length one mentioned me, with the observation that I was merely an
honest man and of no sect at all, which prevailed with them to choose
me. The enthusiasm which existed when the house was built had long
since abated, and its trustees had not been able to procure fresh
contributions for paying the ground rent and discharging some other
debts the building had occasioned, which embarrassed them greatly.
Being now a member of both sets of trustees, that for the building and
that for the academy, I had a good opportunity of negotiating with
both, and brought them finally to an agreement, by which the trustees
for the building were to cede it to those of the academy, the latter
undertaking to discharge the debt, to keep forever open in the
building a large hall for occasional preachers, according to the
original intention, and maintain a free school for the instruction of
poor children. Writings were accordingly drawn, and on paying the
debts the trustees of the academy were put in possession of the
premises; and by dividing the great and lofty hall into stories, and
different rooms above and below for the several schools, and
purchasing some additional ground, the whole was soon made fit for our
purpose, and the scholars removed into the building. The care and
trouble of agreeing with the workmen, purchasing materials, and
superintending the work, fell upon me; and I went through it the more
cheerfully as it did not then interfere with my private business,
having the year before taken a very able, industrious, and honest
partner, Mr. David Hall, with whose character I was well acquainted,
as he had worked for me four years. He took off my hands all care of
the printing office, paying me punctually my share of the profits.
This partnership continued eighteen years, successfully for us both.
The trustees of the academy after a while were incorporated by a charter
from the government; their funds were increased by contributions in
Britain and grants of land from the proprietaries, to which the Assembly
has since made considerable addition; and thus was established the
present University of Philadelphia. I have been continued one of its
trustees from the beginning, now near forty years, and have had the very
great pleasure of seeing a number of the youth who have received their
education in it distinguished by their improved abilities, serviceable
in public stations, and ornaments to their country.
When I disengaged myself as above mentioned from private business, I
flattered myself that, by the sufficient though moderate fortune I had
acquired, I had secured leisure during the rest of my life for
philosophical studies and amusements. I purchased all Dr. Spence's
apparatus, who had come from England to lecture here, and I proceeded
in my electrical experiments with great alacrity. But the public, now
considering me as a man of leisure, laid hold of me for their
purposes, every part of our civil government, and almost at the same
time, imposing some duty upon me. The governor put me into the
commission of the peace, the corporation of the city chose me of the
common council and soon after an alderman, and the citizens at large
chose me a burgess[140] to represent them in Assembly. This latter
station was the more agreeable to me, as I was at length tired with
sitting there to hear debates in which, as clerk, I could take no
part, and which were often so unentertaining that I was induced to
amuse myself with making magic squares[141] or circles, or anything to
avoid weariness; and I conceived my becoming a member would enlarge my
power of doing good. I would not, however, insinuate that my ambition
was not flattered by all these promotions. It certainly was, for,
considering my low beginning, they were great things to me, and they
were still more pleasing as being so many spontaneous testimonies of
the public good opinion, and by me entirely unsolicited.
The office of justice of the peace I tried a little by attending a few
courts and sitting on the bench to hear causes; but finding that more
knowledge of the common law than I possessed was necessary to act in
that station with credit, I gradually withdrew from it, excusing
myself by my being obliged to attend the higher duties of a legislator
in the Assembly. My election to this trust was repeated every year for
ten years without my ever asking any elector for his vote, or
signifying, either directly or indirectly, any desire of being chosen.
On taking my seat in the House my son was appointed their clerk.
The year following, a treaty being to be held with the Indians at
Carlisle, the governor sent a message to the House, proposing that
they should nominate some of their members, to be joined with some
members of council, as commissioners for that purpose. The House named
the speaker (Mr. Norris) and myself; and, being commissioned, we went
to Carlisle and met the Indians accordingly.
As those people are extremely apt to get drunk, and when so are very
quarrelsome and disorderly, we strictly forbade the selling any liquor
to them; and when they complained of this restriction, we told them
that if they would continue sober during the treaty, we would give
them plenty of rum when business was over. They promised this, and
they kept their promise, because they could get no liquor, and the
treaty was conducted very orderly, and concluded to mutual
satisfaction. They then claimed and received the rum.
This was in the afternoon; they were near one hundred men, women, and
children, and were lodged in temporary cabins, built in the form of a
square, just without the town. In the evening, hearing a great noise
among them, the commissioners walked out to see what was the matter.
We found they had made a great bonfire in the middle of the square.
They were all drunk, men and women, quarreling and fighting. Their
dark colored bodies, half naked, seen only by the gloomy light of the
bonfire, running after and beating one another with firebrands,
accompanied by their horrid yellings, formed a scene the most
resembling our ideas of hell that could well be imagined, There was no
appeasing the tumult, and we retired to our lodging. At midnight a
number of them came thundering to our door, demanding more rum, of
which we took no notice.
The next day, sensible they had misbehaved in giving us that
disturbance, they sent three of their old counselors to make their
apology. The orator acknowledged the fault, but laid it upon the rum;
and then endeavored to excuse the rum by saying: "The Great Spirit,
who made all things, made everything for some use, and whatever use he
designed anything for, that use it should always be put to. Now when
he made rum he said, 'Let this be for the Indians to get drunk with,'
and it must be so." And, indeed, if it be the design of Providence to
extirpate these savages in order to make room for cultivators of the
earth, it seems not improbable that rum may be the appointed means. It
has already annihilated all the tribes who formerly inhabited the
seacoast.
In 1751 Dr. Thomas Bond, a particular friend of mine, conceived the idea
of establishing a hospital in Philadelphia (a very beneficent design
which has been ascribed to me but was originally his) for the reception
and cure of poor sick persons, whether inhabitants of the province or
strangers. He was zealous and active in endeavoring to procure
subscriptions for it, but the proposal being a novelty in America, and
at first not well understood, he met with but small success.
At length he came to me with the compliment that he found there was no
such thing as carrying a public-spirited project through without my
being concerned in it. "For," says he, "I am often asked by those to
whom I propose subscribing, 'Have you consulted Franklin upon this
business? And what does he think of it?' And when I tell them that I
have not (supposing it rather out of your line), they do not
subscribe, but say they will consider of it." I inquired into the
nature and probable utility of his scheme, and receiving from him a
very satisfactory explanation, I not only subscribed to it myself, but
engaged heartily in the design of procuring subscriptions from others.
Previously, however, to the solicitation, I endeavored to prepare the
minds of the people by writing on the subject in the newspapers, which
was my usual custom in such cases, but which he had omitted.
The subscriptions afterward were more free and generous; but,
beginning to flag, I saw they would be insufficient without some
assistance from the Assembly, and therefore proposed to petition for
it, which was done. The country members did not at first relish the
project. They objected that it could only be serviceable to the city,
and therefore the citizens alone should be at the expense of it; and
they doubted whether the citizens themselves generally approved of it.
My allegation on the contrary, that it met with such approbation as to
leave no doubt of our being able to raise two thousand pounds by
voluntary donations, they considered as a most extravagant supposition
and utterly impossible.
On this I formed my plan; and, asking leave to bring in a bill[142]
for incorporating the contributors according to the prayer of their
petition, and granting them a blank sum of money, which leave was
obtained chiefly on the consideration that the House could throw the
bill out if they did not like it, I drew it so as to make the
important clause a conditional one, namely: "And be it enacted, by the
authority aforesaid, that when the said contributors shall have met
and chosen their managers and treasurer, _and shall have raised by
their contributions a capital stock of ---- value_, (the yearly
interest of which is to be applied to the accommodating of the sick
poor in the said hospital, free of charge for diet, attendance,
advice, and medicines,) _and shall make the same appear to the
satisfaction of the speaker of the Assembly for the time being_, that
_then_ it shall and may be lawful for the said speaker, and he is
hereby required, to sign an order on the provincial treasurer for the
payment of two thousand pounds, in two yearly payments, to the
treasurer of the said hospital, to be applied to the founding,
building, and finishing of the same."
This condition carried the bill through; for the members who had
opposed the grant, and now conceived they might have the credit of
being charitable without the expense, agreed to its passage; and then,
in soliciting subscriptions among the people, we urged the conditional
promise of the law as an additional motive to give, since every man's
donation would be doubled; thus the clause worked both ways. The
subscriptions accordingly soon exceeded the requisite sum, and we
claimed and received the public gift, which enabled us to carry the
design into execution. A convenient and handsome building was soon
erected; the institution has, by constant experience, been found
useful, and flourishes to this day; and I do not remember any of my
political maneuvers the success of which gave me at the time more
pleasure, or wherein, after thinking of it, I more easily excused
myself for having made some use of cunning.
It was about this time that another projector, the Rev. Gilbert
Tennent, came to me with a request that I would assist him in
procuring a subscription for erecting a new meetinghouse. It was to be
for the use of a congregation he had gathered among the Presbyterians
who were originally disciples of Mr. Whitefield. Unwilling to make
myself disagreeable to my fellow-citizens by too frequently soliciting
their contributions, I absolutely refused. He then desired I would
furnish him with a list of the names of persons I knew by experience
to be generous and public-spirited. I thought it would be unbecoming
in me, after their kind compliance with my solicitations, to mark them
out to be worried by other beggars, and therefore refused also to give
such a list. He then desired I would at least give him my advice.
"That I will readily do," said I; "and in the first place, I advise
you to apply to all those whom you know will give something; next, to
those whom you are uncertain whether they will give anything or not,
and show them the list of those who have given; and, lastly, do not
neglect those who you are sure will give nothing, for in some of them
you may be mistaken." He laughed and thanked me, and said he would
take my advice. He did so, for he asked of everybody, and he obtained
a much larger sum than he expected, with which he erected the
capacious and very elegant meetinghouse that stands in Arch Street.[143]
Our city, though laid out with a beautiful regularity, the streets
large, straight, and crossing each other at right angles, had the
disgrace of suffering those streets to remain long unpaved, and in wet
weather the wheels of heavy carriages plowed them into a quagmire, so
that it was difficult to cross them, and in dry weather the dust was
offensive. I had lived near what was called the Jersey Market, and saw
with pain the inhabitants wading in mud while purchasing their
provisions. A strip of ground down the middle of that market was at
length paved with brick, so that, being once in the market, they had
firm footing, but were often over shoes in dirt to get there. By talking
and writing on the subject I was at length instrumental in getting the
street paved with stone between the market and the bricked foot pavement
that was on each side next the houses. This for some time gave an easy
access to the market, dry-shod; but, the rest of the street not being
paved, whenever a carriage came out of the mud upon this pavement, it
shook off and left its dirt upon it, and it was soon covered with mire,
which was not removed, the city as yet having no scavengers.
After some inquiry I found a poor, industrious man, who was willing to
undertake keeping the pavement clean by sweeping it twice a week,
carrying off the dirt from before all the neighbors' doors for the sum
of sixpence per month to be paid by each house.[n] I then wrote and
printed a paper setting forth the advantages to the neighborhood that
might be obtained by this small expense: the greater ease in keeping
our houses clean, so much dirt not being brought in by people's feet;
the benefit to the shops by more custom, etc., as buyers could more
easily get at them, and by not having, in windy weather, the dust
blown in upon their goods, etc. I sent one of these papers to each
house, and in a day or two went round to see who would subscribe an
agreement to pay these sixpences. It was unanimously signed, and for a
time well executed. All the inhabitants of the city were delighted
with the cleanliness of the pavement that surrounded the market, it
being a convenience to all; and this raised a general desire to have
all the streets paved, and made the people more willing to submit to a
tax for that purpose.
After some time I drew a bill for paving the city, and brought it into
the Assembly. It was just before I went to England in 1757, and did not
pass till I was gone, and then with an alteration in the mode of
assessment which I thought not for the better, but with an additional
provision for lighting as well as paving the streets, which was a great
improvement. It was by a private person, the late Mr. John Clifton,--his
giving a sample of the utility of lamps by placing one at his
door,--that the people were first impressed with the idea of enlighting
all the city. The honor of this public benefit has also been ascribed to
me, but it belongs truly to that gentleman. I did but follow his
example, and have only some merit to claim respecting the form of our
lamps, as differing from the globe lamps we were at first supplied with
from London. Those we found inconvenient in these respects: they
admitted no air below; the smoke, therefore, did not readily go out
above, but circulated in the globe, lodged on its inside, and soon
obstructed the light they were intended to afford, giving, besides, the
daily trouble of wiping them clean; and an accidental stroke on one of
them would demolish it and render it totally useless. I therefore
suggested the composing them of four flat panes, with a long funnel
above to draw up the smoke, and crevices admitting air below to
facilitate the ascent of the smoke. By this means they were kept clean,
and did not grow dark in a few hours, as the London lamps do, but
continued bright till morning, and an accidental stroke would generally
break but a single pane, easily repaired.
I have sometimes wondered that the Londoners did not, from the effect
holes in the bottom of the globe lamps used at Vauxhall[144] have in
keeping them clean, learn to have such holes in their street lamps.
But, these holes being made for another purpose, namely, to
communicate flame more suddenly to the wick by a little flax hanging
down through them, the other use, of letting in air, seems not to have
been thought of; and therefore, after the lamps have been lit a few
hours, the streets of London are very poorly illuminated.
The mention of these improvements puts me in mind of one I proposed,
when in London, to Dr. Fothergill, who was among the best men I have
known, and a great promoter of useful projects. I had observed that
the streets, when dry, were never swept, and the light dust carried
away; but it was suffered to accumulate till wet weather reduced it to
mud, and then, after lying some days so deep on the pavement that
there was no crossing but in paths kept clean by poor people with
brooms, it was with great labor raked together and thrown up into
carts open above, the sides of which suffered some of the slush at
every jolt on the pavement to shake out and fall, sometimes to the
annoyance of foot passengers. The reason given for not sweeping the
dusty streets was that the dust would fly into the windows of shops
and houses.
An accidental occurrence had instructed me how much sweeping might be
done in a little time. I found at my door in Craven Street[145] one
morning, a poor woman sweeping my pavement with a birch broom. She
appeared very pale and feeble, as just come out of a fit of sickness. I
asked who employed her to sweep there. She said, "Nobody; but I am very
poor and in distress, and I sweeps before gentlefolkses doors, and hopes
they will give me something." I bid her sweep the whole street clean,
and I would give her a shilling. This was at nine o'clock; at twelve she
came for the shilling. From the slowness I saw at first in her working I
could scarce believe that the work was done so soon, and sent my servant
to examine it, who reported that the whole street was swept perfectly
clean, and all the dust placed in the gutter, which was in the middle;
and the next rain washed it quite away, so that the pavement, and even
the kennel,[146] were perfectly clean.
I then judged that if that feeble woman could sweep such a street in
three hours, a strong, active man might have done it in half the time.
And here let me remark the convenience of having but one gutter in
such a narrow street, running down its middle, instead of two, one on
each side, near the footway; for where all the rain that falls on a
street runs from the sides and meets in the middle, it forms there a
current strong enough to wash away all the mud it meets with; but when
divided into two channels, it is often too weak to cleanse either, and
only makes the mud it finds more fluid, so that the wheels of
carriages and feet of horses throw and dash it upon the foot pavement,
which is thereby rendered foul and slippery, and sometimes splash it
upon those who are walking. My proposal communicated to the good
doctor was as follows:
"For the more effectual cleaning and keeping clean the streets of
London and Westminster[147] it is proposed that the several watchmen
be contracted with to have the dust swept up in dry seasons, and the
mud raked up at other times, each in the several streets and lanes of
his round; that they be furnished with brooms and other proper
instruments for these purposes, to be kept at their respective stands,
ready to furnish the poor people they may employ in the service.
"That in the dry summer months the dust be all swept up into heaps at
proper distances, before the shops and windows of houses are usually
opened, when the scavengers, with close-covered carts, shall also
carry it all away.
"That the mud, when raked up, be not left in heaps to be spread abroad
again by the wheels of carriages and trampling of horses, but that the
scavengers be provided with bodies of carts, not placed high upon
wheels, but low upon sliders, with lattice bottoms, which, being
covered with straw, will retain the mud thrown into them, and permit
the water to drain from it, whereby it will become much lighter, water
making the greatest part of its weight; these bodies of carts to be
placed at convenient distances, and the mud brought to them in
wheelbarrows, they remaining where placed till the mud is drained, and
then horses brought to draw them away."
I have since had doubts of the practicability of the latter part of
this proposal, on account of the narrowness of some streets, and the
difficulty of placing the draining sleds so as not to encumber too
much the passage; but I am still of opinion that the former, requiring
the dust to be swept up and carried away before the shops are open, is
very practicable in summer, when the days are long; for, in walking
through the Strand and Fleet Street one morning at seven o'clock, I
observed there was not one shop open, though it had been daylight and
the sun up above three hours, the inhabitants of London choosing
voluntarily to live much by candlelight and sleep by sunshine; and yet
they often complain, a little absurdly, of the duty on candles and the
high price of tallow.
Some may think these trifling matters, not worth minding or relating;
but when they consider that though dust blown into the eyes of a
single person, or into a single shop, on a windy day is but of small
importance, yet the great number of the instances in a populous city,
and its frequent repetitions, give it weight and consequence, perhaps
they will not censure very severely those who bestow some attention to
affairs of this seemingly low nature. Human felicity is produced not
so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by
little advantages that occur every day. Thus, if you teach a poor
young man to shave himself and keep his razor in order, you may
contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a
thousand guineas. The money may be soon spent, the regret only
remaining of having foolishly consumed it; but in the other case, he
escapes the frequent vexation of waiting for barbers, and of their
sometimes dirty fingers, offensive breaths, and dull razors. He shaves
when most convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its
being done with a good instrument.[148] With these sentiments I have
hazarded the few preceding pages, hoping they may afford hints which
some time or other may be useful to a city I love, having lived many
years in it very happily, and perhaps to some of our towns in America.
Having been for some time employed by the postmaster-general of
America as his comptroller[149] in regulating several offices, and
bringing the officers to account, I was, upon his death, in 1753,
appointed, jointly with Mr. William Hunter, to succeed him, by a
commission from the postmaster-general in England. The American office
never had hitherto paid anything to that of Great Britain. We were to
have six hundred pounds a year between us, if we could make that sum
out of the profits of the office. To do this a variety of improvements
were necessary. Some of these were inevitably at first expensive, so
that in the first four years the office became above nine hundred
pounds in debt to us; but it soon after began to repay us, and before
I was displaced by a freak of the ministers,[150] of which I shall
speak hereafter, we had brought it to yield three times as much clear
revenue to the Crown as the post office of Ireland. Since that
imprudent transaction they have received from it--not one farthing!
The business of the post office occasioned my taking a journey this
year to New England, where the College of Cambridge,[151] of their own
motion, presented me with the degree of Master of Arts. Yale College,
in Connecticut, had before made me a similar compliment. Thus, without
studying in any college, I came to partake of their honors. They were
conferred in consideration of my improvements and discoveries in the
electric branch of natural philosophy.
In 1754, war with France being again apprehended, a congress of
commissioners from the different colonies was, by an order of the
Lords of Trade,[152] to be assembled at Albany, there to confer with
the chiefs of the Six Nations[153] concerning the means of defending
both their country and ours. Governor Hamilton, having received this
order, 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 approved the nomination, and provided the goods for the present,
though they did not much like treating out of the provinces; and we
met the other commissioners at Albany about the middle of June.