to town on market days. Fees were established for killing animals in the market.
Another Assembly for Pennsylvania and Territories was called to meet on April 10, 1694, the Councillors doing their best to have tractable members selected : but those returned from Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester were all Quakers, besides one from New Castle and one from Kent. David Lloyd was made
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Speaker. When it was proposed for the Lieutenant- Governor to adjourn the session until Fletcher, who had been detained by military affairs, could reach Philadelphia, a remonstrance was voted maintaining the Assembly's right to adjourn itself. It was finally agreed by Markham, his Council, and the Assembly that the adjournment be to May 22. Fletcher met the House on May 23, and asked, if the members would not carry arms, or levy war, would they not feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, that is, supply the Indians of the Five Nations, now poor, naked, and cut off by the war from hunting, with such necessaries as would influence them to continue in friendship with the English? He himself, having given those Indians one hundred days from the day of his conference with them to consider their answer, would meet them with the sword in one hand, and presents in the other. It was ascertained that the tax granted the preceding year would amount to about £500 sterling with salaries for collection taken out. The Governor, on June 1, sent a message asking for an answer to the Queen's letter, which had not been referred to in the law imposing the tax. The Assembly declared the law a compliance with the letter as far as the religious convictions of the majority would per- mit, and furthermore looked upon the amount as the colonists' full share, and complained that, at the con- ference which Fletcher had held with the Indians at Albany, the former Assembly's action had not been properly set forth: if the expenditure of money upon the Indians would be accepted as a compliance with the order to assist New York, the Assemblymen were willing that any sums voted for support of the govern- ment be applied in that way. They offered, among other laws, another tax of 1d. per pound, 200l. of the amount raised to be allowed to Col. Markham, 200l. to remunerate Thomas Lloyd for his late services, and the balance to be spent in presents for the Indians. Fletcher
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and his Council refused to pass this, saying that the proper form was to grant the sum to the King and Queen, and pray them to allow the sums to Markham and Lloyd. A further objection was that the bill ap- pointed the Receiver-General of the proceeds, instead of leaving the appointment to the representative of the Crown; and, in fact, it was rather a reflection upon Robert Turner, who had acted as Receiver of the pre- ceding tax. Finding no likelihood of a satisfactory bill being passed, Fletcher dissolved the Assembly on the afternoon of June 9, 1694, allowing some laws, and disapproving of one for giving Assemblymen 6s. a day, instead of the old allowance of 3s., and also disapprov- ing of a new system of county levies, whereby the Jus- tices and Assemblymen of the County were to fix them, even for the purpose of paying debts, perhaps twelve years old. The general practice in England and the colonies was for the grand jury at the Quarter Sessions to make presentment of the amount to be raised. Fletcher went away on June 26, having asked his Council to decide whether he should not, as a com- pliance with the Queen's letter, array the whole colony, and detach at least 50 men for the assistance of Albany.
Let us not dispute any Quaker's belief that for Penn's escape from death on the scaffold and the colony's re- tention of whatever advantages it had under the Charter to him, there was a special interposition of Divine Providence. In no contradictory humor, there can be pointed out for a secondary cause, that Penn, with or most frequently without any ulterior end than the dis- connected act which he was promoting, had so used his opportunities in the preceding reigns, and conducted himself since, as to place in his hands wires which rami- fied far, in fact almost, at some time or other, every- where, in the complex and changing jumble of political affairs. His activities had made him, if not the asso- ciate, and even if sometimes an opponent, yet an ac-
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quaintance at least of everybody. What anger he had felt, did not prevent a readjustment of relations. His personal charm and his lofty sentiments predisposed in his favor those who were not leading partisans in opposition to him. With his influence with James II, great enough to do individuals a good turn, Penn had followed the injunction
"Cast thy bread upon the waters:" and the promise
"for thou shalt find it after many days"
was fulfilled in the recovery of not only his life and liberty, but also his viceregal powers. It was not merely the chance to escape some mild trouble, or to make money, or to rise, that he had given to men who afterwards, some quite unexpectedly, were in a position to make some return to him. At the bureaus, the Council boards, and the Cabinet ministers' desks were those who owed to Penn their very lives. One instance will suffice. A few months before the Revolution, Penn, in his own coach, drawn by four horses, took Sir John Trenchard to Windsor, where, leading him into the King's presence, Penn secured Trenchard's pardon, notwithstanding his complicity in the Monmouth and Lord Russell affairs, and his having been exempted from a general offer of pardon. After the Revolution, Trenchard speedily helped Penn financially by buying the four horses: but this had scarcely left Trenchard quit of obligation. After Penn was deprived of the government of his province, Trenchard became one of the Secretaries of State.
In a letter, undated but written probably in October, 1693, to the Earl of Rochester (Laurence Hyde, the Queen's uncle, created Earl in 1682), Penn spoke of a desire to go to Pennsylvania, but said that he would not accept liberty on condition of going, so as to be looked upon as "an articled exile," and he must go to Ireland to settle his almost ruined estate, and to take
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