USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Concordville > Two-hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of Concord Monthly Meeting of Friends : Concordville, Delaware Co., Pa > Part 6
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July 12, 1911.
LEWIS PALMER,
Concordville, Delaware County, Pa.
My dear friend :- I am to be disappointed. From our con- versation thee will know I am not surprised. I cannot be at Concordville next Fourth-day for the reason that I must be here. Public business does not demand our presence, it com- mands it. On no occasion during my service in the House has the reason for attendance been so imperative. Please have this letter read at the meeting that my absence may be accounted for and the reasons for it understood. The pleas- ures which I had anticipated since the receipt of thy invita- tion are to be denied me. No more need be said, I enclose thee my remarks which I will be obliged to thee to have read in the time allotted me. Had fortune favored me I should have spoken along the same line. I am only reconciled to my disappointment because I am obliged to be.
Thine very truly, THOMAS S. BUTLER.
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THE INFLUENCE OF FRIENDS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
HON. THOMAS S. BUTLER.
Read by Emily C. Smedley, of Westtown Boarding School The task before me is unusual. I know these remarks will need my apologies and I fear they will merit your criticism.
I am indebted to those who directed me here and thereby increased my pleasures of the day. I am also indebted to those who have affored me the opportunity of confessing my allegiance to this ancient and honorable Society, which began to live with the first outcry of the Plain Shepherd of Not- tingham against human savagery.
The presence of this Meeting House in this community is not uncommon, for this has always been the home of the Quaker. Our ancestors came here because the protection afforded the Puritan and the Church was denied them. It: great age surprises no one who reads or listens because he has learned that it was long ago when, with folded arms, the Quaker walked first from his persecutors in search of a peo- ple who would at least try to understand him. It is gratify- ing to us to reflect that we live in the only place in the orig- inal colonies where men were not despised for their views upon either religion or polities and where liberty has had but one price secured by one law made by all the people for all the people.
Our ancestors came here because the hands of men were raised against them, and while their tormentors might have been unable to observe with strictness the instruction of George Fox and to have imitated his appearance and his habits of life, they might at least have entertained a respect for his views upon religion and have looked upon his standard with calmness, although they were unable to follow it.
I have not time to review the history of this distinguished Society, neither will it be necessary in order to speak on the subject to which I am assigned. The Friend is known to the world as a conscience server. He acknowledges no mas-
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tery beyond the restraint imposed in such a service. It is my observation learned from my kinsman and a close asso- ciation with the Friend, blessed with the genuine faith, born and bred in him, that he believes in a community of bene- fits and a system of fairness. He arrived in this life in the midst of a great tempest with his new gospel for the instruc- tion of men, but he lived until the tumult was done and dedi- cated himself to the cause of human liberty, chastised by the open opposition of unfriendly people who stood him in the stocks, robbed of his money- which they called a fine, put his body in common jails, all in the cause of public and pri- vate morals, usually justified by the name of common nuis- ance.
It adds much to the belief in the sincerity of the Quakers to know that they early moved to abolish slavery among their members, and it increases our admiration for them that they made their atonement for their sin by inflicting a self punish- ment of a reward in money paid to the slave for his service during his servitude. They studied well the history of man and discovered that he shows the greatest civilization when he is free. Some of them must have defended slavery be- cause they did not all discontinue the practice promptly. Those who hesitated were disciplined and finally dismissed when their persistency became insufferable. This Society, which stood for the liberty of mankind in its entirety, has presented since 1776 a united outspoken opposition to slav- ery. On man's freedom all other peoples were divided. The Quaker alone through his assemblies, with his speech and by his conduct advocated the abolition of slavery, and thus as an individual and a congregation injected into our national affairs both a moving and directing power that resulted in establishing before the law man's freedom from servitude. He did not accomplish his design upon slavery by numbers in the legislative bodies, because he had none there, but he stirred the public mind and inflamed the public feeling against the greatest evil with which our Republic had to con- tend and finally overcome. Thus directly his influence went. towards a result which established freedom and for the accom-
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plishment of which these people have always been given their full credit.
The Quaker has always directed the storm and steered the whirlwind against insobriety and taught his family and his friends that strong drink used to excess was a blight upon the soul and a sore to the flesh. In solving this part of our great moral equation he has always been reckoned with be- cause his views are pronounced and his mind unchangeable. Neither tears nor threats move him. As a Society, its in- fluence is always for temperance and is manifested in public places, in the pulpit and at the polls. They inquire with diligence among themselves to ascertain whether strong drink is their beverage and severely rebuke those whose appetites need more restraint. Thus in their struggles to keep the truth to the front this question is always pending. It is not settled because its discussion may be unnecessary among themselves and the enforcement of the rule of sobriety not demanded because of their own habits. As long as wine is considered a mocker and strong drink continues to rage, the influence of the Friend may be counted to appear and will be, as it has always been, a real Jehu in the race to turn aside disaster before the Judgment Seat is reached.
The Quaker has always been a politician, wise, sagacious and calculating. He seems to have been in his earlier his- tory capable of reaching conclusions with his adversary and as fully capable of overcoming him. His policies he made himself, and the majorities secured for them were secured according to his own program. His methods I do not know because he observed the same silence in his political move- ments which have always identified his undertakings. His secrets were his own and his purposes he disclosed only to those who were in accord with him. Unlike the average poli- tician of modern date he did not break forth in fiery speech according to the habits of these times. He thought well of men and in his consideration of their weaknesses and in his comparison of their merits and their demerits he reached his conelusions without lashing himself into a fury and without frenzied appeal to unthinking listeners who care to hear only of man's deseent.
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The history of those times would indicate that more de- pendence was placed upon men than upon policies. More dependence upon the good judgment of men was put in those who thought in solitude rather than in those who spoke in public. Penn in drafting his statement of principles for the government of Pennsylvania seemed to have faith in the in -- tegrity of men or else he would not have included the follow- ing: "There is hardly one frame of government in the world so ill designed by its founders that in good hands would not do well enough."
I do not intend to speak to you of the influence of any man, but of a Society that followed men rather than standards and which did not abandon its idols one day that it might prostrate itself in front of others the next day. I do know, however, that it was Fothergill whose sermons were said to cause heaven and earth to approach, who joined with our Franklin in the mighty but unsuccessful effort to prevent the American revolution for which the Quaker was in part responsible, because of the influence which his agitation created upon the public mind. Their views upon proprie- tary power were well known and well impressed upon those who either proposed or resisted it. They labeled civil liberty with the word Quakerism, preached it from their own pul- pits, talked of it at their own firesides and advocated it so vigorously and fearlessly at all times that it became the patriots' morning and evening lesson and the issue over which men fought other men and settled it Americanwise. Is this the sort of influence upon the affairs of men of which you inquire?
Did not the Quaker hate slavery and was not slavery ahol- ished? Did he not love civil liberty and was it not estab- lished? It must not be said of these conscience servers that they have been cowards because they fled from fields where opposition amounted to tyranny to employ their faculties and energies in promoting ideas that lead Heavenward be- cause every reform which has destrained the strength of the wicked and encouraged the weak has found the Quaker cheer- fully and earnestly in its service. With force? No! With
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persuasion? Yes! Furthermore it must not be said of them that they agitate the boundary which divides force and per- suasion and then abandon their cause. The design which they hope to accomplish through persuasion has usually been interrupted by violence committed by those whom the dis- cipline of George Fox never reached.
My friends, we must not have the mistaken opinion that heroes are only made at the mouths of blazing cannon or where fields are reddened with the blood of struggling men ; rather abide by the proposition that a hero may live and die in a cause which God advocates and for which he stands as the only witness.
The Quaker was a politician until the time came when he was compelled to select between the tribune and the pulpit. He chose the latter, although he had reigned over the poli- tical welfare of this province from 1683 to 1755, a period of more than seventy years. During that time the Assembly contained always a majority of Friends elected with care from among the best fitted of them for statesmen. They were not timid and showed no cowardice for they made all the laws and accepted the full responsibility for their efli- ciency. They enforced them with fairness, their people pre- siding over the courts that stood for justice and equality. Did they do well?
There were no wars while the Quaker ruled the province, either within or without. History of our own land sustains this statement. The conduct among people was good-all writers upon Quaker management are in accord with this statement-trade roared and gathered while the Quaker di- rected the affairs of Penn's province because he has ever been known as an economist and a man of business. The public treasury has added to its store while there was no complaint because of unjust or excessive taxation. Was not this an administration worthy of a prominent place in American his- tory? Is this not the strongest and most conclusive evi- dence of the influence of Friends in public affairs ?
Why did the Quaker abandon the political arena? Was it because he asked for quarters? Some men say it was because his timidity seized him. If the same men would read their history books they would find that it was a conflict between conscience and demanding political duties that forced them as a corporate body into retirement.
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The Friend of recent years has not as a single man or a single woman led prominently in the political history of our country. I mean by this statement that as individuals known as Friends since 1776 they have not reached and have not endeavored to reach a prominence in public affairs which dis- tinguished them from other men. Their aets and their per- formances have been similar to those of other men and with rarest instance has their official conduct differed from that of others with different religious views.
In these days if men oppose war taxes it is not because they are members of this Society but because of some other opposition which they declare. Yet the Yearly Meeting by its decrees forced its members from the Pennsylvania Assem- bly because the necessity of voting a war tax confronted them. In these times men who either belong to the Society or have descended from some of its most constant and consistent mem- bers not only vote along with others for a war tax but ac- tually vote for measures which involve the country in war. Has the Quaker influence departed from among us or does it lie torpid waiting an awakening of early instruction and early associations? The rules of life which we once learn, I believe, live always in our memory, buried therein with other impressions gotten from examples worthy of our imitation.
While the Quaker preferred to be known by his works rather than by his speech, it was with some difficulty that the Yearly Meeting forced its members into retirement. The Yearly Meeting, according to its record, was compelled to resort to threats of exclusion from its sessions of those mem- bers who persisted in holding office and to adjudge those who hesitated unworthy to sit with them. Official duties requiring members to levy taxes for military purposes and to adminis- ter oaths were considered to impose a restraint upon the liberty of conscience. The Yearly Meeting movement was unwilling to have this restrietion upon absolute freedom put upon its members and it was also unwilling that they should embarrass other people with a conscience embargo which they themselves would not suffer. In this predicament, with the choice of selection (the Meeting House or the platform) be- fore him, he chose the former, but not without a regret and a longing, lingering look upon the scene of his uninterrupted triumphs of more than seventy years. The devotion to a cause which has always distinguished the lives of the Quaker
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from that of many others made him waver between an alle- giance to his church and the enjoyment of power, but it was the same influence of which you inquire that resolved him in favor of the former, and once more he verified his capabilities as a politician by submitting to the will of his superior whom he had created by assent. The records show the difficulty of the undertaking in a minute directing the Quarterly Meet- ings to report the success had in the attempt to separate mem- bers from compromising offices, and an interest in the result is excited upon learning that Chester County Quakers were the last to surrender, causing the Yearly Meeting much con- cern and lessening its hope of complete success. While we are proud of a heritage bequeathed to us by our ancestors and promise not to cheapen it by our practices we must not be lampooned by merciless critics if we develop a passion which required threats of renunciation to secure its overthrow.
You would not expect me to even attempt to enumerate by name the many men and women belonging to this Society who have added large and important contributions towards the improvement of mankind or the promotion of our wel- fare generally. It has furnished men who have made and assisted to make our laws and others who have construed them. Since 1976 they are simply numbered with the mul- titude that have been selected for the administration of our public affairs. Their conduct has not identified their religion and indeed no effort has been made to enforce the views of Quakers as a corporate body. Most men are against war, because they fear its consequences to their persons or their property. The Quaker is against it because it is wrong and he hates it. He is for reform because of the good that it will assure, while many others are for reform because of the evil its enforcement will prevent. He stands for moral repair without limitation, its effects he leaves for time to adjust.
The Quaker came at a time when proffigacy was levying a heavy tax upon the morality of mankind. His services are more useful now than when he first appeared. He is now understood ; no man's band is lifted against him. His sin-
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gularity in appearance was once charged to hypocrisy, now it is credited to a simplicity which attracts and adorns so- ciety. When he once claimed that his service was in the cause of conscience he was charged with rebellion against the laws of the place and lashed with a lash in vulgar hands and jailed in a jail with the vicious. In these times his opinion as a Quaker is not sought because it is known and esteemed. To measure his influence, commingled with the massive and mov- ing throng, I would use the language of another and liken it unto the "unfelt wind that rustles the leaves of the mighty forest."
In this attempted tribute to the virtue of this Godly people I include no pretenders or boasters, but only those who recog- nize a conscience and never defiled or differed with it.
I do not know whether I am expected to mention the names of individuals, members of this Society, who are found upon the pages of our country's history. The task involves a bur- den which I cannot bear and a tax upon time which is not my own. But it is not fair to forget those who worked well in the cause of liberty and truth and went to sleep with pub- lic approbation. This community has furnished many of these to the professions and the business. Men and women who were born in the faith and reared according to rules of sobriety in all things with a modesty of manner and sin- cerity in speech. Some have found their way to the Senate, others to the Bench; men who have sat within the sound of the ministering Friend's voice and who have subscribed to the religious conceptions of George Fox have managed our local affairs with honor and handed out justice evenly, un- sparingly and with great impartiality. The names of these men are remembered here and they are known there. The men who have done good are separated here from those who do evil, as we suppose they are separated there. Rewards for faithful service here are to be followed with much greater reward there.
To mention one of these names would demand the call of the roll. That work is left to the history writer, not of a church but of its members. Of the former T have tried to speak and its influence within and without I have here at- tempted to relate.
I have not been expected to speak of the deeds of individ- uals but of the dominion which the church has exercised in the
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affairs of life, not by force of numbers but through counsel of its elders and the examples of virtue set by its living models.
'They taught the people that all men were free and equal and prepared the public mind to accept the instruction and to enforce the truth. When persuasion was weary and all argument was done force was supplanted against the Quak- er's advice, but when the tumult was over the result was that for which his prayers had been offered and his sacrifices had been made. As our passions subside, while we recognize the breach of discipline made by some of them, do not let us doubt their sincerity, differing only upon methods of accom- plishment but at no time differing upon the great unimpeach- able truth upon which the human law is supported. The Quaker has always stood for the freedom of man's conscience as well as for the freedom of his body, insisting with vehe- mence that there was sufficient freedom for an equal divi- sion and that all should share it alike. Liberty of mind as well as that of the person he has advocated without stint, and while he desires to think of it in solitude he has also exer- cised the right to speak of it in pulbic.
They resisted by argument and protest all attempts to im- pose servitude upon the Americans by the British. They offered no compromise which did not involve our complete civil liberty. Again were the people moved by the same in- Anence which has provoked war and promoted peace. The history book has some account of this ever-reaching influence which restrains the passions and encourages the patience, always for peace and always against war. This Society, to its everlasting credit, has always insisted upon peace among men as well as among nations. Freedom of mankind, liberty of conscience of the individual and the destruction of militar- ism constitute in my judgment the foundation upon which the Quaker religion in part maintains itself. Much else per- tains to habit and form. In the first two he has with the rest of his countrymen completely succeeded and vindicated the trouble and tears necessary to seenre them. Their attempts for universal peace are an influence upon the whole world. It would be untruthful to say that the pressure for concord among the Christian people has either its origin or solo championship in the Society of Friends, but it is truthfully said that at no time has the Quaker either encouraged strife
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or applauded those engaged in it. He is the self-appointed guardian of peace, commanded by his conscience, its constant and loyal defender. When others abandoned their faith the Quaker's allegiance endured. His hope for perfect con- cord has never lessened and his efforts never weakened. The time for the consummation of his desire must be postponed, but it will not be defeated. When others despair he inspires by his appeal to reason and his expressed trust in the wisdom of humanity. Once his profession of faith was charged to cowardice, now it is called courage and is quoted with favor by the quarrelsome and imitated by their confederates. Their yearly declarations for peaceful solution of all difficulties impress Presidents and move Congresses unrelated to them in religion and unlike them in habits. To encourage them in their great conflict of right against wrong, the first partial temporary peace is promised. The President of the United States says we are just escaping from the blackness of night into the dawn of the morning. Shall there be day? For this glimpse at assured harmony between us and England, the open-hearted outstretched gratitude of the whole civil- ized world should be extended to the President. He should be designated the Benefactor of Mankind and should con- tinne in history to bear the lovable name already given him, "William the Peacemaker."
We shall not live to see perfect concord among all the peoples of all the different nations. But our children will, while in their youth, behold an honest and partially successful effort to reach an agreement by which many wars will be avoided. When this day arrives. the Quaker will be justified in applauding his own effort and in reporting upon high the completion of the work allotted to him here below.
You must exonerate me from any intention to inject in this feeble attempt a recital of those things which have so deeply impressed me during a cordial and satisfactory re- lationship of more than half a century with this Society which is lovingly denominated Quaker, not any more in de- rision but as the Friend's namesake. I recall with a tender- ness that moves my heart the extreme gentility of my two grandmothers, cach facing her Meeting, one at Lionville and the other at Marshallton. Yet their appearance was similar
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to that of others with bowed heads, all engaged in their de- votions. Once their religion was called heresy, now it is recognized by all Christians as orthodoxy. Their appearance was called prudery and their ministrations pedantry. It concerned not these two women what they were styled be- cause their minds were above the heads of their tormentors and their thoughts upon things that were not earthly. It turned them not aside to have their decorum called affecta- tion and their simplicity ignorance. It disturbed them not to have their piety called blasphemy and their humility pro- fane. I recall the impression sunk deep down within me of the lessons of frugality taught by these women and all the other placid Quakeresses who charmed without effort and who entertained without display. Yet they were said by those who did not know them to be stingy and illiberal. We have lived to see their quietness of manner imitated and their ele- gance in deportment repeated. I recall the words of my father and all his neighbor Quakers (for there were many of them in his day in Uwchlan) as they convinced their chil- dren that labor is honorable, idleness disgraceful and that the sweat of our brow is the price of prosperity. My mind constantly returns to the hills and valleys in which they lived in peace, deeply imbedded in the affection of their children, whom they taught to honor their superiors for their wisdom and at all times to refrain from the circulation of evil re- port concerning them.
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