Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
acquainted the House with it, requesting they would furnish proper
presents for the Indians, to be given on this occasion; and naming the
speaker (Mr. Norris) and myself to join Mr. Thomas Penn and Mr.
Secretary Peters as commissioners to act for Pennsylvania. The House
approv'd the nomination, and provided the goods for the present, and
tho' they did not much like treating out of the provinces; and we met
the other commissioners at Albany about the middle of June.
In our way thither, I projected and drew a plan for the union of all
the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for
defense, and other important general purposes. As we pass'd thro' New
York, I had there shown my project to Mr. James Alexander and Mr.
Kennedy, two gentlemen of great knowledge in public affairs, and,
being fortified by their approbation, I ventur'd to lay it before the
Congress. It then appeared that several of the commissioners had
form'd plans of the same kind. A previous question was first taken,
whether a union should be established, which pass'd in the affirmative
unanimously. A committee was then appointed, one member from each
colony, to consider the several plans and report. Mine happen'd to be
preferr'd, and, with a few amendments, was accordingly reported.
By this plan the general government was to be administered by a
president-general, appointed and supported by the crown, and a grand
council was to be chosen by the representatives of the people of the
several colonies, met in their respective assemblies. The debates upon
it in Congress went on daily, hand in hand with the Indian business.
Many objections and difficulties were started, but at length they were
all overcome, and the plan was unanimously agreed to, and copies
ordered to be transmitted to the Board of Trade and to the assemblies
of the several provinces. Its fate was singular; the assemblies did
not adopt it, as they all thought there was too much _prerogative_ in
it, and in England it was judg'd to have too much of the _democratic_.
The Board of Trade therefore did not approve of it, nor recommend it
for the approbation of his majesty; but another scheme was form'd,
supposed to answer the same purpose better, whereby the governors of
the provinces, with some members of their respective councils, were to
meet and order the raising of troops, building of forts, etc., and to
draw on the treasury of Great Britain for the expense, which was
afterwards to be refunded by an act of Parliament laying a tax on
America. My plan, with my reasons in support of it, is to be found
among my political papers that are printed.
Being the winter following in Boston, I had much conversation with
Governor Shirley upon both the plans. Part of what passed between us
on the occasion may also be seen among those papers. The different and
contrary reasons of dislike to my plan makes me suspect that it was
really the true medium; and I am still of opinion it would have been
happy for both sides the water if it had been adopted. The colonies,
so united, would have been sufficiently strong to have defended
themselves; there would then have been no need of troops from England;
of course, the subsequent pretence for taxing America, and the bloody
contest it occasioned, would have been avoided. But such mistakes are
not new; history is full of the errors of states and princes.
"Look round the habitable world, how few
Know their own good, or, knowing it, pursue!"
Those who govern, having much business on their hands, do not
generally like to take the trouble of considering and carrying into
execution new projects. The best public measures are therefore seldom
_adopted from previous wisdom, but forc'd by the occasion_.
The Governor of Pennsylvania, in sending it down to the Assembly,
expressed his approbation of the plan, "as appearing to him to be
drawn up with great clearness and strength of judgment, and therefore
recommended it as well worthy of their closest and most serious
attention." The House, however, by the management of a certain member,
took it up when I happen'd to be absent, which I thought not very
fair, and reprobated it without paying any attention to it at all, to
my no small mortification.
XV
QUARRELS WITH THE PROPRIETARY
GOVERNORS
In my journey to Boston this year, I met at New York with our new
governor, Mr. Morris, just arriv'd there from England, with whom I had
been before intimately acquainted. He brought a commission to
supersede Mr. Hamilton, who, tir'd with the disputes his proprietary
instructions subjected him to, had resign'd. Mr. Morris ask'd me if I
thought he must expect as uncomfortable an administration. I said,
"No; you may, on the contrary, have a very comfortable one, if you
will only take care not to enter into any dispute with the Assembly."
"My dear friend," says he, pleasantly, "how can you advise my avoiding
disputes? You know I love disputing; it is one of my greatest
pleasures; however, to show the regard I have for your counsel, I
promise you I will, if possible, avoid them." He had some reason for
loving to dispute, being eloquent, an acute sophister, and, therefore,
generally successful in argumentative conversation. He had been
brought up to it from a boy, his father, as I have heard, accustoming
his children to dispute with one another for his diversion, while
sitting at table after dinner; but I think the practice was not wise;
for, in the course of my observation, these disputing, contradicting,
and confuting people are generally unfortunate in their affairs. They
get victory sometimes, but they never get good will, which would be of
more use to them. We parted, he going to Philadelphia, and I to
Boston.
In returning, I met at New York with the votes of the Assembly, by
which it appear'd that, notwithstanding his promise to me, he and the
House were already in high contention; and it was a continual battle
between them as long as he retain'd the government. I had my share of
it; for, as soon as I got back to my seat in the Assembly, I was put
on every committee for answering his speeches and messages, and by the
committees always desired to make the drafts. Our answers, as well as
his messages, were often tart, and sometimes indecently abusive; and,
as he knew I wrote for the Assembly, one might have imagined that,
when we met, we could hardly avoid cutting throats; but he was so
good-natur'd a man that no personal difference between him and me was
occasion'd by the contest, and we often din'd together.
One afternoon, in the height of this public quarrel, we met in the
street. "Franklin," says he, "you must go home with me and spend the
evening; I am to have some company that you will like;" and, taking me
by the arm, he led me to his house. In gay conversation over our wine,
after supper, he told us, jokingly, that he much admir'd the idea of
Sancho Panza,[93] who, when it was proposed to give him a government,
requested it might be a government of _blacks_, as then, if he could
not agree with his people, he might sell them. One of his friends, who
sat next to me, says, "Franklin, why do you continue to side with
these damn'd Quakers? Had not you better sell them? The proprietor
would give you a good price." "The governor," says I, "has not yet
_blacked_ them enough." He, indeed, had laboured hard to blacken the
Assembly in all his messages, but they wip'd off his colouring as fast
as he laid it on, and plac'd it, in return, thick upon his own face;
so that, finding he was likely to be negrofied himself, he, as well as
Mr. Hamilton, grew tir'd of the contest, and quitted the government.
These public quarrels[94] were all at bottom owing to the
proprietaries, our hereditary governors, who, when any expense was to
be incurred for the defense of their province, with incredible
meanness instructed their deputies to pass no act for levying the
necessary taxes, unless their vast estates were in the same act
expressly excused; and they had even taken bonds of these deputies to
observe such instructions. The Assemblies for three years held out
against this injustice, tho' constrained to bend at last. At length
Captain Denny, who was Governor Morris's successor, ventured to
disobey those instructions; how that was brought about I shall show
hereafter.
[93] The "round, selfish, and self-important" squire of
Don Quixote in Cervantes' romance of that name.
[94] My acts in Morris's time, military, etc.--_Marg.
note_.
But I am got forward too fast with my story: there are still some
transactions to be mention'd that happened during the administration
of Governor Morris.
War being in a manner commenced with France, the government of
Massachusetts Bay projected an attack upon Crown Point,[95] and sent
Mr. Quincy to Pennsylvania, and Mr. Pownall, afterward Governor
Pownall, to New York, to solicit assistance. As I was in the Assembly,
knew its temper, and was Mr. Quincy's countryman, he appli'd to me for
my influence and assistance. I dictated his address to them, which was
well received. They voted an aid of ten thousand pounds, to be laid
out in provisions. But the governor refusing his assent to their bill
(which included this with other sums granted for the use of the
crown), unless a clause were inserted exempting the proprietary estate
from bearing any part of the tax that would be necessary, the
Assembly, tho' very desirous of making their grant to New England
effectual, were at a loss how to accomplish it. Mr. Quincy labored
hard with the governor to obtain his assent, but he was obstinate.
[95] On Lake Champlain, ninety miles north of Albany. It
was captured by the French in 1731, attacked by the
English in 1755 and 1756, and abandoned by the French in
1759. It was finally captured from the English by the
Americans in 1775.
I then suggested a method of doing the business without the governor,
by orders on the trustees of the Loan office, which, by law, the
Assembly had the right of drawing. There was, indeed, little or no
money at that time in the office, and therefore I propos'd that the
orders should be payable in a year, and to bear an interest of five
per cent. With these orders I suppos'd the provisions might easily be
purchas'd. The Assembly, with very little hesitation, adopted the
proposal. The orders were immediately printed, and I was one of the
committee directed to sign and dispose of them. The fund for paying
them was the interest of all the paper currency then extant in the
province upon loan, together with the revenue arising from the excise,
which being known to be more than sufficient, they obtain'd instant
credit, and were not only receiv'd in payment for the provisions, but
many money'd people, who had cash lying by them, vested it in those
orders, which they found advantageous, as they bore interest while
upon hand, and might on any occasion be used as money; so that they
were eagerly all bought up, and in a few weeks none of them were to be
seen. Thus this important affair was by my means completed. Mr. Quincy
return'd thanks to the Assembly in a handsome memorial, went home
highly pleas'd with this success of his embassy, and ever after bore
for me the most cordial and affectionate friendship.
XVI
BRADDOCK'S EXPEDITION
The British government, not chusing to permit the union of the
colonies as propos'd at Albany, and to trust that union with their
defense, lest they should thereby grow too military, and feel their
own strength, suspicions and jealousies at this time being entertain'd
of them, sent over General Braddock with two regiments of regular