USA > Pennsylvania > The history of Pennsylvania from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 14
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
The proprietary instructions were referred to a committee of the house, of which Franklin, of course, was a member. This body made a report, drawn up by Franklin, and written with all the
238
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1760.
acumen and force of which his vigorous mind was capable. The house also despatched Franklin to England, with instructions first to remonstrate with the proprietaries, and, failing to make an impression upon them, to appeal to the Board of Trade, and thence, if necessary, to Parliament. Franklin arrived in England in July, 1757. It was not until June, 1760, that his business was brought to a successful termination.
With an eye to what he soon perceived must be the ulterior appeal, Dr. Franklin immediately set himself about the work of correcting public opinion in relation to Pennsylvania. He took the initiatory steps in his mission, by tendering a general remonstrance to the proprietaries, co- vering the grounds of complaint which had oc- casioned the differences between the governors and the assemblies. The London newspapers
were full of unfriendly articles against the peo- ple of Pennsylvania, as factious and hostile both to the king's prerogative and to proprietary rights. They were charged with reluctance and backwardness in the public defence, and of re- fusing to raise money for the public service, and of wasting time in discussions while the Indians ravaged their frontier, except by laws clogged with such conditions that the governors could not sanction them; and upon the Quakers in the as- sembly was charged the principal agency in these untimely dissensions.
239
1760.] THE HISTORICAL REVIEW.
1
Franklin took occasion to answer an article in one of the newspapers, in which were embo- died the various allegations against the Penn- sylvanians. He did this in a clear statement of facts, showing what Pennsylvania had done, and how liberally money had been furnished, forts built, and a vessel of war fitted out. Not only had Pennsylvania borne her own expenses, un- aided, but given assistance liberally to others. In short, the letter demonstrated that, though the Quakers were opposed to war, they rather withdrew from public affairs than strove to em- barrass them; and that in the unjust instructions of the proprietaries to their governors the diffi- culties had their origin. This letter, written by Franklin, was signed by his son. It had a good effect on the public mind, and was shortly fol- lowed up by another and more important paper. This was entitled " An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania." It was of course ex parte, being written with a purpose which there was no attempt to conceal- to defend the cause of the people against the proprietaries. The latter were not spared, even the founder being brought under strict examina- tion and free censure. As a controversial paper it is one of the ablest in the English language. The facts and chain of reasoning appear to have been furnished by Franklin to James Ralph, a former resident of Philadelphia, who made the
240
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1760.
compilation in order that Franklin might deny the authorship, which he did positively. But applying the old maxim, "What one does by another is his own act," Franklin must be re- garded as the author.
Franklin found the authorities in England in- accessible. He could not bring his business to a point. But what his endeavours could not ac- complish, the short-sighted folly of the proprie- taries brought about. They answered Franklin's remonstrance by'a letter direct to the assembly of Pennsylvania, maintaining their old positions. . This letter reached the assembly (1759) while they were engaged with the governor about a supply bill. They refused to exempt the pro- prietary estates, though they had submitted in former instances, and Governor Denny yielded his assent. The house showed their gratitude by voting the governor a thousand pounds. They gave him a like sum upon his passing a bill for the issuing of paper money without a clause protecting the rents from depreciation, and the same sum on his approving a bill in re- lation to warrants and surveys, which bill was not palatable to the proprietary family. These sums, to be sure, were only arrears justly due ; but they were paid at a time so peculiar, that the proprietaries closed the account by removing Governor Denny. Governor Hamilton was a second time appointed.
pag
1760.]
DEFEAT OF THE PROPRIETARIES.
241
1
These bills came over to England for the royal sanction. The proprietaries appeared by counsel before the Board of Trade in opposition to them, and Franklin, as the agent of the assembly, with the assistance also of counsel, appeared in their support. Thus what he had been unable to ob- tain, the proprietaries unwillingly afforded him, to wit: a hearing before the Board. All the laws were negatived, except that taxing the pro- prietary estates. This, much to the chagrin of the proprietaries, received the royal approval, though coupled with conditions that the go- vernor should have a voice in the disposal of the money; that their waste lands should not be taxed; and that their unimproved lands should be rated as low as those of any of the inhabitants. Thus the principle was conceded for which the assembly had contended; and not only was Penn- sylvania pleased with her agent, but the colonies of Massachusetts, Maryland, and Georgia press- ed upon Dr. Franklin the management of their affairs in Europe.
1e
The comprehensive mind of Dr. Franklin never narrowly pursued one subject to the exclusion of others. In common with other intelligent Ame- ricans, he had seen and felt the inefficient man- ner in which the war against the French was conducted in America. Through his advice, and the information which he communicated, Mr. Pitt, then prime minister, gave the able direction
21
-----
242
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1760.
to the conduct of the war which led to its suc- cessful results; and it was Franklin's publica- tions which led to the retention of Canada by the British in the treaty of 1762. The opera- tions of the campaigns of 1756 and 1757, under Lord Loudoun, resulted only in defeat and dis- aster. Pennsylvania was relieved, as we have noticed, by Indian treaties ; and the operations of the war, not within her territories, do not come within our scope. In 1758 Lord Loudoun · having been recalled, General Abercrombie com- manded in chief, with Major-General Amherst as second in command, and Wolfe and Forbes as brigadiers. Mr. Pitt addressed letters to the colonies, urging them to activity and union, and promising reimbursement of the expenses borne by the colonies. New life and vigour were in- fused into the whole field of operations. Major- General Amherst reduced Louisburg, General Abercrombie, failing at Ticonderoga, compen- sated for that repulse by the capture of Fort Frontenac, near the junction of the St. Lawrence with Lake Ontario. Brigadier-General Forbes took possession of Fort Duquesne in November, the enemy, awed by the successes of the British arms, holding the post only till the approach of the English should justify its abandonment. The retreating foe dismantled the fortifications, but they were put in repair at once and garrisoned. This closed the campaign. Fort Duquesne be-
---
243
1759.] CAPTURE OF QUEBEC.
came Fort Pitt, and was never again occupied by French or Indians. The march to the place was interrupted by two serious encounters, in which the English and provincial forces sus- tained heavy loss, and the troops suffered much from fatigue and destitution. But the result elevated the hopes of the colonies, and gave them new courage. The assembly and Governor Denny were as usual at variance; but we will not weary the reader with these disputes. The assembly liberally answered requisitions ; and their public spirit was not overlooked, as we shall presently see.
General Amherst was in 1758 appointed com- mander-in-chief. In the summer of 1759 he reduced Ticonderoga and Crown Point. In July, Fort Niagara fell before Sir William Johnson, upon whom the command had devolved by the death of General Prideaux. In Septem- ber the gallant Wolfe wrested Quebec from the no less gallant foe, Montcalm. Both heroes fell in the engagement. "They fly ! They fly !" caught the ears of the dying Wolfe. "Who fly ?" he asked; and being answered "The French," he replied, " Then I die happy." And when Mont- calm, mortally wounded, was told he could sur- vive but a few hours : "So much the better," he said, "I shall not see the surrender of Quebec." So all-absorbing is the fanaticism of arms !
244
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
[1762.
During the remaining time of the war with France there were no military operations in the territory of Pennsylvania. Montreal capitulated in September, 1760, carrying with it all the points in Canada which the French held. In November, 1762, after a short period of war with Spain, England concluded a treaty with both powers, which put her in possession of the whole continent north of Mexico, and east of the Mississippi. The country west of the Mississippi had been ceded by France to Spain during the year before : so that nothing now remained to France upon this continent.
In accordance with Mr. Pitt's promise, whatever the colonies contributed above their just quota as parts of the empire was redeemed, and Pennsyl- vania received twenty-six thousand pounds as her quota. The disposal of this occasioned some difference between the governor and the assem- bly ; and there were also some other disputes about money and men. The removal of danger awakened the spirit of opposition. George III. had now succeeded to the throne; and the offi- cial communication of the peace with France was accompanied by a letter expressive of his ma- jesty's high displeasure at the late evasions of the assembly-such as granting, with seeming cheerfulness, the royal requisitions for men, but so constructing their supply bills that the go- vernor could not sanction them. Governor Ha-
----
---
245
RENEWED INDIAN MURDERS.
1762.]
milton was directed to inform the assembly that the king considered such conduct as proceeding from a predetermination not to afford any as- sistance to the general service when the immedi- ate danger was removed from their own door; and that such conduct, equally with their abso- lute refusal to furnish recruits for the regular forces, had incurred his majesty's just displea- sure. Governor Hamilton laid the letter before the house without comment; and it was entered upon the journal without any action upon it. The knowledge of what they had done and suf- fered, and the peculiar difficulties in which they were placed by the exactions of the proprieta- ries, indisposed them probably to re-open the discussion.
Though England, and France, and Spain had agreed upon terms of peace, the Indians, so many years participants in a course so accordant with their nature, were not so readily to be pa- cified. Having treated with her own Indians, even including Shingas, for whose head a reward was once offered, Pennsylvania looked for peace. The borders of the province were repeopled ; set- tlers returned to their farms, and new planta- tions were taken up. Suddenly and unexpect- edly a new alarm arose. The western Indians had formed a confederacy to attack all the frontiers of the provinces. They commenced the work of murder by killing the traders whom they
21*
246
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1763.
-
had invited among them; and next attacked all the weaker garrisons west and north of the Ohio, in most cases taking the posts and murdering the garrisons. In the confidence of peace these places were weakly manned, and were over- whelmed without much resistance. The Indian murders in Pennsylvania commenced in June, 1763, at Fort Pitt, killing Colonel Chapman and five or six soldiers, whom they surprised outside of the fort, and butchering women and children. Through the whole season these outrages con- tinued, and were perpetrated along the border, from Carlisle to Bethlehem. The savages came in small skulking parties, venturing even into the interior settlements, burning houses, and slaugh- tering men, women and children. The settlers, organized into bands of rangers, routed the In- dians whenever they came in force or could be overtaken; and maddened by the Indian out- rages, the whites partook of the fury of their foe, and shot and bayoneted the Indians with- out mercy. The barrier towns were crowded with houseless wanderers driven in by the savages, barely escaping with their lives, and in most , cases mourning the murder of some of their families and kindred. Philadelphia liberally contributed to the relief of the sufferers, and all the unwasted parts of the province aided. The frontier settlers, under command of Colonel Armstrong, gave the first organized repulse to
3
:
247
RELIEF OF FORT PITT.
1763.]
the savage foe; and General Amherst placed the only regular troops available at the service of the province. The shattered remains of two regiments, worn down at the siege of Havana, were despatched, under command of Colonel Bouquet, to relieve Fort Pitt. This detachment gallantly performed the duty ; and on the march, in two or three affairs with the Indians, did themselves great credit. The commander met the Indians with their own artifices, and leading them into ambush defeated and dispersed them. This expedition relieved the settlers somewhat by diverting the attention of the Indians, and compelling them to attend to their own defence. The harvests were gathered under military pro- tection. The assembly voted eight hundred men, and passed a bill raising twenty-five thousand pounds for their support. Incredible as it may appear, this bill was lost by the disputes between the governor and the assembly. New ravages compelled the next assembly to pass another bill; but they took care to provide the money in such a way that it did not commit the assembly by concessions to the proprietaries, or give the governor pretext to reject it.
When the troops went into winter-quarters, or suspended their active operations, Indian mur- ders commenced anew. The friendly Indians- a small remnant-under profession of neutrality, remained in their settlements, and refused to
.
248
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1763.
join their brethren. But they were strongly- it may be justly-suspected of holding communi- cation with the enemy, and it appears certain that some among them were treacherous. It is certain that they did not, as they probably might have done, warn the whites of what was impend- ing; and some of the warlike Indians were traced to their settlements. These visits were no doubt unwelcome, but the poor Indians had no mode of preventing them. Nor were they free of ap- prehension themselves from their ruthless bre- thren.
In December, 1763, occurred a foul transac- tion, which is a sad blot on the history of Penn- sylvania. The alarming condition of the province in regard to the Indians extenuates, nothing can excuse the conduct of the actors in the outrage. A body of armed and mounted men from Do- negal and Paxton townships attacked an Indian village, occupied by friendly Indians, on the Conestoga manor, at daybreak, and massacred all whom they found. Many were killed in their beds. The unhappy creatures expected least such an attack from the whites, whom they regarded as friends and protectors. The greater part of the Indian villagers were absent at the time of the attack; and having escaped the first massacre were removed to Lancaster, and placed under the protection of the magistrates. But the rioters assembled again, and in greater
#
--
W
249
PAXTON MASSACRE.
1763.]
numbers. They broke into the workhouse, in which building the poor wretches had been placed, and murdered them all, unarmed and pleading for mercy. The massacre was done by about fifty men; and reliable tradition asserts, that though none of them were brought to the forms of justice, the curse of Cain was upon them, and they either died untimely deaths or ended their lives in poverty and wretchedness. The magis- "trates of Lancaster were inexcusable for neither taking measures to prevent this murder nor to arrest the murderers. The governor issued two proclamations, one after each massacre ; and some efforts were subsequently made to detect the perpetrators, but without success. The pro- vince bled at every pore from Indian cruelties ; the Paxton insurgents had many defenders ; local
1
disputes became entangled with public justice, and eloquent and artful pleas were written and published. Mistaken and distorted religious views entered into the discussion; and, as has been the case in many other outrages, the very enormity of the thing served to defeat its punish- ment.
The Moravian Indians were in great peril, but the authorities took them in charge and removed them from Bethlehem to Philadelphia, one hun- dred and forty in number. An attempt was made to send them to New York. The authori- ties of that state refused to permit it. The In-
250
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1763.
dians were returned to Philadelphia; and the exasperated frontier men came down in large bodies, threatening to attack the city. Dr. - Franklin was as usual active and energetic, and did himself high honour by the manly stand which he took against the authors and abettors in the outrage. He wrote and spoke freely and boldly. The city put itself in the attitude of defence, the regular troops were in readiness, and the citizens under arms or willing to take them up. The assembly fortified the governor by passing and extending the English riot act to the province. Dr. Franklin was grand pacifi- cator. The governor took refuge in his house ; the insurgents listened to his representations ; and the citizens counted him as their right arm. Through his influence mainly the insurgents de- parted, leaving two of their number to represent their case to the governor and assembly. Their memorial answered the purpose of a popular ap- . peal; but the assembly, against their remon- strance, passed a bill, changing the trial of per- sons accused of murder in Lancaster to one of the older counties. No trial for that offence was ever had; and the only effect produced by the act was the excitement of a false sympathy, which protected subsequent murderers from justice. The county of Lancaster was perhaps willing to punish its own Indian murderers; but rather than suffer them to be taken to another county
-
1
251
1764.] EXPEDITION TO MUSKINGUM.
for justice would rescue them from the officers. The Moravian Indians, after the ferment had subsided, were removed to Wyalusing, near Wyo- ming, whence again they emigrated some years afterward beyond the Ohio.
Measures were now taken (1764) to reduce the Indians. Under the command of General Gage and the authority of the British govern- · ment, operations were commenced against them upon a large scale. The Pennsylvania portion of the war was conducted under command of Colonel Bouquet, who had already shown great skill in such service. The supply bill was not passed till a debate had been had as usual with the governor, (John Penn,) but received his sanc- tion in May, and in July he proclaimed war against the Shawanese and their confederates, offering bounties for prisoners and scalps, rang- ing from one hundred and fifty down to fifty dollars, according to sex and age. Colonel Bou- quet pushed on to Fort Pitt, where he was rein- forced by troops from Virginia. Thence, with fifteen hundred men, he pushed on to the forks of the Muskingum River, the heart of the hostile country, and then had little more to do than to receive the submission of the Indians. He had acquired a moral mastery over them which com- pelled their reverence, as did his preparations for physical force their fear ; and he had the joy of restoring two hundred and six captives, men,
£
252
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1764.
women and children to their friends. Many of these were welcomed in the camp by relatives who had joined the army, determined to rescue their friends or revenge their deaths. Such a scene as this affords a bettter exculpation of the Paxton and other outrages, than volumes of words could do; for it presents in a lively light the horror of the friends of the captured and murdered, their thirst for the punishment of a foe so ruthless, and the mutual joy of captives and of those who had effected their release at a restoration, the more joyous that it had been despaired of.
CHAPTER XV.
Governor John Penn-His construction of the tax law-Reso- lutions of the assembly-Petition to the crown-Franklin elected speaker-British policy toward the colonies- Franklin loses his election to the legislature-Sent to Eng- land as colonial agent-The Stamp Act passed-The effect in America-" Sons of Liberty"-Arrival of the stamps at Philadelphia-Union of the colonies-Non-importation- Philadelphia proceedings-Stamp Act repealed-Declara- tory Act-New revenue laws-Awakened resistance- -Pennsylvania resolutions-Non-importation again-Re- peal of a portion of the obnoxious duties-The principle. still maintained-First bloodshed in Boston-The Wyoming dispute-Death of Teedyuscung-First Wyoming mas- sacre-Dispute with Virginia-Death of Logan the Indian chief.
ONE appeal to the royal government having been successful in obtaining the establishment
1764.]
GOVERNOR JOHN PENN.
253
of a just principle of taxation-the including of the proprietary estates-the assembly of Penn- sylvania determined upon another and a bolder step. Governor Hamilton had his difficulties in relation to money bills ; but John Penn, Esq., who succeeded him as governor, in 1763, added a demand to past exactions which brought the quarrel to a crisis. In the midst of the Indian difficulties which filled the province with alarm, Governor Penn insisted that the agreement that the proprietary estates should be taxed only subjected those lands, of whatever quality, to the rates which others paid for the poorest lands. Against this selfish demand the assembly pro- tested, but in the exigencies of the public were forced to submit.
1
1
They did not, however, silently yield the case, but appointed a committee to take into consi- deration the grievances of the province. This committee, of which Dr. Franklin was a member, reported a series of resolutions, reviewing the history of the province, and including all the subjects of complaint against the proprietaries. The resolutions concluded with a declaration, that for these reasons the powers of government ought, in all good policy, to be separated from the power conferred by the possession of an im- A. mense proprietary interest in the province, and lodged in the hands of the king. Having passed these resolutions they adjourned to consult their
22
254
HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. [1764.
constituents, and after seven weeks interval re- assembled. In the mean season a petition to the throne was prepared, and presented to the as- sembly for transmission. It was signed by three thousand five hundred of the people of the pro- vince. On the contrary part appeared only one petition, signed by about forty persons residing in an obscure town in Lancaster county. The Quakers, as a society, united in the petition for the contemplated change. The proprietaries had ceased to hold their sympathies ; and though a few personal friends and adherents of the Penn family still clung to the proprietaries, the great body of the Quakers, and most of the Episcopa- lians, were of the party who preferred royal rule to the embarrassments of the proprietary machi- nery. The larger number of the Presbyterians were opposed to the change; and their leading clergymen addressed a circular to the people. of their connection in the province against it. Other pamphlets were published. Speeches with prefaces appeared; and in various forms the press was employed in the discussion of the mat- ter. The house prepared a memorial to forward with the popular petitions. The venerable Isaac Norris, speaker of the house, resigned rather
› than affix his name as speaker. Benjamin Frank- lin was chosen in his place, and affixed his sig- nature to the petition.
But matters of more general and momentous
255
BRITISH POLICY.
1764.]
importance now overshadowed the colonial dis- putes of Pennsylvania. The British cabinet, in the spring of 1764, determined upon the Stamp Act, as the crowning measure of their schemes of finance for the colonies. The navigation laws and restrictions on trade and commerce were to be rigidly enforced. A standing army of ten thousand men was to be quartered in America, and a revenue was to be drawn from the colonies for the support of this force, and any excess over the sum requisite to go into the royal exchequer. The plan contemplated making the whole go- vernment independent of the people. The officers of the British navy were made custom-house officers. As the duties and customs were not sufficient, the sale of government stamps was to be added; but the imposition of the tax was de- ferred to give the colonies an opportunity to be heard, which opportunity, we may add, was never fairly accorded to them.
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.