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with. Walking the rounds too was often neglected, and most of the nights spent in tippling: I thereupon wrote a paper to be read in junto, representing these irregularities, but insisting more particularly on the inequality of this six-shilling tax of the constables, respecting the circumstances of those who paid it, since a poor widow housekeeper, all whose property to be guarded by the watch did not perhaps exceed the value of fifty pounds, paid as much as the wealthiest merchant who had thousands of pounds worth of goods in his stores. On the whole, I proposed as a more effectual watch, the hiring of proper men to serve constantly in the business; and as a more equitable way of supporting the charge, the levying a tax that should be proportioned to the property. This idea being approved by the Junto, was communicated to the other clubs, but as originating in each of them; and though the plan was not immediately carried into execution, yet by preparing the minds of people for the change, it paved the way for the law obtained a few years after, when the members of our clubs were grown into more influence.

About this time I wrote a paper (first to be read in the Junto, but it was afterwards published) on the different accidents and carelessnesses by which houses were set on fire, with cautions against them, and means proposed of avoiding them. This was spoken of as an useful piece, and gave rise to a project, which soon followed it, of forming a company for the more ready extinguishing of fires, and mutual assistance in removing and securing of goods when in danger. Associates in this scheme were presently found, amounting to thirty. Our articles of agreement obliged every member to keep always in good order, and fit for use, a certain number of leathern buckets, with strong bags and baskets, (for packing and transporting of goods,) which were to be brought to every fire; and we agreed about once a month to spend a social evening together, in discoursing and communicating such ideas as occurred to us upon the subject of fires, as might be useful in our conduct on such occasions. The utility of this institution soon appeared, and many more desiring to be admitted than we thought convenient for one company, they were advised to form another, which was accordingly done; and thus went on one new company after another, till they became so numerous as to include most of the inhabitants who were men of property; and now at the time of my writing this, (though upwards of fifty years since its establishment,) that which I first formed, called the UNION FIRE COMPANY, still subsists; though the first members are all deceased but one, who is older by a year than I am. The fines that have been paid by members for absence at the monthly meetings,

have been applied to the purchase of fire engines, ladders, fire-hooks, and other useful implements for each company; so that I question whether there is a city in the world better provided with the means of putting a stop to beginning conflagrations; and, in fact, since these institutions, the city has never lost by fire more than one or two houses at a time, and the flames have often been extinguished before the house in which they began has been half consumed.

In 1739, arrived among us from Ireland, the reverend Mr. Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy taking a dislike to him, soon refused him their pulpits, and he was obliged to preach in the fields. The multitude of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous, and it was a matter of speculation to me, (who was one of the number) to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers, and how much they admired and respected him, notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them, they were naturally half beasts and half devils. It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. And it being found inconvenient to assemble in the open air, subject to its inclemencies, the building of a house to meet in, was no sooner proposed, and persons appointed to receive contributions, but sufficient sums were soon received to procure the ground, and erect the building, which was one hundred feet long and seventy broad; and the work was carried with such spirit as to be finished in a much shorter time than could have been expected. Both house and ground were vested in trustees, expressly for the use of any preacher of any religious persuasion, who might desire to say something to the people at Philadelphia. The design in building not being to accommodate any particular sect, but the inhabitants in general; so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople, were to send a missionary to preach Mahomedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service.

Mr. Whitefield, on leaving us, went preaching all the way through the colonies to Georgia. The settlement of that province had lately been begun, but instead of being made with hardy industrious husbandmen, accustomed to labour, the only people fit for such an enterprise, it was with families of broken shopkeepers, and other insolvent debtors; many of indolent and idle habits, taken out of the jails, who being set down in

stood. Upon one of his arrivals from England at Boston, he wrote to me that he should come soon to Philadelphia, but knew not where he could lodge when there, as he understood his old friend and host, Mr. Benezet, was removed to Germantown. My answer was, you know my house; if you can make shift with its scanty accommodations you will be most heartily welcome. He replied, that if I made that kind offer for Christ's sake, I should not miss of a reward. And I returned, "don't let me be mistaken; it was not for Christ's sake, but for your sake." One of our common acquaintance jocosely remarked, that knowing it to be the custom of the saints, when they received any favour, to shift the burden of the obligation from off their own shoulders, and place it in heaven, I had contrived to fix it on earth.

The last time I saw Mr. Whitefield, was in London, when he consulted me about his orphan-house concern, and his purpose of appropriating it to the establishment of a college. He had a loud and clear voice, and articu

the woods, unqualified for clearing land, and was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both unable to endure the hardships of a new sides, and lasted to his death. The following settlement, perished in numbers, leaving instance will show the terms on which we many helpless children unprovided for. The sight of their miserable situation inspired the benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield, with the idea of building an orphan-house there, in which they might be supported and educated. Returning northward, he preached up this charity, and made large collections: for his eloquence had a wonderful power over the hearts and purses of his hearers, of which I myself was an instance. I did not disapprove of the design, but as Georgia was then destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to send them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it would have been better to have built the house at Philadelphia, and brought the children to it. This I advised, but he was resolute in his first project, rejected my counsel, and I therefore refused to contribute. I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which, I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me: I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold; as he pro-lated his words so perfectly that he might be ceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the copper. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the silver; and he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all: At this sermon there was also one of our club, who being of my sentiments respecting the building in Georgia, and suspecting a collection might be intended, had by precaution emptied his pockets before he came from home; towards the conclusion of the discourse however, he felt a strong inclination to give, and applied to a neighbour who stood near him, to lend him some money for the purpose. The request was fortunately made to perhaps the only man in the company who had the firmness not to be affected by the preacher. His answer was, " At any other time, friend Hopkinson, I would lend to thee freely; but not now, for thee seems to me to be out of thy right senses."

Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose, that he would apply these collections to his own private emolument; but I who was intimately acquainted with him (being employed in printing his sermons, journals, &c.) never had the least suspicion of his integrity; but am to this day decidedly of opinion, that he was in all his conduct a perfectly honest man; and methinks my testimony in his favour ought to have the more weight, as we had no religious connexion. He used indeed sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard. Ours

heard and understood at a great distance; especially as his auditories observed the most perfect silence. He preached one evening from the top of the Court-House steps, which are in the middle of Market street, and on the west side of Second street, which crosses it at right angles. Both streets were filled with his hearers to a considerable distance: being among the hindmost in Market street, I had the curiosity to learn how far he could be heard, by retiring backwards down the street towards the river, and I found his voice distinct till I came near Front street, when some noise in that street obscured it. Imagining then a semicircle, of which my distance should be the radius, and that it was filled with auditors, to each of whom I allowed two square feet; I computed that he might well be heard by more than thirty thousand. This reconciled me to the newspaper accounts of his having preached to 25,000 people in the fields, and to the history of generals haranguing whole armies, of which I had sometimes doubted.

By hearing him often I came to distinguish easily between sermons newly composed, and those which he had often preached in the course of his travels. His delivery of the latter was so improved by frequent repetition, that every accent, every emphasis, every modulation of voice, was so perfectly wellturned and well-placed, that without being interested in the subject, one could not help being pleased with the discourse; a pleasure of much the same kind with that received from an excellent piece of music. This is an

advantage itinerant preachers have over those who are stationary, as the latter cannot well improve their delivery of a sermon by so many rehearsals. His writing and printing from time to time gave great advantage to his enemies; unguarded expressions, and even erroneous opinions delivered in preaching, might have been afterwards explained or qualified, by supposing others that might have accompanied them; or they might have been denied; but litera scripta manet: critics attacked his writings violently, and with so much appearance of reason, as to diminish the number of his votaries and prevent their increase. So that I am satisfied that if he had never written any thing, he would have left behind him a much more numerous and important sect; and his reputation might in that case have been still growing even after his death; as there being nothing of his writing on which to found a censure, and give him a lower character, his proselytes would be left at liberty to attribute to him as great a variety | of excellencies, as their enthusiastic admiration might wish him to have possessed.

My business was now constantly augmenting, and my circumstances growing daily easier, my newspaper having become very profitable, as being for a time almost the only one in this and the neighbouring provinces. I experienced too the truth of the observation, "that after getting the first hundred pounds it is more easy to get the second:" money itself being of a prolific nature.

The partnership at Carolina having succeeded, I was encouraged to engage in others, and to promote several of my workmen who had behaved well, by establishing them with printing houses in different colonies, on the same terms with that in Carolina. Most of them did well, being enabled at the end of our term, (six years,) to purchase the types of me and go on working for themselves; by which means several families were raised. Partnerships often finish in quarrels, but I was happy in this that mine were all carried on and ended amicably; owing I think a good deal to the precaution of having very explicitly settled in our articles, every thing to be done by or expected from each partner; so that there was nothing to dispute; which precaution I would therefore recommend to all who enter into partnerships; for whatever esteem partners may have for, and confidence in each other at the time of the contract, little jealousies and disgusts may arise, with ideas of inequality in the care and burden, business, &c. which are attended often with breach of friendship and of the connection; perhaps with law-suits and other disagreeable consequences.

I had on the whole abundant reason to be satisfied with my being established in Pennsylvania; there were however some

things that I regretted, there being no pro vision for defence, nor for a complete education of youth; no militia, nor any college: I therefore, in 1743, drew up a proposal for establishing an academy; and at that time, thinking the Rev. Richard Peters, who was out of employ, a fit person to superintend such an institution, I communicated the project to him: but he having more profitable views in the service of the proprietors, which succeeded, declined the undertaking: and not knowing another at that time suitable for such a trust, I let the scheme lie awhile dormant. I succeeded better the next year, 1744, in proposing and establishing a Philosophical Society. The paper I wrote for that purpose, will be found among my writings; if not lost with many others.

With respect to defence, Spain having been several years at war against Great Britain, and being at length joined by France, which brought us into great danger; and the laboured and long continued endeavour of our governor, Thomas, to prevail with our Quaker assembly to pass a militia law, and make other provisions for the security of the province, having proved abortive; I proposed to try what might be done by a voluntary subscription of the people: to promote this, I first wrote and published a pamphlet, intitled PLAIN TRUTH, in which I stated our helpless situation in strong lights, with the necessity of union and discipline for our defence, and promised to propose in a few days, an association, to be generally signed for that purpose. The pamphlet had a sudden and surprising effect. I was called upon for the instrument of association; having settled the draught of it with a few friends, I appointed a meeting of the citizens in the large building beforementioned. The house was pretty full; I had prepared a number of printed copies, and provided pens and ink dispersed all over the room. I harangued them a little on the subject, read the paper, explained it, and then distributed the copies, which were eagerly signed, not the least objection being made. When the company separated, and the papers were collected, we found above twelve hundred signatures; and other copies being dispersed in the country, the subscribers amounted at length to upwards of ten thousand. These all furnished themselves as soon as they could with arms, formed themselves into companies, and regiments, chose their own officers, and met every week to be instructed in the manual exercise, and other parts of military discipline. The women, by subscriptions among themselves, provided silk colours, which they presented to the companies, painted with different devices and mottos, which I supplied. The officers of the companies composing the Philadelphia regiment, being met, chose me for their

colonel; but conceiving myself unfit, I de-advised me to resign, as more consistent with clined that station, and recommended Mr. my honour than being turned out. My anLawrence, a fine person, and a man of in-swer to him was, that I had read or heard of fluence, who was accordingly appointed. I some public man, who made it a rule, never then proposed a lottery to defray the expense to ask for an office, and never to refuse one of building a battery below the town, and when offered to him. I approve, said I, of furnished with cannon: it filled expeditiously, this rule, and shall practise it with a small and the battery was soon erected, the merlons addition; I shall never ask, never refuse, nor being framed of logs and filled with earth. ever RESIGN an office. If they will have my We bought some old cannon from Boston, but office of clerk to dispose of it to another, they these not being sufficient, we wrote to Lon-shall take it from me. I will not, by giving don for more; soliciting at the same time our it up, lose my right of some time or other proprietaries for some assistance, though with- making reprisal on my adversaries. I heard out much expectation of obtaining it. Mean- however no more of this: I was chosen again while, colonel Lawrence, Allen, Abra- unanimously as clerk at the next election. ham Taylor, Esquires, and myself, were sent Possibly as they disliked my late intimacy to New York by the associators, commission- with the members of council who had joined ed to borrow some cannon of governor Clinton. the governors in all the disputes about miliHe at first refused us peremptorily; but at a tary preparations, with which the house had dinner with his council, where there was long been harassed, they might have been great drinking of madeira wine, as the custom pleased if I would voluntarily have left them; of that place then was, he softened by degrees, but they did not care to displace me on acand said he would lend us six. After a few count merely of my zeal for the association, more bumpers he advanced to ten; and at and they could not well give another reason. length he very good-naturedly conceded eigh-Indeed I had some cause to believe that the teen. They were fine cannon, 18 pounders, defence of the country was not disagreeable with their carriages, which were soon tran-to any of them, provided they were not resported and mounted on our batteries, where the associators kept a nightly guard while the war lasted and among the rest, I regularly took my turn of duty there as a common soldier.

quired to assist in it. And I found that a much greater number of them than I could have imagined, though against offensive war, were clearly for the defensive. Many pamphlets pro and con were published on the My activity in these operations was agree- subject, and some by good Quakers, in favour able to the governor and council; they took of defence; which I believe convinced most me into confidence, and I was consulted by of their young people. A transaction in our them in every measure, where their concur- fire company gave me some insight into their rence was thought useful to the association. prevailing sentiments. It had been proposed Calling in the aid of religion, I proposed to that we should encourage the scheme for them the proclaiming a fast, to promote re-building a battery by laying out the present formation, and implore the blessing of heaven stock, then about sixty pounds, in tickets of on our undertaking. They embraced the motion, but as it was the first fast ever thought of in the province, the secretary had no precedent from which to draw the proclamation. My education in New England, where a fast is proclaimed every year, was here of some advantage: I drew it in the accustomed style, it was translated into German, printed in both languages, and circulated through the province. This gave the clergy of the different sects an opportunity of influencing their congregations to join in the association, and it would probably have been general among all but the Quakers, if the peace had not soon intervened.

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the lottery. By our rules no money could be disposed of till the next meeting after the proposal. The company consisted of thirty members, of which twenty-two were Quakers, and eight only of other persuasions. We eight punctually attended the meeting; but though we thought that some of the Quakers would join us, we were by no means sure of a majority. Only one Quaker, Mr. James Morris, appeared to oppose the measure. He expressed much sorrow that it had ever been proposed, as he said friends were all against it, and it would create such discord as might break up the company. We told him that we saw no reason for that; we were the minority, and if friends were against the measure, and out-voted us, we must and should, agreeable to the usage of all societies, submit. When the hour for business arrived, it was moved to put this to the vote: he allowed we might do it by the rules, but as he could assure us that a number of members intended to be present for the purpose of opposing it, it would be but candid to allow a

little time for their appearing. While we | majority of which were constantly Quakers, were disputing this, a waiter came to tell me, two gentlemen below desired to, speak with me; I went down, and found there two of our Quaker members. They told me there were eight of them assembled at a tavern just by; that they were determined to come and vote with us if there should be occasion, which they hoped would not be the case, and desired we would not call for their assistance, if we could do without it; as their voting for such a measure might embroil them with their elders and friends; being thus secure of a majority, I went up, and after a little seeming hesitation, agreed to a delay of another hour. This Mr. Morris allowed to be extremely fair. Not one of his opposing friends appeared, at which he expressed great surprise; and at the expiration of the hour, we carried the resolution eight to one: and as of the 22 Quakers, 8 were ready to vote with us, and 13 by their absence manifested that they were not inclined to oppose the measure, I afterwards estimated the proportion of Quakers sincerely against defence as 1 to 21 only. For these were all regular members of the society, and in good reputation among them, and who had notice of what was proposed at that meeting.

The honourable and learned Mr. Logan, who had always been of that sect, wrote an address to them, declaring his approbation of defensive war, and supported his opinion by many strong arguments: he put into my hands sixty pounds to be laid out in lottery tickets for the battery, with directions to apply what prizes might be drawn wholly to that service. He told me the following anecdote of his old master, William Penn, respecting defence:He came over from England when a young man, with that proprietary, and as his secretary. It was war time, and their ship was chased by an armed vessel, supposed to be an enemy. Their captain prepared for defence; but told William Penn, and his company of Quakers, that he did not expect their assistance, and they might retire into the cabin; which they did, except James Logan, who chose to stay upon deck, and was quartered to a gun. The supposed enemy proved a friend, so there was no fighting: but when the secretary went down to communicate the intelligence, William Penn rebuked him severely for staying upon deck, and undertaking to assist in defending the vessel, contrary to the principles of Friends; especially as it had not been required by the captain. This reprimand, being before all the company, piqued the secretary, who answered: "I being thy servant, why did thee not order me to come down; but thee was willing enough that I should stay and help to fight the ship, when thee thought there was danger."

My being many years in the assembly, a

gave me frequent opportunities of seeing the embarrassment given them by their principle against war, whenever application was made to them, by order of the crown, to grant aids for military purposes. They were unwilling to offend government on the one hand, by a direct refusal; and their friends (the body of the Quakers) on the other, by a compliance contrary to their principles; using a variety of evasion to avoid complying, and modes of disguising the compliance, when it became unavoidable. The common mode at last was, to grant money under the phrase of its being "for the king's use," and never to inquire how it was applied. But if the demand was not directly from the crown, that phrase was found not so proper, and some other was to be invented. Thus, when powder was wanting, (I think it was for the garrison at Louisburg,) and the government of New England solicited a grant of some from Pennsylvania, which was much urged on the house, by governor Thomas; they would not grant money to buy powder, because that was an ingredient of war; but they voted an aid to New England of three thousand pounds to be put in the hands of the governor, and appropriated it for the purchase of bread, flour, wheat, or other grain. Some of the council, desirous of giving the house still further embarrassment, advised the governor not to accept provision, as not being the thing he had demanded: but he replied, "I shall take the money, for I understand very well their meaning, other grain is gunpowder;" which he accordingly bought, and they never objected to it. It was in allusion to this fact, that when in our fire company, we feared the success of our proposal in favour of the lottery, and I had said to a friend of mine, one of our members, "if we fail, let us move the purchase of a fire engine with the money; the Quakers can have no objec tion to that: and then, if you nominate me, and I you, as a committee for that purpose, we will buy a great gun, which is certainly a fire engine." I see, says he, you have improved by being so long in the assembly; your equivocal project would be just a match for their wheat or other grain.

Those embarrassments that the Quakers suffered, from having established and publish ed it as one of their principles, that no kind of war was lawful, and which being once pub lished, they could not afterwards, (however they might change their minds,) easily get rid of, reminds me of what I think a more prudent conduct in another sect among us that of the Dunkers. I was acquainted with one of its founders, Michael Weffare, soon after it appeared. He complained to me that they were grievously calumniated by the zealots of other persuasions, and charged with abominable principles and practices, to which

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