Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/760

{|width="100%" In 1681 he sent out Capt. William Markham with instructions to take possession of the province, to search out a convenient spot of ground on which to erect a governor's mansion, and to cultivate a friendly feeling with the Indians. In September, 1683, he himself set out from London on the “Welcome,” and he reached Newcastle on the Delaware late in October, taking formal possession of the territory on the day after his arrival. His first care was the division of his land into counties, the survey of its resources and extent, and the definition of its boundaries. He selected, but not without some dissension, as a site for his capital the neck of land that lies at the junction of Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, which he purchased from the Swedes, and to which he gave the name of Philadelphia. Penn's landing was made at Dock creek, where the “Blue Anchor” tavern was built, beyond which the first ten houses, known as “Budd's Long Row,” were erected. This place at once grew with wonderful rapidity, and within a year a hundred houses had been built. Meanwhile, probably in June, 1683, his famous treaty with the Indians was made. On the banks of the Delaware, at Shackamaxon (afterward Kensington, and now a part of the city), stood a great elm, where in earlier times the Indians had assembled on important occasions, and the name of the place signified, in the Indian language, the “locality of kings.” Here representatives of the Delawares, Mingoes, and other Susquehanna tribes made with the Quakers a treaty of peace and friendship
 * 714
 * align="center"|PENN
 * align="center" width="50%"|PENN
 * } were entered into with Penn for the sale of lands.

which, according to Voltaire, “was never sworn to and never broken.” The influence of Penn was so great among the Indians that to be a follower of his was at all times a passport to their protection and hospitality. George Bancroft says that “while every other colony in the New World was visited in turn by the horrors of Indian warfare, no drop of Quaker blood was ever shed by a red man in Pennsylvania.” Penn then devoted himself to his duties as governor, and made treaties with other Indian tribes, and as long as any of the aborigines remained in Pennsylvania or its neighborhood their traditions bore testimony to the justice and benevolence of “Mignon,” as the Delawares called him, or of “Onas,” as he was styled by the Iroquois. He then visited New York and New Jersey, and after the meeting of the general assembly of the province at Newcastle in May, 1684, he intrusted the government to a council, and in August sailed for England, leaving a prosperous colony of 7,000 persons. In his farewell he writes: “And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wast born, what love, what care, what service, and what travail hath there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee! My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed of the Lord, and thy people saved by his power.” On his return to England he first sought to have the boundary-line between Maryland and Pennsylvania properly adjusted, but

Charles II. was then very near his end, and definite action could not be procured. Penn's patron and the friend of his father, the Duke of York, succeeded to the throne as James II., on 6 Feb., 1685, and soon after his accession set at liberty about 1,200 Quakers that had been imprisoned for their religious opinions. The boundary question was a fruitful cause of disputes with the Baltimores of Maryland, and was not finally settled until Mason and Dixon's line was run in 1767 and confirmed in 1769. Penn took up his residence at Kensington, and thereafter, until the king went into exile, he was at court almost daily. His chief object was to persuade the king to introduce into parliament a general act that should permit perfect freedom of opinion in every part of his dominions. His influence with James was well known, and every man with a real grievance found in him a counsellor and friend. Through his efforts a pardon was granted to John Locke, who was then residing at the Hague; but Locke refused to accept it, claiming that he had done no wrong. Penn's success with the king being reported, it naturally made enemies for him, and it was circulated that he had matriculated at a Jesuit seminary, had taken holy orders in Rome, and officiated regularly at mass in the private chapel at Whitehall. Among other attacks on his character are those that were revived by Lord Macaulay in his “History of England.” Macaulay has accused him of acting as an agent of the rapacious maids of honor of the royal court to extort money for pardon from the relatives of some young girls at Taunton who were implicated in Monmouth's rebellion, and also accused him of an attempt to persuade Dr. John Hough, president of Magdalen college, Oxford, to accede to the wishes of King James in a matter where compliance would have involved a violation of his official oath by holding out to him the bait of a bishopric. Neither of these charges can be sustained by any direct evidence, and, moreover, abundant material exists tending to prove their falsity. (See the preface to Hepworth Dixon's “William Penn, an Historical Biography founded on Family and State Papers,” London, 1856).

Penn was sent by James to visit William of Orange, whom he endeavored to convert to his views of universal toleration, and, after visiting in Holland, he travelled through Rhineland, where he circulated reports of the success of his colony. In April, 1687, the king issued a proclamation declaring liberty of conscience to all, and removing tests and penalties, which was largely the result of Penn's influence. Penn was the only one of the court circle that remained in London after his flight, and he was called before the lords of council, who, finding nothing against him, save that he was a friend of James, required of him bonds for his appearance on the first day of the following term, when he was declared free of every charge that had been made against him. Subsequently a letter from the exiled James, requesting him to come to France, was intercepted, and he was again brought before the council in presence of King William. After a long examination, in which Penn declared his friendship for James though he did not approve of the latter's policy, and said he could not prevent the exile from writing to him, he was discharged. He was arrested twice or thrice after this, on the charge of being implicated in various plots, but secured discharge for lack of evidence. In 1692 he was deprived of his government, and his province was annexed to the colony of New York. On 23 Feb., 1694, his wife died, and he bore testimony to her virtuous life