PAPERS RELATING TO PROVINCIAL AFFAIRS.

WILLIAM PENN TO CAPT. BROCLES AND JO. WEST.

PHILADELPHIA, 3d 5th mo., 1683.

WORTHY FRIEND: I doe much desire ye good news of ye Arrival of ye Governor, by whose .. & prudence I expect & hope an happy Settlement will Attend New York and her dependents. I hear my neighbour, ye Lord Baltimore, has desired to know of his arrivall, y' he might show him ye kindness of an old acquaintance. I would pray y y express stay to give me ye newes, y' I may express my duty to ye Duke & my Esteem for a Pe son of so fair & honourable a character. I have now to recommend ye bearer, and with hime a Gentleman of ye towne, in a busyness y' relaits to myselfe & ye Improvement of this his majesty's Province, they, James Graham & Wm; and ye busyness I intrust yem with is to treete with ye Sackem of ye Mawkawkes & Senecers & there Allies about some Sasquehanash land on ye back of us, and whare I intend a Collony, forth with, a place soe out of ye way y' a small thing could not carry some people to it, all tending to enlarge yo English Empire. I doubt not thy continuance in favours to ye Commissioners of Albany, but I thought it decent to mention it, and doe assure ye yt I shall at all times embrace ye oppertunity by which I may manifest how sincerely

I am

MY MOST ESTEEMED FRIEND: It is proverbial wth our nation, yt it is an Ill wind y' blowse no body good. Jno. Edmonson's Entanglemts gave me ye satisfaction of a Lett' from thee, wch

was increased by ye hand y' brought it, assuring me of thy perfect recovery, & I pray God continue it to those good & happy Ends, for which he givese long Life & length of days to ye Sons of Men. And, now, give me leave to say, y' this is ye first Letter I recd from thee since thy last great fitt of Illness, wch I mentioned to defend myself ye imputation of an unfriendly silence, for, (such I must have esteemed mine,) had I received a letter mention'd in this, wch, I perceived, thy kindness writes but somebodies Carelessness or Injustice hath rob'd me of. In ye next place, while I was preparing myself to give thee a large acc' of ye Discourse past in my presence, between John Edmonson, Jua., & Wm Pickering, about ye Bill of Exchange, return'd protested, news is brought me of ye Arrival of a Ship, at New Castle, & Joseph Growdon here, to see me, wch made me. giving thee ye trouble of y' History. & after such congratulations, Inquiring of their Voyage & wellfare, I took occasion to discourse him about it. I find him weary, wth ninteen weeks' passage, & ye care of an intire ship & Cargo of his own, but very ready to embrace ye safe & speedie way to Justice. He tells me, y Jn Edmundson was, therefore bound for ye Bill, because y' was drawn by his Agent, to enable him to make good his Bargain of Tobacco, weh being, yet, short of performance, more yo y contense of ye Bill come to, especially wh he reflects on y great Damages, as well by ye goods being sold really at first cost, or no better Tobacco at such a Price, & y Ship wanting freight by non-performance of Contract. He holds himself not strictly obliged to deliver Jno Edmonson from this . . .

till he hath first done him Justice about ye Contract. Nevertheless, he saith, y' if Jno. Edmonson will come hither, state acc's, & give him reasonable security for Payment of ye Balance, he will immediately pay Coll. Lloyd ye Contense of ye Bill, here or in England. To weh, I will venture to add, y' his Ability, Understanding, Education, & Morals, will not suffer him to step aside from his word. It would, therefore, become Jn Edmonson to hasten hither, his present circumstances not permitting him to leave these parts yet a while. In ye meantime, I am much obliged to thy good opinion of our Justice, wch, it seems, is not singular; & I am glad y' any good can be thought to come out of our Nazareth. I hope, while I live, I shall endeavor to make Justice easy,cheap, & speedy. And, if ye worst of men shall find it, Coll. Lloyd can never want it where I have any power to show it, which . . . . . Leave to return my hearty Acknowledgm' of thy Good wishes, for an Accommodation betwixt your Proprietors & me. And, now, suffer me to be more y" w" an occasion is given. I

would not take, & can not civily loose. nighbourhood is a thing I lament.

Want of his good

Want of his good Nighbourhood is a thing I came wth, but yt unkindness is better born y" deserved, especially when yo purchase of his favour is costly. Yor wise Light knows no quality nor person, & it is better to be plain y" to dissemble resentm'. An Agree upon a ballance were desirable, but w" ye terms of it are to cost a man's self, compliance were mean and wittless. Neither nature nor Grace imposeth y' Talk where neither Law nor Conviction governeth y Case; but by many acts he hath precipitated ye business, & to make him amends I will stand y Challenge, resolving rather to loose it fairly, & then easily deliver up ye point. Let it not be made a vice to wth stand so great a Man; he is here but a Proprietor, & so am I. I yield him priority; Superiority not-wch being said without offense, I still abide by my former expedients, & Magnus deit mihi Apollo, whose Justice and Wisdom shall produce a better. I offerd, at Newcastle, to debate ye Merits of ye Cause, wch was declined-I will not say evaded-and am still ready to imbrace ye occasion, be y Auditory private or publick. And it looks strange y' things should come to this pitch before they had past a true and full discussion. Such a conference might have brought Light and Conviction with it, and ye whole series of my Life will defend me from ye sin of standing out ag' my Conscience & Judgm'. A Country so long seated & replenisht wth People as his, must needs have some men learned & wise. Let ye Statesman, ye Civilian, and Lawyer be ye Advocates of his Cause. We will hear y", and yield to ym too, If their reasons are better; at least this will make yo Case clearer, and draw it to a point, if not finally issue it to o' mutual Content, & either justifie or re buke ye passions of those men of his Province y' show me mine no Mercy, who not only to ye friends of my Interest, but ye strangers that came to right us; inveighs ag' my Title, threaten my possession, degrade my Province, & belye my Proceedings, whilest Maryland escapes us with almost a total silence; but even these Partialities and repeated affronts have no power to hold me from ye means of peace. God, ye omniscient one, is ye great and incorruptible witness of my sincerity for an Accommodation; & yet I can hardly hope for ye sight of my wife & children, ye dearest Comforts of my Life, wth more Affection & Integrity yn I went for Maryland to agree and ratifie a lasting Amitie with ye Proprietor. And ye Issue of this Difference, fail, as it will, it will never cost me below y' Content, wch, through ye Providence of my Life, will preserve me above fear & Murmuring to his wise Disposal, who will have ye last Judgmt of all ye Actions of our Lives. I leave this to thy still ingenious

friend to conceal or divulge w' I have written, being in this without trick as I am without.

assurances

And 'tis admirable, wth all thinking men, y' he, having never attempted Dutch or Duke with lines & survey ords, after his of courting all occasions by wch to shew him self a Frd to Pennsylvania, should call thus eagerly upon me & take my refusal in ye P light, as well as my owne, in so ill part.

& with singular affection & regard,

Thy very cordial Friend,

W. P.

P. S.-Excuse me, yt I use another hand. It is not state, but matter of necessity-being somewhat indisposed, by a cold, weh, in writing, especially, occasions troublesome difluctions of Rhume.

WILLIAM PENN TO WILLIAM CLARK.

[1684.]

Wm CLARK: Thyn I have; thy care in the good & prosperity of those parts will not prove thy disadvantage. The inclosed is a writt to chuse y' Provincial Councel-men for ye court of. I have also sent a printed coppy of ye Charter of Libertys y' thou mayst direct ye sheriff, but apprehending yt ye number will not be two great & changeable to yo country. In case they chuse 4 of ye 12 for ye provincial councel to sit with me, & yo remaining 8 for ye assembly, whereby both will come to but 7, ye number hereafter intended for ye Provincial councel of ye Province, it may do best as y case stands, & our infancy considered, otherwise 200 Representatives must be chosen, at 18s p' diam yearly. Only this first time y' ye Freemen may come in Person. The reason of ye Liberty was ye freeness of ye people & y apprehension we had in England y' ye people might meet to chuse in some one place, but considering ye mighty distance they are at, & ye season of ye year, I am of opinion that 12 out of a county, 4 like our English Knights of Shires for y Provincial councel, & 8 for the assembly, will be a fitt company for our magnitude; for N. Claypole, I wave his unhandsome carriage to me if conscience were in ye matter. I should for give him, but he y eats ye bread of others might have held his tongue in my title to Sussex. But does he .. y' this was possessed by

Dutch before the La B. had a Patent, yt ye right of others could not be given, that it was never claymed by ye Ld B. father for 30 years successively, that American rights are so wilde, yt ye labourers is g. g. parts of yo 100 of any such title, & finally, yt ye Dutch from ye K. claims by bought ye natives right,

wch ye L. B. never did, & so has ye savage & ye chieftain right. Ye La B. Patent gives him only y land of ye savages, not of chieftains, & civil People of ye Dutch were. Much I could say, but wave till I see ye ye season my building & this. forbid me to visit you yet, but remember me to yo may ... & People, & tell you I am come here for their happy settlement, & if thou keepest me in ye fear of God & right acts 1or my service & the country s, thou shall be accordingly regarded by

Thy true F,

WM. CLARK TO GOV. WILLIAM PENN.

W. P.

[1684.]

For as much as have bene Greatly Reflected upon, and falcely Accused in the faithfuli discharging my duty, in obedience to A Comicon to my selfe and others directed, in a short speache, made to the peopl, At a Court, held at dover River, in the County of Kent, the 18th day of the Second Moneth, Anno Dm. 1684. In which Speach I have bene Charged with telling of several Lyes and untruths, Reflecting upon the La Baltimore and his Governm'. In defense whereof, I have this to say, for myselfe, that, when I was first appointed & authorized to that Great Sarvices, I was not without a due sence of the Great Trust that was Imposed in me, which Caused Me to be very Searous, Waighty, and Considerate, how I should p'form that Great Sarvices to the best and most Advantiag of my Master's Interest. ffor which, I did As Certainly Sceek the Lord for his Assistance, as ever I did for the InJoyment of his presence ; and, although I have no Cause to boast, yet I have good Cause to be thankful that God did so far Assist me in the Accomplishment of that day's work, in which I had and have peace, and am well comforted; and because the Govern' hath heard of the Reproaches that hath bene Cast upon me, as before. It hath Layen upon me to Recollect my memery, and, soe near as I can, to sett downe the words, exactly as I speake them to the peopl, to the end that he may be Judge thereof.