country, and doing every thing in my power for the service of the province." It is indeed remarkable of Pennsylvania, that though represented and treated by its enemies, as if it was the barren fig-tree, applications were continually made to it on all sides, as if it was capable of furnishing all demands, and incapable of refusing any. His majesty having graciously ordered a considerable present to be sent to New York for the Six Nations; and sir Charles Hardy, governor of that province, being soon to hold a meeting with them, in order to the distribution, Pennsylvania was called upon to follow the example of New York in making some addition to it: and governor Morris was prevailed upon by governor Hardy to make the demand accordingly. Nor was the assembly averse to it: the province had agents at that very time with sir William Johnson, to sound the disposition of those nations towards them, and as sir Charles Hardy's meeting was not to take place till towards the end of March, and the governor's message was dated February 16, they apprehended that no inconveniences could ensue from their not giving a determinate answer till the return of those agents, which was very soon expected. And in the mean time, as the governor could not mention Indian affairs to them, without putting them in mind of the bill, which had been so long in his hands for regulating the Indian trade, they again called upon him to take it into consideration. amendment, they therefore unanimously adhere to the bill, and desire that it may receive his assent as it now stands. "The bill for regulating the Indian trade, being an imitation of the law for the same purpose, found so beneficial by long practice and experience in the province of the Massachusetts, the house do also adhere to that bill as it stands; and request the governor would be pleased to reconsider his amendments." Of this the governor took no notice, but proceeded to Newcastle, as he had before intimated he would; and as the assembly having at last conquered the difficulties raised among themselves, and passed their bill for regulating the officers and soldiers in the service and pay of the province, adjourned to the 5th of April then next ensuing. As this adjournment was so very short, the members were permitted to have the full benefit of it; but when they met again new troubles arose; not to say were prepared for them. Sir William Johnson's treaty with the Six Nations was laid before them; and they found the governor strongly determined to involve the province in an Indian war with the Delewares and Shawanese; which a very considerable part of the province, from principles of prudence, as well as scruples of conscience, most earnestly desired to avoid. The affair was soon taken into consideration; and the house appeared to be far from unanimous upon it: some from the papers laid before them, finding reason to believe, that an accommodation might still be effected, were for addressing the governor to suspend his purpose for some time longer; and others had influence enough to postpone the debate, and thereby prevent their coming to any conclusion upon the question at all. The issues of war and peace, they might probably argue, were solely in the executive; and consequently the executive was alone to be answerable for the uses made of them. They had now sat a full month; and had received a message from him, recommending a stop to be put to the exportation of provisions, from some ill-grounded apprehensions of a scarcity, which they had under consideration; they were also deeply engaged in a bill for the better regulation of their forces, and they had sent up another for continuing the excise, when the governor was pleased to return both that and the Indian trade bill, with several proposed amendments, and a notice, "That his majesty's service requiring his presence at Newcastle, he intended to set out for that place on the morrow, or next day after." To redeem time, therefore, the said amend-sented petitions both to the governor and the ments were immediately discussed, and upon the question rejected; of which they apprized him in the following brief and sensible man But whatever their arguments were, whatever effect they had within doors, the same difference of opinion still remained without. On one hand, some of the people called quakers, residing in the city of Philadelphia, on behalf of themselves and many others, pre house, full of exhortations to pursue pacific measures with these savages, and to preserve the province, if possible, from the calamities of an Indian war; and, on the other, the governor informed the house, that a number of people from the back counties had resolved on a meeting, in order to proceed in a body to make some demands of the legislature then sitting; and, after having made a merit of his information, added, "that, by the advice of the council, he should give immediate orders to the provincial and other magistrates, to use their utmost endeavours to prevent the mischiefs which might attend so extraordinary a procedure." The house, however, preserved their equanimity on this occasion; surprise they did express, that, having in all respects demonstrated so much care and concern for the security of the province, any of the people should meditate mischief against them; but, instead of discovering any fear, they announced the laws of the province against rioters, and accompanied their thanks to the governor for his intelligence, with a request, that he would lay before them what informations he had received concerning their views or designs, or wherein they had apprehended themselves to be either neglected or aggrieved: which request he never thought fit to comply with. great part of that supply, so lately granted, was already expended, and the rest would soon be so, they knew of no remedy; but that as the assessment for sinking the bills of credit issued in pursuance of the said act had not as yet been laid or levied, as a great part of the money was still in hand, and as they were soon to meet again upon the adjournment, then so necessary to their private affairs, having waited long for the governor's answer to their bills, they could not think it would be of use at that time to lay an additional load of taxes on the inhabitants; they concluded with an earnest recommendation of the bill for regulating the Indian trade, as a bill of great importance for conciliating the minds of the Indians yet unfixed in their resolutions, and confirming those already in It may indeed be collected, that these in- alliance with them, by supplying them with surgents were as strenuous for war as the such goods and other things they might have quietists were for peace; and that the govern- occasion for, on the easiest terms, at the charge or took advantage of this very incident to de- and under the inspection of the government." clare war against the Delawares and Shawa- And, in a separate message, sent at the same nese, and offer rewards for taking prisoners time, they farther gave him to understand, and scalps, which he did immediately thereon." that, having seriously deliberated on his He also gave notice, in form, of the same to the assembly, urging the many and great cruelties on his majesty's subjects within the province, as the cause; and concluded his message in the following terms: "But as great part of the sixty thousand pounds is already expended, and what remains will very soon be consumed in maintaining the troops posted on the frontiers, and other necessary services, I recommend it to you, gentlemen, to grant such further supplies, as may be necessary to carry on the war with vigour, upon the success of which the future peace and safety of the inhabitants of this province will very much depend." message for putting a stop to the exportation of provisions, ever since they had received it, and made a full inquiry into the circumstances of the country, they had reason to hope that, under the common course of God's good providence, no considerable danger or inconvenience could arise from continuing to leave their ports still open till their next meeting; as also, that they proposed to adjourn till the 24th of the month next ensuing. The return to this was, that the governor "had no objection to the proposed time of adjournment; that he thought, with the house, there was no immediate necessity for laying an embargo on provisions; that he should lay before the commissioners the affair of the Indians now in town, and endeavour to send them away well satisfied; that he expected the house would have made some preparations for executing the plan of operations for the ensuing campaign, but as they had not, it must lie upon them; that as to the Indian trade, and excise bills, he should consider them against the next meeting; and lastly, that he thought it proper to mention to the house by their messengers, that although he had had more burdens laid upon him than any of his predecessors in the same time, yet he had received less from the house than any of them." The same day he also informed them, "that the Indians which had so long subsisted on the bounty of the province (instead of taking part in this new war) were on the point of removing with their families (he was fearful, on some discontent, though he knew of no reason,) into the country of the Six Nations; and had demanded of him the necessary conveyance and passports." And he added, "that if they could not be prevailed on to act with the English, which he had directed the interpreter to endeavour, it would be necessary to reward the two partizans amongst them (Scarroyady and Montour) to their satisfaction for their trouble and service, Lastly, the house taking into consideration to send the others away well satisfied, and to what the governor had said relating to their give those that should continue good encour- not having made preparations for executing agement." the plan of operations for the ensuing camThe house, in answer, signified in sub-paign, resolved, in these words, "that as this stance, "that their late supply of sixty thousand pounds had fully enabled the governor, and the commissioners who were joined with him for the disposition of it, to do all that was desired, or necessary to be done; that if VOL. II.... P 10* province has received no assistance from our mother country, and as we have already expended large sums of money for the raising and supporting a considerable body of men for the defence of our extensive frontiers, against the continued depredations and encroachments on the few inhabitants whose circumstances of a savage and merciless enemy, besides what has been expended in maintaining the friendly Indians, French neutrals, and in other purposes for the king's service, which expenses are likely to be continued for some time; the house are of opinion, that the present circumstances of the province will not now admit of their going into any preparations for executing the aforesaid plan of operations; and that it would be not only impracticable, but very imprudent, at a time the country is so greatly distressed by the unjustifiable taking of indented servants, and so many of our freemen are enlisted and gone away, to send so great a proportion of men as is demanded of us, to so great a distance, and thereby deprive ourselves of their assistance, which we have too much reason to think we shall soon have occasion for." These were the transactions of April 16th; and, as the reader will observe no notice was taken of the governor's remonstrance concerning himself, he will from thence, perhaps, be led to account for his reconvening them so soon afterwards as the 10th of May; he being then absent at a place called Harris's ferry, and having nothing more pressing to lay before them, than what is contained in the following abstract of his message to them upon that occasion; to wit: "That the people of the frontier counties westward having lost great numbers of their fighting men, and the remainder being either driven from their habitations, or worn out with fatigue, there was the greatest reason to apprehend, the next attack would produce the entire evacuation of the two next counties, York and Cumberland; that the consideration of this deplorable and dangerous situation of those counties, which the most considerable of their inhabitants had, in the most affecting manner, laid before him, had induced him to call them together; that the best and speediest means might be taken to prevent, if possible, farther desolation; that the law for establishing a voluntary militia had contributed very little, if any thing, to the defence of the frontier; that he had observed it was defective when he passed it, and that it required so much time to carry it into execution, that nothing good was to be expected from it; that, though many companies had been formed under it, yet, for want of sufficient power lodged in him to order them to the frontiers, they were, as to that most material service, entirely useless; that he must therefore recommend it to them to form such a militia as might be just, equal, and carried into immediate execution, so as that he might be able to draw the strength of the province to such parts as stood most in need of it; and the whole burden of defending the province might not fall too heavily obliged them to remain in the back counties; that, as by the latest accounts from Europe, a considerable armament from France was to be expected in America, now to become the seat of war, and as the enemy would in such case depend upon being supplied with provisions from the king's colonies, by the intervention of the Dutch, he conceived a general embargo would be necessary; and that it should be rendered effectual, by some such special law as should be thought necessary by himself and the governors of the neighbouring provinces, which he recommended to them to prepare; and that the affairs of the province, and, in particular, the building a fort at a place called Shamokin, which was of so great importance to the province, requiring his personal care and attendance, it gave him concern that he could not be then at Philadelphia; but that they might be assured he would give all the despatch imaginable to any bills they might propose, which the secretary was to send to him from time to time by express." To give the more weight to the militia clause, a petition was presented to the house from the officers of the association companies in the city of Philadelphia, complaining of the insufficiency of the present law, and praying that a new one might be framed, in which the defects of the former should be remedied. The assembly gave the petition a civil but cool reception; and, in their reply to the governor's message, furnished the public with a brief of their sentiments and proceedings on the present occasion; to wit: "That being met in pursuance of the governor's call, they were concerned for his absence; as the public business could not be transacted as it ought, where the several parties were so far asunder; that as by the joint care of himself and the commissioners, for disposing of the sixty thousand pounds, the frontier was now in a better state of defence, than that of any other colony on the continent; the forts being numerous, all strongly garrisoned, and both officers and soldiers now reduced to due obedience and discipline, by means of the act of parliament, which, at their last sitting, they had extended to that province, they could not but hope, that the distressed inhabitants of the two counties mentioned, might, by the blessing of God, become more secure in their settlements, and consequently, more easy in their minds; and that more especially as they understood, there were in the interior counties many formed companies as yet unemployed, who were ready to enter into the service, and march to the frontier, whenever the governor should think fit to call them; and a considerable sum was still in the hands of the commissioners, wherewith the expense might be defrayed; that, as they conceived, the marching the militia to According to the latter, "all the despatch he had been able to make in his works had not brought them to such a forwardness as would permit him, without prejudice to that important part of the public service, to be in town at their meeting; he had, however, the satisfaction to tell them, that he had made a lodgment in a very secure place upon the river, beyond the Kittatiny hills (the place from whence, it must be recollected, he fired his first beacon to alarm, or rather distract, the province); the secretary would lay before them a letter from governor Sharpe, with the extracts of an act of his government for granting forty thousand pounds for his majesty's service; only twenty-five thousand pounds of it was conditional [so that conditional acts were regular in Maryland though not in Pennsylvania] that Pennsylvania and Virginia contributed their reasonable quotas towards the expedition it was granted for; they must be sen the frontier on every alarm, would be less ef- be lost in preparing, in some more effectual fectual for its defence, and much more expen- | manner, for their defence." sive and burdensome to the people, than their proportion of a tax for the maintenance of standing guards; that, indeed, they had little experience of a militia in this province, consequently, in framing so new a thing as a law to regulate it, their first essay might have its defects; that, however, as the governor did not point them out, when he passed the act, and they had not since occurred to them, all they could then say was, that when he should think fit to send down any supplementary amendments, they would take them into their serious consideration; which he, the governor, might possibly be ready to do by the time to which they stood adjourned, then not far distant; that they had therewith sent him a bill for prohibiting the exportation of provisions or warlike stores from this province, which they hoped would meet with his concurrence, being in conformity with the law lately passed at New York; but that as all restrictions made by them would be ineffectual, unless the low-sible there would be no peace or safety for er counties (the territory as formerly called) them [his old argument] unless these western were in like manner restrained; they had re- colonies united their strength in making a ferred the continuance of their law, to such well-concerted push to dislodge the French future act as the governor and assembly of from their encroachments; and that no time those counties should pass for that purpose; was so favourable as when his majesty's that they apprehended a strict compliance forces and those of the eastern colonies were with that law would be of great service to the employed against them to the northward; it British interest, and therefore earnestly re- was therefore to be taken into immediate concommended it to the governor, that when sideration, and he was to be enabled to give passed it might be carried effectually into ex-governor Sharpe the expected assurances, ecution. And, lastly, that as the season re- | that Pennsylvania would, for its own sake, quired the present attendance of many of the contribute accordingly." members at their plantations, they proposed to re-adjourn themselves to the same time as before; when they hoped the governor would find himself enough at leisure to meet them at Philadelphia." Thus ended this session of four days; the prohibitory law was passed by the governor at Harris's ferry; and when they met again, they received from the secretary two other messages from the same place; one designed for their farther amusement at their last sitting; but which arrived half an hour too late; and the other for the present. According to the former, "the governor had received letters from the governors Dinwiddie and Sharpe, giving an account of the miserable condition of their frontier; and the danger they were in from the enemy, who had penetrated as far as Winchester in Virginia; he had, thereupon, redoubled his diligence for the better securing the most exposed part of their own; but he was still fearful, that, for want of a sufficient force to take the field, the garrisons on that side would not be able to keep off the numbers of the enemy, which there was the greatest reason to expect would soon appear in those parts; so that no time was to A complaint from commodore Spry, that he was in great want of seamen for his majesty's ships under his command, and that he expected a supply from those colonies, brought up the rear; with a requisition "that he might be enabled by bounty or otherwise to raise and send him as many as the province could spare, which would be a very seasonable and acceptable service." In conformity to so pressing and plausible a message, a money-bill was immediately ordered, and some progress was made therein. But advice having been received from sir Charles Hardy and sir William Johnson, that the Delawares and Shawanese had promised to cease from hostilities, and were disposed to renew and strengthen their alliance and friendship, and the governor (Morris) having caused a suspension of arms to be proclaimed thereon, they contented themselves with assuring him, "that he should not fail of the necessary support in the prosecution of such measures as might tend to bring this good disposition of the said Indian tribes to a happy issue; and with recommending it to the commissioners of the sixty thousand pounds act, to concur with the governor in furnishing such supplies of money as might be necessa- A promise to reconsider it, this drew from him; but, as if he had resolved to set his own price on such a service to the province, he put them in mind, by a message the same hour, "That, though the trouble and expense of administration had been considerably greater than in any former time, no sums had been granted for his support since their first session; and he therefore desired, they would take this matter into consideration, and make such provision as was agreeable to justice and the practice of former assemblies." but as many of our constituents seem of opinion, that the present situation of public affairs calls upon us for services in a military way, which, from a conviction of judgment, after mature deliberation, we cannot comply with; we conclude it most conducive to the peace of our own minds, and the reputation of our religious profession, to persist in our resolutions of resigning our seats, which we accordingly now do; and request these our reasons may be entered on the minutes of the house." The speaker hereupon sent an order to the secretary, being the proper officer, to issue writs for so many re-elections, who thought fit to refuse obedience, the governor being of opinion, that though there was an express provision by law for filling a vacancy occasioned by wilful absence, there was none for a vacancy occasioned by resignation. Upon which the speaker, by the advice of such members as were then in town, issued his own writs, founded on the same law, from whence the governor derived his objection. These writs the sheriffs obeyed, what instances soever they might have been importuned with to the conWhat the governor's case was with respect trary; the freeholders exercised their rights to revenue, and what the merits of his ser- of electing in pursuance of them; the returns vice, may be collected from the sheets al-were made in the usual form; and the house ready before us; so that it will be enough in this place to say, that the assembly could turn a deaf ear as well as he; and, that he, having given them to understand in his message concerning sir Charles Hardy's intelligence, and the suspension of arms, that he had called the assembly of the lower counties to meet him on the 4th of June, in order to render the late embargo permanent and effectual, by prevailing with them to pass a law to the same effect, and that he imagined his absence for three or four days would be no interruption to their proceedings, they adjourned them selves to the 28th. Before they separated, however, which deserves notice, six members requested leave to resign their seats for certain reasons by them specified in a paper presented to the house at the same time; and it was, after consideration, resolved thereon, that, in case they continued in the same mind after the adjournment, and delivered the said paper into the hands of the speaker [in proof thereof] their seats should be deemed vacated accordingly. They did continue in the same mind, and delivered the following paper as proof thereof: 66 May it please the Speaker "A few days since we communicated to the house our inclinations to resign our seats; in which the house appeared disposed to fa vour us. "This repetition of our continuing in those intentions, does not proceed from any design of involving the house in unnecessary trouble; resolved nem. con. that the members so returned had been duly elected. Thus the breach was closed as soon as it was opened; and whatever view the governor had to serve by his opposition, he neither did himself or views any service by it. His message, introductory to the business of the session, contained a notification of the king's having appointed the earl of Loudon commander-in-chief of all his forces in America, with two regiments of foot, a train of artillery, stores, &c. and commanded him, the governor, to give his lordship and the troops all the assistance in his power: particularly to recommend it to them, to appropriate such part of the funds already raised, or to be raised, for the public service, so as to be issued as his lordship should direct. As also of another circumstance altogether new in the British constitution; namely, his majesty being enabled by act of parliament to appoint a number of German, Swiss, and Dutch Protestants to be officers of a regiment to be raised and called the Royal* American Regiment; as also of another particular recommendation which he was enjoined to make to them, that the masters of such indented servants as *This American regiment was to consist of four testants the colonies could furnish, and, according to thousand men it was to be composed of whatever prothe first plan, was to have been commanded by none but foreign officers; but this plan having been objected to, some abatements were admitted; namely, that the foreign officers should not exceed one half of the whole number; that room should be left for some Americans; that the commander should be always a na tural-born subject, &c. |