than of the justice of what he defended, he entertained the confident assurance of being able to refute calumny by facts, and to correct the errors arising from misrepresentation by simple and conclusive reasoning.

An opportunity soon offered to bring the subject fairly before the public, in consequence of the insertion of an article in a paper called the Citizen, or General Advertiser," stat ing that recent letters from Philadelphia brought dreadful accounts of the ravages committed by the Indians on the inhabitants of the back provinces; and that notwithstanding these crueltics the disputes between the governor and the assembly were carried on to as great a height as ever, the messages on both sides being expressed in terms which gave very little hopes of a reconciliation. The intelligence then went into particulars, by saying the bill to raise money was clogged, so as to prevent the governor from giving his consent to it; and that the obstinacy of the Quakers in the assembly was such, that they would in no shape alter it; so that while the enemy was in the heart of the country, cavils prevented any thing being done for its relief. The evident object of this paragraph was to create general indignation against the assembly, by making it appear that the members of it were of so factious a disposition as to sacrifice the welfare of their country for the gratification of private ends, and so dead to all the finer feelings of humanity as to abandon their helpless fellow-creatures to savage ferocity, rather than lay aside their particular differences. It did not require the sagacity of Benjamin Franklin to discover that this fa brication originated in a spirit of alarm occasioned by the cir cumstance that an accredited agent on the part of the province was in London; but reflecting that, as such, it did not become him on the one hand to enter upon the public discussion of the concern which he was employed to bring to an amicable conclusion, nor on the other to preserve an absolute silence, which might prove detrimental to the interests of those whom he represented, he therefore judiciously caused a reply, bearing the name of his son, to be inserted in the same journal;

from which he had the satisfaction of seeing it transplanted into other papers of greater importance and more extensive circulation. In this letter, dated from the Pennsylvania coffee house, London, September 16, 1757, the author repels the insinuation thrown out against one province, as if it quiescently suffered more from the Indians than any other, by shewing that the contrary was the fact, and that the rest of the colonies were as much exposed to savage depredation as Pennsylvania. In the next place he observes, that the inhabitants on the frontiers of that province were not Quakers, and that so far from entertaining the passive principles of this sect, they were supplied with arms, and had frequently res pelled the enemy. On the subject of the disputes so invidiously mentioned in the pretended news, it was shewn that they were occasioned chiefly by new instructions or commands sent from England, forbidding the governors to sanction any laws imposing taxes for the defence of the country, unless the proprietary estate, or much the greatest part of it, was exempted from the burthen. With respect to the Quakers, who had been represented as the instigators of the contention, the author of the letter satisfactorily proved, by the adduction of facts, that they constituted but a small part of the existing population of the province, and were no more active in the disputes than the rest of the inhabitants, who, with the exception of the proprietary officers and their dependants, had joined in opposing the instructions and contending for their rights. In farther vindication of the Quakers it was observed, that notwithstanding their scruple about bearing arms, they had contributed largely for the defence of the country; and that, to prevent any obstruction in the assembly from their peculiar opinions, they had for the most part declined sitting in the assembly. Having thus cleared unfounded objections, and illiberal aspersions, the letter proceeded to a statistical account of the province, and of the spirit of the people, from which the British public might see that every thing had been done there to secure the frontier and to protect the trade of the neighVOL. I. Bb

boring governments, without any contributions, either from those colonies or the mother country.

This paper was well adapted to draw the attention of thinking men to the real state of Pennsylvania, and the nature of the grievances complained of by the great body of its inhabi tants, whose misfortune it was to have their cause little understood, where only they had to look for a remedy. To remove this obstacle more effectually, and to bring the subject so fully before the public as to render all the arts of misre presentation no longer availing to the selfish purposes of an interested party, Mr. Franklin, while engaged in negotiation with the proprietaries, employed his leisure hours in drawing up a minute account of the province for general information. The necessity of such a publication was obvious from the insidious attempts made, through various journals, to blacken the inhabitants of Pennsylvania with the foul charges of ingratitude to the founder of that colony, injustice to its present proprietors, and even disaffection to the parent country. Mr. Franklin saw with concern that this delusion prevailed to such a degree as to give him little chance of success in the object of his mission, until he could dispel the cloud of prejudice that craft had raised, and convince the British nation of the wrong which it countenanced, through ignorance and credulity. But knowing that it is in the nature of discussion to elicit truth, and of perseverance to defeat falsehood, he resolved to publish a volume that should attract notice by the manner of its composition, and produce effect by the impor tance of the matter which it contained. With this view he began to trace the history of the province from its primary settlement, and to exhibit the various changes which it had progressively undergone in the form of its government. Having sketched his design, he found that it grew upon his hands, as it not only obliged him to enter minutely into the detail of facts and the adduction of records, but to illustrate them by explanations and to apply them by reflections. This performance appeared at the beginning of 1759, with the title of “An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government

of Pennsylvania from its origin; so far as regards the several points of controversy which have from time to time arisen between the several governors of Pennsylvania and their several assemblies. Founded on authentic documents.” To which was prefixed this motto: "Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” This work was necessarily anonymous; and the strictest circumspection appears to have been observed in regard to the author, who being at that time employed in negotiatting with the proprietaries, as well as in bringing the business before the privy council, could not well publish any statement of the matters under discussion in his own name. The "REVIEW," therefore, long passed as the production of James Ralph, the historian, who having long resided in Philadelphia, and being generally known as a political writer, was the more easily believed to have taken this deep interest in the concerns of a province with which he was well acquainted. There is little doubt indeed that this ascription of the book to Ralph, was a matter perfectly agreeable to the real author, if not actually concerted by him, for the purpose of diverting the attention of those persons who, from interested motives and resentment, might have been disposed to represent his appeal to the public as an injury to individuals, and an insult offered to government. Mr. Franklin was aware, that his mission excited jealousy, and that his conduct would therefore be closely watched, in order to take the advantage of any inadvertencies which he might commit. While, therefore, he saw the expediency of setting the nation right on the subject in dispute, in order to justify the colonists on the one hand, and to reduce the extravagant claims of those who lorded it over them on the other; he was careful to do this in such a manner as should not give offence to any party. At present the internal character of the book is too strongly marked to mislead any one that is at all conversant with the style of Franklin; but when it originally appeared, his re

' e This historical review forms Vol. II. of this edition,

putation as a writer was not sufficiently established to render the discovery easy by the simple test of literary composition. Such, however, were its attractions in this respect, that notwithstanding the peculiar aridity of the subject, the work gained public notice, and was distinguished by the approbation of those who were most competent to decide upon its merits.

The dedication to Arthur Onslow, the venerable speaker of the house of commons, would alone be sufficient to ascertain the hand whence the review proceeded; for, independent of its epigrammatic turns and general terseness, it breathes the language of a person acting by the authority of the provincialists, whose cause he so powerfully pleaded.

That introduction will be found in page xxxiii of the second volume of this edition; and a sprightly dedication in page xv. This review abounds with original and vigorous ideas-"Power like water is ever working its way; and wherever it can find or make an opening, is altogether as prone to overflow whatever is subject to it: and though matter of right overlooked may be reclaimed and restored at any time, it cannot be too soon reclaimed and restored."

A writer who was a contemporary, speaking of this "Review," says, "Pennsylvania had in our author a most zealous and able advocate. His sentiments are manly, liberal, and spirited. His style close, nervous, and rhetorical. By a forcible display of the oppression of his clients, he inclines the reader to pity their condition, and by an enumeration of their virtues he endeavors to remove the idea, which may be entertained of their unimportance; and that, abstracted from their consideration in a political light, they claim our regard by reason of their own personal merits."

The publication, though anonymous, undoubtedly produced a considerable effect; and by bringing the grievances of the colonists closely under the consideration of the British public, tended materially to facilitate the object of the author, and even to enlarge his views with regard to the inconvenience of the proprietary government. Finding that the family of