USA > Pennsylvania > The history of Pennsylvania from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 11
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184
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1740.
induced them to hope that by delay they might avoid the difficulty.
Enlistments of volunteers went on under the governor's exertions with great alacrity, and the quota expected from Pennsylvania, (four hun- dred men,) was largely exceeded. This was in part accounted for by the fact that many bond- servants chose the cover of enlistment to escape the fulfilment of their contracts with their mas- ters. The troops were ready, but the provisions and transports were not provided. Governor Thomas summoned the assembly by a peremp- tory writ, and commanded that they should pro- ceed with their appropriation bill. The house refused to grant any money till the servants already enlisted were returned to their masters without any charge, and assurance given that no more should be enlisted. The house also de-
clared as a cause of their inability to appropriate large sums, the demands upon the treasury for the equalization of quit-rents. Thomas Penn
immediately came forward, and in behalf of the proprietaries postponed their claim till provision should be made for the public service. The house then abandoned this ground, and admitting their ability, refused to make any appropriation till their grievance in the matter of the servants was redressed. They threatened to apply to the throne for relief, and requested Mr. Penn to use his influence with the governor to prevent the
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185
SUPPLIES REFUSED.
1740.]
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necessity for such an appeal. But Mr. Penn avowed his entire approval of the course the governor had taken, and reproved the reluctance of the house to assist the king and the nation, when they had been invited in so considerate a form to do it. A deputation of merchants and other inhabitants of Philadelphia waited on the assembly to remonstrate with that body for their neglect of the public service. Four of the coun- cil appealed to them, entreating them to weigh the consequences of their conduct. Thus be- leaguered on all hands, the assembly made an appropriation of money, but coupled it with the condition that the warrant for it should not be drawn till the servants were discharged. The governor would not accept of the appropriation clogged with such conditions, but raised the ne- cessary funds by the sale of bills on England. The house, at its next session, applied the money which they had conditionally appropriated to the king's use, to the payment of masters who had lost their bond-servants by enlistment.
Having failed to obtain enactments for the support of the army, Governor Thomas next called upon the assembly to equip vessels of war to protect the colonial commerce against priva- teers, to grant a bounty for every enemy killed or captured, and to provide for the families of the seamen killed or wounded in the service. The message appeared to be studiedly offensive.
186
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1740.
The merchants backed it with another remon- strance, threatening that if measures were not taken for the defence of the colony, they would apply to the crown. The house refused the go- vernor's application, and declared the merchants remonstrance an insult and a breach of privilege. Governor Thomas had forbidden, by proclama- tion, the export of provisions from the colony to any except British ports, in order to prevent the supply of the enemy. An act of Parliament to the same purport was passed almost at the same time. Governor Thomas asked of the assembly the passage of a bill forbidding the export of wheat entirely. The house refused his applica- tion, and intimated that the act of Parliament alone protected him from inquiry into the lega- lity of his proclamation.
The governor and assembly had now reached a most unhappy state of contention and exaspe- ration. The assembly representing the Quaker interest, could no longer appeal to the proprie- tary. William Penn's sons were not Quakers, and Thomas Penn had avowedly sided with the governor. When he left the colony to return to Europe in 1740, the assembly presented him an affectionate and conciliatory address, soliciting his residence among them, or that of some other of the proprietaries, as a check upon the go- vernor. He answered them in like polite terms, but recommended them to take measures for the
1741.] ,
DISPUTES WITH ASSEMBLY .. 187
defence of the province, in which they would re- ceive the aid of the governor, who he said had no views but the king's honour and the safety of their constituents. Even James Logan openly declared himself in favour of defensive war ; a position to which he had discovered an inclina- tion so long before as in the time of Governor Evans and his false alarm.
In 1741, the old members being still returned to the house, the governor took occasion, when the speaker was presented to him, according to the form of those days, for approval, to reproach him for the former acts of the assembly. The assembly retorted by passing resolutions that the governor's reception of the speaker was unpar- liamentary, menacing, and destructive of the freedom of the legislature. But anxious to se- cure friends somewhere, and to avert the conse- quences of their continual refusal to provide for the public defence at Governor Thomas's sug- gestions, the assembly appropriated, and paid over through their agent in London, three thou- sand pounds into the royal exchequer. A pitiful contention between the governor and the legis- lature about the appointment of a port-physician, left the post vacant, and the landing of diseased emigrants in the city, through this neglect, caused the outbreak of a contagious distemper, accompanied with great mortality. This calamity furnished the parties with new charges, each im-
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188
, HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1741.
puting to the other the cause of the distress. But the house was compelled to provide for a lazaretto, a measure which had before been re- commended and urged by Governor Thomas, but evaded.
New fuel was added to the flame by the trans- mission to Philadelphia, by the provincial agent, of copies of the governor's correspondence with the ministry, in which he painted the conduct of the assembly in the darkest colours, and re- presented that nothing in the way of public defence was to be hoped while the Quakers con- stituted the majority of the assembly, with the control of the public money and the right to adjourn at pleasure. This control the assembly had acquired by a clause in the currency and excise bills, the effect of which had escaped the notice of the governor. The house could dispose of the public funds by resolution, and were thus enabled, as we have seen, to remit money direct ·to England, and to pay masters for the time of their enlisted servants without asking the go- vernor's approval. Indeed, he was entirely ex- cluded from this important part of legislature.
The messages of the governor and the replies of the house ceased to be any thing but heated appeals to the people, and the means of mutual exasperation. No law had been sanctioned by the governor, and no provision made for his sup- port by the assembly, since the refusal of the
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189
ELECTION RIOT.
1742.]
1
house to supply funds for the transport of the
- troops. The governor's arrears of salary amounted to fifteen hundred pounds. He now resorted to the means of annoyance which he possessed in the power of appointment; and he removed from office all who were opposed to him -whose commissions were in his gift. This exercise of power was not new in Pennsylvania, having been executed by the founder himself. The assembly had suffered the provision "during good behaviour," to be construed to mean du- ring the executive pleasure, and could not now set aside the precedents. Governor Thomas's "sweep" was the first thorough one in the his- tory of Pennsylvania, and unquestionably weak- ened himself more than it injured his opponents.
The year 1742 was distinguished by an election riot, the first in the colony. The strength of the Quakers was in the counties, while the .go- vernor's or " gentlemen's party" was chiefly in the city. The votes of the whole county of Philadelphia were polled at the court-house, which then stood in Market street. Early on the morning of the election-day, a party of sailors from the vessels paraded through the streets in a riotous manner. Many of the inhabitants, ap- prehensive of disturbance, appealed to the ma- gistrates, but their advice that precautions should be taken were not heeded. When the election opened, the sailors marched up to the polls, and
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190
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1742.
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assaulting certain of the freeholders with bludg- eons, so exasperated the people, that they made a rally and drove the sailors to their ships, cap- turing and committing some fifty. The disturb- ance appears to have been "in advance of the age," and to have been attended with all the features of a more modern election riot, not even excepting an inquiry into the case with no result. The country party succeeded in electing their candidates, and in fastening the credit of the riot upon the gentleman's party as its instigators.
At this session the contest between the go- vernor and the assembly terminated. The go- vernor made overtures at reconciliation, and sanctioned the bills which had so long awaited his signature; and the assembly paid up the arrears of his salary. So far in the contest the assembly had undoubtedly been victorious, and it was no more renewed. The governor carried on war preparations, whenever necessary, by his authority as deputy captain-general and go- vernor, and the house left him in those respects unmolested. The governor made no more de- mands for money for war purposes, and the assembly voted him, whenever necessary, "a sum of money for the king's use, to demonstrate their loyalty and affection to the crown." One ap -- propriation was made of four thousand pounds, " to be expended in the purchase of bread, beef, pork, flour, wheat or other grain." Under the
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191
DEFENSIVE MEASURES.
1745.]
head "other grain," Governor Thomas purchased gunpowder, and the assembly never accused him of misappropriating the money.
The declaration of war against France in 1740 caused a new military activity among the friends of the governor in Pennsylvania. Frank- lin came to his aid, with his pen and his personal influence; and steps were taken for the military defence of the colony, without identifying the legislature with the movement. The governor's proclamation and the voluntary measures of the people were sufficient. A regiment was raised in Philadelphia, of which the command was offered to Franklin, but declined by him. A battery was erected with funds raised by lottery, in which many persons were adventurers who, op- posed to war on principle, still considered defen- sive measures necessary. Indian disturbances added to the public alarm, but fortunately were suppressed by the exhibition of a sufficient force, or were checked by treaties and presents. Penn- sylvania furnished four companies, which were sent to Albany for the defence of the northern frontier against the Indians who were in the French interest. She also furnished four thou- sand pounds to the king's use, which money was employed in aid of the colonial expedition against Louisburg, the capital of Cape Breton, which post was taken in 1745 by the colonial troops.
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192
. HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1746.
under Sir William Pepperel, aided by the British fleet under Sir Peter Warren.
In May, 1746, Governor Thomas communi- cated to the legislature his intention to resign, on account of ill health. During the latter years of his term of office he had obtained the confi- dence of the legislature and the esteem of the people, having learned at last how to deal with the men he had to govern.
CHAPTER XII.
Exposed condition of the Delaware River-Arrival of Governor Hamilton-The "Indian walk"-Penn's method of measur- ing land by pacing it-Movements of speculators-Exaspe- ration of Indians-Production of old treaties-Speculative mode of pacing boundaries-The Indians remonstrate-Com- pelled to submit by more powerful tribes-Evil results- French intrigues-Disputes between the governor and the legislature-Franklin a member of the House-George Washington-Expedition against Fort Duquesne-Capitu- lation of the Virginians to the French-Governor Hamilton appeals to the assembly for supplies-Evasion of his request -Governor Hamilton superseded by Governor Morris- Conference with the Six Nations at Albany-Indian opinions of the English and French-Unfortunate purchase by the Pennsylvania commissioners-Franklin's plan of union between the provinces-His account of Governor Morris- The Pennsylvania Hospital-James Logan-Reform of Calendar-Restrictions on manufactures-Navigation Acts -Illiberal policy of the Board of Trade-Philadelphia ship building-Norh- West passage.
THE executive branch of the government de- volved upon the council by Governor Thomas's
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193
"THE INDIAN WALK."
1749.] ·
resignation ; but as the council possessed no legislative powers, no laws could be enacted and Anthony Palmer, president of the council, and acting governor, made vain appeals to the legis- lature to adopt defensive measures against the enemy. Privateers ascended the river, took many vessels, and landed and plundered the in- habitants, menacing even the city itself. The assembly declined to fit out a sloop-of-war; and when the council would have done it, their credit was not sufficient to borrow the requisite money. This anomalous position of affairs was in some degree relieved in 1749, in the autumn of which year James Hamilton arrived from London, bearing the commission of lieutenant-governor.
Indian difficulties began now to be a serious source of trouble to the government and to the people. After the decease of William Penn there was no one to keep up the wise, humane, and politic course which he had pursued with the aborigines. Complaints grew frequent, and a feeling that they had been wronged increased among the Indians, fostered and aggravated no doubt by the acts of enemies. Nor were these complaints without foundation. There was one transaction in particular, which holds its place in tradition as " The Indian Walk," and is suffi- ciently curious in its details and important in its consequences to claim a place in history.
In 1686, by a treaty made with the Delaware
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194
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1749.
Indians, William Penn purchased a tract of land on the Delaware, one of the boundaries of which was described thus, " as far as a man could walk in three days.". Tradition says that William · Penn himself and a number of his friends began to walk out the boundary, and in a day and a half walked about thirty miles, taking the journey leisurely, and occasionally sitting down to refresh themselves with a luncheon and a bottle of wine. Having thus traced out as much as he desired for his present purpose, and established the land- marks, Penn suffered the remainder to rest un- surveyed, leaving one day and a half to be walked at some future period. In 1718 a treaty was made with the Indians on which these vague boundaries were set aside, and the Lehigh Hills were made the extreme boundary of the white settlement. In 1733 some gentlemen, specu- lators in lands, purchased of William Penn, the grandson of the founder, ten thousand acres of land which had been devised to him by his grand- father. A portion of this land the purchasers chose should be taken up in " The Forks of the Delaware," as the tract was called which lies between the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, south of the Blue Mountain. 1
The Indian title to this land had never been extinguished; but the speculators who had pur- chased of the proprietor's heir, commenced im- mediately to sell in smaller tracts to those who
195
OLD TREATIES PRODUCED.
1749.]
would immediately settle their purchases. And at the same time the proprietors issued proposals for the sale of one hundred thousand acres by a lottery, the fortunate holders of tickets having the privilege of settling anywhere, except on lands already settled or purchased by whites. The tract above mentioned, "The Forks of the Delaware," being good land, many tracts were taken up there and settled.
The Indians were exasperated, as they natu- rally might be, by these proceedings. These grounds, including one or more Indian towns, , were sold from under them, notwithstanding the the treaty of 1718, already mentioned, which defined the boundaries of the white settlements. To stay their murmurs, Thomas Penn purchased of the Indians the tract now included in Berks county, though these lands might have been claimed by him, under a treaty granting to Penn as much land as could be crossed "in two days upon a horse." But the parties interested in the lands on the Delaware were determined to have them without a repurchase-or it might be more properly said without a fair extinguishment of the Indian titles. The Delaware chiefs were summoned; the old deed, or a copy, was produced, in which the tract was described, and as one of its boundaries the "three days' walk" was men- tioned. This old bargain was reaffirmed " with full and free consent," and all right to the tract
196
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1749.
relinquished by the Indians through their sa- chems.
The proprietors immediately advertised that the remainder of the walk, "a day and a half" was to be made, and offered five hundred acres of land, and five pounds in money, to the person who should attend and walk the farthest in the given time. By previous agreement the governor was to select three persons, and the Indians a like number. But the Indians soon discovered that they were no longer dealing with William Penn. The walkers were accompanied by horse- men, with liquors and other refreshments, and, the road having been previously travelled, food was placed at different points along the road. On the first day one of the whites was tired out and fell, and the Indians before sunset left and refused to countenance the proceeding further. They said the walkers would pass all the good land, and they did not care where or how far they went. There was no stopping to rest. On the second day, at noon, one of the walkers reached a point about sixty-five or seventy miles from the starting-place-at least twice as far as a fair walk would have carried him. The In- dians declared they were cheated : "No sit down to smoke-no shoot a squirrel,-but lun, lun all day long !"
They were overreached, and refused to abide by their bargain-a bargain which had been
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197
FRENCH INTRIGUES.
1749.] 1
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literally enforced, but in justice violated. They refused to move, and did not give up their land till the Six Nations, their conquerors, were ap- pealed to. The powerful chiefs contemptuously ordered the poor Delawares off, and the Indians were forced to comply, carrying their exaspe- rated feeling to Wyoming, to Shamokin, and to Ohio. Thus were they predisposed to listen to the overtures of the French; and a departure from Penn's conciliatory and upright course caused bloodshed and rapine which honesty and fair dealing would have prevented. We have been thus particular in this narrative, because it is only justice that Penn's memory should be vindicated.
Governor Hamilton found these difficulties with the Indians, provoked by new aggressions , of the whites, a fruitful source of trouble, as they had been to the council before him. Set- tlers encroached on Indian lands without even the poor excuse of proprietary grants. The go- vernment of the colony, alarmed by Indian menaces and Indian violence, sent a commission to the Indian country, where the intruders had settled, with authority to dispossess them. This was done; but the encroachments were soon re- newed, and furnished new arguments for the French to employ in their negotiations with the Indians against the English. Presents and subsidies were tried to countervail French in- 17*
198
- HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1750.
trigue, and the appetite of the savages, which "grew by what it fed on," made this branch of the service a heavy charge upon the public trea- sury. And now arose a renewal of the dispute with the proprietors, and the governor as their representative, upon the subject of these Indian expenses, which the Penn family were disposed to throw entirely upon the province. The ad- dresses and arguments on the part of the assembly were drawn up with new ability and with caustic wit. In 1750, Benjamin Franklin, who had been for several years clerk of the house, was elected a member ; and he took at once the lead to which his talents entitled him. It was not as an orator but as a writer that he made himself felt. He was on every important committee; and the re- ports, addresses, and other documents from his pen display a vigour and ability which make them readable even at this day. It is the for- tune of few legislative reports to survive the occasions which call them out. Franklin's have this vitality.
Another subject of discussion was the increase of the paper currency, to keep pace with the in- creased trade of Pennsylvania. Though the colonies had been prohibited by an act of Parlia- ment, from issuing bills to serve as currency, Pennsylvania was excepted from its operation. Taking advantage of this privilege, procured for them by their agents and the proprietaries, a
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199
1754.] EXPEDITION AGAINST DUQUESNE.
bill was prepared in 1752 for the issue of forty thousand pounds. Nothing was issued, however, but the gubernatorial messages, and legislative reports and remonstrances. Of the latter Frank- lin was the principal author. There were various points in dispute between the parties in this con- troversy ; but the real difficulty appears to have been that the governor wanted what the house refused to concede, a joint voice in the disposal of the interest of the emission, which interest formed part of the revenue of the province. While the dispute was pending, Indian difficulties and a quasi war with France still continued in the colonies ..
In 1753 first appears upon the annals of Ame- rican warfare the name of George Washington. In that year, having barely attained his majority, "he was deputed by Governor Dinwiddie, of Vir- ginia, as an envoy to the French, who were en- croaching upon Virginia and Pennsylvania on the west, and preparing measures to unite Ca- nada and Louisiana by a chain of military and trading posts. This difficult duty he performed in the winter of 1753-4, and the result of his mission proved that the French were not dis- posed to yield their pretensions. A regiment was despatched early in the spring of 1754, under command of Colonel Fry and Lieutenant- . Colonel George Washington. In command of an advanced force, Lieutenant-Colonel Washing-
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200
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1754.
ton surprised a party of French who were march- ing to the confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers, where a fort was in progress of erection, called Fort Duquesne. In his jour- ney during the preceding autumn, Colonel Wash- ington had marked the commanding advantages of this place, afterward Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg. By the death of Colonel Fry the whole com- mand devolved upon Washington; and having commenced the erection of a stockade at Great Meadows, which he called Fort Necessity, he pressed forward with the intention of dislodging the French from Fort Duquesne. But ascertain- ing that the enemy were in much greater force than himself, he fell back to Fort Necessity. His command consisted of about five hundred men. He was attacked in Fort Necessity by fifteen hundred, under command of Monsieur de Villier. From ten in the forenoon till night the gallant little garrison withstood the attack. Monsieur de Villier then demanded a parley, and offered terms of capitulation. These were at first rejected; but during the night a conven- tion was agreed upon, under which Colonel Washington and his command were permitted to retain their arms and retire to the inhabited parts of Virginia. These operations were not conducted under the sanction of any formal de- claration of war against France, but in pursu-
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201
1754.] ASSEMBLY REFUSE SUPPLIES.
ance of instructions received by the provincial governors to repel force by force.
In pursuance of the instructions of the Bri- tish government, Governor Hamilton had endea- voured, but in vain, to obtain funds from the assembly to organize a force to assist Governor Dinwiddie. The assembly evaded, and demanded proof that the points which the French had seized were within their limits. A committee of the house reported that the alleged fact rested on the testimony of Indian traders unskilled in mensuration. The house would not " presume to set bounds to his majesty's dominions or to ascertain the limits of their own province," and resolved that it did not clearly appear that the subjects of a foreign prince had erected forts within the undoubted limits of the government. They accused the governor of imprudence in declaring the province to be invaded, thereby changing their relation with Virginia, and making them principals instead of auxiliaries in the dispute. We may here remark, that the tract at the confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany, about which the English and French were in dispute, which dispute soon ripened from an informal into formal war, was also disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania. The mat- ter was not settled until about twenty years afterward; and the land which the assembly of 1753 repudiated, because its possession would
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