History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc, Part 9

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Publisher: W. Taylor
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USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 9
USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 9

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He accordingly empowered the Provincial Council, of which Thomas Lloyd was President, to act in his stead, commissioned Nicholas Moore, Will- iam Welch, William Wood, Robert Turner and John Eckley, Provincial

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Judges for two years; appointed Thomas Lloyd, James Claypole and Robert Turner to sign land patents and warrants, and William Clark as Justice of the Peace for all the counties; and on the 6th of June, 1684, sailed for Europe. His feelings on leaving his colony are exhibited by a farewell address which he issued from on board the vessel to his people, of which the following are brief extracts: "My love and my life is to you, and with you, and no water can quench it, nor distance wear it out, nor bring it to an end. I have been with you, cared over you and served over you with unfeigned love, and you aro beloved of me, and near to me, beyond utterance. I bless you in the name and power of the Lord, and may God bless you with His righteousness, peace and plenty all the land over. * * * Oh! now are you come to a quiet land; provoke not the Lord to trouble it. And now liberty and author- ity are with you, and in your hands. Let the government be upon His shoulders, in all your spirits, that you may rule for Him, under whom the princes of this world will, one day, esteem their honor to govern and serve in their places * * * And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what serv- ice and what travail has there been, to bring thee forth, and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee!

* So, dear friends, my love again salutes you all, wishing that grace, mercy and peace, with all temporal blessings, may abound richly among you-so says. so prays, your friend and lover in the truth.

WILLIAM PENN."

On the 6th of December of this same year, 1684, Charles II died, and was succeeded by his brother James, Duke of York, under the title of James II. James was a professed Catholic, and the people were greatly excited all over the kingdom lest the reign of Bloody Mary should be repeated, and that the Catholic should become the established religion. He had less ability than his brother, the deceased King, but great discipline and industry. Penn en- joyed the friendship and intimacy of the new King, and he determined to use his advantage for the relief of his suffering countrymen, not only of his sect, the Quakers, but of all, and especially for the furtherance of universal liberty. But there is no doubt that he at this time meditated a speedy return to his province, for he writes: "Keep up the peoples' hearts and loves; I hope to be with them next fall, if the Lord prevent not. I long to be with you. No temptations prevail to fix me here. The Lord send us a good meeting." B; authority of Penn, dated 18th of January, 1685, William Markham, Penn's cousin, was commissioned Secretary of the province, and the proprietor's Sec- retary.

That he might be fixed near to court for the furtherance of his private as well as public business, he secured lodgings for himself and family, in 1685, at Kensington, near London, and cultivated a daily intimacy with the King, who, no doubt, found in the strong native sense of his Quaker friend, a valued ad- viser upon many questions of difficulty. His first and chief care was the set- tlement of his disagreement with Lord Baltimore touching the boundaries of their provinces. This was settled in November, 1685, by a compromise, by which the land lying between the Delaware and Chesepeake Bays was divided into two equal parts-that upon the Delaware was adjudged to Penn, and that upon the Chesapeake to Lord Baltimore. This settled the matter in theory; but when the attempt was made to run the lines according to the language of the Royal Act, it was found that the royal secretaries did not understand the geography of the country, and that the line which their language described was an impossible one. Consequently the boundary remained undetermined till 1732. The account of its location will be given in its proper place.

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Having secured this important decision to his satisfaction, Penn applied himself with renewed zeal, not only to secure the release of his people, who were languishing in prisons, but to procure for all Englishmen, everywhere, enlarged liberty and freedom of conscience. His relations with the King fa- vored his designs. The King had said to Penn before he ascended the throne that he was opposed to persecution for religion. On the first day of his reign, he made an address, in which he proclaimed himself opposed to all arbitrary principles in government, 'and promised protection to the Church of England. Early in the year 1686, in consequence of the King's proclamation for a gen- eral pardon, over thirteen hundred Quakers were set at liberty, and in April, 1687, the King issued a declaration for entire liberty of conscience, and sus- pending the penal laws in matters ecclesiastical. This was a great step in ad- vance, and one that must over throw a luster over the brief reign of this un- fortunate monarch. l'enn, though holding no official position, doubtless did as much toward securing the issue of this liberal measure as any Englishman.

Upon the issue of these ediets, the Qnakers, at their next annual meeting, presented an address of acknowledgment to the King, which opened in theso words: "We cannot but bless and praise the name of Almighty God, who bath the hearts of princes in His hands, that He hath inclined the King to hear the cries of his suffering subjects for conscience' sake, and we rejoice that he hath given us so eminent an occasion to present him our thanks." This ad- dress was presented by Penn in a few well-chosen words, and the King re- plied in the following, though brief, yet most expressive, language: "Gentle- men-I thank you heartily for your address. Some of you know (I am sure you do Mr. Penn), that it was always my principle, that conscience ought not to be forced, and that all men ought to have the liberty of their consciences. And what I have promised in my declaration, I will continue to perform so long as I live. And I hope, before I die, to settle it so that after ages shall have no reason to alter it."

It would have been supposed that such noble sentiments as these from A sovereign would have been hailed with delight by the English people. But they were not. The aristocracy of Britain at this time did not want liberty of conscience. They wanted comformity to the established church, and bitter persecution against all others, as in the reign of Charles, which filled the prisons with Quakers. The warm congratulations to James, and fervent prayers for his welfare, were regarded by them with an evil eye. Bitter reproaches were heaped upon Penn, who was looked upon as the power behind the throne that was moving the King to the enforcing of these principles. He was ac- cused of having been educated at St. Omer's, a Catholic college, a place which he never saw in his life, of having taken orders ns a priest in the Catholic Church, of having obtained dispensation to marry, and of being not only in Catholic, but a Jesuit in disguise, all of which were pure fabrications. Butin the excited stato of the public mind they were believed, and caused him to be regarded with bitter hatred. The King, too, fell rapidly into disfavor, and so completely had the minds of his people become alienated from him, that upon the coming of the Prince of Orange and his wife Mary, in 16SS, James was obliged to tleo to France for safety, and they were received as the rulers of Britain.

But while tho interests of the colony were thus prospering at court, they were not so cloudless in the new country. There was needed the strong hand of P'enn to check abuses and guide the course of legislation in proper chan- nels. He lind labored to place the government entirely in the hands of the people-an idea, in the abstract, most attractive, and one which, were the entire

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

population wise and just, would result fortunately; yet, in practice, he found to his sorrow the results most vexatious. The proprietor had not long been gone before troubles arose between the two Houses of the Legislature relative to promulgating the laws as not being in accordance with the requirements of the charter Nicholas Moore, the Chief Justice, was impeached for irregular- ities in imposing fines and in other ways abusing his high trust. But though formally arraigned and directed to desist from exercising his functions, he suc- cessfully resisted the proceedings, and a final judgment was never obtained. Patrick Robinson, Clerk of the court, for refusing to produce the records in the trial of Moore, was voted a public enemy. These troubles in the government were the occasion of much grief to Penn, who wrote, naming a number of the most influential men in the colony, and beseeching them to unite in an endeavor to check further irregularities, declaring that they disgraced the province, " that their conduct had struck back hundreds, and was £10,000 out of, his way, and £100,000 out of the country."

In the latter part of the year 1686, seeing that the whole Council was too unwieldy a body to exercise executive power, Penn determined to contract the number, and accordingly appointed Thomas Lloyd, Nicholas Moore, James Claypole, Robert Turner and John Eckley, any three of whom should consti- tute a quorum, to be Commissioners of State to act for the proprietor. In place of Moore and Claypule, Arthur Cook and John Simcock were appointed. They were to compel the attendance of the Council; see that the two Houses admit of no parley; to abrogate all laws except the fundamentals; to dismiss the Assembly and call a new one, and finally he solemnly admonishes them, " Be most just, as in the sight of the all-seeing, all-searching God." In a letter to these Commissioners, he says: "Three things occur to me eminently: First, that you be watchful that none abuse the King, etc .; secondly, that you get the custom act revived as being the equalest and least offensive way to support the government; thirdly, that you retrieve the dignity of courts and sessions."

In a letter to James Harrison, his confidential agent at Pennsbury Manor, he unbosoms himself more freely respecting his employment in London than in any of his State papers or more public communications, and from it can be seen how important were his labors with the head of the English nation. "I am engaged in the public business of the nation and Friends, and those in au- thority would have me see the establishment of the liberty, that I was a small instrument to begin in the land. The Lord has given me great entrance and interest with the King, though not so much as is said; and I confess I should rejoice to see poor old England fixed, the penal laws repealed, that are now suspended, and if it goes well with England, it cannot go ill with Pennsyl- vania, as unkindly used as I am; and no poor slave in Turkey desires more earnestly, I believe, for deliverance, than I do to be with you." In the sum- mer of 1687, Penn was in company with the King in a progress through the counties of Berkshire, Glocestershire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire, during which he held several religious meetings with his people, in some of which the King ap- pears to have been present, particularly in Chester.

Since the departure of Penn, Thomas Lloyd had acted as President of the Council, and later of the Commissioners of State. He had been in effect Governor, and held responsible for the success of the government, while pos- sessing only one voice in the disposing of affairs. Tiring of this anomalous position, Lloyd applied to be relieved. It was difficult to find a person of sufficient ability to fill the place; but Penn decided to relieve him, though

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

showing his entire confidence by notifying him that he intended soon to np- point him absolute Governor. In his place, he indicated Samuel Carpenter, or if he was unwilling to serve, then Thomas Ellis, but not to be President, his will being that euch should preside a month in turn, or that the oldest mem. ber should be chosen.

Penn foresaw that the excentive power, to be efficient, must be lodged in the hands of ono man of ability, such as to command the respect of his people. Those whom he most trusted in the colony had been so mixed up in the wran- gles of the executive and legislativo departments of the government that he deemed it advisable to appoint a person who had not before been in the col ony and not a Quaker. Ho accordingly commissioned John Blackwell, July 27, 1688, to be Lieutenant Governor. who was at this time in New England, and who had the esteem and confidence of Penn. With the commission, the proprietor sent full instructions, chiefly by way of caution, the last one being: " Rule the meek meekly; and those that will not be ruled, rule with authority." Though Lloyd had been relieved of power, he still remained in the Council. probably because neither of the persens designated were willing to serve. Having seen the evils of a many-headed executive, he had recommended the appointment of one person to exercise executive authority. It was in con formity with this advice that Blackwell was appointed. He met the Assembly in March, 1659; but either his conceptions of business were arbitrary and im- perious, or the Assembly had become accustomed to great latitude and lax discipline: for the business had not proceeded far before the several branches of the government were at variance. Lloyd refused to give up the great seal. alleging that it had been given him for life. The Governor, arbitra- rily. and without warrant of law, imprisoned officers of high rank, denied the validity of all laws passed by the Assembly previous to his administration, and set on foot a project for organizing and equipping the militia, under the plea of threatened hostility of France. The Assembly attempted to arrest his proceedings, but he shrewdly evaded their intents by organizing a party among the members, who persistently absented themselves. His reign was short, for in January, 1690, he left the colony and sailed away for En- gland, wherenpon the government again devolved upon the Council. Thomas Lloyd. President. Penn had a high estimation of the talents and integrity of Blackwell, and adds, "He is in England and Ireland of great repute for ability, integrity and virtue."

Three forms of administering the executive department of the government bad now been tried, by a Council consisting of eighteen members, a commission of five members, and a Lieutenant Governor. Desirous of leaving the government as far as possible in the hands of the people who were the sources of all power, Penn left it to the Council to decide which form should be adopted. The majority decided for a Deputy Governor. This was opposed by the mem - bers from the provinces, who preferred a Council, and who, finding themselves ontvoted, decided to withdraw, and determined for themselves to govern the lower counties until P'enn should come. This obstinacy and falling out be- tween the councilors from the lower counties and those from the province was the beginning of a controversy which oventuated in a separation, and finally in the formation of Delaware as a separate commonwealth. A deputa- tion from the Council was sent to New Castle to induce the soceding members to return, but without success. They had never regarded with favor the re- moval of the sittings of the Council from New Castle, the first seat of gov- ernment, to Philadelphia, and they were now determined to set up a govern- ment for themselves.

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

In 1689, the Friends Public School in Philadelphia was first incorporated, confirmed by a patent from Penn in 1701, and another in 1708, and finally, with greatly enlarged powers, from Penn personally, November 29, 1711. The preamble to the charter recites that as "the prosperity and welfare of any people depend, in great measure, upon the good education of youth, and their early introduction in the principles of true religion and virtue, and qualifying them to serve their country and themselves, by breeding them in reading, writing, and learning of languages and useful arts and sciences suitable to their sex, age and degree, which cannot be effected in any manner so well as by erecting public schools," etc. George Keith was employed as the first mas- ter of this school. He was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, a man of learning, and had emigrated to East Jersey some years previous, where he was Surveyor General, and had surveyed and marked the line between East and West New Jersey. He only remained at the head of the school one year, when he was succeeded by his usher, Thomas Makin. This was a school of considerable merit and pretension, where the higher mathematics and the ancient lan- guages were taught, and was the first of this high grade. A school of a pri- mary grade had been established as early as 1683, in Philadelphia, when Enoch Flower taught on the following terms:

"To learn to read English. four shillings by the quarter; to write, six shillings by ditto; to read, write and cast accounts, eight shillings by the quarter; boarding a scholar, that is to say, diet, lodging, washing and schooling, £10 for one whole year," from which it will be seen that although learning might be highly prized, its cost in hard cash was not exorbitant.

Penn's favor at court during the reign of James II caused him to be sus. pected of disloyalty to the government when William and Mary had come to the throne. Accordingly on the 10th of December, 1688, while walking in White Hall, he was summoned before the Lords of the Council, and though nothing was found against him, was compelled to give security for his appear- ance at the next term, to answer any charge that might be made. At the sec- ond sitting of the Council nothing having been found against him, he was cleared in open court. Iu 1690, he was again brought before the Lords on the charge of having been in correspondence with the late King. He ap pealed to King William, who, after a hearing of two hours, was disposed to release him, but the Lords decided to hold him until the Trinity term, when he was again discharged. A third time he was arraigned, and this time with eighteen others, charged with adhering to the kingdom's enemies, but was cleared by order of the King's Bench. Being now at liberty, and these vexa- tious suits apparently at an end, he set about leading a large party of settlers to his cherished Pennsylvania. Proposals were published, and the Govern- ment, regarding the enterprise of so much importance, had ordered an armed convoy, when he was again met by another accusation, and now, backed by the false oath of one William Fuller, whom the Parliament subsequently de- clared a " cheat and an imposter." Seeing that he must prepare again for his defense, he abandoned his voyage to America, after having made expensive preparations, and convinced that his enemies were determined to prevent his attention to public or private affairs, whether in England or America, he with- drew himself during the ensuing two or three years from the public eye.

But though not participating in business, which was calling loudly for his attention, his mind was busy, and several important treatises upon religious and civil matters were produced that had great influence upon the turn of public affairs, which would never have been written but for this forced retire- ment. In his address to the yearly meeting of Friends in London, he says:

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

" My enemies are yours. My privacy is not because men have sworn truly, but falsely against me."

His personal grievances in England were the least which he suffered. For lack of guiding influence, bitter dissensions had sprung up in his colony, which threatened the loss of all. Desiring to secure peace, he had commis- sioned Thomas Lloyd Deputy Governor of the province, and William Mark- ham Deputy Governor of the lower counties. Penn's grief on account of this division is diselosed in a letter to a friend in the province: "I loft it to them, to choose either the government of the Conneil, five Commissioners or a deputy. What could be tenderer? Now I perceive Thomas Lloyd is chosen by the three upper but not the three lower counties, and sits down with this broken choice. This has grieved and wounded me and mine, I fear to the hazard of all! * for else the Governor of New York is like to have all, if he has it not already."

But the troubles of Penn in America were not confined to civil affairs. His religious society was torn with dissension. George Keith, a man of con- siderable power in argumentation, but of overweaning self conceit, attacked the Friends for the laxity of their discipline, and drew off some followers. So venomous did he become that on the 20th of April, 1692, a testimony of de- nial was drawn up against him at a meeting of ministers, wherein he and his conduct were publiely disowned. This was confirmed at the next yearly meet- ing. He drew of large numbers and set up an independent society, who termed thomselves Christian Quakers. Keith appealed from this action of the American Church to the yearly meeting in London, but was so intemperate in speech that the action of the American Church was confirmed. Whereupon he became the bitter enemy of the Quakers, and, uniting with the Church of England, was ordained a Vicar by the Bishop of London. He afterward re- turned to America where he wrote against his former associates, but was final- ly fixed in a benetice in Sussex, England. On his death bed, he said, " I wish I had died when I was a Quaker, for then I am sure it would have been well with my soul."

But Keith had not been satisfied with attacking the principles and prac- tices of his church. He mercilessly lampooned the Lieutenant Governor, say. ing that "He was not fit to be a Governor, and his name would stink, " and of the Council, that "He hoped to God he should shortly see their power taken from them." On another occasion, he said of Thomas Lloyd, who was reputed a mild-tempered man, and had befriended Keith, that he was “an impu- dent man and a pitiful Governor," and asked him "why he did not send him to jail," saying that " his back (Keith's) had long itched for a whipping, and that he would print and expose them all over America, if not over Europe." So abusive had he finally become that the Couneil was obliged to take notice of his condnet and to warn him to desist.

l'enn, as has been shown, was silenced and thrown into retirement in En- gland. It can be readily seen what an excellent opportunity these troubles in America, the separation in the government. and the schism in the church, gave his enemies to attack him. They represented that he had neglected bis colony by remaining in England and meddling with matters in which he had no business; that the colony in consequence had fallen into great disorder, and that he should be deprived of his proprietary rights. These complaints had so much weight with William and Mary, that, on the 21st of October, 1692. they commissioned Benjamin Fletcher, Governor of New York, to take the provinee and territories under his government. There was another motive operating at this time, more potent than those mentioned above, to induce the

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

King and Queen to put the government of Pennsylvania under the Governor of New York. The French and Indians from the north were threatening the English. Already the expense for defense had become burdensome to New York. It was believed that to ask aid for the common defense from Penn, with his peace principles, would be fruitless, but that through the influence of Gov. Fletcher, as executive, an appropriation might be secured.

Upon receiving his commission, Gov. Fletcher sent a note, dated April 19, 1693, to Deputy Gov. Lloyd, informing him of the grant of the royal commis- sion and of his intention to visit the colony and assume authority on the 29th inst. He accordingly came with great pomp and splendor, attended by a numerous retinne, and soon after his arrival, submission to him having been accorded without question, summoned the Assembly. Some differences having arisen between the Governor and the Assembly about the manner of calling and electing the Representatives, certain members united in an address to the Gov- ernor, claiming that the constitution and laws were still in full force and must be administered until altered or repealed; that Pennsylvania had just as good a right to be governed according to the usages of Pennsylvania as New York had to be governed according to the usages of that province. The Leg- islature being finally organized, Gov. Fletcher presented a letter from the Queen, setting forth that the expense for the preservation and defense of Albany against the French was intolerable to the inhabitants there, and that as this was a frontier to other colonies, it was thought but just that they should help bear the burden. The Legislature, in firm but respectful terms, maintained that the constitution and laws enacted under them were in full force, and when he, having flatly denied this, attempted to intimidate them by the threat of annexing Pennsylvania to New York, they mildly but firmly requested that if the Governor had objections to the bill which they had passed and would communicate them, they would try to remove them. The business was now amicably adjusted, and he in compliance with their wish dissolved the Assembly, and after appointing William Markham Lieutenant Governor, departed to his government in New York, doubtless well satisfied that a Quaker, though usu- ally mild mannered, is not easily frightened or coerced.

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Author: Publication date: Publisher: W. Taylor Number of Pages: 1280

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280