Gass F f ^ •?■ Book ::_ ■ r^d Penn's interview witii Charles I, THE LIFE OF WILLIAM PENN, WITH A SKETCH OP THE EARLY HISTORY OP PENNSYLVANIA. BY JOHN FROSTe PHILADELPHIA: OBKIK BOG EH 1839 ^' Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by John Frost, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tfee East- ern District of Pennsylvania. J Jesper Harding, Printer. PREFACE. The following Memoir is chiefly taken from ^n anonymous work published in London se- veral years since. For the alterations and additions made by myself, 1 have relied prin- cipally on the authority of Graham and Proud. The Sketch of the Early History of Penn- sylvania, is part of a work commenced some years since for the use of schools, but never completed. I thought that it would make an appropriate introduction to the life of the great Founder of Pennsylvania, as it furnishes the reader with the leading facts in the history of the State antecedent to the arrival of Penn ; and brings the narrative down to the period of that important and auspicious event. A* COIVTENTS. HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. CHAPTER I. The different Nations who founded Colonies in North Ame- rica. . . . . * Page 1 CHAPTER n. Early Settlements on Delaware Bay and River. . 4 CHAPTER III. How William Penn first came to take an interest in Ameri- can affairs. . . . ,8 CHAPTER IV. Settlements of the Friends in New Jersey and Pennsylvania previous to Penn obtaining his Charter. . 14 LIFE OF PENN. CHAPTER I. Birth and Parentage of William Penn — He is sent to school at Chigwell — Early religious impressions — He is remov- ed to a private seminary on Tower HUl — Enters Christ's Church College at Oxford — Imbibes the opinions of Tho- mas Loe-Is expelled from College — Trave Is in France— VIII CONTENTTS. Is instructed by Moses Amyrault— Visits Italy—Returns to England. . , . . . 1^ CHAPTER 11. Penn's religious impressions continue— He is sent bv his fether to Ireland to the court of the Duke of Ormond Goes to superintend his father's estates in the county of P°S~?^^-®t^ ^^^]^ ^i* Thomas Loe— Attaches himself to the Society of Quakers or Friends— Imprisoned for at- tending one of their meetings— Released by the Earl of Or- rery— Returns to his father— Controversy respecting the hat— .-Dismissed from his father's house—Becomes a preacher and an author. • ... 25' CHAPTER III. Principles of the Quakers— Controversy with the Presbyte- rians— Wm. Penn publishes "The Sandy Foundation Sha- ken; and IS consequently imprisoned in the Tower of London— Writes "No Cross, No Crown," during his im- prisonment—Character of that work— Penn writes to Lord Arlington— Substance of the letter— It is disregarded— fenn publishes " Innocency with her open face"— Is re- i leased from his imprisonment by the king. . 30 CHAPTER IV. Wm. Perin attends at the death-bed of Thomas Loe— Loe's ex- hortation— Penri's father permits him to return to his house— Sends him to Ireland on business— he preaches tbere returns to England, and is completely reconciled tohis father— Passage of the Conventicle act— Its charac- ter— Penn preaches in Gracechurch street — Penn and WUJiam Meade are sent to Newgate prison— Their trial Th"?^ -n?- f ^^^ Old Bailey-The^ justices-The jury- ?i^.H''V'^'''^™^''^~P¥— P^'soners placed at the bar— ?lntl L^^^r^^u^^-^"' hats— Witnesses examined— .r^^J^r j}i?T^ *° ^^^ judges— Penn's memorable contro- nfth^o Y^?!^ recorder— His appeal to the jury— Attempts h rv Sn° intimidate the jury~Penn's defence of the ffi7.7" T^^'f %J"^.y andof Penn— Verdict of "Not Suh 7hp ^tu>-ned--The jury fined— Penn's controversy S,fP ^nil^'^T^?"'' ^-"^ ^^^^e areagainsenttoNew- fhlftEi J}~^T^V,'^^'y imprisoned— Admiral Penn pays Ihe'ir^hSvaHolJ:"^-''"" '"' ^"^- ^--^e-^nd proc^ures CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER V. Admiral Penn's last advice to his son — His death — Wm. Penn goes to Oxford — His letter to the Vice Chancellor — Wra. Penn retires to his family seat in Buckinghamshire — Writes 'A Seasonable Caveat against Popery' — Returns to London — Imprisoned again in the Tower of London for preaching — Taken before the justices— Refuses to take an oath—Nobly repels an attack on his moral character — Is imprisoned for refusing the oath. . . 51 CHAPTER VL Works written by Penn during his imprisonment — He is liberated, and travels and preaches in Germany — He is married — Preaches in England — Publishes several new works. . . . . . . .59 CHAPTER VII. Penn preaches in the West of England — His controversy with Thomas Hicks — Meeting at Barbican — Penn's letter to George Fox — His controversy with John Faldo— Dr. Moore's encomium on Penn's works. . . 64 CHAPTER VIII. Wm. Penn's appeal on the subject of toleration — His letter to the King — Persecutions — Wm. Penn's tract entitled " England's Present Interest" — His work entitled " The continued cry of the oppressed for justice" — His exer- tions in behalf of George Fox — His letter to Fox — Fox's release. . . . ... 75 CHAPTER IX. Penn's controversy with Richard Baxter — His letter to Bax- ter — His letters to Fenwick — He writes to Elizabeth Princess Palatine of the Rhine — Penn becomes a mana- ger of the colonial concerns in New Jersey — Division of New Jersey — He forms a constitution for the colony — Outline of the constitution — Settlers invited. . 84 CHAPTER X. Proposals opened for the sale of lands in West New Jersey — CONTENTS. Arrangement with Byllinge's creditors — The Commission- ers appointed — They embark for America — They receive the King's blessing — Penn receives a letter from the Princess Elizabeth — Penn visits Holland — He writes to the King of Poland — He visits the Princess Elizabeth — His success in preaching — He visits many German cities — Labodie and his followers — Anna Maria Schurmans — Penn's second visit to the Princess — Returns to Amster- dam— Controversy with Abrahams — Penn's preaching at Wonderwick — Embarks at the Brill — Returns to Lon- don, and thence to his seat at Worminghurst. 93 CHAPTER XI. Penn despatches 800 settlers for New Jersey — The Popish Plot — Persecutions of the Dissenters — Penn's petition to the House of Commons — He addresses the members — It is well received — His second Address — The desired bill passes the Commons — Penn's tract, entitled England's Great Interest in the choice of a New Parhament — ^Penn's exertions in behalf of Algernon Sydney. . 106 CHAPTER XII. Peath of the Princess Elizabeth — Penn's claims on the Bri- tish Government on account of his father's services and ex- penditures—The petition for a grant of territory in Ameri- ca — His motive for this proceeding— He obtains a charter tor Pennsylvania— Substance of the charter — Penn rehn- quishes the management of West New Jersey — Situation of the colony — Penn publishes his " Account of Pennsyl- vania," and the "Concessions" — Account of the "Conces- sions" — Penn's "Frame of Government"— It secures liber- ty of conscience — Settlers sent out to Pennsylvania with Colonel Markham— Penn's letter to Robert Vickris. 131 CHAPTER XIII. Death of Penn's mother — He pubhshes his " frame of go- vernment" — Preface of this instrument — Its chief pro- visions — Penn obtains a deed of release tor Pennsylvania from the Duke of York — He obtains the tract of land call- ed the Territories, (Delaware) — Penn's letter to his wife and children — His interview and conversation with king Charles II. . . . . , 131 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER XIV. Penn sails from Deal — Lands at Newcastle — Is joyfully re- ceived — Takes legal possession of the country — Addresses the magistrates — Renews their commissions — Proceeds to Upland — First General Assembly — The Assembly passes the Act of Union and the Act of Settlement — Character of its other Acfs — Penn's interview with Lord Balti- more — Penn's Treaty with the Indians— He lays out the plan of Philadelphia — Arrival of two thousand set- tlers — Wm. Penn's arrangements for the internal go- vernment of the colony — He meets the Council and ihe Assembly — Charter amended — Penn journeys through the province — Appoints a provinciEil council — Thomas Loyd president — Penn sails for England, after declining an impost intended for his own benefit — Arrives in Eng- land and has an interview with the King and the Duke of York. ..... 152 CHAPTER XV. Death of Charles II — Accession of James II — Friendship subsisting between Penn and James II — Passage from Gerard Croesse — Penn's successful intercession for John Locke — Penn is suspected of being a Papist — His letter to Doctor TiUotson — Tillotson's apology — Penn's success- ful appeal in behalf of the Dissenters — Unsatisfactory ac- counts from the Province — Penn appoints a new Coun- cil — Accession of William Prince of Orange to the throne of England — Unpleasant situation of Penn — He is exam- ined before the Lords of the Council — Is discharged — Act of Toleration passed — Penn is ae:ain arrested and brought before the Lords of the Councir~His examination — He is again discharged — Proposes to embark for America — Is again arrested — Takes private lodgings in London — Is deprived of his government of Pennsylvania — His noble conduct under this reverse— His government restored— Death of William Penn's wife — Penn's second marriage — Death of his son Springett Penn — Visit to Ireland — Second \ oyage to America — Arrival — Treaty with the Indians— Penn recalled to England by the state of affairs — He grants his last charter to the Province — Returns to Eng- land — Death of William III — Accession of Queen Anne — His favour at court — Literary pursuits — Penn's law- suit with Ford — He is a prisoner in the Fleet—He mort- gages the Province of Pennsylvania— He is released and restored to his family— His health fails—He offers to sell his province to the British government. , 166 XII COIVTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. Gradual decay of Penn's health— His death--His Funeral— His Will--Comparativevalueof his European and Ameri- can possessions — Penn's character . . 196 . . . . .201 Questions. Constitution of Pennsylvania. 209 SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.. CHAPTER 1. The different Nations who founded Colonies in North America. In order to settle clearly in the minds of young readers the period at which our narra- tive commences, we mention certain other im- portant dates in American history, to be com- pared with that of the settlement of Pennsyl- vania. Such dates serve as land-marks from which to take our departure in beginning the course of our story ; and they are important to be remembered. The discovery of the New World was ef- fected by Columbus in the year 1492. The 1 Z HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. first land which he reached was one of the Ba- hama islands. He was in the service of the king of Spain, and hence it happened that a considerable portion, both of North and South America, were for a long period afterwards under the dominion of Spain; although none of these extensive territories, now belong to Spain, excepting two of the West India Islands, Cuba and Porto Rico. The continent of America was discovered by John and Sebastian Cabot, June 24th, 1797. The part of the coast which they first reached was Labrador. They were in the service of England; and with their voyage commenced a series of discoveries and settlements which made our country the seat of numerous Eng- lish colonies, of which Pennsylvania was one. The earliest permanent settlement made in the territory which now belongs to the United States, was effected by the Spaniards under Pedro Melendez at St. Augustine, in Florida, on the 8th of September, 1565. St. Augustine must, therefore, be considered the oldest town in the United States. The next settlement was made by an Eng- lish colony headed by the famous Captain John Smith, at Jamestown, in Virginia, May, loth, 1607. This was the earliest English settle- ment in our country. The French were also early settlers in North HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA, S i^merica. An expedition from France under the command of Samuel Champlain, founded Que- bec on July 3d, 1608. The lake which lies be- tween Vermont and New York received its name from this adventurer; and the settlement which he effected gave to his countrymen the possession of Canada until it was wrested from them by the English. Hudson sailing up the Hudson Eiver. The Dutch under Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609, and began the settlement of the province of New York, which they called New Netherlands, in 1614. The Swedes landed at Cape Henlopen, in 1638, and began the settlement of Delaware, and what is now called Pennsylvania. Hoer- 4 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. kill, now called Lewistown, Wilmington, Ches- ter and Manayunk, were amongst the first places settled by them. The settlements of the Dutch and Swedes were soon after brought under the dominion of England, (1664); the Dutch and Swedish colonists mingled with the English; and their descendants still remain among us. Thus it appears that North America was ori- ginally colonized by several different nations, a.i different periods; and although the greater part of their colonies were speedily united under the British Government, we are never- theless indebted to all these nations for the settlement of the territory, as well as for sub- sequent emigrations which have increased its population and wealth. CHAPTER II. Early Settlements on Delaware Bay and River. The first explorer of Delaware bay and river was Captain May, who, as early as the year 1621, sailed up the river as far as Glou- cester Point, in New Jersey, not far below the place where Philadelphia now is, where, with other settlers, he formed a village, and built Fort Nassau for its defence. HISTORY or PENNSYLVANIA. 5 It was from this Captain May, that Cape May received its name. These Dutch set- tlers at Gloucester Point came from the neighboring colony of New York. The Dutch also formed a colony at New Castle, in Dela- ware, near Cape Henlopen, in 16S0. This little settlement, to which they gave the name of Svvaenendael, was soon destroyed by the Indians. The Dutch navigator De Vries af- terwards attempted to restore this colony, but without success. The Building of Fort Nassau. r During the year 1688, according to Mr. Gordon's history, the Swedes visited Cape Henlopen, which they named Paradise Point, 1* 6 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. and began their settlements on the Delaware bay and river. In that year they built a town which they called Stockholm, in the place where New Castle now is, and began the settlement of Wilmington, which they named Christianna. At the Island of Tenecum, in the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia, a settlement was made by John Printz, who had been ap- pointed governor of the Swedish colony on the Delaware. On this island he built a fort which they called New Gottenburgh, and erected some houses, a church, and the go- vernor's house, to which they gave the name of Printz's hall. Many other places within the present state of Pennsylvania, as well as in Delaware, were settled originally by the Swedes. Among them Watson enumerates, Mocoponaca, the present town of Chester, Manaiung, a fort at the mouth of the Schuylkill, Chincessing, now Kingsessing township, Korsholm fort in Pas- saiung, and many other places in the imme- diate neighborhood. The Dutch colonists of New York appear to have regarded the Swedes as rivals and intruders from the beginning. They built a fort which they called fort Kasimer, at New Castle, in 1651, in spite of the remonstrances of the Swedes who settled there, and of their HISTORY OP PENNSYLVANIA. 7 governor Printz, who solemnly protested against what he considered an invasion of his rights. This fort was afterwards taken by a stratagem of the Swedish commander Risingh. But the Swedes were not destined to re- tain the country as a colony of Sweden. In 1655, Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of New Netherlands, embarked from New Amsterdam* with 6 vessels and 700 men, for the purpose of conquering New Sweden, as the Swedes called their territory, and suc- ceeded without much resistance in reducing the whole country. He then destroyed tlie fortifications and public buildings, and carried off the most distinguished among the colonists, leaving only the common people, who were mingled without distinction among their con- querors and the subsequent settlers. The triumph of the Dutch, however, was destined to be short. In 1664 King Charles 1]. of England, without any regard to the cir- cumstance of its being already settled by the Dutch, thought proper to grant all the large territory, not only of New Holland hut New Sweden, to his brother the Duke of York; and the country was taken possession of by an ex- pedition of three ships and six hundred men, under the command of Col. Richard Nichols. * Now New York. 8 HISTORY OF PENJVSYLVANIA. New Amsterdam was thenceforth called New York, in honor of the Duke. New Jersey was included in the king's grant to the Duke, who afterwards possessed himself of the west shore of the Delaware, and claimed Pennsyl- vania also. Although the country which was afterwards granted to William Penn by King Charles II., is spoken of in the charter as not yet culti- vated and planted ; yet we see that a small portion was actually settled by the Swedes, and afterwards passed successively into the hands of the Dutch and the English long be- fore the effective and permanent settlement by Penn was made. CHAPTER III. How William Penn first came to take an interest in Ameri- can Affairs. After the occupation of New York by the English colonel, Nichols was appointed Gover- nor by the Duke of York, and that province as well as the other settlements on Delaware bay and river, were governed by him for near- ly three years, with a degree of wisdom and impartiality which gained for him the appro- bation of all parties. He regulated the mode HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. U of purchasing land of the Indians, and requir- ed a regular registry of their deeds to the settlers, He also incorporated the city of New York, and settled the boundary between New York and Connecticut. He was succeeded by Colonel Francis Love- lace in May, 1667. Governor Lovelace be- gan his administration by requiring that grants of land, upon the Delaware, which had been made by the Dutch, should be renewed ; and that new grants should all proceed from the English authorities. A Swedish adventurer called the Long Finne, endeavoured^to excite a rebellion against the English authority, and to restore his countrymen to the sovereignty of their beloved New Sweden. He' gained some adherents; but after a short time he was arrested, tried and sentenced to death ; but his sentence was subsequently changed and he was whipped, branded with the letter R. on his breast, and transported to Barbadoes, and sold as a slave for four years. This se- vere punishment, and the fines imposed on his adherents, prevented further disturbance from that quarter. The Indians gave some trouble to the Eng- lish during the administration of Governor Lovelace. Murders were committed by them which the Indians themselves ascribed to the use of ardent spirits,and begged the white peo- 10 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. pie to prohibit the sale of them. This remark- able request by the Indians seems to have been disregarded, and further disturbance was the consequence- One anecdote, related by Mr. Gordon in this connection, is so strikingly illustrative of the Indian character that we quote it. An Indian named Tashiowycan, having lost a beloved sister by death, expressed great grief, and declared " that the Mannetto * having killed his sister, he would go and kill the Chris- tians." Accordingly taking with him a com- panion, he proceeded to an island in the Dela- ware below Bordentown, now known as New- hold's Island, and murdered two Dutchmen who were resident there. Governor Lovelace demanded the murder- ers, and their surrender was promised, but delayed. Preparations were made for an Indian war ; and the Indians who were friend- ly to the whites were invited to join them in punishing the aggressors. Fortunately the hostile Indians engaged to deliver up the murderers before the commencement of ac- tual hostilities. They came to the wigwam of Tashiowycan by night. He asked one of them, who was his particular friend, if he intended to kill him ? •The Great Spirit, or God. HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 11 His friend replied '^No; but the sachems have ordered you to die." <' What," returned Tashiowycan, ''say my brothers?" ''They also say you must die;" was the response. The Death of Tashiowycan. "Then," cried he, holding his hands before his eyes, "kill me." Instantly one of the execu- tioners, not his friend, however, shot him through the body with two balls, and com- pleted his death by several strokes of the tomahawk on the head. His body was taken to Newcastle, and there hung in chains. Thus died Tashiowycan, a voluntary sacrifice to preserve his countrymen from the calamities of war. The other Indian who had assisted 12 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. him in killing the white men, saved himself by flight ; but he had not been able to persuade Tashiovvycan to accompany him. A part of the country on Delaware bay had been claimed by Lord Baltimore, the proprie- tor of Maryland; and during the administra- tion of Governor Lovelace, the Marylanders took possession of Hoarkill, from which, how- ever, they were speedily dislodged. In 1673, Charles 11. having declared war with the Dutch, that nation sent an expedi- tion under the command of Cornelius Evertse and Jacob Benke, who recaptured New York without opposition. The treachery of Cap- tain Manning,who commanded the fort at the Narrows, is assigned as the cause of this easy victory. He was tried and cashiered for the offence. The country was soon after restor- ed to the English by treaty. After the recovery of the provinces, a new patent was granted to the Duke of York by the king. Sir Edmund Andross was made Governor, and received the surrender of the territories from the Dutch. During Governor Andross's administration (25th September, 1675) the dominion of the Duke of York was extended by purchase over all the west shore of the Delaware^ then set- tled by Europeans. On the 24th of June, 1664, the province of HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. io New Jersey was granted by the Duke of York to John, Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Car- teret, who immediately proceeded to establish a regular government for the country. Set- tlers increased rapidly in this pleasant and fer- tile region; and Elizabethtown, Newark, Middletown and Shrewsbury were soon set- tled. In 1675 Lord Berkeley sold his half of the province of New Jersey to John Fenwicke, in trust for Edward Byllinge. These gentlemen were both members of the society of Friends. At the close of the year, Fenwicke sailed for the bay of Delaware, and with his family and dependants, who of course were Friends, formed a settlement at Salem, a place in New Jersey situated on the Delaware river. Governor Andross disputed the proprietary rights of Fenwicke, who was arrested and carried to New York twice by the Governor's orders. But he was not prevented by these arbitrary acts from continuing his operations as a proprietor. Edward Byllinge, the Friend who had pur- chased New Jersey from the Duke of York, being involved in debt, assigned his property, in that province, to William Penn, Gawen Lawrie and Nicholas Lucas, in trust for his creditors. These trustees made a division of the province with Sir George Carteret, and 14 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. took the western portion of the province which they called West New Jersey. The first governor of this province was Edward Byllinge, and the first assembly for enacting laws was called by his deputy, Jennings, No- vember, 1681. The cursory account of leading events in the history of New York and New Jersey, which we have just given, was deemed neces- sary in order to make the reader acquainted with the train of circumstances by which William Penn, the real founder of our state> was first made acquainted with the country, and led to take an earnest, and lively interest^ in its concerns. His being appointed one of the trustees of Edward i3yllinge, although it may seem a trifling circumstance, was attend- ed with results of the utmost importance to Pennsvlvania. CHAPTER IV. Settlements of the Priendis in New Jersey and Pennsylvania previous to Penn's obtaining his Charter. In consequence of being appointed one of the trustees of Edward Byllinge, William Penn became one of the chief instruments in set- tling West New Jersey, and thereby acquired HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 15 considerable knowledge of the neighboring country of Pennsylvania, before it received that name, or was assigned to him. It appears that he took a very active part in making known to the Society of Friends in England the advantages otFered to settlers in East and West New Jersey, and that in consequence of his representations many parties of his breth- ren came out, purchased lands, and built towns and villages. These were chiefly on the Eastern shore of the Delaware river. The settlement of Salem has been already noticed. Burlington was laid out in 1677.* The first inhabitants were a considerable number of respectable families from Fork- shire, and other places in England. Other settlers from Wicaco, the Swedes' settlement on the Delaware, came in the latter part of October of the same year ; and in consequence of the lateness of the season were obliged to erect a kind of wigwams, like those of the In- dians, for their accommodation during the winter. The Indians, who were very friendly, supplied them with corn and venison. In December 1678, the Shield, from Hull, in England, anchored off Burlington. This, says Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, %vas the first ship that came so far up the * Proud's History, Vol. 1, p. 145. 16 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. Delaware. Opposite to Coaquannock, the Indian name of the place where Philadelphia now stands, which was a bold and high shore, she went so near to it in turning, that part of the rigging struck the trees. Some of the passengers observed, " It was a fine situation for a town;" hardly supposing that it was to become the site of one of the largest cities in the w^estern world. The settlements of the Friends were not confined to the eastern shore of the Delaware. Upland, (now Chester, Pennsylvania.) was settled by them in 1675, and Kensington, and several other places on the w^estern shore, are noticedi by the historians as having been occu- pied hy them as well as by the remains of the Swedish, Dutch, and English settlers, to whose early possession of the soil we have already referred. Of these early settlements, previous to the grant of our State to William Penn, the no- tices in history are scanty and often contra- dictory. Little is known with certainty con- cerning the precise extent to which the coun- try was cleared and peopled. The inhabitants, however, were certainly few, and their little towns and hamlets widely scattered along the shore of the river and the contiguous country — a state of things which promised but a slow and uncertain growth to the colony, and but HISTORY OP PENNSYLVANIA. 17 for the sagacity and energy of our great found- er, no doubt the country would have remained many years a comparative wilderness. He, however, was destined to give it a sudden and powerful impulse ; and to stamp the character of his own strength and wisdom upon the State he founded. From the moment when he was first con- cerned in the settlement of Edward Byllinge's estate, he appears to have taken the deepest interest in the affairs of the colonists, and it was not long before he became not only a trustee, but a direct proprietor in American lands. East Jersey w^as, by the last will of its proprietor. Sir George Carteret, ordered to be sold for the payment of his debts; and in February, 1681, William Penn with eleven other persons, became the purchasers. It was only one month afterwards that Penn ob- tained his famous charter of Pennsylvania from the king. 2# THE LIFE OF WILLIAM PENN. CHAPTER I. Birth and parentage of William Penn — He is sent to school at Chigwell — Early religious impressions — He is remov- ed to a private seminary on Tower Hill — Enters Christ's Church College at Oxford — Imbibes the opinions of Tho- mas Loe—Is expelled from College — Travels in France. Is instructed by Moses Amyrault—Visits Italy — Returns to England. William Penn was born in London in the year 1644, and was descended from an ancient and respectable family in Buckinghamshire. His father, Admiral Penn, a brave and distin- guished officer, was intrusted when very young with the command of the fleet sent against Hispaniola by Oliver Cromwell ; and although unsuccessful, the failure of the expedition was 20 THE LIFE OF not attributed to any misconduct of the Ad- miral's ; on the contrary, it was allowed by all, that as far as he was concerned, it was conducted with equal skill and gallantry ; the whole blame having been attached to colonel Venables, who commanded the land forces. — After the restoration of Charles the Second, he commanded under the Duke of York in the memorable naval engagement with the Dutch in 1665, and contributed so materially by his bravery to the success of that well-contested action, that he had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him by that Monarch. Hav- ing thus served both Parliament and King, he yet sided with neither during the civil commo- tions which then agitated his country ; bu~ applying himself to the discharge of his pro- fessional duties, which retained him at a dis tance from the scene of civil broil, he was enabled to serve his country without attach- ing himself to either of the parties of the day. As Wanstead, the then country residence of the Admiral, was contiguous to Chigwell in Essex, it was thought advisable that the sub- ject of the present memoir should receive the first rudiments of his education at an excel- lent free grammar school established there, some time previously, by Harsnett, archbishop of York. It was said of WilHam Penn, as some- thing remarkable is always said of the early WILLIAM PEN-N. 21 lives of all great men, that during his stay- here, and while alone in his chamber, he was suddenly surprised with an inward grace, and observed, as he imagined, an external glory- in his room ; that he felt firmly impressed with the belief of the existence of a God, and the susceptibility of the immortal soul to hold converse with him : and that he had then re- ceived the seal of divinity, and been awakened or called to the exercise of a holy life. How- ever, be this as it may, it is certain that from this period his mind became seriously impress- ed on the subject of religion. Having been removed from Chigwell to a private seminary on Tower-hill, he made such rapid progress in his studies that he was con- sidered qualified for college at fifteen years of age; and was accordingly entered a gentleman commoner at Christ's Church, Oxford. Here he became intimate with Robert Spencer, af- terwards the earl of Sunderland, the cele- brated John Locke, and all those young men who were distinguished either for genius or ability. About this time the religious impressions which he imbibed at Chigwell were considera- bly strengthened by the preaching of Thomas Loe, a layman formerly of Oxford, but who had then embraced Quakerism ; and finding that the minds of several of his fellow students 22 THE LIFE OF had, like bis own, received a new direction from the doctrines promulgated by Loe, and that their religious opinions were in unison with bis own, he commenced, in conjunction with them, to secede from the Church of Eng- land, and to meet together, when they wor- shipped their Creator according to their own way of thinldng. In consequence of this pro- ceeding, which gave great umbrage to the heads of the college, they were all lined for nonconformity. This, however, had not the desired effect; and an opportunity soon after occurred which enabled them to evince their determination to pursue their former practi- ces, and even to proceed farther where they considered themselves justified in so doing. — The King having thought proper to command that the surplice, which had been discontinued during the Revolution, should be resumed as formerly, his Majesty's will and pleasure on this head was accordingly signified to the Uni- versity of Oxford : and the sight of the surplice appeared to William Fenn, so repugnant to the primitive sim.plicity of Christianity, that he prevailed with several of his associates to join him in attacking such of the students as appeared in the obnoxious garb; the result of which was, that he and several of his compa- nions were expelled the college. In consequence of the public disgrace which WILIJAM PEN IV. 23 William this incurred b}^ his expulsion from college, his father determined, in order to wean him from his former connexions, and in the hope that the gaiety of French manners might correct the growing gravity of his mind, to send him to France ; and he accordingly accompanied certain persons of rank to Paris. The only anecdote which is recorded of him, during his residence in the French capital, is, that being attacked in the street by a gentle- man, in consequence of a supposed affront, and having disarmed his opponent, after an obstinate contest, he yet spared his life, when, according to the testimony of all who relate the fact, he would have been justified by the laws of honour in taking it ; evincing, by this humane action, a proof not only of courage, but of forbearance. After leaving Paris he resided for some months at Saumur, during the years 1662 and 1663, with his companions, and while he con- tinued there, availed himself of the conversa- tion and instruction of Moses Amyrault, a learned minister of the doctrines of Calvin, and enjoying at that time in France the highest repute as an eminent divine. He was honoured with the friendship of all the great men of every persuasion, and so highly esteemed by cardinal Richelieu, that he^imparted to him 24 THE LIFE OF his design of uniting the followers of Calvin to» the Church of Rome. Under so celebrated a master, William! Penn applied himself to his studies with dili- gence and success ; especially the study of theology, and the French language. After leaving Saumur, he had proceeded as far as Turin^ on his route towards Italy^ when he received a letter from his father, in- forming him, that as be had been appointed' to the command of the Channel fleet, and as it would be necessary for his son to take charge of his family during his absence, he therefore wished him to return home ; in consequence of which William returned to England iB 1664, having insensibly acquired, from the polished people among whom he resided, a more lively and courtly demeanour, although he had not retrograded, as indeed it was im- possible he could have done under the tuition of Moses Amyrault, in his regard and concern for religion. As it was deemed proper, on his return from abroad, that he should become acquainted with the laws of his own country, he was ac- cordingly entered as student at Lincoln's Inn ; where he remained until the breaking out of the great plague which ravaged London in 1665. WrLLIAM PENN. 25 CHAPTER TI. Penn's religious impressions continue — He is sent by his father to Ireland, to the court of the Duke of Ormond — Goes to superintend his father's estates in the county of Cork — Meets again with Thomas Loe — Attaches himself to the Society of Quakers or Friends — Imprisoned for at- tending one of their meetings — Released by the Earl of Orrery — Returns to his father — Controversy respecting the Hat — Dismissed from his father's house — Becomes a preacher and an author. Although William Penn had returned from the continent with the appearance of a change in his manners, yet it was only temporary, for in 1666 he resumed the sedate and reflective habits of his countrymen ; and the religious controversies then in vogue, together wdth va- rious concurrent circumstances, caused the latent spark, which was only smothered with- in him, to revive with its former force. He again assumed a serious deportment, and associated only with people of a grave and rehgious character ; and on the Admiral's re- turn from sea, the change was so obvious to him, owing to his long absence, that he again determined, if possible, to elTectan alteration in William's habits of life, and with this view sent him to Ireland, to the court of the duke of Ormond, celebrated for his graceful mien and brilliant wit, as well as for the gaiety and 3 26 THE LIFE OF splendour of his court But the pomp and luxury attendant on greatness, produced in the mind of William only contempt and dis- gust ; contempt at its vanity, and disgust at its licentiousness. Again frustrated in his endeavours to effect a change in the religious sentiments of his son, the Admiral resolved to send him, as a last resource, to superintend his estates in the county of Cork ; hoping at least, vv^hile he re- sided there, that he would be at a distance from his old associates, and as there would be ample employment for his time, that he might be gradually weaned from a course of life which, on reflection, he would perceive to be injurious to his temporal interests. But, such is the short-sightedness of mortals, that the very means employed to prevent a dreaded evil often produce it ! Having accidentally learnt that Thomas Loe, the layman of Ox- ford, was to preach at Cork to a meeting of Quakers, he could not deny himself the plea- sure of seeing and hearing the man whom he considered as his greatest human benefactor ; he accordingly attended, and the text — *' There is ajaith zvhich overcomes the worlds and there is a faith which is overcome by the world^^ made so deep an impression upon the mind of William Penn, and appeared so appli- '' . cable to his peculiar situation, that he attached WILLIAM PENI«-. 27 liimself henceforward to the Quakers or Friends as a religious body, and punctually attended their religious meetings. But he soon discovered that the ignorant prejudices of the times made the path he had adopted one of difficulty ; for when attending one of these meetings in September 1667, he was appre- hended, along with several others, and lodged in prison, on the plea of a proclamation issued against tumultuous assemblies. He was, how- ever, speedily released on appealing to the good sense and tolerant principles of the earl of Orrery, president of the council of Muns- ter, and pointing out to his Lordship that the proclamation did not extend to his case. His letter to the Earl was couched in manly and dignified terms. ^^ Rdigioii^^ says he, "which is at once my crime and mine innocence, makes me a prisoner to a Mayor's malice, but mine own free rnan^'^ &c. The Admiral, on being informed that his son had become a Quaker, immediately wrote to him to return home, and finding from his dereliction of the usages and customs of the world, and particularly the ceremony of the Hat, that there was no doubt of the fact, came to an explanation with William on the subject; but as the die was cast, as he had actually become a Quaker, the Admiral gave up all thoughts of altering the general views of his 28 THE LIFE OF son, and only hoped to prevail upon him to forego certain peculiarities which appeared to he unconnected with conscience, and used merely as the distinguishing marks of a sect. He therefore informed him, that he would trouble him no more on the subject of his re- ligion, provided he would agree to keep his hat otf in his own presence, and that of the King and the Duke of York. But even to so ap- parently trivial a request William could not bring himself to consent, as he considered hat- worship at variance with the practice enjoined by Saint Paul, who directs his disciples to un- cover their heads only when they addressed their Maker, or promulgated his doctrines; and if the hat was taken otf to man, it would be paying to the creature the same outward honour which was paid to the Creator. He also considered the custom of taking off the hat contrary to the tenets of Christianity, which was satisfied but with the truth, as it led to frequent acts of dissimulation: now Christiani- ty forbade all false appearances, and taking off the hat olten evinced the appearance of an intention when no such intention existed in the mind. But even where the custom was intended to have a meaning, it generally was the sign of flattery and no man could stoop to flatter another, without at the same time de- basing himself, and unduly exalting the object WILLIAM PENN. 29 of his adulation. Hence the early Quakers ap- plied to the custom the term of Hat-worship; and from this it will be obvious that the cere- monial use of the hat was considered by Wil- liam Penn as more intimately connected with the conscience than the Admiral supposed it to be. He considered the request of his fa- ther as a call upon him to pull down one of the barriers which he had just erected in de- fence of his religion ; and although he respect- ed his father, he yet remembered he owed a superior duty to his God, to whom ultimately he v/as responsible. Deeply impressed, there- fore, with these considerations^ he found him- self under the necessity of informing his father that he could not comply with his request ; which so incensed the Admiral, who conceived it impossible that any person bred up as a gentleman could refuse to concede a mere point of courtesy, that he immediately dis- missed him his house ; and William, being thus deprived of a home, and having, as before stated, joined in membership with the Qua- kers, he came forth in 1668, then in his twenty- fourth year, in the important character of a preacher of the Gospel. He also appeared for the first time in this year as an author, and published, *'Truth exalted, in a short but sure testimony against all those religions, faiths, and worships, that have been formed and fol- 3* 30 THE LIFE OP lowed in the darkness of apostacy, and for that glorious light which is now risen and shines forth in the life and doctrines of the de- spised Quakers, as the alone good old way of life and salvation." CHAPTER III. Principles of the Quakers — Controversy with the Presbyte- rians — William Penn publishes " The Sandy Foundation Shaken ;" and is consequently imprisoned in the Tower of London — Writes "No Cross, No Crown," during his im- prisonment — Character of that work — Penn writes to Lord ArUngton — Substance of the letter — It is disregard- ed — Penn publishes " Innocency with her open face" — Is released from his imprisonment by the king. Many will, without doubt, accuse William Penn, judging from the title of the foregoing work, and as he conceived it his duty to ap- pear to the world as the defender of his own faith, of no small share of arrogance. But these must be informed, that the early Qua- kers believed that the religious doctrine prom- ulgated by George Fox v^as a new ordination of Providence to restore Christianity to its pristine purity, and that they were to become the instruments of so glorious a work. This belief originated from various causes. They who adopted Quakerism, led a life of great WILLIAM PENJV. 31 self-denial : they abstained fronn the pleasures of the world ; they refrained from every cus- tom which could place their chastity and so- briety in danger ; they shunned, as a last al- ternative, having recourse to law ; and they refused, under any pretence whatever, to carry arms against their fellow-creatures. Such being the nature of the system of this primi- tive people, and as they who espoused it were willing, like the apostles of old, to stamp the sincerity of their faith with the seal of martyr- dom, it is not surprising that they should con- sider the system in question as likely to re- store Christianity to its original purity ; and that they spoke with an authority, which, in others, would have the appearance of arro- gance. About this time a circumstance occurred which ultimately led to the incarceration of William Penn in the Tower. Two Presbyte- rians, belonging to a congregation in Spital- fields, went to a meeting-house of the Quakers, as much from curiosity as to learn the nature of their religious creed; and it so happened that they were converted. The news of their conversion having been carried to their pastor, Thomas Vincent, he was so enraged at their apostacy, that he not only used his influence to prevent them from going there again, but de- cried the doctrines of the Quakers as damna- 32 THE LIFE OF ble; and William Penn,in consequence of this slander, went to Vincent, accompanied by George Whitehead, and demanded an oppor- tunity of publicly defending their principles. After a good deal of reluctance, the Fresbyte- rian meeting-house was accordingly agreed 5jpon for this purpose, and the day and hour appointed. it is not requisite to detail here the argu- ments adduced in this controversy; but it will be proper to remark, that the Presbyte- rians behaved with manifest intemperance throughout, and on a reply of George White- head's which excited their indignation, Vin- cent inmiediately knelt down and prayed, ac- cused the Quakers of blasphemy, and having finished, dismissed his congregation, and with- drew from the pulpit; having thus deprived William Penn of an opportunity of replying, and defending the doctrine which had occa- sioned so much warm discussion. He accord- ingly determined to appeal to the public, and published *' The Sandy Foundation shaken," which he prefaced by noticing the proceed- ings relative to Vincent, and afterwards at- tempted to refute " the notion of one God subsisting in three distinct and separate per- sons;" also "the notion of the impossibility of God pardoning sinners without a plenary sat- isfaction ;" and " the notion of the justifica- WILLIAM PENN. 33 lion of impure persons by means of an impu- tative righteousness." This work gave great oifence, as it was deemed at that period high- ly criminal to defend, publicly and openlj^j the unity of God detached from his trinitarian na- ture. As some of the prelates, and particular- ly the bishop of London, considered themselves as principally offended, they made it an affair of public animadversion by the government; which ended in the apprehension of William Penn, and his being committed as a prisoner to the Tower. While here, he was kept in close confine- ment, and treated with great rigour. But he was too sincere in his faith to be changed by such treatment. On the contrary, instead of making any mean concessions, he informed the bishop of London, "that his prison should be his grave, before he would renounce his just opinions ; for that he owed his conscience to no man." Neither could he, consistently with his notions of duty, remain idle during his residence in the Tower : he therefore ap- plied himself to writing, and produced " No Cross, no Crown," which may justly be called a noble production, and which passed through several editions in the life-time of the author. The design of this work appears to have origi- nated from the nature of his situation, joined to a wish of doing good. Deprived of liberty 34 THE LIFE OF for the sake of his religion, he felt the neces- sity of stating and enforcing the important truth implied in the title of it ; which was, that provided men are not willing to lead a life of sobriety, temperance, and self-denial, to endm-e hunger and thirst for Christ's sake, in short, unless they are willing to bear the cross of Christ, the}' can never attain the crown of eternal glory. The work was rich in doc- trine, glowing in composition, and displayed an acquaintance with history, a depth of read- ing, an extensive erudition, combined with a knowledge of the world, which were truly ad- mirable. During the confinement of William Penn in the Tower, he maturely w^eighed and consi- dered the various circumstances which led to his imprisonment there ; and the result was, that he became deeply impressed with the con- viction, that the government acted not only contrary to the spirit and principles of the re- ligion, but of the laW'S of the realm, by depriv- ing him of his liberty : he therefore addressed a letter to lord Arlington, principal secretary of state, demanding his release. In this letter are to be found many just and noble senti- ments. He informs his lordship, " that he is at a loss to imagine how a diversity of religious opinions can affect the safety of the state, see- ing that kingdoms and commonwealths have WILLIAM PENJV. 35 lived under the balance of divers parties ; — that they only are unfit for political society, who maintain principles subversive of industry, fidelity, justice and obedience ; but to say that men must form their faith of things pro- per to another world according to the pre- scriptions of other mortal men in this, and, if they do not, that they have no right to be at liberty or to live in this, is both ridiculous and dangerous; — that the understanding^ can never be convinced by other arguments than what are adequate to its own nature ; and if he is at any time convinced, he will pay the honour of it to truth, and not to base and timorous hy- pocrisy ; — and demands, as many of his ene- mies have retracted their opinions about him, and as his imprisonment is against the privile- ges of an Englishman, as well as against the forbearance inseparable from true Christiani- ty, that he may receive his discharge. He makes, he says, no apology for his letter, be- cause he conceives that more honor will ac- crue to lord Arlington by being just, than ad- vantage to himself as an individual by becom- ing personally free." Notwithstanding this letter he continued still in prison ; and having learnt that an out- cry had been raised against him, in conse- quence of its having been falsely stated that he denied the divinity of Christ in the ''Sandy 36 THE LIFE OF Foundation shaken," he therefore published *' Innocency with her open face," in explana- tion. In this tract he reviewed the contents of the former, and aUhough he uniformly re- jected the doctrine of one God subsisting in three distinct and separate persons, as the in- ventions of men three hundred years after the Christian aera, and which were nowhere to be found in scripture, he yet cited passages from the Bible to prove that Christ was God, and acknowledged the divinity and eternity of Christ, or of "a Father, Word and Spirit.'* After having been confined in the Tower for seven months, and treated with great se- verity, he was unexpectedly liberated by the King, through the intercession of the Duke of York, out of compliment, as was supposed, to the Admiral. WMMIMMMMW^'"" WILLIAM PENN. 37 CHAPTER IV. Wm. Penn attends at the death-bed of Thomas Loe — Loe's ex- hortation — Penn's father permits him to return to his house — Sends him to Ireland on business — he preaches there, returns to England, and is completely reconciled to his father — Passage of the Conventicle act — Its charac- ter — Penn preaches in Gracechurch street — Penn and Wiliam Meade are sent to Newgate prison — Their trial comes on at the Old Bailey — The justices — The jury — The indictment — Plea — Prisoners placed at the bar — Fined tor wearing their hats — Witnesses examined — Penn's address to the judges — Penn's memorable contro- versy with the recorder — His appeal to the jury — Attempts of the court to intimidate the jury — Penn's defence of the jury — Firmness of the jury and of Penn — Verdict of "Not Guilty" returned — The jury fined— Penn's controverby with the Mayor — Penn and Meade are again sent to New- gate prison — The jury imprisoned — Admiral Penn pays the fines of Wm. Penn and Wm. Meade, and procures their liberation. We next meet with William Penn, after his liberation, attending Thomas Loe on his death- bed. We here behold the master and his disciple brought together at a solemn and in- teresting crisis; and it must have been highly- gratifying to Loe, at such a time, to reflect that one, having, as it were, received his own baptism, had, when tried by a fiery ordeal, come out of it like gold of the purest and finest quality. In taking his final leave of 4 38 THE LIFE OF Penn, he delivered the following exhortation; ''Bear thy cross, and stand faithful to thy God; then he will give thee an everlasting crown of glory that will never be taken from thee. — There is no other way that shall prosper, than that in which the holy men of old walked. God hath brought immortality to light, and life immortal is felt. His love overcomes my heart. Glory be to his name evermore!" William Penn attending the death-bed of Thomas Loe. The Admiral hegan now to think, that the steady perseverance of his son in the course he had adopted, however erroneous it might have been, evinced at least his sincerity, as WILLIAM PKNN. 39 his inflexible adherence to his religious prin- ciples, in spite of all persecution, was a proof of his integrity: he therefore permitted hinn to return to his house, and soon afterwards sent him on business to Ireland; when, having exe- cuted his father's commission, visited such of his persecuted brethren as were imprisoned for the sake of their rehgion, and preached at Cork and Dubhn, he returned to England, became completely reconciled to his father, and henceforth resided entirely under his pa- ternal roof. The famous Conventicle act, prohibiting dissenters from worshipping God according to their own way, was passed by parliament in the year 1670. " This act," says Thomas Ellwood, "brake down and overran the bounds and banks anciently set for the defence and security of Englishmen's lives, liberties, and properties, namely — trials by jury; instead thereof, directing and authorising justices of the peace (and that too privately, out of ses- sions) to convict, fine, and, by their warrants, distrain upon offenders against it, dirtcily con- trary to the great charter^ Situated as William Penn then was, as a preacher of the gospel, it was impossible but that the passing of this act must become to him a source of much suffering and vexation: and accordingly he was one of its earliest vie- 40 THE LIFE OF tims ; for, on his proceeding as usual, with some others belonging to his societ}^, to their meeting-house in Gracechurch-street, they found it guarded by a body of soldiers. Being prevented from entering, and a considerable crowd having in consequence collected in the street, William Penn felt himself called upon to preach; but he had not proceeded far in discourse, before he was seized, together with William Meade, another member of the so- ciety, and lodged in Newgate : the whole af- fair havingbeen previously concerted, and the warrants issued, by Sir Samuel Starling, then Lord Mayor, that they might be tried at the approaching sessions at the Old Bailey. The trial came on the 1st of September; and, as the limits of this work preclude the possibility of detailing at length the whole of this memorable event, its most prominent fea- tures are subjoined, which will be sufficient to enable the reader to form a correct esti- mate of its merits and demerits. The justices on the bench were — Sir Sam- uel Starling, lord mayor ; John Howell, re- corder; Thomas Bludworth, William Peak, Richard Ford, John Robinson, Joseph Shel- den, aldermen ; and Richard Brown, John Smith, and James Edwards, sheriffs. The jury, whose names ought to be inscribed on the most durable marble, and handed down WILLIAM PEXN. 41 with gratitude to the latest generations, were, Thomas Veer, Edward Bushel, John Ham- mond, Charles Milson, Gregory Walklet, John Brightman, William Plumstead, Henry Hen- ley, James Damask, Henry Michael, William Lever, and John Baily. The indictment falsely stated that the pri- soners had preached to an unlawful, seditious and riotous assembly; and that they had as- sembled together by agreement made before- hand, with arms, to the great terror and an- noyance of many of his majesty's liege-subjects Having been brought to the bar, they pleaded NOT GUILTY to the indictment; after which they were made to wait until other prisoners were tried. And on the 3d of September, the trial of the latter having been finished, Wil- liam Penn and William Meade were again placed at the bar. On entering the court, their hats were pulled ofFby one of the officers, at which the Lord Mayor was exceedingly en- raged, and ordered them to be put on again. The Recorder then fined each of the prisoners in the sum of forty marks, for being covered there, which, he said, amounted to a contempt of court. The witnesses having been exam- ined, it appeared from their evidence that on the 15th of August, between three and four hundred people were assembled in Grace- cburch-street, and that they saw William 4* 42 THE LIFE OF Penn speaking to the people, but that they could not distinguish what he said, on account of the noise. It was also proved that William Meade was there, but nobody could tell what he said. This was, in effect, the whole of the evidence against them ; and the witnesses having concluded, the prisoners acknowledged that they were present, as charged in the in- dictment, but that their intention in being there was to worship God. ''We are so far," says William Penn, addressing himself to his judges, **from recanting or declining to vindi- cate the assembling ourselves to preach, to pray, or worship the eternal, holy, just God, that we declare to all the world, that we do beheve it to be our indispensable duty to meet incessantly upon so good an account ; nor shall all the powers upon earth be able to di- vert us from reverencing and adoring our God, who made us." He had scarcely uttered these words, when one of the sheriffs exclaim- ed, that he was not there for worshipping God, but for breaking the law. WilHam Penn denied that he had broken any law, and de- manded to know upon what law the indict- ment was founded. The Recorder replied, the common law. William Penn requested to be informed where that law was to be found. The recorder said, that he did not think proper to be at the trouble of mentioning all the ad- WILLIAM PENN. 43 judged cases for many years, which they called common law, merely to satisfy his curiosity. Penn thought, if the law was common, it need not be so difficult to produce. On being de- sired to plead to the indictment, he expressed himself with such freedom that he was term- ed a saucy fellow ; and the following are some of the questions and answers which succeeded in consequence. Recorder. — The question is, whether you are guilty of this indictment. fV.Fenn. — The question is, not whether I am guilty of this indictment, but whether this indictment be legal. It is too imperfect and general an answer to say it is common law, unless we know where and what it is ; for where there is no law, there is no transgres- sion ; and that law which is not in being, is so far from being common, that it is no law at all. Recorder. — You are an impertinent fellow. Will you teach the court what law is? It is lex non scripta, that which many have stu- died thirty or forty years to know; and would you have me tell you in a moment? fV. Penn. — Certainly: if the common law be so hard to be understood, it is far from be- ing very common ; but, if the Lord Coke, in his "Institutes," be of any consideration, he tells us, that common law is common right, and 44 THE LIFE OF that common right is the great charter privi- leges confirmed. Recorder. — Sir, you are a troublesome fel- low, and it is not to the honour of the court to suffer you to go on. W. Fenn. — I have asked but one question and you have not answered me, though the rights and privileges of every Englishman are concerned in it. Recorder. — If I should suffer you to ask questions till to-morrow morning, you would be never the wiser. W. Penn. — That is according as the an- swers are. Recorder. — Sir, we must not stand to hear you talk all night. W. Fenn.—l design no affront to the court, but to be heard in my just plea; and I must plainly tell you that, if you deny me the oyer* of that law which you say I have broken, you do at once deny me an acknowledged right, and evidence to the whole world your resolu- tion to sacrifice the privileges of Englishmen to your arbitrary designs. Recorder. — Take him away. My lord, if you take not some course with this pestilent fellow to stop his mouth, we shall not be able to do any thing to-night. * Healing. WILLIAM PENN. 45 Mayor. — Take him away. Take him away. Turn him into the bale-dock. W. Fenn. — These are but so many vain exclamations. Is this justice or true judg- ment? Must I therefore be taken away, be- cause I plead for the fundamental laws of England'? However, this I leave upon the consciences of you, who are my jury, and my sole judges, that if these ancient fundamen- tal laws which relate to liberty and property, and which are not limited to particular per- suasions in matters of religion, must not be indispensably maintained and observed, who can say he hath a right to the coat upon his back? certainly, our liberties are to be openly invaded, our families ruined, and our estates led away in triumph by every sturdy beggar and mahcious informer, as their trophies, but our (pretended) forfeits for conscience-sake. The Lord of heaven and earth will be judge between us in this matter. Recorder, — Be silent there. W. Penn. — 1 am not to be silent in a case where I am so much concerned: and not only myself, but many ten thousand families be- sides. As they were hurrying the prisoners away to the bale-dock, William Penn, who over- heard a part of the Recorder's charge to the jury, as he was retiring, exclaimed aloud, "I 46 THE LIFE OF appeal to the jury, who are my judges, and this great assembly, whether the proceedings of this court are not most arbitrary, and void of all law, in endeavouring to give the jury their charge in the absence of the prisoners. ] say it is directly contrary to, and destruc- tive of the undoubted right of every English prisoner, as Coke on the chapter of IVIagna Charta speaks." On which the two prisoners were forced to their loathsome dungeon; and, when they were out of hearing, the jury were ordered to decide upon their verdict; which was, " Guilty of speaking in Gracechurch- street." This verdict so enraged the bench, that the jury were loaded with reproaches, and sent away for half an hour to reconsider it. The time having elapsed, the prisoners were placed at the bar, and the jury again called in, when they delivered the same ver- dict as formerly, with the addition of their now affixing their signatures to it. The rage of the magistrates now knew no bounds at this conduct of the jury, whom they did not hesitate to load with the most oppro- brious epithets; after which the Recorder ad- dressed them as follows: — "Gentlemen of the jury, you shall not be dismissed till we have a verdict such as the court will accept; and you shall be locked up without meat, drink, fire, and tobacco. You shall not think thus to WILLIAM PENN. 47 abuse the court. We will have a verdict by the blessing of God, or you shall starve for it." On hearing this address, William Penn said, *' My jury, who are my judges, ought not to be thus menaced; their verdict should be free, and not compelled; the bench ought to wait upon, and not forestall them. I do desire that justice may be done me, and that the arbitrary resolves of the bench may not be made the measure of my jury's verdict." He also add- ed, addressing himself to the jury, and as they were hurrying him away to his cell, "You are Englishmen, Mind your privilege, Give not away your right." After which the court adjourned until next morning. Next morning the jury were again called in, and again returned the same verdict; and although they were again sent out, and threat- ened in the most brutal and vulgar manner, they still delivered the same verdict. William Penn having objected to the injustice of the court, in having menaced the jury, who were his judges by the great charter of England, and in having rejected their verdict, the Lord Mayor exclaimed, ^' Stop his mouth, jailor, bring fetters, and stake him to the ground." William Penn replied, " Do your pleasure, 1 matter not your fetters." The Recorder then observed, " 'Till now I never understood the reason of the policy and prudence of the Spa- 48 THE LIFE OF niards ia suffering the Inquisition among them; and certainly it will never be well with us until we have something like the Spanish In- quisition in England." The jury refusing to retire to find another verdict, as they said they had already found one, and could find no other, were forced away by the Sheriff, and the court adjourned until next day. The jury were again called in on the 5th of September, having received no refreshment for two days and two nights, and ordered by the court to give a positive answer to these words: " Guilty, or not Guilty?" Their foreman re- plied, "Not Guilty;" after which every jury- man was required to repeat this answer in- dividually, which he did, and the Recorder then addressed them collectively as follows: i?ecorG^er.— Gentlemen of the jury, 1 am sorry you have followed your own judgment rather than the good advice which was given you. God keep my life out of your hands! But for this the court fines you forty marks a man, and imprisonment till paid. fV. Fenn. — I demand my liberty, being freed by the jury. Mayor. — No; you are in for your fines. W, Penn. — Fines for what? Mayor, — For contempt of court. fV. Fenn,— I ask if it be according to the fundamental laws of England, that any Eng- WILLIAM PEWN. 49 lishman should be fined or amerced but by the judgment of his peers or jury ; since it expressly contradicts the fourteenth and twen- ty-ninth chapters of the great charter of Eng- land, which says^ "No freeman shall be amer- ced but by the oath of good and lawful men of the vicinage." The trial of Wm. Penn and Wm. Meade Recorder.' — Take him away. JV. Penn. — I can never urge the funda- mental laws of England, but you cry Take him away: but it is no wonder, since the Span- ish Inquisition has so great a place in the Re- corder's heart. God, who is just, will judge you for all these things. 5 50 THE LIFE OF William Penn had no sooner pronounc- ed these words than he was forced away, to- gether with Willliam Meade, and committed to Newgate, where the jury were also impris- oned; on the barbarous plea that the former had refused to pay a fine, exacted for an of- fence committed by the mayor's own com- mand; and the latter because they would not perjure themselves, in finding a verdict con- trary to their consciences. Thus ended this famous trial, and William Penn and VVilHam Meade, although acquitted by a jury of their country, were kept prison- ers in Newgate, because they could not con- scientiously pay fines which they considered had been arbitrarily and unlawfully imposed upon them; until the Admiral, who looked upon the treatment of his son as oppressive and unjust, and who, in consequence of the long-declining state of his health, wished to confer with him as to the settlement of his family affairs, privately sent the money, and thus procured the liberation of both. What became of the noble and independent jury- men, or how long they were allowed to lan- guish in prison, is uncertain; as, shame to the times! no written testimonial, or sculptured marble, records the fate of these inestimable men. WILLIAM FENN% 51 CHAPTER V. Admiral Penn's last advice to his son — His death — Wm. Penn goes to Oxford — His letter to the Vice Chancellor — Wm. Penn retires to the family seat in Buckinghamshire — Writes 'A Seasonable Caveat against Popery' — Returns to London — Imprisoned again in the Tower of London for preaching — Taken before the justices — Refuses to take an oath — Nobly repels an attack on his moral character — Is imprisoned for refusing the oath. The Admiral continued daily to grow worse after the liberation of his son, and finding him- self on the verge of eternity, addressed him as follows:— "Son William, i am weary of the world! I would not live over my days again, if T could command them with a wish; for the snares of life are greater than the fears of death. This troubles me, that I have offended a gracious God. The thought of this has fol- lowed me to this day. Oh ! have a care of sin ! It is that which is the sting both of life and death. Three things I commend unto you. First, let nothing in this world tempt you to wrong your conscience. 1 charge you, do nothing against your conscience: so will you keep peace at home, which will be a feast to you in a day of trouble. Secondly, what- ever you design to do, lay it justly, and time it seasonably, for that gives security and des- 52 THE LIFE OF patch. Thirdly, be not troubled at disappoint- ments; for if they may be recovered, do it ; if they cannot, trouble is then vain. If you could not have helped it, be contented; there is often peace and profit in submitting to Providence, for afflictions make wise. If you could have helped it, let not your trouble exceed instruc- tion for another time. These rules will carry you with firmness and comfort through this inconstant world." And again, "Son William, if you and your friends keep to your plain way of preaching, and plain way of living, you will make an end of the priests to the end of the world. Bury me by my mother — Live all in love — Shun all manner of evil, and I pray God to bless you all." He expired soon af- terwards. Such were the last words of a man who was glutted with the honours of the world ; and they furnish a proof that life has so many drawbacks, and is subject to so many snares, that it is not worth living over again, even were it in our power. William Penn, who had now become pos- sessed of an estate amounting at that time to no less than fifteen hundred pounds per annum, hadoccasion about this time to go into the coun- try, and happening to stop at Oxford, he there learnt that several members of his society had been treated with great cruelty, on account WILLIAM PENN. 53 of their religious meetings, by the students; and having good reason to believe that the vice- chancellor v^'as concerned with them in their abuse of his brethren, he wrote him a letter, of which the introductory sentence is subjoined, on account of the sovereign contempt with which Penn appears to have treated that learned personage, and also on account of its singularity. " Shall the multiplied oppres- sions which thou continuest to heap upon in- nocent English people, for their peaceable re- ligious meetings, pass unregarded by the eter- nal God? Dost thou think to escape his fierce wrath and dreadful vengeance for thy ungod- ly and illegal persecution of his poor children? I tell thee, no. Better were it for thee thou hadst never been born. Poor mushroom ! wilt thou war against the Lord, and lift up thy- self in battle against the Almighty? Canst thou frustrate his holy purposes, and bring his determinations to nought? He has decreed to exalt himself by us, and to propagate his Gospel to the ends of the earth." The eru- dition and dignity of a vice-chancellor of Ox- ford were never, in all probability, so lightly esteemed, and himself treated with such mark- ed and bitter scorn, as by William Penn on the present occasion ; but as the sentiments expressed in this letter will appear unac- countable to many, it will be necessary to 5* 54 THE LIFE OF state, that the early Quakers denied that hu- man learning was an essential qualification for the priesthood. They considered those only qualified for the holy office whose hearts were sealed by the divine Spirit, and as they be- lieved that they had a divine commission, in consequence of which they were to become the instruments of purifying the rest of man- kind, they spoke and wrote with an authority unusual with others. Having afterwards retired to the family seat of Penn in Buckinghamshire, and meeting with a pamphlet which contained the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith, he wrote a reply to it, entitled " A seasonable Caveat against Popery.*' He here endeavoured to refute certain doctrines of the Romish church; and although severe against Catholics on the score of their religion, he was a decided enemy to all persecution of them on that account; *' for he professed himself a friend to universal tol- eration of faith and worship, so that he would have had such toleration extended even to them, provided they would give security that they would not persecute others on the same score." — He returned to London towards the end of the year, when an event occurred which subjected him to new suffering ; for happening to preach at a place of worship belonging to the Quakers in Wheeler-street, WILLIAM PENX. OO he was suddenly seized by a file of soldiers, assisted by some constables, dragged out of the uieeting-house, and conveyed to the Tower. He was soon afterwards conducted before the Lieutenant, Sir John Robinson, Sir Sannuel Starling (two of his old persecutors). Sir John Shelden, and Colonel Ricraft. Two of the constables then deposed that the prison- er was speaking to an assenibly of people in Wheeler-street, but refused to swear to an un- lawful meeting. Sir John Robinson being greatly enraged at not being enabled to con- vict William Penn on the Conventicle act, be- took himself to the Oxford act, but being also frustrated in this attempt, and resolving not to be overcome, he had recourse to the old custom — when it was wanted in those days to convict a Quaker — of offering the oath of allegiance, being well aware at the same time that he could not conscientiously take it; and that a refusal, when legally offered, was im- prisonment by law. William Penn accordingly refused to take it, and, although he strongly urged his reasons for so doing, yet no argu- ments could avail with the inexorable Robin- son. On Penn's still refusing to take the proffered oath, he was questioned by, and re- pHed to, Sir John Robinson, as follows. Sir John. — Do you yet refuse to swear? fV, Penn,- — Yes, and that upon better 56 THE LIFE OF grounds than those for which thou wouldst have me swear, if thou wilt please to hear me. Sir John. — I am sorry you should put me upon this severity: it is no pleasant work to me. PF. Penn. — These are but words: it is ma- nifest that this is a prepense malice; thou hast several times laid the meetings for me, and this day particularly. Sir John. — No. I profess I could not tell you would be there. W. Penn. — Thine own corporal told me you had intelligence at the Tower, that I would be at Wheeler-street to-day, almost as soon as I knew it myself. It is disingenuous and partial. I never gave thee occasion for such unkindness. Sir John. — I knew no such thing; but'if I had, I confess I should have sent for you. W. Penn. — That might have been spared. I do heartily believe it. Sir John — I vow, Mr. Penn, I am sorry for you: you are an ingenious gentleman; all the world must allow you, and do allow you that : and you have a plentiful estate : why then should you render yourself unhappy by associating with such simple people? fV. Penn»—l confess [ have made it my choice to relinquish the company of those who WILLIAM PEIVN. 57 are ingeniously wicked, to converse with those that are more honestly simple. Sir Johfi. — I wish you wiser. W. Penn. — I wish you better. Sir John. — You have been as bad as other folks. PV. Pean. — When and where? 1 charge thee to tell the company to my face. Sir John. — Abroad and at home too. I Sir John Shelden, who felt indignant at the unmerited reproach thus cast upon the hither- to blameless character of William Penn, ex- claimed, ''No, no, Sir John, that is too much." William Penn, who was also conscious ot" the rectitude and purity of his own conduct from his earliest youth, burst out into the following impassioned appeal. ''I make this bold chal- lenge to all men, women, and children upon earth, justly to accuse me with having seen me drunk, heard me swear, utter a curse, or speak one obscene or profane word, much less that [ ever made it my practice. I speak this to God's glory, who has ever preserved me from the power of these pollutions, and who begot in me from a child an hatred towards them. Thy words shall be thy burthen, and 1 trample thy slander as dirt under my feet." Sir John Robinson then informed him that he must send him to Newgate for six months. To which William Penn immediately rephed, 58 THE LIFE OF *'And is this all? Thou well knowest a larger imprisonment has not daunted me. I accept it at the hand of the Lord, and am contented to suffer his will. Alas ! you mistake your interest! This is not the way to compass your ends. I would have thee and all men know, that 1 scorn that religion which is not worth suffering for, and able to sustain those that are afflicted for it. Thy religion persecutes, and mine forgives. I desire God to forgive you all that are concerned in my commitment; and I leave you all in perfect charity, wish- ing you everlasting salvation." He was immediately committed to New- gate, to expiate, by six months' imprison- ment, the heinous offence of refusing to take an oath. WILLIAM PENN. CHAPTER VL 59 Works written by Penn during his imprisonment — He is liberated, and travels and preaches in Germany — He is married^Preaches in England— Publishes several new works. During the imprisonment of William Penn in the Tower, he wrote and published several works; and, among others, '* The great case of Liberty of Conscience once more briefly considered." This book commenced with the following excellent address to "The Supreme Authority of England." ^' Toleration^ for these ten years past, has not been more the cry of some, than persecu- tion has been the practice of others; though not on grounds equally rational. " The present cause of this address is, to solicit a conversion of that power to our relief, which has been employed to our depression ; that after this large experience of our innocen- cy, and long since expired apprenticeship of cruel sufferings, you will be pleased to cancel our bonds, and give us a possession of those freedoms to which we are entitled by Enghsh birthright, " We would not attribute the whole of this 60 THE LIFE OF severity to malice, since not a little share may justly be ascribed to mis-intelligence. ''For 'tis the infelicity of governors to see and hear by the eyes and ears of other men; which is equally unhappy for the people. **And we are bold to say, that suppositions and mere conjectures have been the best mea sures that most have taken of us and our prin- ciples; for, whilst there have been none more inoffensive, we have been marked for capital offenders. " 'Tis hard that we should always lie under this undeserved imputation ; and, which is worse, be persecuted as such without the li- berty of a just and impartial defence. ''In short, if you are apprehensive that our principles are inconsistent with the civil go- vernment, grant us a free conference about the points in question; and let us know what are those laws essential to preservation, that our opinions carry an opposition to : and if, upon a due inquiry, we are found so heterodox as represented, it will then be but time enough to inflict these heavy penalties upon us. "And, as this medium seems the fairest and most reasonable, so can you never do your- selves greater justice either in the vindication of your proceedings against us, if we be crim- nal, or, if innocent, in disengaging your ser- vice of such as have been the authors of so WILLIAM PENN. 61 much mis-information. But could we once obtain the favour of such debate, we doubt not to evince a clear consistency of our life and doctrine with the English government; and that an indulging of dissenters, in the sense defended, is not only most Christian and ra- tional, but prudent also ; and the contrary, however plausibly insinuated, the most inju- rious to the peace, and destructive of that dis- creet balance which the best and wisest states have ever observed. << But if this fair and equal offer finds not a place with you on which to rest its foot, much less that it should bring us back the olive-branch of Toleration, we heartily em- brace and bless the providence of God, and, in his strength, resolve by patience to out- weary persecution, and by our constant suffer- ings seek to obtain a victory more glorious than any our adversaries can achieve by all their cruelties." Having finished the different works in which he was engaged, and theperiodof hisimprison- ment having expired, he was accordingly liberated ; after which he travelled into Hol- land and Germany, where he promulgated the doctrines of his religious society with considera- ble success. In 1672 he returned to England, being then in the twentv-eighth year of his age, and soon 6 62 THE LIFE OF afterwards espoused Gulielma Maria Sprin- gett, daughter of Sir William Springett, of Darling, in Essex, who was killed at the siege of Bamber, during the civil wars, in the ser- vice of the parliament. Miss Springett was as celebrated for the beauty of her person, and the mildness of her disposition, as for brillian- cy of wit, and depth of understanding. She was considered, indeed, an extraordinary wo- man; and although William Penn, being now married, and in possession of wealth and beau- ty, might have enjoyed, ' otium cum digni- tate^* he yet continued to fulfil the important and laborious office of a minister of the Gos- pel, with the same zealous perseverance and unshaken constancy, which had already ren- dered him so distinguished a promulgator of the doctrine of the Quakers. He was also frequently called forth about this period as a controversial writer, in behalf of his society, owing to the disputes which agitated the re- ligious world; so that, in his capacity of a pub- lic preacher and controversial writer, he had but little time left him for repose during the present year. Soon after his marriage he traversed the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, with such rapidity, that he preached ♦Literally " Ease with dignity." It answers to our idea of leisure and independence. WILLIAM PENiY. 63 to no less than twenty-one different congrega- tions in twenty-one successive days f and, considering the then wretched state of the roads, and that some of the places at which he preached were at considerable distances from one another, this must be deemed a perform- ance of great bodily, as well as mental exer- tion. As an author we find him equally inde- fatigable. He published ' 1674, the Parliament though upon the whole friendly to religious toleration, considered this declaration an un- due extension of the royal prerogative, and therefore called it in as illegal. This measure led many of those who were in office wilfully to misinterpret it, and as implying a wish on the part of the Parliament, that all privileges to dissenters should be withdrawn ; in conse- quence of which they had recourse to their former cruel and iniquitous practices, pretend- ing also to consider the Conventicle act as now in force. Intolerancy began first to break out in Wilt- shire, and then in Middlesex, where two jus- tices of the peace summoned before them 76 THE LIFE OF several Quakers, charged with having met to- gether in religious worship contrary to law. When this circumstance was made known to William Penn, he addressed a moderate and respectful letter to them, appealing to their good sense on this subject ; and from which the following excellent passages are subjoined. " Next, let it be weighed," says he, "that we came not to our liberties and properties by the Protestant religion. Their date rises higher. Why then should a nonconformity of it, purely conscientious, deprive us of them? This or that sort of religion was not specified in the ancient civil government. Who art thou^ says the Holy Scripture, that judgest another mail's servant ? He must stand or fall to his master, the great God. Let tares and wheat grow up together till the harvest. To call the fire from heaven, was no part of Christ's religion. Indeed he reprov- ed the zeal of some of his disciples. His sword is spiritual, like his kingdom. Be pleased to remember, that faith is the gift of God, and what is not of faith is sin. We must either be hypocrites in doinj^whatwe believe in our consciences we ought not to do, or in forbearing what we are fully persuaded we ought to do. Either give us better faith, or leave us with such as we have; for it seems unreasonable in you to disturb us for that WILLIAM PE?rrc f77 which we have, and yet unable to give us any other." As the spirit of persecution began now to spread to an alarming degree, William Penn thought it time to interfere more seriously : he therefore addressed a letter immediately to the King on the subject. This, however, ap- pears to have been of no avail, for the evil still continued to spread with unabated fury. Persons were thrown into prison, so that pa- rents and children were separated. Cattle were driven away. The widow's cow was not even spared. Barns full of corn were seized. Household goods were distrained, so that even a stool was not left in some cases to sit on, and the very milk boiling on the fire for the family was thrown to the dogs, in order to obtain the skillet as a prize. To such a length were these enormities carried, that even some of those who went only to visit and sit by their sick relations, were adjudged to be a meeting assembled to pray in defiance of the law. In order to stem this torrent of persecution, and in the hope that, if he could not affect some men's minds by one kind of argument, he might by another, William Penn, therefore, published a political work, entitled "England's present Interest considered with Honour to the Prince, and Safety to the People, in this one question. What is most fit, easy, and safe, 7* 78 THE LIFE OF at this juncture of affairs to be done for quiet- ing differences, allaying the heat of contrary interests, and making them subservient to the interests of the Government, and consistent with the prosperity of the kingdom? submitted to the consideration of our Superiors." In this admirable work, he answered the question, which has been just stated in the title of it, by asserting, that the thing most fit, safe, and easy to be done, would be a de- termination by the Government, first, upon an inviolable and impartial maintenance of Eng- lish rights; secondly, upon conducting itself so as to act upon a balance, as nearly as it could, towards the several religious interests; and, thirdly, upon a sincere promotion of general and practical reh'gion. He also maintained, that Englishmen had three birth-rights, the first consisting *' of an undisturbed ownership and possession, so that what they had was rightly their own and nobody's else, and such ownership and possession related both to title and security of estate, and liberty of person, from the violence of arbitrary power." The second, *^ in the voting of every law that v/as made, whereby that ownership in liberty and property might be maintained. The third, *' in having an influence upon, and great share in, the judicatory power, so that they were not to be condemned, but by the votes of free- WILLIAM PENN^. 79 men." This he proved to be the case by an appeal to history, and quotations from laws, in British, Saxon, and Norman times, and which was confirmed by Magna Charta. He main- tained, however, that Magna Charta, was 7wt the nativity, but the restorer of ancient Eng- lish privileges. It was no grant of new rights, but only a restorer of the old. Nothing, then, could be more unjust than to sacrifice the hberty and property of any man for religion, where he was not found breaking any law which related to natural or civil things. Re- ligion, under any modification of church go- vernment, formed no part of the old Enghsh constitution.—" To live honestly, to do no in- jury to another, and to give every man his due, was enough to entile every native to Eng- lish privileges. It was this, and not his reli- gion, which gave him the great claim to the protection of the Government under which he lived. Near three hundred years before Aus- tin set his foot on English ground, the inhabi- tants had a good constitution. This came not in with him. Neither did it come in with Luther; nor was it to go out with Calvin. We were a free people by the creation of God, by the re- demption of Christ, and by the careful provision of our never-to-be-forgotten honorable ances- tors ; so that our claims to these English privi- leges, rising higher than Protestanism, could 80 THE LIFE OF never be invalidated on account of noncon- formity to any tenet or fashion it might pre- scribe. This would be to lose by the Refor- mation ; which was effected only that we might enjoy property with conscience." Finding, notwithstanding these forcible ar- guments, that persecution still followed those who dared to dissent practically from the es- tablished Church, he resolved to endeavour to make an impression on the feelings of those, on whom an appeal to reason and to the law and constitution of the country, had had no effect. He therefore published a small work entitled *'The Continual Cry of the Oppressed for Justice; being a farther account of the late unjust and cruel proceedings of unreasonable men against the persons and estates of many of the people called Quakers, only for their peaceable meetings to worship God: presented to the serious consideration of the King, and both Houses of Parliament." He here de- tailed, in a plain and simple manner, several of the atrocities which had been committed in different parts of the kingdom, in the hope that the bare recital of them would do good. The following extracts will sufficiently evince the nature of the cruelties practised on his suffering brethren. " Four persons were sent to prison only for attending a meeting at Long Caxton in Leicestershire, from whom goods of WILLIAM PENN. 81 various kinds were seized to the amount of two hundred pounds (a considerable sum in those days), their very bed-clothes and work- ing-tools being taken from them. In clearing the meeting-house on this occasion, not only men but women were forcibly dragged out, some by the heels and others by the hair of their heads. Many were also purposely trod upon, and several bruised and wounded in different ways. In the county of JNorfolk, William Barber's cows, carts, ploughs, &c. to the amount of fifty pounds, were seized for holding a peaceable religious meeting in his own house. Barber's house had been rifled before ten times. — In Somersetshire, F. Paw- lett, justice of the peace, fined thirty-two per- sons, only for being at a burial, and seized for the fines, cows, corn, and other goods to the amount of eighty-two pounds. No one ap- pearing to buy the distrained cattle, the Jus- tice employed a person to purchase thenri for himself. — In Berkshire, Thomas Curtis was fined three pounds by Justice Craven, who ordered his mare to be seized, which was worth seven pounds : Curtis put in an appeal against this proceeding, according to the act, but it was thrown out. Craven had the mare valued at four pounds, and kept her for him- self. — In Cheshire, Justice Daniel took from Biiggs and others the value of one hundred 82 THE LIFE OF and sixteen pounds in corn, kine and horses ; the latter he had the audacity to retain and to work for his own use. In the same county, near Nantwich, Justice Mainwaring took by warrants, for fines which amounted to eighty- seven pounds, goods to the value of one hun- dred pounds, in kine, bacon, bedding, brass, corn, cloth and cheese. Some of the sufferers appealing, the jury acquitted them; but the justices would not receive the verdict. The same justices, on the other hand, gave judg- ment at the next sessions for the informers, with treble costs." Such was the almost incredible nature of the persecutions practised under a government calling itself Protestant, and inveighing so bit- terly against similar practices in the Church of Home. William Penn also interested himself about this time to procure the release of George Fox. The latter, in passing through Worces- ter, on his return from America, happened to preach there just after the act of Indulgence had been called in. The consequence was, that he was committed to Worcester gaol, ■where he had been a prisoner for some months, ■when Penn exerted himself in his favour, as appears by the following letter: — william penn. 88 "Dear George Fox, '*Thy dear and tender love in thy last let- ter I received, and for thy business thus : A great lord, a man of noble mind, did as good as put himself in a loving way to get thy liber- ty. He prevailed with the King for a pardon, but that was rejected. Then he pressed for a more noble release. It sticks with the Lord Keeper ; and we have used and do use what interest we can. The King is angry with him (the Lord Keeper,) and promiseth very large- ly and lovingly ; so that, if we have been de- ceived, thou seest the grounds of it. But we have sought after a writ of error these ten days past, well nigh resolving to be as sure as we can; and an habeas corpus is gone or will go to-morrow night. My dear love salutes thee and thy dear wife. Things are brave as to Truth in these parts, great conviction upon the people. My wife's dear love is to you all. I long and hope ere long to see you. So, dear George Fox, am, &c. <'Wm. Penn." After the discovery of several errors in the indictment, he obtained the release of his friend. 84 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER IX. Penn's controversy with Richard Baxter — His letter to Bax- ter — His letters to Fenwick — He writes to Elizabeth Princess Palatine of the Rhine — Penn becomes a mana- ger of the colonial concerns in New Jersey — Division of New Jersey — He forms a constitution for the colony — Outline of the constitution — Settlers invited. In the year 1675 we find him still living at Rickmansworth, where he had fixed his abode after his marriage, and the neighbourhood of which began to abound with Quakers, from a desire in the members of that society to live near him. This latter circumstance occasioned him to be brought forward again as a public disputant; for the celebrated Richard Baxter, passing that way, was so astonished at behold- ing so many of the inhabitants of this descrip- tion, that he became alarmed for their situa- tion, and was therefore desirous of preaching to them, in order, to use his own words, "that they might once hear what was to be said for their recovery." This coming to the know- ledge of William Penn, he wrote to Baxter, the consequence of which was, that it was mutually agreed to hold a public controversy on some of the more essential articles of the Quaker faith. Of the issue of this controver- WILLIAM PENN. 85 sy little is known, other than that in a letter which Penn soon afterwards wrote to Baxter, he states, <' that if he had taken advantage of him, he could have rendered him more ridicu- lous than he feared his principles of love would have borne." There is also another letter ex- tant of William Penn's to Richard Baxter, which manifests a spirit of forgiveness as ex- alted in the one, as the belief in the soundness of his opponent's heart is creditable to the other, whatever may have been his opinion of his doctrine and temper. In the conclusion of it he says, ''in which dear love of God, Richard Baxter, 1 do forgive thee, and desire thy good and felicity. And when I read thy letter, the many severities therein could not deter me from saying, that T could freely give thee an apartment in my house and liberty therein ; that I could visit, and yet discourse thee in much tender love, notwithstanding this hard entertainment from thee. I am, without hard- er words, thy sincere friend, *' William Penn." After this he became engaged in an arbitra- tion between John Fenwick and Edward Byl- linge, two members of his own religious so- ciety, who had purchased of lord Berkeley his half share of New Jersey, in North America. Having well considered the case, he had made 8 86 THE LIFE OF his award ; but Fenvvick refused to abide by- it. This gave him great uneasiness, and pro- duced fronti him the following friendly letter: "John Fenwjck! " The present difference betwixt thee and Edward BylHnge fills the hearts of Friends with grief, and with a resolution to take it in two days into their consideration to make a public denial of the person that offers violence to the award made, or that will not end it without bringing it upon the public stage. — God, the righteous judge, will visit him that stands off. Edward By Hinge will refer the matter to me again, if thou wilt do the like. Send me word; and, as opprest as 1 am with business, I will find an afternoon, to-morrow or next day, to determine, and so prevent the mischief that will certainly follow divulging it in Westminster Hall. Let me know by the bearer thy mind. O John ! let truth and the honour of it this day prevail! Woe to him that causeth offences! I am an impartial man. ^'Wm. Penn." He afterwards wrote another letter to Fen- wick, which, as it evinces the openness of his mind, and is withal full of good sense or ra- ther true wisdom, is subjoined for the satisfac- tion of the reader. WILLIAM PENN. 87 'OoHN Fenwick! " 1 have upon serious consideration of the present difference (to end it with benefit to you both, and as much quiet as may be.) thought my counsel's opinion very reasonable: indeed, thy own desire to have the eight parts added, was not so pleasant to the other party that it should now be shrunk from by thee as injurious ; and when thou hast once thought a proposal reasonable, and given pow- er to another to fix it, ^tis not in thy power, nor indeed discreet or civil thing, to alter or warp from it, and call it a being forced. O John! I am sorry that a toy, a trifle, should thus rob men of their time, quiet, and a more profitable employ. I have had a good con- science in what I have done in this affair ; and if thou reposest confidence in me, and be- lievest me to be a good and just man, as thou hast said, thou shouldst not be upon such nice- ty and uncertainty. Away with vain fancies, I beseech thee, and fall closely to thy business. Thy days spend on, and make the best of what thou hast. Thy grandchildren may be in the other world before the land thou hast allot- ted will be employed. My counsel, I will answer for it, shall do thee all right and ser- vice in the affair that becomes him, who, I told thee at first, should draw it up as for my- 88 THE LIFE OP self. If this cannot scatter thy fears, thou art unhappy, and I am sorry. "Thy friend, '* Wm. Penn." In the year 1676, he addressed a letter to the princess Elizabeth, daughter of the King of Bohemia, and grand-daughter of James the First, and to the countess of Homes, the friend and companion of the former. These ladies had long discovered a serious disposition of mind, and the princess had shewn her liberali- ty and humanity by afTording an asylum in her dominions to persons who had been per- secuted on account of their religion. Since that time they had looked favourably upon those doctrines which the Quakers taught ; and the object, therefore, of this letter was to afford them consolation, and to exhort them to constancy and perseverance in the way to which they had been thus providentially called. About this time William Penn came acci- dentally into the situation of a manager of colonial concerns in New Jersey in North America — a situation not only important in itself, but which produced the most important results ; for, by being concerned there, he was led by degrees into a situation which brought before him the great question of settlements in the then newly discovered world, which WILLIAM PEi^rr. enabled him to gain considerable knowledge with respect to the formation of these, and qualified him for that station which he filled afterwards as the founder of Pennsylvania, with so much credit to himself, with so much honour to his country, and to the admiration of succeeding ages. The way in which he became so concerned was as follows. Lord Berkeley, who was joint proprietor of New Jer- sey with Sir George Carteret, had in the pre- ceding year sold his half share of it to John Fenwick in trust for Edward Byllinge. It was on this subject that the dispute arose be- tween the latter, which William Penn has just been mentioned to have arbitrated, and which since that time he had, by means of the most exemplary perseverance, brought to an amicable issue. As soon as the adjustment had taken place, Fenwick, in company with his wife and family, and several Quakers, em- barked for America in the ship Griffith, and took possession of the land. Byllinge, however, who had been drained of his money by the purchase, and who since the sailing of Fenwick had experienced misfortune, found himself unable to meet the pecuniary demands which were brought against him. He agreed there- fore to deliver over his new property in trust for hisxreditors ; but, in consenting to do this, he had his eye fixed upon the friendly assis- 8* 90 THE LIFE CF tance of William Penn. He accordingly sup- plicated him with the most earnest entreaty to become a joint trustee with Gawen Laurie, of London, and Nicholas Lucas, of Hertford, two of the said creditors, to carry his intention into effect. To this, but not till after much consideration, he assented; and thus, though he was in no way concerned in the affairs of Byllinge, he came into the situation described. His new office requiring exertion, he was all at once overwhelmed in business. In con- junction with the other trustees, he agreed with Sir George Carteret, on a division of the province into East and West New Jersey; the latter of which was allotted to them on behalf of the creditors of Byllinge. This division having been made, they then subdivided their own portion into a hundred lots. Ten of these they gave to Fenwick, as a repayment for time, trouble, and money advanced by him to Lord Berkeley, and the remaining ninety they reserved for sale. The next step was to form a constitution for those who, in consequence of purchase, were to settle in the new land. This devolved almost exclusively upon William Penn. He therefore drew up what he called concessions, or terms of grant and agreement, which were to be mutually signed. The great outUne of these may be comprehended in a few words. WILLIAM PErflV. 91 The people were to meet annually, to choose one honest man for each proprietary, who had signed the concessions. — They who were so •chosen, were to sit in assembly. — They were to make, alter, and repeal laws. — They were there also to choose a governor, or commis- sioner, with twelve assistants, who were to •execute those laws, but only during their plea- sure. Every man was to be capable both of choosing and being chosen.— No man was to be arrested, imprisoned, or condemned, in his estate or liberty, but by twelve men of the neighbourhood. No man was to be imprisoned for debt; but his estate was to satisfy his credi- tors as far as it would go, and then he was to be set at liberty, to work for himself and fami- ly. — No man was to be molested or interrupt- ed on account of his religion. Such was the simple outline of the concessions, " by an ad- herence to which he hoped he had laid a foun- dation for those in after-ages to understand their liberty, both as men and Christians; and by an adherence to which they could never be brought into bondage but by their own consent." Having made these and other arrangements, he and his colleagues gave notice of the same in a public letter, which they signed, and cir- culated through the kingdom. They particu- larly invited those who were of their own 92 THE LIFE 6p society to become the new settlers. They cautioned all, however, against leaving their country out of idle curiosity, a rambling dis- position, or improper motive, or to the vio- lation of the feelings of their kindred, or of their religious unity as Friends. To this cau- tion they annexed " A Description of West New Jersey, of its soil and climate, that none might have occasion afterwards to repent of their undertaking," WILLIAM PENIV. 93 CHAPTER X. Proposals opened for the sale of lands in West New Jersey — Arrangement with Byllinge's creditors — The Commission- ers appointed — They embark for America — They receive the King's blessing — Penn receives a letter from the Princess Elizabeth — Penn visits ^Holland — He writes to the King of Poland — He visits the Princess Elizabeth — His success in preaching — He visits many German cities — Labodie and his followers — Anna Maria Schurmans — Penn's second visit to the Princess — Returns to Amster- dam — Controversy with Abrahams — Penn's preaching at Wonderwick — Embarks at the Brill — Returns to Lon- i don, and thence to his seat at Worminghurst. In the year 1677 William Penn removed from Rickmansworth, and established himself at Worminghurst in Sussex. He now resolv- ed, in conjunction with his colleagues, to open proposals for the sale of lands in West New Jersey. These offers were no sooner made, such being the high character of William Penn, than they were accepted. Among the pur- chasers were two companies of Quakers from London and Yorkshire, who contracted for large shares. The members of the latter com- pany being the principal creditors of Byllhige, received a tenth part of the whole land in lieu of their debts. As no persons could more properly act as S)4 THE LIFE OP commissioners than those who had a stake or. interest in the new territory, it was judged ad- visible that some of the most respectable of the purchasers should be appointed to this office, and that the purchasers in general should nominate the rest. Accordingly Thos. Olive, Daniel Wills, Joseph Helmsley, and Robert Stacey, were chosen from the two companies; to whom were added Richard Guy, John Fenwick, John Kinsey, and Ben- jamin Scott. Matters having been thus pre- pared, the commissioners, with their families, to the number of two hundred and thirty, em- barked for America. As they were lying in the Thames ready to sail. King Charles the Second happened to pass by in his pleasure- harge. and observing the crowded state of their ship, inquired whither they were bound: on receiving information, that they were Qua- kers, he gave them his blessing, and wished them a prosperous and happy termination to their voyage. Soon after this William Penn determined to revisit the continent, by travelling into Hol- land and Germany, in consequence of his anxiety to communicate "with many seeking persons," and also from the many pressing in- vitations he received from various persons in those parts. The following letter, which he received from the Princess Elizabeth, before- WILLIAM PENN. 95 mentioned, evinces in a striking manner the pious and modest frame of her mind. "This, my friend, will inform you that both your letters were acceptable, together with your wishes for my obtaining those virtues which may make me a worthy follower of our great King and Saviour Jesus Christ. What I have done for his true disciples is not so much as a cup of cold water. It affords them no re- freshment. Neither did I expect any fruit of my letter to the dutchess of L — , as lex- pressed at the same time to B. Furley. But as R. Barclay desired I would write it, I could not refuse him, nor omit to do anything that was judged conducing to his liberty, though it should expose me to the derision of the world. But this a mere moral man may reach at: the true inward graces are yet wanting in your affectionate friend, " Elizabeth." Being thus called upon by the religious workings of his own mind, and by such fa- vourable circumstances, he resolved upon the journey, and embarked at Harwich, on board the packet, for Holland. He was accompa- nied by George Fox, Robert Barclay, and several others of his society. After landing at the Brill, they proceeded to Rotterdam, and 96 THE LIFE OF from thence to Ley den, Haarlem, and Am- sterdam, at all of which places they held meetings, at which, says William Penn, in his usual energetic manner, '*the Gospel was preached, the dead were raised, and the living comforted." On arriving at the latter place, they received letters from Dantzic, complain- ing of the sufferings which the Quakers un- derwent in that city; in consequence of which William Penn undertook to write to the king of Poland in their behalf. He stated to the king, in a respectful manner, what were the religious principles of the Quakers, why they absented themselves from the common wor- ship, and concluded with an eloquent appeal to his reason, to protect them in their religious rights. " Give us poor Christians," says he, "leave to expostulate with thee. When did the true church offer violence for religion? Were not her weapons prayers, tears, and patience? Did not Jesus conquer by those weapons, and vanquish cruelty by suffering ? Can clubs, and staves, and swords, and prisons, and banishments, reach the soul, convert the heart, or convince the understanding of man? When did violence ever make a true convert, or bodily punishment a sincere Christian? This maketh void the end of Christ's coming, which was to save men's lives, and not to destroy them; to persuade them, and not to force them. ViLLlAM PENN. 97 Yea, it robbeth God's spirit of its office, which is to convince the world. This is the sword by which the ancient Christians overcame. It was the Apostle's testimony, that their wea- pons were not carnal, but spiritual ; but the practice of their pretended successors proveth that their weapons are not spiritual, but car- nal. Suppose we are tares, as the true wheat hath always been called, yet pluck us not up for Christ's sake, who saith, Let the tares and wheat grow up until the harvest, that is, un- til the end of the world. Let God have his due as well as Caesar. The judgment of con- science belongeth unto him, and mistakes about religion are known to him alone. — And here let me remind thee of a noble say- ing of one of thy ancestors, Stephen, king of Poland, 'I am a king of men, not of consciences; king of bodies, not of souls.' Leaving Amsterdam, they travelled through Naarden to Osnaburg, and arrived at Her- werden, where the Princess Elizabeth held her court, and with whom the countess of Homes resided as companion. Next morning at seven o'clock they waited upon her by ap- pointment, and were received both by the Princess and countess with such extraordinary marks of kindness as deeply affected them. On withdrawing, they were invited to dinner, but excused themselves. In the afternoon they 9 98 THE LIFE OF returned to the palace, and not only the Prin- cess and countess, but several others were ready to receive them. A meeting for wor- ship was then begun according to the custom of the Quakers. " It was at this meeting," says William Penn, " that the Lord in a more eminent manner began to appear.'* The hearers are said to have been greatly affected. On the next day, they assembled for worship again, when, by an arrangement previously made, not only the family, but several of the inhabitants of the town were present. The effect is described to have been great, both upon the preachers and the hearers; and upon no one more than on the Princess, who was so overcome, that when she went to take leave of William Penn, after the meeting, she could scarcely find utterance for her words. Soon after this they left Herwerden, and proceeded through Pederborn and Cassel to Frankfort, at which places they preached and converted many. Leaving Frankfort, they re- turned by Mentz, Coblentz, Cologne, and Utrecht, to Amsterdam, converting and preaching as they went along. At the latter place they beheld with much satisfaction, the great increase of converts in that city since they had left it. Having held two meetings, wdiich were numerously and respectably at- tended, they visited Horn, Worcum, and Har- WILLIAM PEx\X. 99 linjyen. At a meeting which they held here, to which people of various religious denomi- nations resorted, a doctor of physic and a presbyterian minister attended among the rest. All sat with great attention, but particularly the two latter, who were so impressed with what they heard, that though they were obliged to leave the meeting, the one to de- liver a sermon to his congregation, and the other to visit his patients, they could scarcely withdraw themselves. The former, indeed, '' as a man in pain to be gone,, yet wilHng to stay," sat at the door until the sermon was finished; and then standing up, and looking towards heaven, in a solemn and with a loud voice, spoke to this efFect: — "^The Almightv, the allwise, the omnipotent great god, and his Son Jesus Christ, who is for ever and ever blessed, confirm his word that hath been spoken this day !" William Penn, leaving George Fox, and taking J. Claus, a converted Dutchman, for his companion, went to Leuwarden. The meeting there was largely attended, and con- sisted of persons who never were at one be fore. He then proceeded to V/iemart, the residence of one of the Somerdykes, who were "people of great breeding and inheritances." In this mansion, as in a college, lived several persons who made up a religious society or 100 THE LIFE OF church of tlieir own, and lived in love and harmony together. J. de Labodie, who was then dead, had established it. This person was once a Jesuit, but had deserted his order, and embraced the Protestant religion. Ivon was, at present, the head pastor of this little flock, and Du Lignon his assistant. Among the occupiers of the mansion were three of the Somerdykes, daughters of a nobleman of that name, to whom it belonged, and an an- cient maiden lady of the name of Schurmans. These, with several others, having been af- fected by the discourses of Labodie, and awakened to seek after a more spiritual fel- lowship, had separated themselves fiom the common Calvinistic assemblies, and, having followed him in the way of a refined indepen- dency, had established themselves in this place. They formed altogether a serious and plain people, and approached near to the Quakers in many points; such as in silent meetings, women's exhortations there, preaching by the spirit, and plainness both in their dress and in the furniture of their houses. William Penn, having heard of these singular people, had de- termined upon visiting them. On being intro- duced to Anna Maria Schurmans' apartment, he found almost all the party there. He was particularly anxious to know what it was that had induced them to separate from the com- WILLIAM PEXN. 101 mom way in which they had formerly lived. Upon this, Ivon began by giving the history of J. de Labodie's education and life. Anna Maria Schurmans followed, giving an account of her former life, of her conversion under the ministry of Labodie, and of her present reli- gious state. One of the Somerdykes related next her own spiritual experience. This she did in a reverent frame of mind, going over the same ground and touching upon the same points as the former. After her Du Lignon gave the reasons which had induced him to become a pastor there. A doctor of physic spoke next : among other things, he stated himself to have been bred up at the university, for the church; that he had studied there with the character of a serious person, but that he had never experienced a living sense of what divine things were until he heard J. de Labo- die; and that in consequence he left the uni- versity, and became one of the family at the mansion. William Penn was highly grati- fied, and returned the civility by giving an ac- count of his own life and conversion, which he concluded by religious exhortation and advice. On his departure, they gave him their hands in the most friendly manner, and wished him every happiness. After this he held meetings at Groningen and Lippenhausen, from whence he went to Embden, Leer, and Bremen; and, 9* 102 THE LIFE OF after hard travelling, arrived again at Her- werden, the residence of the Princess Eliza- beth. While he remained here, he was treated with the same friendship and attention as for- merly. In taking his leave of the Princess, which was final, he fell upon his knees, and invoked the divine blessing for her preserva- tion; tenderly exhorted the countess, her com- panion, who implored his prayers in her be- half; and spoke to the rest, giving each sepa- rately such advice as he judged to be suitable to their respective conditions. Getting into the post wagon, in company with his friend J. Claus, he resumed his tra- vels. In this wagon, which was covered only by a ragged sheet, he rode three nights without lying down or sleeping. The passen- gers were much straitened for room, and all suffered the greatest hardships; notwithstand- ing which, William Penn frequently exhorted them, and held discourses on the nature of that religion and worship which was most Christian. At length, after a journey of two hundred miles, he arrived at Wesel. Here, and at Dusseldorp, Cleves, and Cologne, he employed himself in visiting old friends, making new ones, and otherwise promoting the object of his journey. Having arrived again at Am- sterdam, by the way of Utrecht and Nimeguen, he was engaged in a public dispute with WILLIAM PENN. 103 Galenus Abrahams, the great father of the Socinian Menists in these parts, who denied that there was any new Christian dispensation or apostolical commission then going on in the world by the instrumentality of the Quakers. But all that is known of this dispute is, that it lasted from eight in the morning till one in the afternoon, and this successively for two days. The meeting being over, he proceeded with George Fox, by whom he had been joined, by Leyden to the Hague, and from thence to Delft, and Rotterdam. He employed himself while in this city in holding public meetings, and in writing letters, which he intended to leave behind him on his return to England, in order that they might be printed and circula- ted throughout Germany. He exposed with great boldness, in these letters, the failings of mankind, and of the different denominations of reHgion, and endeavoured to impress upoa them what belonged to their relative situations in life. His language was clear, nervous, and animated, enriched by metaphor and scriptu- ral expressions, and manifested the pen of a ready writer. Hearing that a nobleman, a man of retired and serious habits, lived at the village of Wonderwick, he and George Fox went to visit him. The nobleman, on learn- ing their errand, invited them into his house, 104 THE LIFE OF •which was stately but plain, shook them by the hand, and bade them welcome. As soon as they were properly seated, he gave them a sober and pathetic account of his life and reli- gious experience, and then took them into another room and introduced them to his wife, under the name of some Christian Friends who had come to see her. Having sat in silence for some time according to the custom of the Quaker ministers, William Penn delivered a discourse, which appears to have had so powerful an effect, not only on the hearers, but on the preacher himself, that he felt constain- ed to kneel down and pray; being so affected by what had come unexpectedly from his own mouth. '' Great brokenness," says he, " fell upon all, and that which was before the world began was richly manifested in and among us.'' The nobleman and his wife then blessed their visitors, and the work which was in their hands. They considered, they said, their house as blessed for their sake, and expressed great thankfulness that they had lived to see them. Returning to Rotterdam, he held a public meeting, in which he took leave of the coun- try and the inhabitants, and earnestly exhorted them to grow up as a holy people. After this he proceeded to the Brill, and embarked on board the packet for Harwich. After landing, WILLIAM PENJf. 105 he rode on horseback to London, stopping and preaching at several meetings on his way. Having staid a few days in London, for the same purpose, he went down to his seat at Worminghurst, where he arrived after an ab- sence of about three months and ten days, and after a journey in the service of the church of nearly three thousand miles. He had the pleasure, to use his own words, " to find his dear wife and family well. Blessed be the name of the Lord God of all the families of the earth !" And here, as a proof of the con- stantly pious frame of his mind, and of his constant thankfulness to the Divine Being for benefits already received, and of his reliance upon him for those to come, it must not be omitted, that on the afternoon of his arrival he assembled all his family for worship; thus making the first fruits of his domestic meeting an oblation to the Father of all mercies. This little meeting is described by him to have been a "sweet meeting, in which the divine presence made them glad together," and in which he was sensible, whatever sacrifices he had made by his journey, that " they were blessed who could cheerfully give up to serve the Lord." 106 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XL Penn despatches 800 settlers for New Jersey — The Popish Plot — Persecutions of the Dissenters — Penn's petition to the House of Commons — He addresses the members — It is well received — His second Address — The desired bill passes the Commons — Penn's tract, entitled England's Great Interest in the choice of a New Parhament — Penn's exertions in behalf of Algernon Sydney. Great Fire at London. William Penn continued so active in his sta- tion as trustee for Byllinge, that he despatch- ed no less than eight hundred settlers, during the years 1677 and 8, for the new land, most- WILLIAM VKNN. 107 ly Quakers and persons of property and re- spectability. But while he was occupied in the arrange- ment of these his foreign concerns, his attention was called^to the situation of affairs at liome, and particularly as they related to his own religious society. The great lire in London, and the fires on St. Margaret's hill, and in Southwark, having been attributed to the Roman Catholics, both the Parliament and people became so incensed against them, that the laws which were enacted against Roman Catholicism continued to be enforced with ex- traordinary rigour; and, to add to the public consternation, a design of the most mischievous and diabolical nature was said to have been discovered this year, 1678, which, on account of its intended effects, was denominated the Popish Plot. Under these circumstances the acts passed against Papists were now pressed to' their fullest extent; and hence it happened that the Dissenters, against whom these laws were never intended, became unex- pectedly the objects of them : for, wherever popery was suspected, it was sure to be put to the test. Now William Penn was con- sidered by many to be a Jesuit, and this cir- cumstance occasioned the Quakers, to whom he belonged, to be viewed in the same light; in consequence of which they experienced the 108 THE LIFE OF * same severe prosecutions in the Exchequer as the Roman Catholics, for penalties of twenty pounds a month for absence from the national worship, or of two-thirds of their estate, al- though there was actually no law existing against them. The evil then had been carried to such an alarming length, that the Parlia- ment itself had become sensible of it, and took under its consideration a distinguishing clause in the bill, for the discrimination of Protestant Dissenters from papists, so that they who should take the oath, and subscribe the decla- ration therein contained, should not suffer by such laws. But this measure, though reasona- ble in itself, and sufficient as it related to other dissenters, was of no use to the Quakers; for, being unable on account of their religious tenets to swear at all, they had not even the door, which was intended them, for their es- cape. William Penn therefore drew up a pe- tition in their behalf, which was presented to both Houses of Parliament, in which he set forth their hard case, and requested that, in the discriminating clause then in agitation, the word of a Quaker might be taken instead of his oath, with this proviso, that if any one of that description should utter a falsehood on such an occasion, he should be liable to the same punishment as if he had taken a false oath. The petition having been presented. WILLIAM PENN. 109 he was admitted to a hearing before a com- mittee of the House of Commons, when he ad- dressed the members of it as follows. ^' If we ought to believe that it is our duty, according to the doctrine of the Apostle, to be always ready to give an account of the hope that is in us, and this to every sober and pri- vate inquirer, certainly much more ought we to hold ourselves obliged to declare with all readiness, when called to it by so great an authority, what is not our hope : especially when our very safety is eminently concerned in so doing, and when we cannot decline this discrimination of ourselves from Papists, with- out being conscious to ourselves of the guilt of our own sufferings; for so must every man needs be, who suffers mutely under another character than that which truly belongeth to him and his belief. That which giveth me a more than ordinary right to speak at this time, and in this place, is the great abuse which I have received above any other of my profes- sion; for of a long time I have not only been supposed a Papist, but a Seminary, a Jesuit, an emissary of Rome, and in pay from the Pope; a man dedicating my endeavours to the interests.and advancement of that party. Nor hath this been the report of the rabble, but .the jealousy and insinuation of persons other- wise sober and diicreet. Nay, some zealots 10 110 THE LIFE OF for the Protestant religion have been so far gone in this mistake, as not only to think ill of us, and decHne our conversation, but to take courage to themselves to prosecute us for a sort of concealed Papists; and the truth is, that what with one thing, and what with another, we have been the woolsacks and com- mon whipping-stock of the kingdom : all laws have been let loose upon us, as if the design were not to refortn but to destroy us; and this, not for what we are^ but for what we are 710 1. It is hard that we must thus bear the stripes of another interest, and be their proxy in punishment; but it is worse, that some men can please thernselves in such a sort of administration. But mark : I would, not be mistaken. / am far from thinking it fit, because I exclaim against the injustice of whipping Quakers for Papists, that Papists should be whipped for their consciences. No: for though the hand, pretended to be lifted up against them, hath, I know not by what discretion, lighted heavily upon us, and we complain, yet we do not mean that any should take a fresh aim at them, or that they should come in our room,, for we must give the liberty we ask, and cannot be false to our principles, though it were to relieve our- selves; for we have good will towards all men, and would have none to suffer for a truly WILLIAM PENN. Ill sober and conscientious dissent on any hand. And I humbly take leave to add, that those methods against persons so qualified do not seenn to me to be convincing, or indeed ade- quate to the reason of mankind; but this I submit to your consideration. To conclude : I hope we shall be held excused of the men of that (the Roman Catholic) profession in giving this distinguishing declaration ; since it is not with design to expose them, but, first, to pay that regard we owe to the inquiry of the Com- mittee, and, in the next place, to relieve our- selves from the daily spoil and ruin which now attend and threaten many hundred families, by the execution of laws which, we humbly con- ceive, were never made against us." Such was the speech of William Penn, and such was to be expected from him, if he con- tinued faithful to his former principles. He had the courage to declare, and this before persons in authority, who could have no pleasant feel- ings towards those who should be well disposed to the Catholics, what he had maintained dur- ing his life, that it was unlaw /id to occasion others to suffer^ even Catholics themselves, on account of a. conscientious religious dis- sent. The true friend to liberty, who collects his notions concerning it from the pure and sacred fountains of truth and justice, feels no spirit of exclusion in his breast, but wishes that 112 THE LIFE OF portion of it which he himself enjoys, to be communicated to others. Bold as the language of the foregoing address was, it yet offended no one : that which would have been of itself an offensive sentiment, was lost or overlooked in the nobleness of that which followed. The Committee heard it with extraordinary atten- tion; so much so, indeed, as to have made a more than ordinary impression on William Penn himself; in consequence of which, and by way of grateful return, thinking he could do no less than unbosom himself to them on cer- tain other subjects (by which he and they whose cause he had then pleaded, might be better known) he addressed them to this ef- fect :— " The candid hearing our sufferings have received from you, and the fair and easy en- tertainment you have given us, oblige me to add whatever can increase your satisfaction about us. I hope you do not believe 1 could tell you a lie. I am sure I should choose an ill time and place to tell it in; but I thank God it is now too late in the day for that. There are some here who have known me formerly. I believe they will say I was never that man; and it would be hard if, after a voluntary neglect of the advantages of this world, I should sit down in my retirement short of common truth. WILLIAM PEIVIV. lis " Excuse the length of my introduction ; it is for this I nnake it. I was bred a Protestant, and that strictly too. I lost nothing by time or study. For years, reading, travel, and ob- servations made the religion of my education the religion of my judgment. My alteration hath brought none to that belief; and though the posture I am in may seem odd, or strange to you, yet I am conscientious; and, till you know me better, I hope your charity will call it my unhappiness, rather than my crime. 1 do tell you again, and here solemnly declare, in the presence of Almighty God, and before you all, that the profession I now make, and the society I now adhere to, have been so far from altering that Protestant judgment 1 had, that I am not conscious to myself of having receded from an iota of any one principle maintained by those first Protestants and Re- formers of Germany, and our own martyrs at home, against the see of Rome. On the con- trary, I do with great truth assure you, that we are of the same negative faith with the ancient Protestant church; and upon occasion shall be ready, by God's assistance, to make it appear that we are of the same belief as to the most fundamental positive articles of her creed too ; and therefore it is v>^e think it hard, that though we deny, in common with her, those doctrines of Rome so zealously protested 10* 114 THE LIFE OF against (from whence the name Protestant), yet that we should be so unhappy as to suffer, and that with extreme severity, by those very laws, on purpose made against the maintainers of those doctrines which we deny. We choose no sufferings; for God knows what we have already suffered, and how many sufficient and trading families are reduced to great poverty by it. We think ourselves an useful people; we are sure we are a peaceable people; yet, if we must still suffer, let us not suffer as Popish recusants, but as Protestant dissen- ters. *' But I would obviate another objection, and that none of the least that hath been made against us, namely, that we are enemies to government in general, and particularly dis- affected to that under which we live. I think it not amiss, but very reasonable, yea, my duty, now to declare to you, and this I do with good conscience in the sight of Almighty God, first, that we believe government to be God's ordinance; and next, that this present government is established by the providence of God and the law of the land; and that it is our Christian duty readily to obey it in all its Just iawSf and zv herein ive cannot comply through tenderness of conscience, in all such cases not to revile or conspire against the go- vernmenty but with Christian patience and WILLIAM PENN^. 115 humility tire out all mistakes about us, and wait the better information of those who, we do believe, do as undeservedly as severely treat us; and I know not what greater security can be given by any people, or how any go- vernment can be easier from the subjects of it. " I shall conclude with this, that we are so far from esteeming it hard or ill that this House hath put us upon this discrimination, that on the contrary we value it, as we ought to do, an high favour, and cannot choose but see and humbly acknowledge God's providence there- in, that you should give us this fair occasion to discharge ourselves of a burthen we have not with more patience than injustice suffered but too many years under. And I hope our conversation shall always manifest the grateful resentment of our minds for the justice and civility of this opportunity; and so I pray God direct you.'' Nothing could have been offered more agree- able to the Committee at this juncture, than the explanation now given. It clearly laid down the principles thatactuated the Quakers, that is, — that although they made no sacrifice of their just convictions — although no threats could intimidate them, yet they did not dis- turb the harmony of society, or interrupt the 116 THE LIFE OF progress of civil ejovernment by rebellion; but, satisfied with a refusal to the mandate of the magistrate when their consciences disapproved of it, they bore with fortitude the sufferings which followed, and left to their oppressors the feelings only of remorse for their conduct. A combination, the result of mere policy, could never have in it sufficient virtue to with- stand the ordeal to which it might be exposed on such an occasion. It must be a general harmony of action, arising out of a firm con- viction, that this is the line of conduct required as a Christian duty, and that no other was al- lowed. In this point of view, Christianity con- tains within itself the power of removing the great evils of wicked governments, without interrupting those other parts of their system which are of essential use to the good order, peace, and happiness of mankind. But to re- turn. The two speeches of William Penn made so favourable an impression on the Committee, that they agreed to insert a clause in the bill then in agitation, for relief in the case complained of. This clause they report- ed to the Commons, and the Commons actual- ly passed it; but a sudden prorogation of par- liament taking place before the bill could be read a third time in the Lords, rendered the clause useless. The ferment in the nation continuing as WfLLIAM PENPf. 117 violent as ever, relative to the Popish Plot, men's minds, v^^hether Protestants or Catholics, were still unduly heated. In this situation of things, writs were issued for summoning a new parliament. This circumstance, which afford- ed an opportunity to parties to try their strength, involved the nation in new anxiety, and added to the heat already described. William Penn, therefore, felt himself called upon to become a writer again ; the result of which was, his publishing a pamphlet entitled *^ England's great Interest in the Choice of a New Parliament, dedicated to all her Free- holders and Electors." In this work he proposed, first, to pursue the discovery and punishment of the Popish plot ; to remove and to bring to justice those evil counsellors and corrupt and arbitrary ministers of state, who had been so industrious in advising the king to wrong measures, and in alienating his affections from his people; to detect and punish the pensioners of the former Parliament, such a breach of trust 07i their part beins^ treason against the fundamen- tal constitution of the governments to secure to the nation the execution of its ancient laws by others,among which should be one in favour o{ frequent parliaments — this being the only true check upon arbitrary viinisters, and therefore a measure which they always /ear- lis THE LIFE OF 6flf, hated, and opposed; and to secure the people from Popery and slavery, and to ease all Protestant dissenters. He was of opinion that the King ought to be eased of all his bur- thensome debts, in case these terms were com- plied with. He explained, secondly, to the electors, the meaning of the words in the writs then issued. He laid before them their great fundamental rights and privileges, and then gave them his advice as to whom they ought both to choose and to reject. He would have no reputed pensioners, no officers at court, whose employment was at will or pleasure — no indigent, prodigal, or voluptuous person elected. He would have the old members re- turned only according to their former upright way of voting. Sincere Protestants he re- commended as essentially necessary ; and he hoped they w^ould fix their choice upon men of large and liberal principles, and such as would not rob their other Protestant brethren, be- cause they happened to differ from them in the doctrinal parts of the Christian religion. Soon after the publication of this work the elections commenced, and perhaps William Penn would have taken no farther part in them than writing the pamphlet just mention- ed, had there not been one man in the kingdom about whom he could not be indifferent at this crisis. This was the great Algernon Sydney. WILLIAM FENN. 119 He had been acquainted with this distinguish- ed person for some time, and had loved his character, and now that the elections were begun, he could not control the wish he felt to serve one whose free spirit and noble ta- lents, he believed, would do good to his coun- try. Accordingly he went to Guildford, where colonel Sydney was then a candidate against Dalmahoy, one of the court party. He pro- cured him there several votes among those of his own religious profession. He accompanied him also to the hustings, where he interested himself with others, and while in the act of encouraging them he was stopped by the Recorder, who in order to make him odious, branded him publicly with the name o( Jesuit. Finding this attempt ineffectual, he would have tendered him oaths, but that it was shewn to be then illegal to do so. Frustrated in all his attempts, the Recorder had no other re- source left him but that of force, and he ac- tually turned him out of court. Although colonel Sydney had a majority of voices, Dalmahoy was returned ; the plea be- ing, that the Colonel was not a freeman of Guildford. The election being over, William Penn returned to Worminghurst ; and reflect- ing on all the base transactions which had taken place, both before and at the meeting now mentioned, he was of opinion that colonel 120 THE LIFE OF Sydney should petition against the return. — He was grieved to think that such a man, at such a time, should be excluded from the councils of his country. However, the Par- liament was not long seated before it was again dissolved. WILLIAM PENN. 121 CHAPTER Xlf. Death of the Princess Elizabeth — Penn"s claims on the Bri- tish Government on account of his father's services and ex- penditures—The petition for a grant of territory in America — His motives for this proceeding — He obtains a charter for Pennsylvania — Substance of the charter — Penn relin- quishes the management of West New Jersey — Situation of the colony — Penn publishes his " Account of Pennsyl- vania," and the "Concessions" — Account of the " Con- cessions" — Penn's "Frame of Government" — It secures liberty of conscience — Settlers sent out to Pennsylvania with Colonel IMarkham — Penn's letter to Robert Vickri&. William Penn, in conjunction with his col- leagues, having agreed upon and executed every thing necessary for peopling West New- Jersey, having laid out and disposed of most of the lands, and fixed the political constitu- tion of the colony, had now little more to do than to extend to it his protecting vigilance. In this year, 1680, died his amiable friend, Elizabeth, Princess Palatine of the Rhine, with whom he had maintained a correspondence until her death. This event aifected him much. He had indeed a true regard for her; and two years after this, when he pubhshed his second edition of " No Cross, no Crown,'' he endeavoured to perpetuate her memory hj inserting her name there among those, both 11 123 THE LIFE OF of ancients and nnoderns, who, by their serious living and dying, had become the benefactors of mankind. After this he was occupied in winding up the affairs of his father with the government. His father had advanced large sums from time to time for the good of the naval service, and his pay had been also in arrear. For these two claims, including the interest upon the money due, government were in debt to him no less a sum than sixteen thousand pounds. William Penn was desirous therefore of closing the account. He was not, however, anxious for the money, but wished to take land in America in lieu of it; and therefore petitioned Charles the Second, that letters patent might be granted him for the same. The tract he solicited was to lie north of Maryland, and was to be bounded on the east by the river Delaware, on the west as Maryland was, and to extend northward as far as it was plantable. He was led to take this step from the noble motive of doing good, and not from any view of worldly interest. Having acted as a trus- tee of Byllinge for four years, he had seen what a valuable colony might be planted by a selection of religious families, who should emigrate and dwell together, and leave behind them the vicious customs and rotten parts, both of the political and religious constitution WILLIAM PENN. 123 of the Old World. That such were the mo- tives which actuated him is abundantly evident, and they may be summed up in the general description given of them by Robert Proud, one of his modern historians, who had access to manvhundredsof his letters,and who spared no pains to develope his mind in the most ma- terial transactions of his life. " The views of William Penn," says he, ^'in the colonization of Pennsylvania were most manifestly the best and most exalted that could occupy the hu- man mind, namely, to render men as free and happy as the nature of their existence could possibly bear in their civil capacity, and, in their religious state, to restore them to their lost rights and privileges with which God and nature had originally blessed the human race. This in part he effected, and by those pieans which Providence in the following manner put into his hands, he so far brought to pass, as to excite the admiration of strangers, and to fix in posterity that love and honour for his me- mory, which the length of future time will scarcely ever be able to efface. The petition having been presented to the King, it was s'ent to the Privy Council, who, having considered of its contents, sent it to the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Planta- tions. Great opposition was made to it in both places, but at length the matter ended in fa- 124 THE LIFE OF vour of William Penn ; and he was by charter, dated at Westminster, the 4th of March 1C81, and signed by writ of privy seal, made and constituted full and absolute proprietor of all that tract of land which he had solicited and marked out, and invested with power of rul- ing and governing the same. This charter consisted of twenty-three sections. In these the extent and boundaries of the new province were specified, and the free use of all ports, bays, rivers, and waters there, and of their produce, and of all islands, mountains, soils, and mines, and of their produce, were wholly granted and gjiven up to him. He was made absolute proprietary of the said territory, which was to be held in free and common soc- cage and fealty only, paying two beaver skins annually, and one-fifth of all the gold and sil- ver discovered to the King; and the said ter- ritory was to be called Pennsylvania after his own name. He had the power of making laws, with the advice, assent, and approbation of the freemen of the territory, assembled for the raising of money for public uses ; of ap- pointing judges and other officers; and of par- doning and reprieving, except in the cases of high treason and murder ; reprieve in these cases to be granted only till the pleasure of the King was known. All laws and ordi- nances made there were to be agreeable to WILLIAM PENIT. 125 reason, and not repugnant to those of England, and duplicates of them transnaitted to the Privy Council within five years after they were passed: and if within six months after having been so transmitted, such laws were not pronounced void by the said Council, they were to be considered as having been approv- ed of, and to be valid. He had the power of dividing the province into towns, hundreds, and counties; of erecting and incorporating towns into boroughs, and boroughs into cities; of assessing, reasonably, and with the advice of the freemen assembled, custom on goods to be laden and unladen, and of enjoying the same, saving however to the King such impo- sitions as were and should be appointed by act of parliament. He was not to maintain correspondence with any king or power at war with England, nor to make war against any king or power in amity with the same. If any doubt should arise concerning the meaning of any expression in the charter, the interpretation of it was to be construed in a manner the most favourable to him and his heirs. William Penn, having now a colony of his own to settle, was obliged to give up his ma- nagement of West New Jersey ; but it was a matter of great satisfaction to him, that he had brought it from infancy to a state of man- 11* 126 THE LIFE OF hood — to a state in which it could take care of itself. He had sent to it fourteen hundred people, of whom the adults were persons of high character. Towns and farms had risen up out of the wild waste; roads had been formed, a respectable magistracy established, and the very Indians turned into friends and benefactors. Such was the situation of West New Jersey when he took his leave of it, and therefore it was with less regret he left it to attend to his own concerns. The first thing he did after obtaining the charter, was to draw up "Some account of the Province of Pennsylvania in America, lately granted to William Penn under the Great Seal of England." To this account he annex- ed a copy of the charter, and also the terms on which he intended to part with the lands. He next drew up '' Certain Conditions or Concessions to be agreed upon by Williani Penn, proprietary and governor of the pro- vince of Pennsylvania, and those who may be- come adventurers and purchasers in the same province." They consisted of twenty articles, and among other things stipulated, on behalf of the Indians, that, as it had been usual with planters to overreach them in various ways, whatever was sold to them in consideration of their furs, should be sold in the public mar- ket-place and there suffer the test, whether WILLIAM PENX. 127 good or bad: if good, to pass; if not good, not to be sold for good ; that the said native In- dians might neither be abused nor provoked. That no man should, by word or deed, affront or wrong any Indian, but he should incur the same penalty of the law as if he had commit- ted it against his fellow planter. And that all differences between planters and Indians should be ended by twelve men, that is, by six plan- ters and six Indians, that so they might live friendly together, preventing all occasions of heart-burnings and mischief. These stipula- tions in favour of the poor Indians will for ever immortalize the name of William Penn; for, soaring above the prejudices and customs of his time, he regarded them as human be- ings endued with reason, as men of the like passions and feelings with himself, and as per- sons, therefore, to whom the great duties of humanity and justice were to be extended, and who, in proportion to their ignorance, were the more entitled to his fatherly protection and care. As it was necessary, before any of the fu- ture settlers embarked for the New World, that they should know something of the constitution, political and religious, under which they were to live, William Penn ac- cordingly drew up a rough sketch of that great frame of government which he wished to be- 128 THE LIFE OF come the future and permanent one of the province. It consisted of twenty-four articles, which were preceded by what he called his first or great Fundamental, and by which he gave them that Hberty of conscience denied to them in their own country. "In reverence," he says, *'to God, I do, for me and mine, de- clare and establish, that every person that doth and shall reside within my province, shall have and enjoy the free profession of his or her faith and exercise of worship to- wards God, in such way and manner as every such person shall in conscience believe most acceptable to the Supreme Being ; and as my understanding and inclinations have been much directed to observe and reprove mischiefs in government, so I have it now in my power to settle one, and purpose to leave myself and my successors no power of doing mischief, that the -will of one man may not hinder the good of a whole country .^^ Towards the latter end of this year, three vessels full of passengers set sail for Pennsyl- vania, and in one of them went Colonel Mark- ham, a relation of William Penn's, and who was to be his secretary when he arrived there. He was attended by several commissioners, whose object was to confer with the Indians respecting their lands, and to endeavour to make with them a solemn and eternal league WILLIAM rEN?f. 129 of peace. They were also the bearers of a letter from William Penn to them, in which he promised to pay them soon a visit in per- son. About this time William Penn was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society; and among the letters which he wrote this year to private persons, the following is selected on account of the simplicity and beauty of expression, as well as holy feeling, which pervades it : it is addressed to Robert Vickris, a Quaker, and an eminent sufferer in that society. "Dear Friend, "In my dear and heavenly farewell to the city of Bristol, thou wert often upon my spirit, and the wishes of my soul are, that the Lord would abundantly fill thee with the consola- tions of his holy spirit, and that the days thou hast to pass on this side of the grave, thou mayest be fitting for his coming, that at what watch of the night soever it may be, thou mayest awake with his likeness, and enter the rest that is eternal. So the Lord more and more gather thee out of every visible, fading thing, and prepare thee for himself ! Dear Friend, be faithful to that appearance of God, and manifestation of the love of the Lord that visits thee. 'Tis his presence, not seen or felt of the wicked, that gathers and revives the 130 THE LIFE OF soul that seeks him. So the Lord be with thee, and remember into thy bosom the sin* cere love thou hast shewn to his Son and his friends ! I say no more, but in the Lord fare- well ! *'Thy affectionate friend, " William Penn." WILLIAM PENN. 13 1 CHAPTER XIII. Death of Penn's mother — He publishes his " frame of go- vernment" — Preface of this instrument — Its chief pro- visions — Penn obtains a deed of release for Pennsylvania from the Duke of York — He obtains the tract of land call- ed the Territories, (Delavs^are) — Penn's letter to his wife and children — His interview and conversation with king Charles 11. This year, 1682, William Penn had the jielancholy duty to perform of paying the last earthly offices of respect to his mother, to whom he was tenderly and affectionately at- tached, and through whose assistance he had been enabled to follow the religious bent of his mind in the earlier years of his Hfe. The first thing he did, after this melancholy event, was to publish the Frame of Government or Constitution of Pennsylvania, mentioned in the preceding chapter, and to which he added a noble preface, containing his own thoughts upon the origin, nature, objects and modes of government ; a preface, indeed, so beautiful, and replete with such wise and just sentiments, that it would be an act of injustice to with- hold it from the reader. '* When the great and wise God had made the world, of all his creatures it pleased hin» 132 THE LIFE OF to choose Man his deputy to rule it : and to fit him for so great a charge and trust, he did not only qualify him with skill and power, but with integrity to use them justly. This native goodness was equally his honour and his happiness; and, whilst he stood here, all went well : there was no need of coercive or compulsive means; the precept of divine love and truth in his bo=om was the guide and keeper of his innocency. But lust, prevailing against duty, made a lamentable breach in it; and the law, that had before no power over him, took place upon him and his disobedient posterity, that- such, as luould not live corn- formably to the holij law ivithin, should fall under the reproof and correction of the just law without^ in a judicial administra- tion. "This the Apostle teaches us in divers of his epistles. * The law,' says he, * was added because of our transgressions.' In another place, ' knowing that the law was not made for the righteous man but for the disobedient and ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and pro- fane, for murderers,' and others. But this is not all; he opens and carries the matter of government a little farther: ' Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for their is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God: whosoever therefore re- WILLIAM PENN. 133 sisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God : for rulers are not a terror to good doers but to evil. Wilt thou not then be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. He is the minister of God to thee for good. Wherefore, ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but for conscience sake.' *' This settles the divine right of govern- ment beyond exception, and that for two ends: first, to terrify evil doers; secondly, to cherish those that do well; which gives government a life beyond corruption, and makes it as dura- ble in the world as good men shall be, so that government seems to me a part of religion it- self, a thing sacred in its institution and end : for if it does not directly remove the cause, it crushes the effects of evil, and is, as such, though a lower, yet an emanation of the same divine Pov^er that is both author and object of pure religion; the difference lying here, that the one is more free and mental, the other more corporeal and compulsive in its operations, and a terror only to evil doers; government itself being otherwise as capable of kindness, goodness, and charity, as a mere private society. They weakly err, who think there is no other use of government than cor- rection, which is the coarsest part oj*it. Daily experience tells us that the care and regula- 12 1 34 THE LIFE OF tion of many other affairs, more soft and daily necessary, make up the greatest part of go- vernment; and which must have followed the peopling of the world, had Adam never fallen, and will continue among men on earth under the highest attainments they may arrive at by the coming of the blessed second Adam, the Lord from Heaven. Thus much of government in general as to its rise and end. " For particular frames and models, it will become me to say little, and, comparatively, I will say nothing. My reasons are, first, that the age is too nice and difficult for it, there be- ing nothing the wits of men are more busy and divided upon. 'Tis true they seem to agree in the end, to wit, happiness, but in the means they differ, as to divine, so to this human feli- city; and the cause is much the same — not always want of light and knowledge, but want of using them rightly. Men side with their passions against their reason; and their sinister interests have so strong a bias upon their minds, that they lean to them against the good of the things they know. " Secondly, 1 do not find a model in the world, that time, place, and some singular emergencies have not necessarily altered; nor is it easy to frame a civil government that shall serve all places alike. WILLIAM PENPf. 135 " Thirdly, I know what is said by the seve- ral admirers of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, which are the rule of one, of a few, and of many, and are the three common ideas of government when men discourse on that subject. But I choose to solve the contro- versy with this small distinction, and it be- longs to all three : Any government z-s/ree/o the people under it, whatever be the frame, where the laws rule and the people are a party to those laws-, and more than this is tyranny, oliq-archy, or confusion. '^ But, lastly, when all is said, there is hard- ly one frame of government in the world so ill designed by its founders, that in good hands would not do well enough; and story tells us, that the best in ill ones can do nothing that is great and good: witness the Jewish and Ro- man states. Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as go- vernments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherejore go- vernments rather depend upon men, than men upon goverwrnents. Let men he good, and the government cannot be bad. If it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so good they will endeavour to warp and spoil it to their turn. I know some say, let us have good laws, and no matter for the men that execute them. 136 THE LIFE OF But let them consider, that though good laws do well, good men do better; for good laws may want good men, and be abolished or in- vaded by ill men; but good men will never want good laws, nor suffer ill ones. 'Tis true, good laws have some awe upon ill ministers, but that is w^here these have not the power to escape or abolish then, and where the peo- ple are generally wise and good : but a loose and depraved people (which is to the ques- tion) love laws and administration like them- selves. That, therefore, which makes a good constitution must keep iti namely, men of wis- dom and virtue — qualities, that, because they descend not with worldly inheritances, must be carefully propagated by virtuous educa- tion oj youth, for which after-ages will owe more to the care and prudence of founders and the successive magistracy, than to their parents for their private patrimonies, " These considerations of the weight of go- vernment, and the nice and various opinions about it, made it uneasy to me to think of publishing the ensuing Frame and Conditional Laws, foreseeing both the censures they will meet with from men of different humours and engagements, and the occasion they may give of discourse beyond my design. " But next to the power of necessity, which is a solicitor that will take no denial, this in- WILLIAM PENPf. 137 duced me to compliance : that we have, with reverence to God and good conscience to men, to the best of our skill, contrived and compos- ed the Frame and Laws of this Government to the great end of government to support power in reverence with the people, and to secure the people from the abuse oj power, that they may be free by their just obedi- ance, and the magistrates honorable for their just administration; for liberty with- out obediance is confusion, and obedience witliout liberty is slavery. To carry this evenness is partly owing to the constitution, and partly to the magistracy. Where either of these fail, government will be subject to con- vulsions; but where both are wanting, it must be totally subverted : then where both meet, the government is like to endure, which I humbly pray and hope God will be pleased to make the lot of this Pennsylvania. Amen." The Frame which followed this preface, con- sisted of twenty-four articles; and the laws annexed were forty. By the frame, the go- vernment was placed in the governor and freemen of the province, out of whom were to be formed two bodies; namely, a provisional council and a general assembly : the office of the former being to propose and prepare bills, to see that the laws were executed, and to pre- serve the peace and safety of the province; 12* ISS THE LIFE OF and of the latter, to pass or reject all bills brought to them from the governor and provi- sional council, by a plain Yes or No; but to have no dehberative povs^er. Both were to be elected annually^ and by ballot. With re- spect to the laws, it will be necessary at pre- sent only to observe of them, that they related to whatever may be included in the " good go- vernment of the Province." William Penn having published his Frame of Government, obtained next from the duke of York a deed of release for Pennsylvania, to prevent all future claim of his Royal Highness or his heirs on the Province. This deed was signed on the twenty-first of August, 1682, and granted out of a special regard to the memory and eminent services performed by Admiral Sir William Penn to his Majesty and to his Royal Highness, and for the good will which his said Royal Highness bore to his son, William Penn. He also obtained from the duke of York his right, title, and interest in another tract of land, contiguous to Pennsylva- nia, at that time inhabited by Dutch and Swedes, and afterwards known by the name of the Territories, (now the State of Delaware.) Having now done every thing which he judged to be necessary for the prosperity and security of the colony previous to his embark- ation, his mind, as the period of hii departure WILLIAM PENN^. 139 drew nigh, began to be seriously affected about bis wife and family, and particularly about their spiritual welfare, during an absence the length of which he could not foresee. He re- solved, therefore, to put down whatever oc- cured to him for the regulation of their con- duct, and to leave it to them in the shape of a letter. As it is very beautiful on account ot the simplicity and patriarchal spirit in which it is written, and truly valuable on account of its contents, it is presented to the reader as well worthy of perusal. ** My dear Wife and Children, ^' My love, which neither sea, nor land, nor death itself can extinguish nor lessen towards you, most endearedly visits you with eternal embraces, and will abide with you for ever : and may the God of my life watch over you, and bless you, and do you good in this world and for ever! — Some things are on my spirit to leave with you in your respective capacities, as I am to one a husband and to the rest a father, if I should never see you more in this world. " My dear wife ! remember thou wast the love of my youth, and much the joy of my life; the most beloved, as well as most worthy of all my earthly comforts: and the reason of that love was more thy inward than thy outward 140 THE LIFE OF excellences, which yet were many. God knows, and thou knowest it, I can say it was a match of providence's making ; and God's image in us both was the first thing, and most amiable and engaging in our eyes. Now I am to leave thee, and that without knowing whether I shall ever see thee more in this world, take my counsel into thy bosom, and let it dwell with thee in my stead while thou livest. " First: let a fear of the Lord, and a zeal and love to his glory, dwell richly in thy heart; and thou wilt watch for good over thyself and thy dear children and family, that no rude, light, or bad thing be committed, else God will be offended, and he will repent himself of the good he intends thee and thine. *' Secondly : be diligent in meetings for wor- ship and business; stir up thyself and others herein; — it is thy duty and place : and let meetings be kept once a day of the family to wait upon the Lord, who has given much time for ourselves: and, my dearest, to make thy family-matters easy to thee, divide thy time, and be regular : it is easy and sweet : thy re- tirement will afford thee to do it ; as in the morning to view the business of the house, and fix it as thou desirest, seeing all be in order ; and that by thy counsel all may move, and to thee render an account every evening. The WILLIAM PENN. 141 time for work, for walking, for meals, may be certain, at least as near as may be: and grieve not thyself with careless servants; they will disorder thee ; rather pay them and let them go, if they will not be better by admonition: this is best to avoid words, which I know wound the soul, and offend the Lord. "Thirdly: cast up thy income, and see what it amounts to, daily; by which thou mayest be sure to have it in thy sight and power to keep within compass: and I beseech thee to live low and sparingly till my debts are paid; and then enlarge as thou seest it convenient. Remem- ber thy mother's example, when thy father's pubiic-spiritedness had worsted his estate (which is my case). I know thou lovest plain things, and art averse to the pomps and vani- ties of the world; — a nobility natural to thee. I write not as doubtful, but to quicken thee, for my sake, to be more vigilant herein; know- ing that God will bless thy care, and thy poor children and thee for it. My mind is wrapt up in a saying of thy father's, 'I desire not riches, but to owe nothing-,' and truly that is wealth, and more than enough to live is a snare attend- ed with many sorrows. I need not bid thee be humble, for thou art so; nor meek and patient, for it is much of thy natural disposition: but 1 pray the be oft in retirement with the Lord, keep dominion over thyself, and let thy chil- 142 THE LIFE OF dren, good meetings, and friends, be the plea- sure of thy life. " Fourthly : and now, my dearest, let me recommend to thy care my dear children, abundantly beloved of me, as the Lord's bless- ing, and the sweet pledges of our mutual and endeared affection. Above all things, endea- vour to breed them up in the love of virtue, and that holy plain way of it which we have lived in, that the world in no part of it get into my family. I had rather they were home- ly than finely bred, as to outward behaviour ; yet 1 love sweetness mixed with gravity, and cheerfulness tempered with sobriety. Reli- gion in the heart leads into this true civility, teaching men and women to be mild and cour- teous in their behaviour — an accomplishment worthy indeed of praise. "Fifthly: next breed them up in a love one of another : tell them it is the charge I leave behind me. For their learning be libe- ral. Spare no cost: for by such parsimony all is lost that is saved; but let it be useful know- ledge, not cherishing a vain or idle mind. — Rather keep an ingenious person in the house to teach them, than send them to schools, too many evil impressions being commonly receiv- ed there. Be sure to observe their genius, and do not cross it as to learning: but let their change be agreeable, and all their diversions WILLIAM FESN. 145 have some bodily labour in them. I choose not they should be married to earthly cove- tous kindred. I need not wealth, but sufficien- cy: a country life and estate I like best for my children. I prefer a decent mansion, with an hundred pounds per annum, before ten thou- sand pounds in London, or such like place, in a way of trade. In fine, endeavour to breed them dutiful to the Lord, and his fear will grow up with them. Teach a child (says the wise man) the way thou wilt have him to walk, and when he is old he will not forget it. Next, in obedience to thee, and that for con- science sake; liberal to the poor, pitiful to the miserable, and kind and humble to all. '^And now, my dear children, hear and fol- low my counsel, that you may be blessed here and happy hereafter. *'In the first place, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. To do this in the youthful days seek after the Lord, that you may find him; that you may be kept from the evil of the world; for, in age it will be harder to overcome the temptations of it. Eschew the appearance of evil, and love and cleave to that in your hearts which shews you evil from good; for it isjhcji light of Christ that he has given you for your salvation. You are now beginning to live. What would some give for your time? Oh ! I could have lived better were 144 THE LIFE OF I, as you, in the flower of youth. Therefore love and fear the Lord, keep close to meet- ings, and delight to wait on the Lord God of your father and mother, among his despised people, as we have done ; and count it your honour to be members of that society, and heirs of that living fellowship which is enjoy- ed among them; for the experience of which your father's soul blesseth the Lord for ever. " Next : be obedient to your dear mother, a woman whose virtue and good name is an honour to you : for she hath been exceeded by none in her time for her plainness, integri- try, industry, humanity, virtue and good un- derstanding; — qualities not usual among wo- men of her worldly condition and quahty. — Therefore honour and obey her, my dear children, as your mother, and your father's love and delight ; nay, love her too, for she loved your father with a deep and upright love, choosing him before all her many suitors. And though she be of a delicate constitution and noble spirit, yet she descended to the utmost tenderness and care for you, performing the painfullest acts of service to you in your infan- cy, as a mother and a nurse. "Be sure to live within compass; borrow not, neither be beholden to any. Ruin not yourselves by kindness to others ; for that ex- ceeds the due bounds of friendship, neither WILLIAM PENN. 145 will a true friend expect it. Small matters I heed not. *^ Know well your in-comings, that your out-goings may be better regulated. Love not money nor the world : use them only and they will serve you; but if you love them you serve them, and will debase your spirit as well as offend the Lord. Pity the distressed, and hold out a hand to help them : it may be your case; and the Lord will mete to you again as you mete to others. "Be humble and gentle in your conversation; of few words I charge you : but always per- tinent when you speak, hearing out before you attempt to answer, and then speaking as if you would persuade, not impose. Affront none, neither revenge affronts ; but forgive, and you shall be forgiven of your Heavenly Father. In making friends consider well first, and when you are fixed be true, not wavering by reports, nor deserting in afflic- tion, for that becomes not the good and vir- tuous. Avoid flatterers, for they are thieves in disguise ; they are the worst of creatures ; they lie to flatter, and they flatter to cheat; but the virtuous, though poor, love, cherish, and prefer. " Make your conversation with the most eminent for wisdom and piety ; and shun all wicked men as you hope for the blessing of 13 146 THE LIFE OF God, and the comfort of your father's living and dying prayers. Be sure you speak no evil of any one, no, not of the meanest ; much less of your superiors, as magistrates, guar- dians, tutors, teachers, and elders in Christ. Let the fear and service of the living God be encouraged in your houses ; and that plain- ness, sobriety, and moderation in all things as becometh God's chosen people. ^'As for you who are likely to be concern- ed in the government of Pennsylvania, I do charge you before the Lord God, and his holy angels, to be lowly, diligent- and tender, fear- ing God, loving the people, and hating cov- etousness. Let justice have its impartial course, and the law free passage. Though to your loss, protect no man against it ; for you are not above the law, but the law above you. Live therefore the lives you would have the people live, and then you have right to punish the transgressor. Keep upon the square, for God sees you : therefore do your duty, and be sure you see with your own eyes, and hear with your own ears. Entertain no lurchers, cherish no informers, use no tricks, fly to no devices to support or cover injustice ; but let your hearts be upright before the Lord, trust- ing in him above the contrivances of men, and none shall be able to hurt or supplant you. WILLIAM PENX. 147 "If you thus behave yourselves, and so be- come a terror to evil doers and a praise to them that do well, God, my God, will be with you in wisdom and a sound mind, and make you blessed instruments in his hand for the settlementsof some of those desolate parts of the world, which my soul desires above all worldly honours and riches, both for you that go and you that stay; you that govern, and you that are governed ; that in the end you may be gathered with me to the rest of God. " So, my God, that hath blessed me with his abundant mercies, both of this and the other and better life, be with you all, guide you by his counsel, bless you and bring you to his eternal glory ! that you may shine, my dear children, in the firmament of God's pow- er with the blessed spirits of the just, that celestial family, praising and admiring him, the God and Father of it, for ever! For there is no god Hke unto him; the God of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of the prophets, the Apos- tles, and Martyrs of Jesus, in whom I live for ever. "So, farewell to my thrice beloved wife and children! Yours, as God pleaseth in that which no waters can quench, no time forget, nor dis- tance wear away, but remains for ever. "Wm. Penn." 148 THE LIFE OF When he was about to sail from England to Pennsylvania, Penn went to take his leave of the king, and the following conversation oc- curred: — "Well, friend William," said Charles, **I have sold you a noble province in North America ; but still I suppose you have no thoughts of going thither yourself?" — " Yes, 1 have," replied William, '-and I am just come to bid thee farewell." — "What! venture your- self among the savages of North America! Why man, what security have you that you wdll not be in their w'ar-kettle in two hours after set- ting foot on their shore?" — "The best security in the world," replied Penn. — "I doubt that, friend William; I have no idea of any security against those cannibals but in a regiment of good soldiers, with their muskets and bayonets. And mind, I tell you beforehand, that with all my good will for you and your family, to \vhom I am under obligations, I will not send a soldier with you." — " I want none of thy soldiers," answered William. "I depend upon something better than thy soldiers.'*— The king wished to know what that was. — "Why I de- pend on themselves — on their own moral sense — even on that grace of God which bringeth salvation, and which hath appeared unto all men." — " I fear, friend William, that that grace has never appeared to the Indians of North America." — "Why not to them as well WILLIAM PEN IV. 149 as to all others'?" — *^ If it had appeared to them," said the king, "they would hardly have treated my subjects so barbarously as they have done." — ^' That is no proof to the con- trary, friend Charles. Thy subjects were the aggressors. When thy subjects first went to North America, they found these poor people the fondest and kindest creatures in the world. Every day they would watch for them to come ashore, and hasten to meet them, and feast them on their best fish and venison and corn, which was all they had. In return for this hospitality of the savages, as we call them, thy subjects, termed Christians, seized on their country and rich hunting-grounds for farms for themselves! Now is it to be wondered at that these much injured people should have been driven to desperation by such injustice ; and that, burning with revenge, they should have committed some excesses?' — ^' Well then, 1 hope, friend William, you will not complain when they come to treat you in the same man- ner." — «' I am not afraid of it," said Penn. — *'Aye! how will you avoid it. You mean to get their hunting-grounds too, I suppose'?'^ — •' Yes, but not by driving these poor people away from them."— "No, indeed! How then will you get their lands?" — «' 1 mean to buy their lands of them!" — "Why man, you have already bought them of me."---''Yes, I know 13* 150 THE LIFE OF I have, and at a dear rate too; but I did it on- ly to get thy good will, not that thou hadst any right to their lands." — '^ What, man, no right to their lands?" — ^' No, friend Charles, no right at all. What right hast thou to their lands'?" — " Why the right of discovery ; the right which the Pope and Christian Kings have agreed to give one another." — "The right of discovery! a strange kind of right indeed. — Now suppose, friend Charles, some canoe-loads of these Indians, crossing the sea, and discover- ing thy island of Great Britain, were to claim it as their own, and set it up for sale over thy head, what wouldst thou think of it?" — "Why, why, why," replied Charles, "I must confess I should think it a piece of great impudence in them." — " Well, then, hovv canst thou, a Christian, a Christian Prince, too, do that which thou so utterly condemnest in these people whom thou callest savages? Fes, friend Charles, and suppose that these Indians, on thy refusal to give up thy island of Great Britain, were to make war on thee, and hav- ing weapons more destructive than thine, were to destroy many of thy subjects and to drive the rest away; wouldst thou not think it hor- ribly cruel?" — The king assenting to this with strong marks of conviction, William proceed- ed — "Well, then, friend Charles, how can I, who call myself a Christian, do what I abhor WILLIAM PENN. 151 even in heathens? No, I will not do it. But I will buy the right of the proper owners,even of the Indians themselves. By doing this 1 shall imitate God himself in justice and mer- cy, and thereby insure his blessing on my colony, if I should ever live to plant one in North America." 152 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XIV. Penn sails from Deal — Lands at Newcastle — Is joyfully re- ceived — Takes legal possession of the country — Addresses the magistrates — Renews their commissions — Proceeds to Upland — First General Assembly — The Assembly passes the Act of Union and the Act of Settlement — Character of its other Acts Penn's interview with Lord Balti- more — Penn's Treaty with the Indians — He lays out the plan of Philadelphia Arrival of two thousand set- tlers — Penn's arrangements for the international go- vernment of the colony — He meets the Council and the Assembly — Charter amended — Penn journeys through the province — Appoints a provincial council — Thomas Loyd president — Penn sails for England, after declining an impost intended for his own benefit — Arrives in Eng- land and has an interview with the King and the Duke of York. Having taking an afTectionaie leave of his wife and children, he preceeded to Deal, ac- companied by several friends, and embarked on board the ship Welcome, for the New World. About six weeks after leaving the Downs, he came in sight of the American coast, and, proceeding up the Delaware ri- ver, landed at Newcastle. He was received by the Dutch, Swedes, and English, with equal demonstrations of joy and respect. The day after his arrival he called together the people. Having taken legal possession of the country, according to due form, in their pre- WILLIAM PEiYS". 153 sence,he made a speech to the old magistrates, in which he explained to them the design of his coming, the nature and end of government, and of that particularly which he came to estabHsh. He then assured all present that they should have the full enjoyment of their rights, both civil and religious ; and recom- mended them to live in sobriety, and in peace and amity with each other. After this he renewed the magistrates' commissions. tie next visited New York, and having re- turned to Newcastle, proceeded to Upland to call th.e first General Assembly. This was a memorable event, and to distinguish it by some marked circumstance, he determined to change the name of the place, and denomina- ted it Chester, '^ in remembrance of the City from whence his friend and companion, Pear- son, came." At length the Assembly met. It consisted of an equal number for the Pro- vince and for the Territories, according to the sixteenth article of the Frame of Govern- ment. At this Assembly an Act of Union was passed, annexing the Territories to the Pro- vince, and likewise an Act of Settlement in reference to the Frame of Government. All the laws agreed upon in England were, with some alterations, and with the addition of nine- teen others, passed in due form. Among these laws the following are remarkable. All per- 154 THE LIFE OF sons who confessed the one almighty and eter- tal God to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the world, and who held themselves ob- liged in conscience to live peaceably and just- ly in society, were in no ways to be molested for their religious persuasion and practice, nor to be compelled at any time to frequent any religious place of ministry whatever. All those, however, in the service of Government, and all members elected to serve in the Pro- visional Council, and General Assembly, and all electors, were to be such as professed faith in Jesus Christ. All pleadings, processes, and records in courts of law were to be as short as possible. All fees of law were to be moderate, and to be hung: up on tables in the courts. All persons wrongfully imprisoned or prose- cuted were to have double damages against the informer or prosecutor. With respect to the criminal part of these laws, one new prin- ciple was introduced by William Penn, who was of opinion, that though the deterring of others from committing offences must continue to be the great principle to be acted upon, and indeed only end of punishment, yet, in a community professing itself Christian, the re- formation of the offender was to be insepara- bly connected with it. Hence he made but two capital offences; namely, murder, and treason against the state : and hence also all WILLIAM PENN. 155 prisons were to be considered as workshops, where the offenders might be industriously, soberly, and morally employed. The Assembly having sat three days, broke up; but, before they adjourned, they returned their most grateful thanks to the Governor. No sooner was the Assembly adjourned, than Penn hastened to Maryland to vindicate that part of its proceedings which was neces- sarily offensive to Lord Baltimore, and, if possible, effect with this nobleman an amicable adjustment of their respective boundaries. Lord Baltimore being proprietor of Maryland, conceived himself to have a just claim to that portion of Penn's grant, called the Territories or Lower Counties, on Delaware, now consti- tuting the State cf Delaware. He relied on the priority and apparent distinctness of his own title; while Penn defended a later grant on a plea that had been furnished to him by the Committee of Plantations in England — that it had never been intended to confer on Lord Baltimore any other territory but such as was inhabited by savages only, at the date of his charter; and that the language of his charter was therefore inconsistent with its intention, in so far as it served to authorize his claim to any part of the territory previous- ly colonized by the Swedes or Dutch. At the interview which took place between 156 THE LIFE OF the two proprietors, each of them tenaciously- adhered to what, with more or less reason, he considered his own; and neither could sug^gest any mode ofadjustment save a total relinquish- ment of the other's pretensions. To avoid the Peiin's interview with Lord Baltimore. necessity of recurring again to this unpleas- ant controversy, we shall here overlook inter- vening events to relate, that it was protracted for some years without the slightest approach to mutual accommodation; that King Charles, to whom both parties had complained, vainly endeavoured to prevail with the one or the other to yield ; and that James the Second, WILLIAM PENN. 157 soon after his accession to the throne, caused an act of council to be issued for terminating the dispute by dividing the subject matter of it equally between them. By this arrange- ment, Penn obtained the whole of the Swedish and Dutch settlements, and in effect, preserv- ed all that he or the Duke of York had ever been in possession of. These districts, annex- ed, as we have seen, to his original acquisition, received the name oithe Three Lower Coun- ties^ or the Territories^ in contradistinction to the remainder of the union, which was termed the Three Upper Counties or Pro- vince of Pennsylvania. The time now arrived when William Penn was to confirm his great Treaty with the In- dians. His religious principles, which led him to the practice of the most scrupulous morali- ty, did not permit him to look upon the King's patent, or legal possession according to the laws of England, as sufhcient to establish his right to the country, without purchasing it by fair and open bargain of the natives, to whom only it properly belonged : and this was the time when, by mutual agreement between him and the Indian Chiefs,a treaty of eternal friend- ship and bargain of sale was to be publicly ratified between them. He proceeded there- fore, accompanied by his friends, consisting of men, women, and children, to Coaquannock, 14 158 THE LIFE OF the place where Philadelphia now stands. On his arrival he found the Sachems and their tribes assembling. They were seen in the woods as far as the eye could reach, and look- ed terrible both on account of their numbers and their arms. The Quakers were but a handful in comparison, and without any wea- pons, so that terror and dismay must have come upon them, had they not confided in the right- eousness of their cause. Near the place of meeting there was an elm-tree of prodigious size, to which the lead- ers on both sides repaired, approaching each other under its umbrageous shade. William Penn was attired in his usual apparel, and distinguished only by wearing a sky blue sash round his waist. On his right-hand was Colo- nel Markham, and on his left his friend Pear- son, after whom followed a train of Quakers, Before him were carried various articles of merchandize, which, when he approached the Indians, were spread upon the ground. He held a roll of parchment, containing the con- firmation of the treaty of purchase and amity, in his hand. One of the Sachems, who was the chief of them, then put upon his own head a chaplet, in which appeared a small horn, the emblem of kingly power, and signifying that the place was made sacred, and the per- sons of all present inviolable; on which the WILLIAM PENN. 159 Indians threw down their arms, and seated themselves on the ground around their chiefs. The principal Sachem then announced to William Penn, by means of an interpreter, that they were ready to hear him. Having been thus called upon, he said that they were then met upon the broad pathway of good faith and good will, so that no advan- tage was to be taken on either side, but all was to be openness, brotherhood, and love. — That the Great Spirit, who made him and them, and who ruled the Heaven and the Earth, knew that he and his friends had a hearty desire to live in peace and friendship with them, and to serve them to the utmost of their power. Their object was not to do injury, but to do good ; for which reason, and as it was not their custom to use hostile wea- pons against their fellow-creatures, they had come unarmed. He then unrolled the parch- ment, and explained to them, by means of the interpreter, the conditions of the purchase, and the words of the compact then made for their eternal union ; paid them for the land, and made them many presents from the merchan- dize which had been spread before them. After which, he laid the roll of parchment on the ground, observing that the ground should be common between them, and taking it up again,presented it to the chief Sachem,desiring 160 THE LIFE OF him and the other Sachems to preserve it for three generations, that their children might know what had passed between them. The Indians then hound themselves solemnly, ac- cording to the custom of their country, to live in love with William Penn and his children, as long as the sun and moon should endure. Win. Penn's Treaty with the Indians, Thus ended this famous Treaty, allowed, by the concurrent testimony of historians, to be the most glorious of any in the annals of the world; and which was the only one between the savages of America and the Christians that was not ratified by an oath, and that was WILLIAM PENN". 161 never broken. Penn has taught us to respect the lives and properties of the most unenlight- ened nations. His conduct to the poor In- dians was so engaging, his justice so conspi- cuous, and the counsel and advice which he gave them were so evidently for their advan- tage, and made such deep impressions on their understandings, that he became thereby so much endeared to them, that his name and memory will never be effaced from their re- collections while they continue a people. — Here it is the mind rests with pleasure upon modern history, and feels some kind of com- pensation for the disgust, melancholy, and horror, which the whole of it, but particularly that of the European settlements in America, inspires. After the treaty William Penn returned to Chester, and having now purchased fairly the land of the natives, he ordered a regular sur- vey of it; during which he pitched upon Coa- quannoc as the most noble and commodious site for his new city. It was situated between the rivers Schuyl- kill and Delaware, and bounded by them on both sides, and on a third by their confluence. The junction of two such rivers, both of them navigable, the great width and depth of the latter, so admirably adapted for commerce, the existence of a stratum of brick-earth on 14* 162 THE LIFE OF Wm. Penn laying out the plan of Philadelphia. the spot, and immense quarries of building stone in the neighbourhood, determined him in the choice of it; and he gave his new city a name which he had long intended for it, viz. Philadelphia, [in token of that principle of brotherly love, upon which he had come to these parts : which he had evinced to Dutch, Swedes, Indians, and others, alike, and which he wished might for ever characterize his new dominions.] Soon after this, a number of vessels arrived in the Delaware from England, bringing up- wards of two thousand passengers, mostly Qua- WILLIAM PExVX. 163 kers; that here, as on an Elysian shore, 'Hhey might lead a quiet and peaceable life, free from the wickedness and profligacy of the Eu- ropean world, and that they might worship their Creator according to the dictates of their conscience." William Penn may be said to have raised a colony at once in his new do- mains, having now a population of six thousand in the Province and Territories. He divided the land into counties, appointed sheriffs to each, and issued writs for the election of mem- bers both to sit in the Council and General Assembly, in conformity with the constitu- tion, as early as possible in the spring. Ac- cordingly, on the 10th of March, 1684, he met his Council, and the Assembly on the 12th. This latter body chose for its speak- er Thomas Wynne, and then proceeded to business. During three weeks which they sat, much business was gone through, several bills were framed and passed, and outlines agreed upon for the amendment of the old Charter; after which the members returned to their habitations. William Penn having despatched the pub- lic business of the colony, and having super- intended the works of his new city, went on a journey of discovery into the Province, as he wished to become better acquainted with the inhabitants of the soil; to know something 164^ THE LIFE OF more distinctly of their language, manners, genius, and character; and of the minerals, woods, and other produce of the country. This he effected to his entire satisfaction, and re- turned to Philadelphia to enjoy the proud con- templation of his rapidly increasing city. But he was not permitted long to do so, for accounts having reached his ear, across the Atlantic, of the persecution which his friends in England continued to suffer, gave him such great un- easiness, and so worked upon his benevolent feelings, as to produce in him the resolution of returning to the Mother Country; as he in- dulged the hope that he might become an in- strument, by using his personal influence with the King, of relieving in some degree, if not putting a stop to, the sufferings of his oppressed brethren. Having determined, therefore, to leave America for a while, he signed a com- mission, empowering the Provisional Council to act in the government in his stead, and ap- pointed Thomas Loyd, a Welchman, the pre- sident. Soon after this he sailed, — to the re- gret of the whole colony, who found in him a kind friend and impartial Governor ; and to the regret of the Indians, who had been over- come by his love, care and concern for them. And here it will be proper to mention a cir- cumstance, which places his generosity and disinterestedness in the noblest and most ex- WILLIAM PENX. 165 ailed point of view ; for, when the first Assem- bly offered him an impost on a variety of goods both imported and exported, which in a course of years would have become a large revenue in itself, he nobly refused it: thus evincing that his object in coming among the colonists was not that of his own aggrandizement, but for the promotion of a public good. After a passage of seven weeks he landed in England, and found *'his dear wife and poor children well, to the overcoming of his heart because of the mercies of the Lord to them." It also appears by the same letter that he had already been at Court. " He had seen the King, and the Duke of York, who had been very kind to him, and he hoped the Lord would make way for him in their hearts to serve his suffering people." 166 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XV. Death of Charles II — Accession of James II — Friendship subsisting between Penn and James II — Passage from Gerard Croesse — Penn's successful intercession for John Locke — Penn is suspected of being a Papist — His letter to Doctor Tillotson — Tillotson's apology — Penn's success- ful appeal in behalf of the Dissenters — Unsatisfactory ac- counts from the Province — Penn appoints a new Coun- cil — Accession of William Prince of Orange to the throne of England — Unpleasant situation of Penn — He is exam- ined before the Lords of the Council — Is discharged — Act of Toleration passed — Penn is again arrested and brought before the Lords of the Council — His examination — He is again discharged — Proposes to embark for America — Is again arrested — Takes private lodgings in London — Is deprived ot his government of Pennsylvania — His noble conduct under this reverse — His government restored — Death of William Penn's wife — Penn's second marriage — Death of his son Springett Penn — Visit to Ireland — Second Voyage to America — Arrival — Treaty with the Indians — Penn recalled to England by the state of affairs — He grants his last charter to the Province — Returns to Eng- land — Death of WiUiam III — Accession of Queen Anne — His favour at court — Literary pursuits — Penn's law- suit with Ford — He is a prisoner in the Fleet— He mort- gages the Province of Pennsylvania — He is released and restored to his family — His health fails — He offers to sell his province to the British government. William Penn had not been long in Eng- land before the King died of an apoplexy, and was succeeded by his brother, who then be- WILLIAM PENJf. 167 came James the Second. It may be recol- lected that the latter, when Duke of York had evinced towards William Penn, on more occasions than one, especial marks of his royal favour, in consequence of his father, Admiral Penn, having: recommended his son, when on his death-bed, to the care and protection of his Royal Highness. From this period an ac- quaintance had grown up between them, and during the intimacy which followed, however William Penn might have disapproved, as he did, of the religious opinions of the Duke, he was attached to him from a belief that he was a friend to liberty of conscience. Entertaining this opinion concerning him, he conceived it to be his duty, now that he had become King, to renew his intimacy with him, and this in a stronger manner than ever, that he might foy- ward the great object for which he had cross- ed the Atlantic; namely, the relief of those un- happy persons who were suffering on account of their religion. The following passage from Gerard Croesse enables us to judge of the es- timation which William Penn was held in by James, and that he used his influence with the King solely in doing good. ^'William Penn was in great favour at Court, and hence his house and gates were daily thronged by a numerous train of clients and suppliants desiring him to present their ad- 168 THE LIFE OF dresses to His Majesty. There was sometimes Hvo hundred and more there. The King loved him as a sincere and entire friend, and imparted to him many of his secrets and coun- sels He often honoured him with his compa- ny in private, and that not for one but many hours together, delaying to hear the best of his Peers who at the same time were waiting for an audience." Among the first apphcations which he made to James, was one the remembrance of which will always do honour to his memory. It was in behalf of the venerable John Locke, who had followed his patron, the Earl of Shafts- bury into Holland, when he fled there to avoid the father persecutions of his own Court. His application was successful; at least the King permitted Penn to inform Locke that he should be pardoned. But though this reception, and the use he made of his interest at Court, ena- bled him to serve many, yet they were atten- ded with great disadvantages to himself; for the whole nation was at this time in a fer- ment. The people, considering James the Second as a professed Papist, were filled with the most alarming apprehensions; and know- ing that William Penn was so frequently with him, that his doors were daily crowded with strangers, of whose errands they were ignorant, they began to suspect that he was of the same WILLIAM PENN. 169 religious persuasion as the King. Hence he was now openly talked of as a professed Papist also; and the term Jesuit was revived with ten-fold energy, so that he could not go out of doors without meeting with abuse. Among those who entertained this opinion of him was that excellent man Dr. Tillotson, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. William Penn, upon hearing this, was much hurt, and the more so, because he had a personal regard for the Doctor, and because he knew the high estimation in which he was held by the nation. He wrote to him, therefore, the following let- ter: — " Being often told that Dr. Tillotson should suspect me, and so report me, a Papist, I think a Jesuit, and being closely pressed, I take the liberty to ask thee if any such reflection fell from thee. If it did, I am sorry onel esteem- ed ever the first of his robe should so unde- servedly stain me, for so I call it; and if the story be false, 1 am sorry they should abuse Dr. Tillotson as well as myself without a cause. Now, though I am not obliged to this defence, and that it can be no temporizing now to make it; yet that Dr. Tillotson may see how much I value his good opinion, and dare own the truth and myself at all times, let him be confident 1 am no Roman Catholic, but a Christian,whose 15 170 THE LIFE OF creed is the Scripture, of the truth of which I hold a nobler evidence than the best church authority in the world. 1 add no more, but that 1 abhor two principles in religion, and pity those that own them : — The first is obe- dience upon authority without conviction^ and the other the destroying them that differ from me for God^s sake. Thy Christian true friend, "Wm. Fenn. ' This letter produced from Dr. Tillotson an open, candid, and polite reply, acknowledging that he had been led into the mistake by the misrepresentations of wicked and designing people, and apologizing for the injurious sus- picion. (A. D. 1686.) He now ushered into the world a work call- ed, "A Persuasive to Moderation to Dissent- ing Christians, in Prudence and Conscience, humbly submitted to the King and his great Council," which, v^^hen it came out, was said to have had a considerable effect upon both ; for very soon after its appearance in public, a proclamation was issued by James for a gene- ral pardon to all those who were then in pri- son on account of their consciences. Instruc- tions were accordingly given to liberate all persons of this description ; and the result was, that, of Quakers onlv, not less than ixvelve WILLIAM PENxV. 471 hundred persons were restored to their fami- lies and friends, many ot \:'hom had been in confinement for years. That this happy event mi^ht have sprung in part, or, as far as the Council had any hand in it, from the "Persua- sive to Moderation," as was then believed by many, is not improbable ; but certain it is, as far as the King was concerned, that it was to be ascribed in a great measure to the personal solicitations of William Penn. It has been usually supposed, that, when the King wished for toleration to his subjects, he had it princi- pally in view to ease his favourites the Ro- man Catholics, knowing that, if a general law were made to that effect, they would feel the benefits of it in common with others ; and that it was on their account solely that he was de- sirous of the measure. But Penn was not of this opinion, and it was his firm belief, that, though James the Second was himself a Papist, he was yet a friend to religious liberty. Having staid in England only for the pur- pose of seeing religious liberty established by a law of the land, and having witnessed the happy eifects resulting from this measure, it yet appears that VViUiam Penn had, about this time, (A. D. 1691) serious cause to be grieved on other accounts ; for, in a letter to the be- fore-mentioned Thomas Loyd, he complained that the Provisional Council had neglected 172 THE LIFE OF and slighted his letters; and that he had reli- giously consecrated his labour, but that it was neither valued nor understood by them. He also stated, that his quit-rents were then at least of the value of 500/. per annum, and then due, though he could not get a penny. " God is my witness, I am above six thousand pounds out of pocket, more than ever I saw by the Province ; and you may throw in my pains, cares, and hazard of life, and leaving of my family and friends to serve them." By another letter written to James Harrison, his agent in Pennsylvania, the above particulars are confirmed, and also that he began to be embarrassed for want of the remittances which the Council had promised him, and which was one of the causes which kept him from Penn- sylvania; adding, " there is nothing my soul breathes more for in this world, next my dear family's life, than that I may see my poor Pro- vince again — but I cannot force my way hence, and see nothing done on that side inviting." To remedy these and other matters, it appears that, after having taken into consideration the conduct of the Council, he resolved to allow them no longer to have the executive power in their hands, as he conceived that one rea- son of their tardiness and negligence might be their number ; great bodies moving with less celerity than smaller. He determined there- WILLIAM PENN, 173 fore to reduce the executive to five persons, and made out a fresh commission accordingly. About this time, too, the nation being in a ferment on account of the arbitrary pro- ceeding of James, the Prince of Orange land- ed at Torbay, and, as is well known, was re- ceived with open arms by the country at large, and in process of time advanced to the sove- reignty of the realm, (A. D. 1688.) The state of mind which William Penn must have now experienced may be imagined. He lost by the flight of James, one, who with all his political failings had been his firm friend. He lost, too, what most deeply afilicted him, the great patron on whom he relied for the support of that plan of religious toleration for which he had abandoned his infant settlement, at a time when his presence was of great im- portance to its well-being. Neither had he any prospect that all he had laboured for or brought about, would not, on account of the prejudices of the times, be utterly undone. — Fallen too from power, and from the protec- tion which power gave him, he was left ex- posed to the popular indignation as a Papist and Jesuit, and as one who had aimed to es- tablish arbitrary power and popery in the kingdom. To return to America, though she presented to him a peaceful asylum, he dared not ; for that would have led persons to con- 15* 174 THE LIFE OF elude that he had been guilty of what had been laid to his charge. To stay in England was dangerous. Conscious, however, of his own innocence, he resolved to remain where he was, and to go at large as before, following those occupations by which he thought he could best promote the good of his fellow crea- tures. But it was not long before he felt the effect of the political change which had taken place; for, walking in Whitehall, he was sent for by the Lords of the Council, who were then sit- ting. Here he underwent an examination. In reply to some questions which were put to him, he protested that '* he had done nothing but what he would answer before God and all the princes in the world; and that he loved his country and the Protestant religion above his life, and had never acted against either; that all he had ever aimed at in his public endea- vours was no other than what the Prince him- self had declared for; that King James had always been his friend, and his father's friend; and that in gratitude he himself was the King's, and did ever, as much as in him lay, influence him to his true interests." In consequence of this open and manly declaration, and that nothing appeared against him, he was dis- charged. The following year, however, he had the WILLIAM PENiV. 175 satisfaction of seeing the great Act of Tolera- tion passed by King, Lords, and Commons. It is true, indeed, that this noble Act did not come up to the extent of his own wishes, and yet how vast the change ! All dissenters were now excused from certain penalties, if they would only take the oaths to government. There was a more particular exemption in the Act to the Quakers for the same purpose. — Here then was an end of those vexatious arrests, painful imprisonments, and deaths in bonds, which had afflicted and desolated the country for years. This must have been a most gratifying consideration to one to whose labours the Act itself was in part owing; for, in the course of his numerous publications, he had examined the question thoroughly, and diffused light concerning it. He had been the means of bringing over many of his country- men, and these in the legislature, to its sup- port. He had held up pictures of individual suffering, as it occurred in all its varied shapes, to public view. He had appealed to reason and humanity; and it had clearly appeared, that while the indulgence granted by James continued, the nation was in a state of unex- ampled quiet, and that its interest had been greatly promoted by an extraordinary diffu- sion of industry, prosperity, and happiness. This great Act having passed, William Penn 176 THE LIFE OF thought of returning to America, having had the pleasure to find that it had become so po- pular, except among some of the clergy, and that it was likely to maintain its ground. But, while occupied with the things necessary to be done preparatory to his voyage, he was again arrested by a body of military, and brought before the Lords of the Council. The charge then against him was, that be was holding a traitorous correspondence with the late king, who was then in France. Upon this he desired to appeal to King William in person. His request was granted; the King and Council being together. A letter was then produced, which had been written to him by James, and intercepted by Government, in which he *' desired him to come to his assist- ance, and to express to him the resentments of his favour and benevolence." The first question put to Penn was, why King James wrote to him? He answered that it was im- possible for him to prevent the king from writ- ing to him if his Majesty chose it." He was then questioned as to what resentments these were, which James seemed to desire of him. He answered, "he knew not; but he supposed the king meant that he should endeavour his restoration. Though, however, he could not avoid the suspicion of such an attempt, he could avoid the guilt of it. He confessed he had WILLIAM PENN. 177 loved King James in his prosperity, and he could not hate him in his adversity ; yes, he loved him yet for the many favours he had conferred on him, though he could not join with him in what concerned the state of the kingdom. He owned, again, that he had been much obliged to the king, and that he was willing to repay his kindness by any private service in his power; but that he must observe inviolably and entirely that duty to the state, which belonged to all the subjects of it ; and, therefore, that he had never the wickedness even to think of endeavouring to restore him that crown which had fallen from his head; so that nothing in that letter could in any wise fix guilt upon him." This defence, which was at once bold and explicit, had its due weight with the king, who felt constrained to dismiss him ; and he was permitted accordingly to withdraw, and to go at large as before. The violence, however, of party animosity at that time made his noble and generous conduct be looked upon as a barefaced espousal of King James's cause, for whom most Protestants thought it a no less crime than high treason to profess a friendship. Being once more at liberty, his voyage be- gan again to occupy his attention, as he now considered that there was no security for his person in England. No sooner had he been le- 178 THE LIFE OF gaily and honourably acquitted of one charge, than he was arrested upon another. Under these circumstances he looked to his depar- ture for America with pleasure and delight. Having accomplished in a great degree the principal object for which he crossed the At- lantic, he longed now with the utmost anxiety for a quiet retreat in Pennsylvania. He used, accordingly, double diligence for that purpose. He was aheady far advanced in his prepara- tions for the voyage. The vessel had been taken up which was to convey him there. — Numbers of persons were ready to accompany him. The Secretary of State had also even gone so far as to appoint him a convoy, and it appeared now as if he had only to take leave of his numerous friends and to embark. But, alas! how short-lived and transitory are some- times our best hopes. In an instant all his happy dreams, all his expectations came to nothing : for, a wretch of the name of Fuller, one whom parliament had occasion afterwards to declare a cheat and impostor^ had come forward with an accusation against him upon oath, so that messengers had been sent to ap- prehend him at a funeral which he was at* tending the day before, but came too late. Thus his voyage was entirely stopped for the present. William Penn, after this new accusation, WILLIAM FBNN. 179 determined upon retirennent. To have gone to Pennsylvania merely with a view of ma- king his escape, would have been useless, for he would have been equally amenable there to the laws of England. But to have gone there, even if no laws could have reached him, would have been disojraceful. It would have been, while such an accusation hung over his head, to lose his reputation, and of course his influence and future usefulness in the Pro- vince. To have delivered himself up volunta- rily, on the other hand, into the power of the magistracy, would have been to sacrifice his health in a prison; and even then, after a fourth acquital, there would have been no security that some profligate wretch would not have accused him again, and this in the midst of expensive operations for another voyage. He judged it, therefore, best to retreat from the world for awhile. By this resolution he did not wantonly throw himself in the v^^ay of the go- vernment, nor did he endeavour to fly from it. If those in the administration chose to press another trial, they might easily discover and seize him, as his person was generally known. Accordingly he took private lodgings in Lon- eon, where he devoted himself to study and religious exercises, and where he was occasion- ally visited by some friends. He had been but a little more than six 180 H THE LIFE OF weeks in his retirement, when he received in- telligence from America, which, on the very first perusal, gave him the most serious miea- sinessj as he foresaw from it the unhappy con- sequence which soon afterwards resulted to himself. Those who were at the head of af- fairs in England were no strangers to the dis- orders which had taken place in his govern- ment during his absence ; and, as he himself had become obnoxious to them, they had ta- ken care to make already the most of them to the King. They affirmed that Pennsylvania was in a state of ruin, and that nothing could save it but taking away the government from William Penn. Not a moment, they said, was to be lost in resorting to this expedient ; and so rapidly was this notion disseminated, and industriously impressed upon the King and Queen, that by a commission granted to Co- lonel Fletcher, the governor of New York, to take upon himself the government of Pennsyl- vania, William Penn was, very soon after the news had arrived, deprived of all authority over the ^awe,— and this before he had time to explain himself on the subject, or to offer any reasons in bar of the appointment which had taken place. (A. D. 1692.) One may more readily conceive than de- scribe the feelings which must have sprung up in his mind, when the news of his cruel mea- WILLIAM PENN. * 181 sure was conveyed to him. All his hopes and prospects of giving to the world a pattern, as he had imagined, of a more perfect govern- ment and a more virtuous and happy people, were now over. His fortune might now be considered, not as having been prudently and benevolently expended in America, but as having been absolutely thrown away. Re- moved from the high station of a governor of a province, he was now a persecuted exile. Dashed down from the pinnacle, as it were, of eminence and of favour in his native country, he was now living between privacy and a gaol. Add to this, that his name had become a name of public reproach. He had fallen in the es- teem of a considerable number of those even of his own society, — in the esteem of those whom he "had loved abovd his chiefest joy." He had become, therefore, a sort of outcast of society. Had he been a mere earthly-mind- ed man, all had been wretchedness and de- spair. But, happily for him, he found resour- ces equal to the pressure which bore upon him. He still kept his reliance on the great rock which had hitherto supported him. He knew that human hfe was full of vicissitudes; but he beheved that they who submitted with pa- tience and resignation to the divine will, would not be ultimately forsaken ; and that to such even calamities worked together for their good. 16 182 THE LIFE OF Having lost his Government, one of the most important questions that occurred to him was, not how he could regain it, but what it became him to do that the Province might suffer as little as possible by the change. A new governor had already been appointed, who, knowing nothing of his plans, might in- troduce a system which would counteract, if not sap the foundation, of his own, and thus prevent all the good he had expected from the latter. It appears that, after having consi- dered the subject, he determined upon going to Pennsylvania, though it is evident he could only have gone there as a private person. He knew, however, that even in this capacity he could be useful. But alas ! he had become so embarrassed in his circumstances, that he knew not how to get over. " His expenses," he says, in a letter written at this time to cer- tain friends jointly in Pennsylvania, "had been great in King James's time, and his losses great in this King's time, the one being at least seven thousand, and the other four thou- sand, pounds ; besides four hundred and fifty pounds a-year totally wasted in Ireland. He suggested, therefore, to his friends to find out a hundred persons in the province who would each of them lend him one hundred pounds, free of interest, for four years. He would give them his bond for the loan. The money, WILLIAM PENN. 183 then, would be ten times more to him than the same sum at any other time, and he would never forget the kindness of those who should lend it. In this case he would bring his wife and family over with him. " He determined to continue in retirement, at least until he should receive an answer to the foregoing letter; and it is remarkable that he was never disturbed in it by constable, magistrate, or any other officer of justice. — But a few months had scarcely elapsed before two events occurred, which are as pleasing to relate as they were unexpected by him, and which overwhelmed him with joy. The first of these was, a release from his exile : the second, his restoration to the government of Pennsylvania. (A. D. 1693.) This happy change in his affairs took place in consequence of certain persons of rank and influence, who had admired his character and intimately known him, thinking it was time to interest themselves in his behalf. They considered it as a disgrace to the Government, that a man who had lived so exemplary a life, and who had been so distinguished for his talents, disin- terestedness, generosity, and pubhc spirit, should be buried in ignoble obscurity; as there w^as nothing they conceived, in his conduct, as far as it had been investigated, which could lead impartial persons to suppose that he was 184 THE LIFE OF in any degree guilty of the charges exhibited against him. In all parts of the kingdom wer? those whom he had benefitted by his private liberality. In America he had sacrificed a princely fortune for a public good. All his ac- tions, however mistaken he might be in the opinion of some, were so consistent with each other, as to afford a demonstration that they proceeded from fixed principles, and these of the purest kind. These considerations opera- ted particularly upon the Duke of Bucking- ham, and the Lord Somers, Rochester, and Sidney, who went in a body to the King, "and represented to his Majesty his case not only as hard but oppressive.'' "They themselves," they added, had long known William Penn, and they had never known him to do an ill action, but many good ones." King William answered, that "William Penn was his old ac- quaintance as well as theirs, and that he might now follow his business as freely as ever." — Upon this they pressed his Majesty to be gra- ciously pleased to restore him to his govern- ment of Pennsylvania. The King replied that he would take it into his consideration; and the result was that it was thought but just and reasonable to comply with their request. Accordingly, an instrument was made out, by the royal order, by which he was restored to his government; and the way in which this WILLIAM PENN. 185 instrument was worded was particularly cred- itable to William Penn, for it was declared therein, that the disorder and confusion in- to which the province had fallen ("which had been the pretence for dispossessing him) had been occasioned entirely by his absence from it. Having thus passed through four fiery or- deals, he had come out of them only to reas- cend to honour, and to attain to a more exalt- ed rank and character in society. Being now at liberty to follow his inclinations, his thoughts joyfully reverted towards Pennsylvania ; but the measure of his earthly affliction was not yet full. The health of his wife, which had long been in a declining state, began now ra- pidly to give way. It was but too apparent that the great trials, difficulties and afflictions under which her husband had laboured, must have affected her mind, and thus become the original cause of her complaint. To him, there- fore, it was a great gratification to think that, before her spirit fled to other mansions, she knew of his honourable restoration to society. To her his acquittal must have given indescri- bable pleasure. The news of it must have been as balm to the wounds of sickness. Suf- fice it to say, that in about a month after this event she died. (Dec. A. D. 1693.) It cannot be expected, from the very na- 16* 186 THE LIFE OF ture of society, that the wives of individuals should go down to posterity with an illustrious name, except they have distinguished them- selves in a puMic manner. Those females who fulfil their domestic duties, even in the most exemplary manner, are seldom recorded but in the breasts of their own families. Men are looked upon as the great movers in life ; and these find a place in biographical history, when their wives, who have perhaps exhibi- ted far more brilliant characters, have gone in silence to the grave : and yet a few words may be said in behalf of Gulielma Maria Penn, taken from '*An account of the blessed end of his dear Wife, Gulielma Maria Penn," writ- ten by her husband, and from which the follow- ing passages are selected. " Atone of the many meetings," says Wil- liam Penn, ''held in her chamber, we and our children and one of our servants being only present, in a tender and living power she broke out as she sat in her chair, 'Let us all prepare, not knowing what hour or watch the Lord Cometh. O, I am full of matter. Shall we receive good, and shall we not receive evil things at the hands of the Lord ? 1 have cast my care upon the Lord. My expectation is wholly from him.' About three hours before her end, a relation taking leave of her, she said, ' My dear love to all Friends;'' and, lift- WILLIAM PENN". 187 ing up her dying hands and eyes, prayed to the Lord to preserve and bless them." "Soon afterwards, causing all to withdraw, we were half an hour together, in which we took our last leave, saying all that was fit upon that solemn occasion. She continued sensible, and did eat something about an hour before her departure, at which time our chil- dren and most of my family were present. — She quietly expired in my arms, her head upon my bosom, wdth a sensible and devout re- signation of her soul to the Almighty God. I hope I may say she was a public as well as a private loss; for she was not only an excellent wife and mother, but an entire and constant friend, of a more than common capacity, and greater modesty and humility ; yet most equal and undaunted in danger ; religious, as well as ingenious, without aifectation ; an easy mis- tress, and kind neighbour, especially to the poor; neither lavish nor penurious; but an example of industry, as well as other virtues: therefore our great loss, though her own eter- nal gain." His new situation put a complete stop, at least for the present, to his intention of going to America. He had just lost his wife. His children were without a mother. He felt it, therefore, his duty to stay at home for a while, that he might comfort and instruct them; that 188 THE LIFE OF he might act the part of a double parent; and that he might make those arrangements which the late melancholy event had rendered ne- cessary in his domestic concerns. Wm. Penn was married a second time (July 5, 1695) at Bristol, to Hannah, daughter of Thomas Callowhill, and grand-daughter of Dennis Hollister, an eminent merchant of that city. "She was said to be a religious young woman of excellent qualities," says Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, " with whom he lived during the rest of his life ; and had issue by her, four sons and one daughter." In February 1696, Penn's eldest son by his former wife, named Springett, died at Worm- inghurst, in Sussex, of a consumption, in the twenty-first year of his age. He was a most hopeful and promising young man; and he died in the assured hope of a joyful resurrec- tion in Christ. After this, Penn paid a religious visit to his friends, the Quakers, in Ireland, accompanied by John Everett and Thomas Story ; who were likewise two eminent preachers in that society; and he wrote several new treatises in vindication of his religious principles, till the year 1699, when he began to make prepara- tions to revisit his province of Pennsylvania. In June 1699, his preparations being com- pleted, Penn, with his wife and family, took WILLIAM PENN-. 189 shipping for Pennsylvania; and on the third of Julv, he addressed a valedictory epistle to ail the people called Quakers, in Europe, dating it on board the ship, lying in Cowes road, near the Isle of Wight. On the 9th of the same month he sailed, and was nearly three months at sea, so that he did not reach Philadelphia till October, arriving just after the yellow fe- ver, which had been raging in the province, had ceased, after having caused a great mor- tahty in Philadelphia. During this visit to the province, Penn ne- gotiated a new treaty with the Indians, and made a very extensive purchase of lands from them ; he also had divers meetings with the different Assemblies of the province, transact- ing with them a great variety of public busi- ness with much harmony and satisfaction ; part of which was the passing of a body of laws together with his new and last charter of privileges, which was not finished till Oc- tober 1701. It was the declared intention of William Penn at this time, to spend the remainder of his life in his province; and he accordingly ap- plied himself with much diligence and assidui- ty to the offices of government and the esta- blishment of wholesome regulations and usages. But, during his absence from England, mea- sures were in agitation there for reducing both 190 THE LIFE OF his, and the other proprietary governments in America, into regal ones, under the pretence of advancing the prerogative of the crown, and the national advantage; and a bill, for that purpose was actually brought into the House of Lords. Upon which, such of the owners of land in Pennsylvania, as were then in England, immediately represented the hard- ship of their case to the Parliament, soliciting time for William Penn's return to answer for himself; and accordingly they despatched to him an account of the state of the affair, and pressed his return, as soon as possible ; with which request he found it indispensably ne- cessary to comply. On the occasion of taking leave of the Sa- chems of the Susquehanna and Shawanna In- dians, and others of that people who came to Philadelphia to pay their respects to him, he made every disposition in his power for their future w^elfare, and for preserving a good un- derstanding between them and the whites. On the 28th of October 1701, just before his ' departure, the Council, the Assembly of the province, and several of the principal inhabi- tants attending, Penn presented them with their last charter of privileges, to which we have already referred. He also favoured the town of Philadelphia, then become very con- siderable, and in a flourishing condition, with 9 WILLIAM PENN. 191 a particular memorial of his benevolence, by t granting the inhabitants a charter of privi- leges, for its particular regulation, good order, government and police. / He then, having appointed Andrew Hamil- ton his Deputy Governor, and James Logan Secretary of the province and Clerk of the ) Council, set sail for England, where he arrived about the middle of December. Soon after his arrival, the bill before men- tioned, for reducing the proprietary govern- ments, into regal ones, which through the so- licitations of his friends had been postponed, at the last session of Parliament, was entirely dropped, and no further progress made in that affair. Soon after this, (February 1702) King WiUiam HI. died and was succeeded by Queen Anne. William Penn, being in the Queen's favour, was often at court, and for his convenience on that account, he took lodgings at Kensing- ton, where, at his leisure hours, he wrote se- veral excellent treatises for the instruction of posterity. While employed in this manner, he became unhappily involved in a law-suit with the ex- ecutors of one Ford, who had formerly been his steward. He had considered the demands of these to be so unreasonable, as to feel himself bound to resist them out of justice to his fami 1 92 THE LIFE OF ly. His cause was at length determined; but, " though many thought him aggrieved, it was attended, it is said, by such circumstances, that the Court of Chancery did not think it proper to reheve him." It appears that Wil- liam Penn had behaved to Ford with great kindness and liberality, and that, not suspect- ing one whom he had both trusted and served, he had incautiously and without due inspec- tion put his hand to papers, as mere matters of course, which his steward had laid before him to sign. Hence the law could give him no relief. But whatever was the history of the transaction, the steward lost his reputation by it. James Logan, who was secretary to the government of Pennsylvania, and who had occasion to allude to the transaction in a manuscript found after his death, stigmatizes it as " the fraud and treachery of his stew- ard;" and in the same language it was gener- ally spoken of al that time. The issue of this affair must have been very distressing to him, not only because it was entirely unexpected, but because a man of his delicate feelings must have supposed that his character would suffer in consequence of it. But, besides, he was under the painful necessity of dwelling within the rules of the Fleet till such time as the pecuniary part of the matter could be Set- tled. For this purpose, he was obliged to sub- WILLIAM PENN. 193 mit to a still more painful act for the sake of justice, — to mortgage his province of Pennsyl- vania for 6,600/. (A D.1708.) One of the most remote causes of his em- barrassment, indeed the great and continually operating one, was the expenditure of money for the good of the Province, without those pe- cuniary returns to which he was entitled. But although this was the first and great cause ; yet that which added to it, and brought on the present distress, was the unexpected de- mand of the executors of his steward, Ford, and the issue of the suit in Chancery. Having raised the money, which was principally ad- vanced by friends of his own religious society, he thereby removed some of his difficulties ; and was restored to the bosom of his family, from whom he was doomed never again to be separated, except by death. For soon after this we first hear of the failure of his consti- tution. This intelligence respecting his bealth.though it bursts thus suddenly upon us, ought not to surprise us. It is not to be wondered at that symptoms of decline should have begun to shew themselves in his constitution, when we consider the distressing scenes he experienced throughout hfe. He had been afflicted by the continuation of bitter persecution. He had to contrast his own unsuspicious and generous 17 194 THE LIFE OF conduct with the treachery of his steward. — He had to lament the loss of his wife, who was his tried and constant friend, in adversity as well as prosperity. He had the mortification to witness the loss of his suit in Chancery, both as it embarrassed his pecuniary affairs, and as it might injure his reputation;, and to see himself a prisoner within the limits of the Fleet. And he had been under the necessity of mortgaging his Province. These were causes which could not but have affected him, broken his spirits, and rendered him incapable of business and society as he was wont to have been in the days of his health and vigour both of body and mind. Religion and philosophy have undoubtedly the power of blunting the edge of our afflictions, and of rendering them more bearable; but they cannot alter the law of our mortality, or secure us from that decay to which we are liable from our nature. WiUiam Penn now made up his mind to part with his Province to government, for which he asked the sum of 20,000/. His de- mand was referred to the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, and an agreement was accordingly made for 12,000/. ; but the bad and dangerous state of his health prevent- ed the execution of it. He was seized with three severals fits, said to be apoplectic, the latter of which being so severe that it was WILLIAM PENN. 195 with difficulty he survived it ; and which so shattered his understanding and memory, that he was left scarcely fit to manage the most trifling of his private concerns. 196 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XVI. Gradual decay of Penn's health — His Death--His Funeral— His will— Comparative value of his European and Ameri- can possessions — Penn's character. The account which we have of William Penn from this time, though authentic as far as it goes, is extremely scanty. It is stated in Besse's History of his Life, that one of his in- timate friends visited him once every year from the present period until his death; and it is from the memorandums he left behind him of these visits, that the account of his life is continued. We learn from them, that his de- cay was gradual; and that, although his frame had been so grievously shattered and impair- ed, his existence under it had been left comfor- table. He had sufficient sense and understand- ing spared him to exhibit the outward appear- ance of innocence and love, and the inward one of the enjoyment of the Deity himself, by an almost constant communion with his Holy Spirit. In the year 1718, the before-mentioned his- tory of his life continues the account thus: — " After a gradual and continued declension during many years, his body now drew near to its dissolution, and, on the thirtieth day of WILLIAM PENN. 197 the fifth month (July, 1718) between two and three in the morning, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, his soul, prepared for a more glorious habitation, forsook its decayed taber- nacle, which was committed to the earth at Jordans in Buckinghamshire, where his wife and several of his family had been interred. And as he had led in this life a course of pa- tient continuance in well-doing, and, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, had been ena- abled to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, the grand enemies of man's salva- tion, he is, we doubt not, admitted to that ever- lasting inheritance which God hath prepared for his people, and made partaker of the prom- ise of Christ." His funeral was attended by a great con- course of people from all parts, and by many of different denominations of religion, to pay to his memory this last tribute of respect. By his last will, made a few months before his first attack by apoplexy, he left his estates in England and Ireland to his eldest surviving son, William. The government of his Pro- vince of Pennsylvania, and powers thereunto belonging, he devised to his particular friends Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, Earl Mor- timer, and Earl Pawlet, upon trust, to dispose thereof to Government, or any other person, to the best advantage they could ; and to be 17* 198 THE LIFE OF applied in such manner as he should hereaf- ter direct. He then devised to his daughter Letitia, and to her heirs, all his lands, rents, and other profits in America, after payment of his just debts; and to convey to each of three children of his son William ten thousand acres of land, to be set out in such places as his trustees should think fit. The agreement which William Penn had made with Govern- ment, as before related, to part with the Pro- vince for 12,000/. had been decided, by the joint opinion of the crown lawyers to have been made void by his inability to execute the surrender in a proper manner ; in pursuance of which, not ojrily the Province itself, but al- so the governnfient of it descended to John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, the surviving sons of the younger branch of the family, thence- forward the proprietaries. It is proper to remark, that when William Penn made his last will, his Estates in Eng- land and Ireland, which produced upwards of fifteen hundred pounds annually, were esteem- ed of more value than all his property in America, especially as only part of the mort- gage thereon had been discharged: but a pro- gressive increase of trade and population, al- most unexampled, during a happy state of uninterrupted tranquillity, had improved the WILLIAM PENF. 199 value of the Pennsylvania property far be- yond what could have been imagined. Having followed WiUiam Penn Irom the cradle to the grave, it may be deduced from the preceding pages that he was a kind hus- band, a tender father, a noble patriot, and a good man. He seems to have been, if I may use the expression, daily conversant with the Divine Being, daily worshipping and praising him, either in his family or public devotions. All his publications, nay, almost every letter, breathe a spirit of piety and reliance upon God. And, although his life was a scene of trial and suffering, he must have had intervals of comfort and happiness the most solid and brilliant; one ray of the divine presence dissi- pating whole clouds of affliction around him. Few men of character, it may be truly said, ever experienced such a continued outcry against them,while living, as William Penn; and few men, after all the imputations against them had been allowed to wander free and uncon- trolled, ever triumphed more in the estimation of posterity. It is under the sublime character of a Chris- tian legislator that he ought principally to be viewed. He made the most perfect freedom, both civil and religious, the basis of his esta- blishment, and thus did more towards settling his province, and towards the settlement of it 200 THE LIFE OF WILLIAM PENN. in a strong and permanent manner, than the wisest regulations could have done upon any other plan. He exhibited to posterity a new mode of government; and while he gave to the representatives concerned in it all the power which they themselves could desire, he made the people, according to Burke, " as free as any in the world." He took away from both the means of corruption, and from himself and successors the means of tyranny and oppres- sion. In giving such an excellent example to mankind, he shewed them how happy it is possible for men to live in the world, if they please; for while he distinguished between the too general abuse of power and the exertion of a just authority, he laid a foundation for hap- py consequences, as manifested in the late glorious example and prosperity of the Pro- vince, to such a degree of both public and pri- vate felicity, as hath exceeded that of most other countries that we know of in the world. Such was the happy result of the govern- ment of William Penn. How awful, then, does the contemplation of it render the situa- tion of statesmen; if, having within themselves the power of disseminating so much happi- ness, they have failed or neglected to dis- pense it. QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION OF PUPILS. HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. CHAPTER I. — Page 1. — When and by whom was Ameri- ca discoveredT (2) For what European powerl What colonies has Spain in America now? When and by whom was the continent first discovered'? Ans. By the Cabots in 1497. There is an error in the date in the text. For whoml When and by whom was the earliest permanent set- tlement made in the United States'? The second! (3) What is said of Samuel Champlain'? Of Henry Hudson"? Of the Swedes'? (4) What is said of the settlement of the Dutch and Swedes'? By whom was America originally colonisedl — CHAPTER II.— Who first explored the Delaware bay and riverl (5) Where did.theDutch form a Colony "? When did the Swedes visit Cape Henlopen'? (6) What did they buUd! What is said of John Printz"? What other places were set- tled by the Swedes'? How were the Swedes regarded by the Dutch colonists'? (7) What is said of Stuyvesantl Of King Charles'? (8) What was New Amsterdam then called"? What is said of the country granted to Penn'? CHAPTER III. — What is said of Nichols' governmenf? (9) Of Lovelace's? Of Finne's rebelHon'? Of the Indians! (10) Relate the anecdote of Tashiowycan'' (12) What was done by the Marylander's during Lovelace's administration'? What is said of the Dutch"? Who was now made governor'? What happened during Andross's administration'? (13) What is said of New Jersey'? What was done by Lord Berkelyl By Andross"? By Byllinge'? By the trustees'? (14) Who was the first governor'? What is said of this cursory account? CHAPTER IV.— Of William Penn "? (15) Of Burlington and its inhabitants'? What happened in December 1678'? (16) W^hat happened when the shield was opposite Coaquan- nock"? What other places did the Friends settle'? What is said of these early settlements'? (17) Of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania? 202 QUESTIONS. LIFE OF PENN. CHAPTER I.— (19) Who was William Pennl What is said of his father, Admiral Venni (20) Where did Penn receive the rudiments of his educationl What is said to have happened to him here] (21) When did he go to col- lege 1 With whom did Penn become acquainted 1 What strengthened his religious impression? (22) What happen- ed in consequence of he and some of his companions seceding from the Church of England! Why was he expelled from college'? (23) What did his father determine to dol What anecdote is recorded of him] After leaving Paris where did he go] What is said of Moses Amyraultl (24) To what studies did he especially attend! What did he do on re- ceiving a letter from his father? Why did he enter as a stu- dent at Lincoln's Inn ? CHAPTER II.— (25) What did Penn resume? With whom did he associate? What did the Admiral do? (26) What did he resolve to do as a last re- source? What happened to Penn at Cork? (27) When was Penn apprehended? How was he released? What did the Admiral do on being informed that his son had become a Quaker? (28) What did his father inform him? Did Penn comply with this request? Give his reasons for not doing so? (29) What did he do when his father dismissed him from his house? When did he first appear as an author. CHAP- TER III.— (30) What was the belief of the early Quakers? What sort of life did the Quakers lead'' (31) Relate the cir- cumstance which led to Penn's being imprisoned in the tower? (33) How was he here treated? Did he remain idle? What was the design of this work? (34) What is said of it? To whom did Penn write a letter? What was the substance of it? (35) Did he obtain his hberty? What did he publish? (36) What did he review in if By whose intercession was he released? CHAPTER IV.— -(37) Where do we next meet with Penn? (38) What was Loe's exhortation? What did the Admiral now do? (39) What did Penn do after he had executed his father's commission? What is said of the Conventicle Act? Did Penn comply with this act? (40) What was done to him? When did his trial came on? Who QUESTIONS. 203 were the justices'? (41 ) The jury! What was stated in the indictment'? Give an account of the trial and what happen- ed at it"? (45) What did Penn say as he was hurried away to the bale-docld (46) What verdict was rendered by the jury'? What was done to them'? What verdict did they now bring in'? How were they addressed by the Recorder'? (47) What happened to Penn on his objecting to the treat- ment received by the jury'? (48) What was done to the jury? When were the jury again called in"? What was their verdict? What conversation took place between Penn and the Recorder'? (50) Why were Penn and Meade kept pris- oners'? What became of the jurymen'? CHAPTER V.— (51) What was Admiral Penn'slast advice to his son"? (52) What did Penn learn at Oxford'? (53) What was the intro- ductory sentence of Penn's letter to the Vice-Chancellorl — (54) What did the early Quaker's deny'? What did they con- sider and believe'? What did he endeavour to refute in the pamphlet that he published'? What happened to him while preaching in Wheeler-streef? (55) Before whom was he con- ducted '? What did the constables depose 1 What did Rob- inson do to convict Penn'? Relate the conversation between Sir John Robinson and Penn'? (57) What was said by Sir John Shelden'? By Penn"? What did Penn answer when Sir John Robinson informed him that he mnst be sent to Newgate for six months'? (58) Where was he sent. CHAP- TER VI.~(59) What did Penn write in prison'? Relate his address to " The Supreme Authority of England"?" (61) Where did he travel when his term of imprisonment expir- ed"? When did he return to England? (62) Whom did he marry? For what was she celebrated'? Did Penn still con- tinue to preach"? Where did he travel after his marriage'? (63) What works did he puWish"? CHAPTER VII.— (64) What was done by Penn in 1673"? What was done by Tho- mas Hicks"? What did Penn publish in reply"? (65) What is said of this publication"? What was the subject of the workT What did Penn explain'? (67) Why was Penn offended with Hicks'? What did he publish'? Was Hicks silenced? What did Penn demand"? Was it complied with? What wa 204 QUESTIONS. done by the Baptists'? (68) Give the extract from a letter written by Penn to George Fox? (72) By whom was Penn next attacked? Relate the controversy between him and FaldoT (74) What works did he publish this year. CHAP- TER VIII.-K75) What was done by Parliament in reference to the declaration of indulgence granted by Charles'? What was the consequence? Where did intolerancy first break out'? (76) To whom did Penn address a letter? Give some passa- ges from it? (77) To whom did Penn address a letter on the subject of intolerancy? How were the Quakers treated? What work did Penn pubUsh? (78) Give some of his argu- ments from this work? (80) What did he resolve to do? What did he publish? Give some extracts from it? (82)What is said of George Fox? (83) Give the substance of Penn's let- ter to him? Did he obtain his release? CHAPTER IX.— (84) Where was Penn residing in 1675? With whom did he open a controversy? (85) What is said of its issue? Give the conclusion of his letter to Baxter? With whom did he become engaged in an arbitration? (86) Who refused to abide by his decision? Give his two letters to John Fenwick? (88) On what account did he address a letter to EUzabeth, daughter of the King of Bohemia? What did Penn now ac- cidentally become? (89) Relate the manner in which he be- came so concerned? (90) What did he and the other trus- tees agree on with Sir George Cartaret? What was the next step? On whom did it devolve? (91) Give the outline of his concessions? Whom did the trustees invite to settle in the country? (92) What caution did they give? CHAPTER X. — (93) What proposals were now made? Who became purchasers? (94 Who were appointed commissioners? What happened while they were lying in the Thames? What did Penn now determine to do'' (95) Give the letter he receiv- ed from the Princess Elizabeth. For what place did he em- bark? By whom was he accompanied? • Where did they proceed? (99) What happened in Amsterdam? Give the con- clusion of his letter to tbe King of Poland? (97) Where did they go after leaving Amsterdam? How were they received by the Princess Elizabeth? (98) How were the hearers af- QUESTIONS. 205 fected by the meetings of the Quakers'? Where did they now proceed] What gave them great satisfaction at Amsterdaml (99) Give an account of the meeting held at Hollingenl Whom did Penn take with him as a companion! (100) Give an account of the rehgious society at the residence of Somer- dykesT Give an account of the meeting he had with them"? (101) Where did he now hold meetings'? (102) What did he do in taking leave of the Princess'? What happened in the post wagon"? How was he occupied in the cities he visited"? With whom did he engage in a public dispute"? (103) How did he employ himself in Rotterdam'? What did he expose in his letters'? Whom did he go to visif? How was he re- ceived] (104) What is said of Penn's discourse"? Where did he hold a pubhc meeting"? For what place did he embark? 104) When did he go from London'? How does he describe his little family meeting"? CHAPTER XI.--(106) How many settlers did Penn despatch to New Jersey"? (107) Why were the Catholics persecuted"* Give an account of the Popish Plot"? Why were Penn and the Quakers persecuted"? (108) What hill was taken up by Parliament? Why was it useless to the Quakers! What was said in Penn's petition"? (109) Relate his address to the House of Commons"? (Ill) What did he declare! (112) Did his language offend anyone"? Give his address to the Committee"? (115) What is said of this explanation"? (116) What did the Committee agree to do"? (117) What involved the nation in a new anxiety? What pamphlet did Penn publish"? What did he propose in this work"? (118) What was his opinion about the King"? What did he lay before the electors"? What caused Penn to take a part in the elections"? (119) What happened to Penn at the hustings "? Why was not Sydney returned "? Where did Penn return'? (120) Why was he grieved'? CHAPTER XII. — (121) How was Penn affected by the death of the Princess Elizabeth'? (122) How much money was owing to Penn from the government? What tract of land did he solicit in lieu of it"? What led him to take this stepl (123) What were the views of Penn in the colonization of Pennsylvania] 18 206 QUESTIONS. Did he effect this] Who opposed Penn's petition] How did it end] (124) What was he made by the charter] What was specified in his charter? What were the conditions of his being made proprietor] What powers had he] (125) What was he now obUgedto give up] What gave him great satisfaction] (126) What did he first do after obtaining his charter] What next] What did they stipulate] (127) What is said of these stipulations ] What did Penn draw up] (128) What does he say in his Fundamental article] Who sailed for Pennsylvania] What was the object of the commissioners] (199) To whom did Penn write a letter ] What did he say in it'' CHAPTER Xin.--(131) What be- reavement did Penn meet with in 1682] What was the first thing he did after this event] Give the preface to it] (137) What was ordered by the Frame which followed this pre- face] (138) What did Penn obtain from the Duke of York] What else did he obtain from him] (139) About whom did his mind become seriously affected'' What did he resolve to do] Give the substance of his letter to his wife and childrenT (148) Relate the conversation between Penn and the King] CHAPTER XIV.---(152) In which ship did he depart for the New World] How was he received] (152) What did he assure the magistrates in his speech] What did he do at Upland] Why did he change its name] Of what did the Assembly consist] What was done by it] Relate some of the laws which were passed] (155) Why did Penn proceed to Maryland] To what did Lord Baltimore lay claim] What was done by Penn] What took place at the interview be- tween them] (157) What did Penn obtain by the accession of James the Second] What name did they receive] What event was now about to take place'? Whither did he pro- ceed? (158) Whom did they find there'? By whom was Penn attended? What did he hold in his hand? What was done by the principal sachem? (159) What address did Penn make? What did he then do? (160) What was done by the Indians? What is said of this treaty? (161) Of Penn's treat- ment to the Indians? Where did Penn return after thetrea- QUESTIONS. 207 ty7 Upon what place did he pitch as the most suitable site for a townT How was it situated! (162) What happened soon after this? (163) What maybe said of Pennl How did he divide the land? When did the Council and Assem- bly assemble? Who was chosen speaker of the latter body? Where did Penn now go? For what purpose? (164) What caused his return to England? By whom was he regretted? What circumstance proves his generosity and disinterested- ness? (165) Did he arrive safely in England? CHAPTER XV .--(166) By whom was the King succeeded? (167) Was Penn held in any esteem by him? Give the passage from Gerard Croesse respecting him? (168) What was among the first of his applications to James? Was it successful? What did the people begin to suspect? (169) How was he now talked of? Who entertained this opinion of him? What was contained in Penn's letter to him? (170) What did this letter produce ? What work did Penn now pubhsh? What is said of it? How many Quakers were liberated? (171) What has been usually supposed? Was Penn of this same opinion? On what accounts had Penn cause to be grieved? . 172 Give the extracts from his letters? What did he resolve to do in respect to the Council? (173) To what number did he reduce the executive? When did the Prince of Orange land at Torbay? What did Penn lose by this? Why did he not dare to return to America? (174) What did he resolve to do"? What happened to him while walking in Whitehall? What did he protest? f 175 ) What was the con- sequence of the Act of Toleration? What is said of it? (176 ) Why was Penn again arrested? Wiiat did he request? Was it grantedl Relate what happened at his examination? (177) How was the conduct of the King regarded? What again began to occupy his attention? (178 1 For what did he long? What was done by the Secretary of State? By what was his voyage stopped? (179) Why did Penn determine on re- tirement'? Where did he take lodgings? (180) What in- telligence gave him uneasiness? What was affirmed by those at the head of aifairs? What was Penn deprived of? (181) 208 QUESTIONS. What is said of his feelings? What is said, of Penn? (182) What important question occurred to him? What is said of the new governor? What did he determine! What does he say of his expenses? (183) What did he determine to dol What pleasing event took place? By whose influence? What did they consider? (184) What did they say to King William? What was his answer? What did they then press him to do? What instrument was made out? (185) What is here saidofPenn? What affliction happened to him? (186) Did Penn write an account of his wife? Give some extracts from it ? (187) Why did he not now go to America? (188) What is said of Penn's second wife? When did Penn's eldest son die? What is said of John Everett and Thomas Story? (189) To whom did Penn address>an epistle? When did he reach Philadelphia? What was done by him on this visit? What had been Penn's determination? What measures were in agitation during his absence from England? (190) What ac- count was despatched to Penn? Did he make any provision for the welfare of the Indians? What happened October 28th, 1707? (191) W^hom did he appoint Deputy Governor? What is said of the bill for reducing the proprietary govern- ments into regal ones? Who succeeded William III? What is said of Penn? With whom did he become involved in a law suit? (192) What is said of this transaction? Where was he obliged to dwell? (193) For what sum did he mort- gage Pennsylvania? What was one cause of his embarrass- ment? From whom did he obtain money? What is said respecting his health? What is said of himself? (194) For what sum did Penn determine to part with his government? What prevented the execution of it? CHAPTER XVI. — (196) What is here said of Penn? Give the Extract from Besse's History? (197) To whom did he leave his estate? The government of his province? (198) What did he devise to his daughter ? What is said of the agreement which Penn made with tlie Government? Who became proprietaries? What is here remarked? (199) What is here said of Penn? THE CONSTITUTION OP PENNSYLVANIA, WITH THE AMENDMENTS ADOPTED OCTOBER 9, 1838. ARTICLE I. Sect. 1. The legislative power of this Commonwealth shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Sect. II. The Representatives shall be cho- sen annually by the citizens of the city of Philadelphia and of each county respectively, on the second Tuesday of October. Sect. III. No person shall be a representa- tive who shall not have attained the age of twenty -one years, and have been a citizen and 18* 210 THE CONSTITUTION inhabitant of the State three years next pre- ceding his election, and the last year thereof an inhabitant of the district in and for which he shall be chosen a Representative, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this State. Sect. IV. Within three years after the first meeting of the General Assembly, and within every subsequent term of seven years, an enu- meration of the taxable inhabitants shall be made in such manner as shall be directed by law. The number of Representatives shall at the several periods of making such enumer- ation, be fixed by the Legislature, and ap- portioned among the city of Philadelphia, and the several counties, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each: And shall ne- ver be less than sixty nor greater than one hundred. Each county shall have at least one Representative, but no county hereafter erect- ed shall be entitled to a separate representa- tion until a sufiicient number of taxable in- habitants shall be contained within it, to en- title them to one Representative, agreeably to the ratio which shall then be established. Sect. V. The Senators shall be chosen for three years by the citizens of Philadelphia and of the several counties at the same time, in OF PENNSYLVANIA. 211 the same manner, and at the same places where they shall vote for representatives. Sect. VI. The number of Senators shall, at the several periods of making the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed by the Legislature, and apportioned among the districts formed as hereinafter directed, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each; and shall never be less than one-fourth, nor greater than one- third, of the number of Representatives. Sect. VII. The Senators shall be chosen in districts, to be formed by the Legislature; but no district shall be so formed as to entitle it to elect more than two Senators, unless the num- ber of taxable innabitants in any city or coun- ty shall, at any time, be such as to entitle it to elect more than two, but no city or county shall be entitled to elect more than four Sena- tors; when a district shall be composed of two or more counties, they shall be adjoining ; nei- ther the city of Philadelphia nor any county shall be divided in forming a district. Sect. VIII. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State four years next before his election, and the last year thereof an inhabitant of the district for which he shall be chosen, unless he shall have been absent on the public business 212 THE CONSTITUTION of the United States or of this State; and no person elected as aforesaid shall hold said of- fice after he shall have removed from such district. Sect. IX. The Senators who may be elect- ed at the first General Election after the adop- tion of the amendments to the Constitution, shall be divided by lot into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year; of the second class at the expiration of the se- cond year; and of the third class at the expi- ration of the third year; so that thereafter one- third ot the whole number of Senators may be chosen every year. The Senators elected be- fore the amendments to the Constitution shall be adopted shall hold their offices during the terms for which they shall respectively have been elected. Sect. X. The General Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday of January, in every year, unless sooner convened by the Governor. Sect. XI. Each House shall choose its Spea- ker and other officers ; and the Senate shall also choose a Speaker pro tempore, when the Speaker shall exercise the office of Governor. Sect. XII. Each House shall judge of the qualifications of its members. Contested elec- tions shall be determined by a committee to OF PENNSYLVANIA, 213 be selected, formed and regulated in such man- ner as shall be directed by law. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized by law to compel the attendance of absent mem- bers, in such manner and under such penalties as may be provided. Sect. XIII. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behaviour, and with the concur- rence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause ; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the Legislature of a free State. Sect. XIV. The Legislature shall not have power to enact laws annulling the contract of marriage in any case where, by law, the courts of this commonwealth are, or hereafter may be, empowered to decree a divorce. Sect. XV. Each House shall keep a jour- nal of its proceedings, and publish them week- ly, except such parts as may require secrecy: and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of them, be entered on the journals. Sect. XVI. The doors of each House and of Committees of the Whole shall be open, unless 214 THE CONSTITUTION when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret. Sect. XVII. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Sect. XVIII. The Senators and Represen- tatives shall receive a compensation for their services to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth. — They shall in all cases, except treason, felo- ny and breach of surety of the peace, be privi- leged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same. And for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place. Sect. XIX. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this Commonwealth which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such time ; and no member of Congress or other person holding any office, (except of attorney at law and in the militia) under the United States or this Commonwealth, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in Congress or in office. OF PENNSYLVANIA. 215 Sect. XX. When vacancies happen in either House, the Speaker shall issue writs of elec- tion to fill such vacancies. Sect. XXI. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments as in other bills. Sect. XXII. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropria- tions made bylaw. Sect. XXIIl. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses shall be presented to the Governor. If he approve he shall sign it, but if he shall not approve he shall return it with his objections to the House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon their journals and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other House, bv which likewise it shall be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall be a law. But in such cases the votes of both Houses shall be deter- mined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each House respec- tively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within ten days (Sundays ex- 216 THE CONSTITUTION cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as it he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevented its return, in which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after their next meeting. Sect. XXIV. Every order, resolution or vote to which the concurrence of both Houses may be necessary (except on a question of ad- journment) shall be presented to the Gover- nor, and before it shall take effect, be approv- ed by him, or being disapproved, shall be re- passed by two-thirds of both Houses according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. Sect. XXV. No corporate body shall be hereafter created, renewed or extended with banking or discounting privileges, without six months' previous public notice of the applica- tion for the same in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Nor shall any charter for the purposes aforesaid, be granted for a longer period than twenty years, and every such charter shall contain a clause reserving to the Legislature the power to alter, revoke or annul the same, whenever in their opinion it may be injurious to the citizens of the Com- monwealth, in such manner, however, that no OF PENNSYLVANIA. 217 injustice shall be done to the corporators. No law hereafter enacted, shall create, renew, or extend the charter of more than one corpora- tion. ARTICLE 11. Sect. I. The Supreme Executive power of this Commonwealth shall be vested in a Governor. Sect. II. The Governor shall be chosen on the second Tuesday of October, by the citi- zens of the Commonwealth, at the places where they shall respectively vote for Representa- tives. The returns of every election for Go- vernor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Spea- ker of the Senate, who shall open and publish them in the presence of the members of both Houses of the Legislature. The person hav- ing the highest number of votes shall be Go- vernor. But if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of the members of both Houses. Contested elections shall be de- termined by a committee to be selected from both Houses of the Legislature, and formed and regulated in such manner as shall be di- rected by law. 19 218 THE COIVSTITUTION Sect. III. The Governor shall hold his of- fice during three years from the third Tuesday of January nexft ensuing his election, and shall not be capable of holding it longer than six in any term of nine years. Sect. IV. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a citizen and an inhabi- tant of this State seven years next before his election; unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States, or of this State. Sect. V. No member of Congress or person holding any office under the United States or this State, shall exercise the office of Go- vernor. Sect. VI. The Governor shall at stated times receive for his services, a compensation, which shall be neither increased nor diminished dur- ing the period for which he shall have been elected. Sect. VII. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this Commonwealth, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the actual service of the United States. Sect. VIII. He shall appoint a Secretary of the Commonwealth during pleasure, and he shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate appoint all judicial of- OF PENNSYLVANIA. 219 ficersof Courts of Record, unless otherwise provided for in this Constitution. He shall have power to fill all vacancies that may hap- pen in such judicial offices during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session: Provided^ That in acting on executive nomi- nations the Senate shall sit wdth open doors, and in confirming or rejecting the nominations of the Governor, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays. Sect. IX. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, and grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. Sect. X. He may require information in writing, from the officers in the executive de- partment, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. Sect. XI. He shall from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the Commonwealth, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient. Sect. XII. He may, on extraordinary oc- casions, convene the General Assembly ; and in case of disagreement between the two Houses, with respect to the time of adjourn- ment, adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not exceeding four months. 220 THE CONSTITUTION Sect. XIII. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Sect. XIV. In case of the death or resigna- tion of the Governor, or his removal from of- fice, the Speaker of the Senate shall exercise the office of Governor, until another Governor shall be duly qualified; but in such case anoth- er Governor shall be chosen at the next an- nual election of Representatives, unless such death, resignation, or removal shall occur within three calender months immediately pre- ceding such next annual election, in which case a Governor shall be chosen at the second succeeding annual election of Representatives. And if the trial of a contested election shall continue longer than until the third Monday of January next ensuing the election of Gover- nor, the Governor of the last year, or the Speaker of the Senate who may be in the ex- ercise of the executive authority, shall con- tinue therein until the determination of such contested election, and until a Governor shall be duly qualified as aforesaid. Sect. XV. The Secretary of the Common- wealth shall keep a fair register of all the of- ficial acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature, and OF PENiVSYLVANIA. 221 shall perform such other duties as shall be en- joined him by law. ARTICLE III. Sect. I. In elections by the citizens, every ■white freeman of the age of twenty-one years, having resided in this State one year, and in the election district where he offers to vote, ten days immediately preceding such election, and within two years paid a state or county tax, which shall have been assessed at least ten days before the election, shall enjoy the rights of an elector. But a citizen of the United States, who had previously been a qualified voter of this State, and" removed therefrom and returned, and who shall have resided in the election district, and paid taxes as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote, after re- siding in the State six months : Provided, That white freemen citizens of the United States, between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-two years, and having resided in the State one year, and in the election district ten days as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote, al- though they shall not have paid taxes. Sect. II. All elections shall be by ballot, except those by persons in their representative capacities who shall vote viva voce. 19=^ 222 THE CONSTITUTIOjV Sect. III. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on elections, and in going to and returning from them. ARTICLE IV. Sect. I. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching. Sect. II. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate: When sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted, without the con- currence of two-thirds of the members present. Sect. III. The Governor, and all other civil officers under this Commonwealth, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment, in such cases, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honour, trust, or profit, under this Commonwealth: the party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law. or PENNSYLVANIA. 223 ARTICLE V Sect. I. The judicial power of this Com- monwealth shall be vested in a supreme court, in courts of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, in a court of common pleas, or- phans' court, register's court, and a court of quarter sessions of the peace, for each county; in justices of the peace, and in such other courts as the Legislature may, from time to time, establish. Sect. IL The judges of the supreme court, of the several courts of common pleas, and of such other courts of record as are or shall be established by law, shall be nominated by the Governor, and by and with the consent of the Senate appointed and commissioned by him. The judges of the supreme court shall hold their offices for the term of fifteen years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. The president judges of the several courts of com- mon pleas, and of such other courts of record as are or shall be established by law, and all other judges required to be learned in the law, shall hold their offices for the term often years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. The associate judges of the courts of common pleas shall hold their offices for the 224 THE CONSTITUTION term of five years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. But for any reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground of impeachment, the Governor may remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the Legislature. The judges of the supreme court, and the presidents of the se- veral courts of common pleas, shall at stated times receive for their services an adequate compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office; but they shall receive no fees or per- quisites of office, nor hold any other office of profit under this Commonwealth. Sect. III. Until otherwise directed by law, the courts of common pleas shall continue as at present established. Not more than five counties shall at any time be included in one judicial district organized for said courts. Sect. IV. The jurisdiction of the supreme court shall extend over the State; and the judges thereofshall, by virtue of their offices, be justices of oyer and terminer and general jail deUvery, in the several counties. Sect. V. The judges of the court of common pleas, in each county, shall, by virtue of their offices, be justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, for the trial of capital and other offenders therein; any two of said judges, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 225 the president being- one, shall be a quorum ; but they shall not hold a court of oyer and terminer, or jail delivery, in any county, when the judges of the supreme court, or any of them shall be sitting in the same county. The party accused, as well as the Commonwealth, may, under such regulations as shall be pre- scribed by law, remove the indictment and proceedings, or a transcript thereof, into the supreme court. Sect. VI. The supreme court and the sever- al courts of common pleas, shall, besides the powers heretofore usually exercised by them, have the powers of a court of chancery, so far as relates to the perpetuating of testimony, the obtaining of evidence from places not within the State, and the care of the persons and es- tates of those who are non compotes mentis; and the Legislature shall vest in the said courts such other powers to grant reUef in equity, as shall be found necessary; and may, from time to time, enlarge or diminish those powers or vest them in such other courts as they shall judge proper, for the due administration of justice. Sec VII. The judges of the court of com- mon pleas of each county, any two of whom shall be a quorum, shall compose the court of quarter sessions of the peace, and orphan's 226 THE CONSTITUTION court thereof; and the register of wills, to- gether with the said judges, or any two of them, shall compose the register's court of each county. Sect. VIII. The judges of the courts of common pleas shall, within their respective counties, have like powers with the judges of the supreme court, to issue writs of certiorari to the justices of the peace, and to cause their proceedings to be brought before them, and the like right and justice to be done. Sect. IX. The president of the court in each circuit within such circuit, and the judges of the court of common pleas within their respective counties, shall be justices of the peace, so far as relates to criminal matters. Sect. X. A register's office, for the probate of wills and granting letters of administration, and an office for the recording of deeds, shall be kept in each county. Sect. XI. The style of all process shall be *' The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the same." OF PENNSYLVANIA. 227 ARTICLE VL Sect. 1. Sheriffs and coroners shall, at the times and places of election of representatives, be chosen by the citizens of each county. One person shall be chosen for each office, who shall be commissioned by the Governor. They shall hold their offices for three years, if they shall so long behave themselves well, and un- til a successor be duly qualified; but no person shall be twice chosen or appointed sheriff in any term of six years. Vacancies in either of the said offices shall be filled by an appoint- ment, to be made by the Governor, to conti- nue until the next general election, and until a successor shall be chosen and qualified as aforesaid. Sect. IL The freemen of the Common- wealth shall be armed, organized, and disci- plined for its defence; when and in such man- ner as may be directed by law. Those who conscientiously scruple to bear arms shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equiva- lent for personal service. Sect. III. Prolhonotaries of the supreme court shall be appointed by the said court for the term of three years, if they so long behave themselves well. Prothonotaries and clerks 228 THE CONSTITUTION of the several other courts, recorders of deeds, and registers of wills, ^hall at the times and places of election of Representatives, be elect- ed by the qualified electors of each county, or the districts over which the jurisdiction of said courts extends, and shall be commissioned by the Governor. They shall hold their offices for three years, if they shall so long behave themselves well, and until their successors shall be duly qualified. The Legislature shall provide by law the number of persons in each county who shall hold said offices, and how many and which of said offices shall be held by one person. Vacancies in any one of the said offices shall be filled by appointments to be made by the Governor, to continue until the next general election, and until successors shall be elected and qualified as aforesaid. Sect. IV. Prothonotaries, clerks of the peace and orphans' court, recorders of deeds, regis- ters of wills, and sheriffs, shall keep their of- fices in the county town of the county in which they, respectively, shall be officers, unless when the Governor shall, for special reasons, dispense therewith, for any term not exceeding five years after the county shall have been erected. Sect. V. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the Commoft- OF PENNSYLVANIA. 229 wealth of Pennsylvania, and be sealed with the State seal, and signed by the Governor. Sect. VL A State Treasurer shall be elect- ed annually, by joint vote of both branches of the Legislature. Sect. VII. Justices of the peace or alder- men shall be elected in the several wards, boroughs and townships, at the time of the election of constables by the qualified voters thereof, in such manner as shall be directed by law, and shall be commissioned by the Gover- nor for a term of five years. But no township, ward or borough shall elect more than two justices of the peace or aldermen without the consent of a majority of the qualified electors within such township, ward or borough. Sect. VIII. All officers whose election or appointment is not provided for in this Con- stitution, shall be elected or appointed as shall be directed by law. No person shall be ap- pointed to any office within any county who shall not have been a citizen and an inhabi- tant therein one year next before his appoint- ment, if the county shall have been so long erected; but if it shall not have been so long erected, then within the limits of the county or counties out of which it shall have been taken. No member of Congress from this State, or any person holding or exercising anv 20 230 THE CONSTITUTION office or appointment of trust or profit under the United States, shall at the same time hold or exercise any office in this State, to which a salary is, or fees or perquisites are by law, annexed; and the Legislature may by law de- clare what state offices are incompatible. No member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Governor to any office during the term for which he shall have been elected. Sect. IX. All officers for a term of years shall hold their offices for the terms respec- tively specified, only on the condition that they so long behave themselves well; and shall be removed on conviction of misbehaviour in of- fice or of any infamous crime. Sect. X. Any person who shall, after the adoption of the amendments proposed by this Convention to the Constitution, fight a duel, or send a challenge for that purpose, or be aider or abettor in fighting a duel, shall be deprived of the right of holding any office of honour or profit in this State, and shall be punished otherwise in such manner as is, or may be prescribed by law; but the executive may remit the said offence and all its disquali- fications. OF PENNSYLVANIA. 231 ARTICLE VII. Sect. I. The Legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, provide, by law, for the establishment of schools throughout the State, in such manner that the poor may be taught gratis. Sect. II. The arts and sciences shall be pro- moted in one or more seminaries of learning. Sect. III. The rights, privileges, immuni- ties and estates of religious societies and cor- porate bodies, shall remain as if the Constitu- tion of this State had not been altered or amend- ed. Sect. IV. The Legislature shall not invest any corporate body or individual with the privilege of taking private property for pub- lic use, without requiring such corporation or individual to make compensation to the owners of said property, or give adequate security therefor, before such property shall be taken. ARTICLE VIIL Members of the General Assembly and all officers, executive and judicial, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Consti- tution of this Commonwealth, and to perform 232 THE CONSTITUTION the duties of their respective offices with fideli- ARTICLE IX. That the general, great and essential prin- ciples of liberty and free government may be recognised and unalterably established, WE DECLARE, Sect. I. That all men are born equally free and independent and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own hap- piness. Sect. II. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness: For the advance- ment of those ends, they have, at all times, an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, re- form, or aboUsh their government, in such manner as they may think proper. Sect. III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God ac- cording to the dictates of their own conscien- ces; that no man can, of right, be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of wor- OF PENNSYLVANIA. 233 ship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishments or modes of worship. Sect. IV. That no person who acknowled- ges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments, shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this Commonwealth. Sect. V. That elections shall be free and equal. Sect. VI. That trial by jury shall be as heretofore, and the right thereof remain invio- late. Sect. VII. That the printing presses shall be free to every person, who undertakes to examine the proceedings of the Legislature or any branch of government: and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. — The free communication of thoughts and opin- ions is one of the invaluable rights of man; and every citizen may freely speak, write and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers, or men in a public capacity, 20* 234 THE CONSTITUTION or where the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and, in all indictments for li- bels, the jury shall have a right to determine the law, and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases. Sect. VIII. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures; and that no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor with- out probable cause, supported by oath or af- firmation. Sect. IX. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a right to be heard by him- self and his counsel, to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to meet the witnesses face to face, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and in prosecutions by indictment or infor- mation, a speedy trial by an impartial jury of the vicinage: That he cannot be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, hberty or property, unless by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land. Sect. X. That no person shall, for any in- dictable offence, be proceeded against crimi- OF PENNSYLVANIA. 235 nally by information; except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or pub- lic danger; or by leave of the court for oppres- sion and misdemeanor in office. No person shall for the same offence be twice put in jeo- pardy of life or limb; nor shall any man's pro- perty be taken, or applied to public use, with- out the consent of his representatives, and without just compensation being made. Sect. XL That all courts shall be open, and every man for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by the due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay. Suits may be brought against the Commonwealth in such manner, in such courts, and in such cases, as the Legislature may, by law, direct. Sect. XIL That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legisla- ture, or its authority. Sect. XIIL That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. Sect. XIV. That all prisoners shall be baila- ble by sufficient sureties, unless for capital of- fences, when the proof is evident or presump- tion great: and the privilege of the writ of ha- beas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 236 THE CONSTITUTION when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. Sect. XV. That no commission of oyer and terminer or jail delivery shall be issued. Sect. XVL That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after deliver- ing up his estate for the benefit of his credi- tors in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Sect. XVII. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing contracts, shall be made. Sect. XVIII. That no person shall be at- tainted of treason or felony by the Legislature. Sect. XIX. That no attainder shall work corruption of blood ; nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the Commonwealth: that the estates of such per- sons as shall destroy their own lives, shall de- scend or vest as in case of natural death ; and if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof. Sect. XX. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper pur- poses, by petition, redress, or remonstrance. OF PENNSYLVANIA. 237 Sect. XXI. That the right of the citizens to bear arms, in defence of themselves and the State, shall not be questioned. Sect. XXII. That no standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept up, without the consent of the Legislature; and the military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power. Sect. XXIII. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Sect. XXIV. That the Legislature shall not grant any title of nobility or hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appoint- ment to which shall be for a longer term than during good behaviour. Sect. XXV. That emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. Sect. XXVI. To guard against transgres- sions of the high powers which we have dele- gated, WE DECLARE, that every thing in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall for ever re- main inviolate. ARTICLE X. Any amendment or amendments to this Con- 238 THE CONSTITUTION stitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the mem- bers elected to each House, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their Journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and the Secretary of the Com- monwealth shall cause the same to be publish- ed three months before the next election, in at least one newspaper in every county in which a newspaper shall be published; and if in the Legislature next afterwards chosen, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of the mem- bers elected to each House, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause the same again to be published in manner aforesaid, and such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people in such manner and at such time, at least three months after being so agreed to by the two Houses, as the Legis • lature shall prescribe; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amend- ments by a majority of the quahfied voters of this State voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of the Con- stitution, but no amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people oftener than once in five years: Provided^ that if more than OF PENNSYLVANIA. 239 one amendment be submitted, they shall be submitted in such manner and form, that the people may vote for or against each amend- ment separately and distinctly. In testimony that the foregoing is the amend- ed Constitution of Pennsylvania, as agreed to in Convention, We, the Officers and Mem- bers of the Convention, have hereunto signed our names, at Philadelphia, the twen- ty-second day of February, Anno Domi- ni one thousand eight hundred and thirty- eight, and of the Independence of the Uni- ted States of America the sixty-second. JOHN SERGEANT, President. (Attest) S. Shock, Secretary. ImZL!'""' \ ^^^^^tant Secretaries. op LBM-'M LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 311 194 5