his majefty's courts, as fhould be adjudged moft advantageous and favourable to the faid William Penn, his heirs, and affigns; provided always, that no interpretation be admitted thereof, by which the allegiance due to the crown, may fuffer any prejudice or dimunition.

IT is an hiftorical phenomenon, that fo excellent a fet of His concefconftitutions took their rife from an arbitrary court, and a bi- fions to the gotted prince; for, it appeared that all the tract of land, now advencalled Penfylvania, had been previously granted to the duke turers. of York by his brother king Charles, and was by him regranted in 1682, by deeds of feoffment, to Mr. Penn. During 1682. the dependency of the charter, Mr. Penn had been bufied in collecting adventurers for peopling his new province, in which he found no great difficulty; and, in virtue of the fixth fection of his charter, he paffed his firit deed of fettlement, under the title of "Certain conditions, or conceffions, agreed upon by William Penn, proprietary and governor of Penfylvania, and those who are the adventurers and purchasers in the fame province." But there is nothing particular in this deed, as it contains only the rules of fettlement, and trade with the Indians, with fome general provifions for the peace. of the colony. Next year, Mr. Penn published a system of government, under the following title: "The frame of the government of the province of Penfylvania in America: together with certain laws agreed upon in England, by the governor and divers freemen of the aforefaid province. To be farther explained and confirmed there, by the first provincial council, if they fee meet." The introduction to this celebrated piece is perhaps the most extraordinary compound that ever was published of enthufiafm, found policy, and goodfenfe, and the author tells us, that it was adapted to the great end of all government, viz. to fupport power in reverence with the people, and to fecure the people from the abuse of power." By this frame, which confifted of twentyfour articles, the provincial council, which was ordered by rotation, and the general affembly, were to be the great fources of the government. The number of the provincial council was to be feventy-two, and the governor, or his deputy, were to prefide in it, with a treble vote. The members were to be chofen by the freemen. One third of them was, at the first, to be chofen for three years, one third for two years, and one third for one year; in fuch manner, that there fhould be an annual fucceffion of twenty-four new members. The business of this provincial council lay in the executive part of the government, in preparing, and propofing to the general affembly, all bills, which they fhall, at any time, think

B 3

fit to be paffed into laws, within the faid province; which bills fhall be published and affixed to the most noted places in the inhabited parts thereof, thirty days before the meeting of the general affembly, in order to the paffing them into laws, as the general affembly fhall fee meet. As to the general affemnent of the bly, it was, at first, to confist of all the freemen, afterwards

Govern

of two hundred, and it was never to exceed five hundred. province. Befides thofe acts and conftitutions, a fet of laws were agreed

Its fettle

ment.

upon in England, in the nature of an original compact, between the proprietary and the freemen, partly moral, partly political, and partly economical. Some of them are of a very extraordinary kind, and met with great oppofition; particularly that, by which the planters, befides paying the purchafe money, were obliged to pay a quit rent of one penny an acre to the proprietary, for the fupport of his dignity as governor. The third law provides, that all elections of members or representatives to ferve in the provincial council or general aflembly fhould be free; and that the elector, who Thould receive any reward or gift, in meat, drink, money, or otherwise, should forfeit his right to elect. The reft of those laws are very moderate and plaufible, and formed upon the most perfect plan of regulated freedom. Befides thofe Jaws, certain conditions were agreed upon between the proprietary and the adventurers, concerning the divifions and Jaying out of the province and territory; for the reader is to obferve, that the province of Penfylvania was bounded, as we have feen; but its territory comprehended other lands granted to Mr. Penn by the duke of York, and the lands which he purchased from the Indians, and likewife fome part of Nova Belgia, which he purchased from lord Berkley and the heirs of Sir George Carteret for 4000l. the poffeffion of which was likewife confirmed to him by a patent.

THE number of original inhabitants, which Mr. Penn carried over in 181, are faid to have been about 2000, most of them nonconformifts, collected at London, Bristol, and Liverpool; but, befides thofe, a confiderable number of adventurers were already fettled, both in the province and the territory, and he had fent before him a great number of artificers to prepare materials for building houses, and directing other conveniences for the colony. It is certain, that the noble plan of government laid down for this infant colony in England was every way fo unexceptionable, and fo well calculated for all the purposes of civil and religious liberty, that great numbers had embraced it, in firm reliance, that it would be punctually executed. Mr. Penn had formed himself greatly upon Harrington's principles, as the reader may fee by his scheme

heme of rotation, and had been affifted in drawing up his ws and conftitutions by Sir William Jones, an eminent Englawyer of the fame ftamp; but, upon his arrival in Amea, he found, or pretended to find, fome reasons for altering e frame of his government, and for uniting the province th the territory, or, as it is called, the three lower counties, anted him by the duke of York. In the last scheme he fuceded, and brought the people of the province to unite with ofe of the territory in legislation and government; but it as not till the year 1683, that he introduced another

arter.

IN December, 1682, the freemen of the province and Its news ritory were convened at a place called Chefter; but here conflitu e infufficiency of the original charter appeared; for, after tion. e counties had returned twelve perfons as members of the ovincial council, they infifted, because of the fewness of eir numbers, and their inexperience in matters of governent, that, of thofe twelve, three might ferve as members the provincial council, and the remaining nine as affemblyen, with the fame powers and privileges that were granted the charter or frame of government to the whole. This queft, if not dictated by the proprietary, was extremely conant to his views. The original charter was confidered as ing impracticable, and no more than as a probationary law at was alterable, and to be fubmitted to the explanation and nfirmation of the firft provincial council and general affemthat was to be held in the province. Therefore the mo, as proposed by the petitioners, or remonftrants, was adtted by a new act of fettlement, made the 25th of Februa1682-3. At the fame time, an act was paffed for uniting 1632-3 e province and territory, by which all the benefits and vantages, before granted to the provincials, were to be in mmon to the inhabitants of the territory, as to them; and th, from that time, were to be confidered as one people der one and the fame government. This conftitution, wever, was liable to great objections, unless it could be oved that the fame proprietary and provincial powers, that d been granted by the original royal charter to the province, d under which the adventurers had embarked, were legally mmunicated to the territory, and to Mr. Penn as being oprietary of the fame.

NOTWITHSTANDING all this, the people, both of the Mr. Penn ovince and territory, feemed to be extremely well contented goes to der his government; but, a territorial difpute happening England. tween him and lord Baltimore, the proprietary of Maryland,

r. Penn made use of that as a pretext to return to England,

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and

Grievances

and to leave the government under the direction of five cominiffioners of ftate, taken out of the provincial council, and who, as we apprehend, were to represent his person, the remainder of that council, and the general affembly. The conduct of Mr. Penn, after he arrived in England, and his clofe connexions with king James, gave rife to various furmises; and it has been confidently afferted that, under the mask of a quaker, he was a concealed jefuit. This imputation appears to be groundlefs; for it may be with equal propriety faid, that his majefty was a quaker, because neither of them had the leaft concern about any matters of religion without the pale of his own profeffion. Mr. Penn's attachment to king James, therefore, was the very fame, that it would have been to a prince of any other denomination of Chriftians. It is, however, certain, that, after the revolution, his perfonal gratitude to that unhappy monarch carried him to fuch lengths, that he was confidered as an inveterate enemy to the proteftant establishment, and, on that account, was fometimes excepted out of the proclamations and acts of grace publifhed by king William and queen Mary. Captain Blackwell, during Mr. Penn's abfence in England, adminiftered the affairs of the infant colony, and one John White was Speaker of the affembly. An attempt was at this time made to diffolve the late charter, but it failed; and one Moor was 'complained of by the affembly to the proprietary, as being a bufy meddling fellow. The complaint was figned by White, who, it seems, thereby became obnoxious to Blackwell and the proprietary, who had done all they could to divide the freemen of the colony, but without effect.

THE affembly infifted upon a difcuffion of their grievances, of the pro- and upon a conference on that fubject with the council, vince. which, upon various pretexts, was évaded. This threw the affembly into a flame, and occafioned their entering not only a kind of proteft in their minutes against fo flagrant a partiality, but to come to the following refolution, viz. "That no person who is commiffionáted or appointed by the goververnor to receive the governor's fines, forfeitures, or revenues, whatsoever, fhall fit in judgment in any court of judicature, within this government, in any matter or cause whatfoever, where a fine or forfeiture shall or may accrue to the governor." In the mean time, the deputy-governor and the provincial council gave the affembly a meeting, and he informed them, that the proprietary had given pofitive directions for letting all the laws, excepting the fundamentals, drop or fall; and, afterwards, for calling together the legiflative authority, to revise some of them, or to pass others,

as

as they should think proper. The deputy-governor then complained of the great abuses into which the government had run, the diffention among the members of the provincial council, the uncertain ftate of affairs in England, and the doubtful condition in which Mr. Penn's own right as proprietary ftood, the revolution having then but just taken place. Blackwell, at the fame time, infifted that Mr. Penn was authorised by himself, and with confent of the freemen, to make laws, and under his feal to publifh them.

Difference

between the affem

THE affembly, looking upon the whole of the deputy-governor's fpeech and conduct to be an invafion of their rights and privileges, fteadily opposed them, and contended that the laws which they had made could not be dropt, and that they bly and the were in full force, unless declared void by the king under his privy-feal. So violent an oppofition obliged the deputy-governor. deputygovernor to have recourfe to other methods; and he prevailed with fome of the members to abfent themselves from the house, in order to introduce a nullity in its proceedings. This drew from the affembly a fevere remonftrance, which they prefented to the deputy-governor, befides their voting fuch withdrawing to be treacherous. Nothing but the great innate fagacity of Mr. Penn could, at this time, have prevented the ruin of his intereft both in England and America. After obtaining his patent, he had been indefatigable in procuring fettlers for his colony; and, to render his poffeffion unquestionable, he bought from the natives all the lands they chofe to part with. The Dutch, before this time, had been fettled at New York, and upon the freshes of Delaware river; but were often interrupted in their poffeffion by the Swedes, fo that frequent bickerings happened between the governors of the two nations, who were rivals in trade. The Dutch, however, prevailed, and drove the Swedes from their poffeffions, in the fame manner as the Swedes did them, and great part of them fell to the fhare of Mr. Penn, to the vast emolument of his colony. After this, every day added to the population and trade of Penfylvania; and the tranfporting of emigrants, from the weft of England thither, became a confiderable branch of commerce. The town of Philadelphia was now laid out, and a company, confifting of Mr. James Claypool, Mr. Nicholas Moor, and Mr. Philip Ford, bought 20,000 acres of Mr. Penn's propriety; and fet up a tannery, a fawmill, a glass-house, and a whalery. The conditions of the fale were, that the buyers paid 20 l. for 1000 acres, but ftill the quit-rent was referved; but fince that time, it is faid, that land there has been commonly fold for above twenty years purchase, and reckoning 20 s. an acre..

THE