1830.] NEW CHURCH AT MANAYUNK. recognition. The body was put by for safe keeping until the relatives should be acquainted with the accident. About sun-down, two young men sent by the aunt, examined the body and were fully satisfied that it was Francis'-a niece of the aunt's also saw him, and unhesitatingly acknowledged that it was his body. At the request of the connexions, on Monday morning, the coroner had the corpse conveyed to a burial ground that they had selected for his interment, information having been previously forwarded to his wife. On Tuesday, to the astonishment of all parties here, the identical Francis C- who was supposed to have been buried, came to assure his friends that he was not drowned -although from some striking similarity five persons had declared the deceased to be him. The person drowned therefore remains unknown." 335 thwart the exercise of such benevolence, as in the United States of America. With respect to religion, ours is an intolerant constitution-because it could not be tolerant towards one, without giving or implying a preference to another; and this would be the very interference which it expicitly disclaims. And yet, where is the country in which religious exclusion prevails to a greater extent, whilst religious persecution is utterly unknown. Different, however, was the case in the instance now under consideration. The trustees of the Presbyterian church granted the use of that building for the preaching of the sermon that was to be delivered on the occasion. Thither, therefore the crowd directed their steps, the moment the ceremony of laying the corner-stone was completed. It presented to my mind, as it passed, under all the circumstances, something more than mere novelty. IfI might make use of NEW CATHOLIC CHURCH AT MANAYUNK. the words, I would call it religiously romantic. There was old age moving with a celerity of footstep, quickenIt is but too seldom that we have to record a spec-ed by the dread of losing a seat; there was boyhood in tacle combining so many pleasing considerations, as that which was witnessed on Monday at laying the cornerstone of the Catholic Church in the village of Manayunk. The United States Gazette of Monday morning, together with some coins, and a manuscript bearing the date of the event, the names of the officiating clergyman, of the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese, of the Governor of Pennsylvania, and President Jackson, were deposited "snug and dry," in the cavity of a beautiful stone, and placed under a seal of cement, which will remain unbroken, save by the hand of some future generation. On the margin of the newspaper, were written the census of the village, the date of its origin, and the only legacy bequeathed to it by the departed Indian-its name; which, like the beauty of its scenery, grew out of the river whose bank it occupies. The record testifies that Manayunk was eight years old-its population 1800 souls. At all his glee, making the most of a holiday; here were the gentleman and lady, and close by them the man of labor, who, "went not back to take up his coat;"-the whole variegated with a proportionate sprinkling of fashion and of beauty. It seemed to me a miniature of mankind. But that which struck me most, was the "agitans molem," the Roman Catholic priest, shedding from the glittering robes in which religion had arrayed him, the broken rays of the evening sun, that beamed full upon his vestments and upon his countenance.— Where was he going? He was going to preach, by permission both divine and human, in a Presbyterian church and to a congregation of all religions! It was altogether a sight the like of which I had never seen before. At about a quarter past five, the Rev. Mr. Hughes commenced his discoure from the 28th chapter of Genesis, "and this stone which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God."-U. S. Gazette. METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER, APRIL, 1830. Days Barometer. KEPT AT CHILIS QUAQUE, BY J. P. SANDERSON. Thermometer Atmosp. Variations The site of the building is on a sloping eminence, considerably to the right of the present entrance of the village, as you proceed from the city. It had been understood, that at 4 o'clock the ceremony would commence; and long before that time, the ground was occupied by a numerous and respectable concourse of persons. half past four the Rev. Mr. Hughes, assisted by three other priests, dressed in their sacerdotal robes, proceed. ed from the house of Mr. Keating, and performed the service usual on such occasions. The inconvenience experienced by the audience, or such of them as did not understand the Latin language, was remedied by the translation of the service, of which the Psalms of David seemed to form the principal part. I noticed particularly the 83d, 86th, 121st, and 126, (according to the Vulgat Doway,) beginning-"How lovely are Thy tabernacles," &c. "The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains;" "I rejoice at the things that were said to me;" "Unless the Lord build the house," &c. as being peculiarly and beautifully appropriate to the occasion on which they were used, and the translation of them as being in accordance, if not with the rules of the church, at least with the sentiments and wishes of the audience, The whole ceremony came home to the mind, invested with a solemnity of mingled feeling, in which curiosity was succeeded by something that seemed to whisper to the heart of heaven and of eternity. I have more than once seen it remarked as a matter 19 29 7 of astonishment, that in some parts of Germany, the Cath-20 29 5 olics and Protestants assemble to worship God accord- 21 29 5 ing to their respective rites, in the same temple, by al- 22 29 4 29 4 ternate succession, in the order of time, or by equal par- 23 294 tition of the edifice. The fact was taken as a proof that 24 29 6 29 6 men can be scrupulously attached to the religion which 26 29 4 29 4 29 553 | 58 56 Cloudy in their opinion is the most pleasing to God, and yet ca. pable of showing unbounded kindness towards those 27 30 030 0 30 0 40 47 54 Clear who, for opposite reasons, are scrupulously attached to 28 29 9 29 9 29 9 50 62 69 an opposite doctrine. There is no country under hea- 29 29 8 29 7 29 7 55 58 73 ven in whose laws and government there is so little to 30 29 629 6|29 6 | 62 74 88 912 3 9 12 3 A.M. P. M. 129 2 2 29 3 3 29 5 4 29 2 29 247 60 64 Sunshn.] Sunshn. Clear 5 297 629 7 336 LUMBER. An immense quantity of lumber has descended the Susquehanna the present season; more, it is estimated, by one-third, than descended any previous season. The same is said of the lumber trade on the Delaware, and the article may be purchased as low at Philadelphia as at Harrisburg, Middletown or Columbia. For the last twenty-five years, at least, we have heard that timber was becoming scarce at the head waters of the Susquehanna; and boards, shingles, &c. must, the It turns out, how ensuing year, be scarcer and dearer. ever, that lumber in all its shapes descends the river year after year in increased › bundance. Why? Because there is more skill employed in getting the timber out of the forest to the saw mill, and consequently it is delivered there cheaper-because saw mills are placed upon water courses; remote from the main stream, which were formerly considered unfit for navigation, but are now descended by rafts-and because the immense forests of pine stand upon soil of excellent quality, which the settlers are anxious to cultivate. son can form an accurate idea of the quantity of timber standing in a pine forest, without actually seeing it. These forests, however, are not exhaustless, and the time will come, albeit that cannot be the case in our day, when they will be exhausted. No per buildings which have been erected. And yet the im provements are not equal to the increase of inhabitants and the business of the place, as will be seen by an advertisement of Messrs. Miller & Evans, two of our most enterprising builders, who wish to employ five or six workmen immediately. Five handsome buildings are now being erected on Market street, together with oth ers in other parts of the town." Inland Trade.-The following articles, with some others not stated, passed Eastward in waggons through the Eastern Gate of the Chambersburg Turnpike Road Company, in one month, from the 2d of March to the 2d of April, to Baltimore and Philadelphia, of which an account was kept by Jacob Shober, Gatekeeper. bbls. 3,450 | Rags, Flour, Whiskey, 364 Feathers, lbs. 21,000 do bush. do 7,420 365 Paper, do 9,800 lbs 25,007 Iron castings do 5,000 doz. 3,415 Blooms do 51,400 do 2,325 do 8,000 Other Iron manu 11,400 tures, do 16,300 do 62,000 do 134,600 With the exception of the articles of hemp, wool, Since the Union and Schuylkill canals have been finished, the lumber trade has taken a new direction. A beeswax, bacon, rags, feathers, glass, the other articles great proportion of the lumber that formerly descended were, it is believed, from Franklin county, and chiefly the Susquehanna, run on to tide, and then to Baltimore, from Chambersburg and its vicinity; which, also furnishA considerable supply for the adja-ed part of the several items excepted-with the excep Washington, &c. More Flour passes, it is believed, cent country was purchased at Columbia, Middletown, tion only of Glass. Harrisburg, and New Cumberland. But Middletown at through this gate to market in each of the months of this time far surpasses all the other points in the amount December, January, and February, than in March. It of her lumber trade. It is said that three hundred hou- is also considered that one third at least of the agricul ses are to be erected at Pottsville during the ensuing tural products of Franklin county passes to market by summer, the lumber for which is laid in at Middletown, the Waynesburg and Emmittsburg Turnpike Road and and conveyed to its destination by the Union and by Hagerstown. Schuylkill canals. It was formerly a serious matter for COVINGTON, April 15. farmers in the eastern end of Dauphin, in Lebanon or A panther was shot in Drinker's settlement on the 3d Berks, to build a house, barn, or the most insignificant You will please publish the fol tenement, because they were obliged to carry the inst. by Daniel Scott, boards and shingles in wagons from ten to forty miles.—lowing account of it, which is as near as may be in the But since the canals have been in operation, lumber is hunter's language. distributed along the whole line, from Middletown to Lebanon, to Berks and down to the eastern part of Montgomery, and sold at an immense reduction in the The consequence is, this country every where Lebanon exhibits cheering evidences of improvement. and Berks have always been anti-canal counties, and a majority of their people yet labour under the apprehension that the canals will answer no good purpose, while they are strongly possessed of the presage that they will be ruined by taxes; when it can be demonstrated by figures and facts, that the price paid for lumber in those Counties before the Union Canal was constructed was so much higher than it is now, that the difference, or saving, to the purchasers will be more than sufficient to pay all the taxes that may be assessed upon those counties for canal and rail road purposes, even assuming the highest estimate of those opposed to the canal and rail road system to be the true one.-Harrisburg Chron. He says he was sauntering along with his rifle not far from his residence thinking it probable he might get a chance at some wolves, whose track he had seen some days previous, when he heard a great fuss in a swamp a short distance from him, and immediately after, his dog came running towards him evidently very much alarmed, but his courage being raised by his master's pres ence, he returned to the swamp-Scott followed at dou ble quick time, pecking round pretty sharp to see what was up. At length he came near enough to see the creatur, who sot on a little knoll, moving his tail about, and wrig gling like a cat, with his head near the ground.-Scott guesses he was about four rods from him but the tarnal fellow did not perceive his approach, (having his eyes on the dog, and preparing to spring) until he gave a whistle, when he raised himself up and showed his breast, at which the hunter took deliberate aim, and shot him through the heart and livers. He was a fine fellow, in the prime of life, six feet and a half from tail No doubt he had feasted well on venison du to snout. ring the winter, as he was in such good case that Mrs Scott got fat enough from him to make half a barrel of Soap. Printed every SATURDAY MORNING by WILLIAM F GEDDES, No. 59 Locust Street, Philadelphia; where, and at the PUBLICATION OFFICE, IN FRANKLIN PLACE, second door back of the Post Office, (back room) subscriptions will be thankfully received. Price FIVE DOLLARS per annuin, payable annually by subscribers residing in or near the city, or whe there is an agent. Other subscribers pay in advance, THE REGISTER OF PENNSYLVANIA. DEVOTED TO THE PRESERVATION OF EVERY KIND OF USEFUL INFORMATION RESPECTING THE STATE. VOL. V.-NO. 22. EDITED BY SAMUEL HAZARD. PHILADELPHIA, MAY 29, 1830. BENJAMIN WEST. The interest which the public have felt, and still feel, in what has been justly stiled "the magnificent picture" of Christ Rejected, since its exhibition in this city, leads us to imagine, that a brief memoir of the artist cannot but prove interesting; the more so, seeing that he was not only an American, and a Pennsylvanian, but almost a Philadelphian. The ancestors of the West family were of English origin, and emigrated to this country with William Penn, on his second visit hither. They had embraced Quaker principles, and this was probably the reason of their quitting their native land, and seeking an asylum, where no previous religious establishments viewed a difference of opinion from the majority as visionary or encroaching sectarianism. BENJAMIN WEST was the youngest of a family of ten children of John West, who married Sarah Pearson. Benjamin was born on the 10th of October, 1738, in Springfield township, Chester county, in this state, where he was brought up in the faith and profession of his ancestors; a profession, to his honour be it said, from which he never swerved, when his genius commanded the flattery of courts and honour from kings and princes. At the time of West's birth, the fine arts had scarcely an admirer in this country, much less professed disciples. Under these circumstances, and brought up too in principles by no means favourable to a taste for painting, the innate bent of our youthful artist's disposition looked forth, and nature and genius triumphed over every impediment. NO. 126. of his parents to pursue painting as a profession in Phil- The He practised his art successfully in Philadelphia, Lancaster, New York, and other places, both in portrait and history, till the year 1759, when the same unextinguishable love of the art which had influenced his childhood, led him to visit the classic shores of Italy, to study those masterly performances, without having seen which it is hardly possible to conceive what the arts can achieve. Ile embarked at Philadelphia on his twentyfirst birth-day, and landed at Leghorn, whence he proceeded to Rome, and for a time enthusiastically revelled there in his darling pursuit, until his corporeal strength became unequal to sustain his mental excitement. He more than once, though originally of a hearty and robust constitution, lost his health, and reluctantly quitted, for a time, his study of Michael Angelo and Raphael and Poussin, and returned to Leghorn and the seacoast for relaxation. He soon, however, resumed his delightful task, which he pursued with the devotedness of a martyr, making himself familiarly acquainted with the chefs d'œuvres, at Parma, Florence, Venice, and other principal places in Italy. Mr. West spent about four years in this useful and cheering manner, and finally quitted Italian studies and journied to London, by way of Paris, in which latter place he remained long enough to examine all the galleries and museums, and reached London in the month of August, 1763. Blenheim, Oxford, Stourhead, Fonthill, Windsor, Hampton Court, and other collections, received his speedy and eager attention, and the attractions of England in the treasures of art, with other reasons, perhaps, led him soon after his arrival to give up his purpose of returning to America, and to resolve on settling in London; and it was a fortunate hour both for himself and the arts when he adopted such a determination. A new era had arisen, The Association of Art It is recorded of him by one of his biographers [Galt] that at the age of seven he made a drawing in red and black ink, of an infant neice, of whose cradle he had the charge, and whose sweet smile in her sleep excited his imitative powers, though he had never seen a picture or engraving! With this precocious sign of inherent talent, the boy's mother was so much charmed that it may readily be believed her admiration and encourage ment confirmed his taste. He was now sent to school, where even before he had learned to write, pen and ink became his cherished favourites, and birds, flowers and animals were rapidly added to his juvenile port folio.-ists, in 1760, paved the way to an exhibition in Spring His father, it is said, being admonished by some of the elders of the society, did all he could to repress the ardour of his son in his favourite pursuit, and earnestly sought to direct his attention to what he thought a more useful object of study and attention. At length a remarkable circumstance befel him; and the painter, who was in after years to gain the applause and admiration of the civilized world, was strangely indebted to a party of savage Indians for, to him, a stupendous advance in his yet rude and untaught pursuit. They showed him how to prepare red and yellow colours, such as they employed in chequering their bodies and ornamenting their belts and weapons; and a piece of indigo from his fond mother completed his now res plendent pallet; while the tail of a black cat, in the absence of camel-hair, furnished brushes to our young and irrepressible artist! His was an ardour which nothing could repel; difficulties vanished before him; his whole soul was wrapped up in his favourite pursuit. At about the age of sixteen he obtained the consent 43 Garden in 1764, to which Mr. West sent two pictures he had painted at Rome, and a portrait, which obtained for him a very prominent share of public notice and distinction. The artists were incorporated in 1765, on the 2d of September, in which year Mr. West married a lady to whom he was engaged before leaving Philadel phia, and who was accompanied across the Atlantic by his approving father. Mr. West continued to pursue his profession with incessant assiduity and great success. In 1768 the late king George the Third established the Royal Academy, under his especial protection, for the avowed encouragement of historical painting; in forming which Mr. West was much consulted, being one of the four artists commanded to attend the king on that occasion. Amongst the earliest of Mr. West's productions in London was the subject of Agrippina landing at Brundusium with the ashes of Germanicus, the painting of which originated from a conversation which took place at the table of Drummond, Archbishop of York, where our artist was a guest. This painting stamped the fame of Mr. West with the king, who immediately afterwards ordered Regulus to be painted for the royal collection. This picture, in which the painter was eminently successful, was the first of his productions exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1769, and it procured for him not only popular applause, but the countenance and friendship of the king, which continued increasingly thenceforward as long as mental consciousness remained in him. But we must be brief, and shall conclude by giving a rapid sketch of the artist's professional progress. From the year 1764, to the end of his life, he never, we believe, missed one year in exhibiting his works; the bare list of which would occupy more space than we have written. In 1772 he was appointed historical painter to the king; in 1790, surveyor to the royal pictures. In 1791, on the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds, he was unanimously elected president of the Royal Academy, an office which he held, with a slight interruption of that honor occasioned by an absence in France during the peace of Amiens, from that time until his death. In 1792,he became a member of the Society of Antiquaries, and of the Society of Arts. In 1807, he was chosen Governor of the Foundling Hospital; in 1804, a member of the Royal Institution. In short, honors and distinctions were heaped upon him not only in England, but by eminent foreign bodies and princes; and by means of one of the most eminent in the English court--eminent for his moral virtues we mean-the preferment of knighthood was offered him, which he respectfully declined. The offer came of course from the king, and the intimate associate and friend of our artist, the Duke of Gloucester, the king's brother, delivered the message. The declination of this evident mark of royal distinction only served to knit the two friends closer together, perhaps no man in existence is more capable of separating and estimating mere hereditary distinctions from intrinsic worth than the Duke of Gloucester. "Christ healing the sick" and "Christ rejected" are now to be seen in this city. The first is stationary; the other will probably soon leave us. It has been, and still is, a matter of regret, with every lover of the fine arts, that some proposition had not been made to the present possessor of this picture, to purchase it, and make this city its home. The first picture, it is understood, was made a present of, by its highly gifted author many years ago, to the Pennsylvania Hospital, from the exhibition of which a constant revenue has been, and will as long as the canvass holds together, be accruing to the funds of that benevolent institution, "rivalling in annual amount the proceeds of the most munificent bequest ever made to a charitable institution in this country!" There is another consideration which ought to influ ence them. They have seen the character which Philadelphia has obtained with every lover of taste from the possessor of the picture of Christ "healing the sick." What other city in the union can boast of such a prize? Now much would the character of our city be height. ened could it point to every inhabitant, and to every stranger, the place where the last and brightest efforts of one of its ever honored citizens could be always seen and admired? We have already said, that it would exceed the limits we have prescribed to ourselves, to go through a list of the numerous splendid productions of Benjamin West. We shall attempt a short, and certainly an imperfect, sketch of his personal character, and conclude. In society, and in domestic privacy, Mr. West was al ways calm and cheerful. Whilst he was far removed from austerity, there was always such a calmness, pla cidity, and even gravity about his manners, that in the courts of princes, as well as in the social circle, he nev er failed to command respect. His conversation, like his paintings, never admitted of what is called the comic. Of this feeling, there is not a solitary instance in his numerous works. His appearance was mild, and a strict simplicity marked all his habits, expressions and principles. His memory was said to be so wonderfully retentive, that not many years before his death, recollect ing the long gone-by days of his youthful ardor and admiration, he restored with amazing fidelity several pic tures of the old masters, which, at a very early period his life he had seen in Italy. In December, 1817, Mr. West lost the partner of his hopes, cares, anxieties and triumphs for more than half a century. We forgot to say in its proper place, that the maiden name of this lady, who was herself a Phila delphian, was Shewell. Mr. West breathed his last as camly, as placidly, a he had lived, on the 10th of March, 1820, at the good In Mr. West's discourses delivered as the president of the Royal Academy, his leading object continually was to emancipate art from the mere mannerism of imitating preceding masters. Few of his cotemporaries went like him to the fountain head of of nature. He, like a master spirit, added example to precept, not only introducing reforms, but, spurning the beaten path, followed his own daring conceptions, until he attained the strictest accuracy of judgment, and acquired what has been so justly denominated the "philosophy of taste." When his picture of the Death of General Wolfe appeared, the taste of the day was to treat subjects in a way somewhat simply called the "classic style," in oth-old age of eighty-one. er words, to dress all the individuals in Greek or Roman costume, and to fill every space in the picture with deities and allegorical figures. This, it was supposed, imparted a kind of supernatural dignity to the composition. Mr. West had genius and firmness enough to resist this popular contagion, and the sight of the Death of Wolfe abolished this silly taste forever. His celebrated picture of William Penn's Treaty, under the Oak, at Kensing ton, tended, perhaps, as much as any thing, to confirm the practice of his new school, which all English artists thereafter adopted, and to this day, nature only is considered as the point of excellence. ence. His remains were, by his sons, interred with more pomp and ceremony perhaps than he would himself have chosen, in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, amongst the "mighty dead," none of whose names can survive his. Till within a short period of his decease, he painted with his wonted vigor, and entertained and cherished comprehensive plans of new works with which his ever active mind was always occupied. Death alone could quell his enthusiasm. The resistless destroyer of all that is mortal, could alone quench and obliterate his grand conceptions, his unfinished plans. Death interposed, and arrested those efforts, every one of which tended not only to improve the taste of mankind, but to promote the cause of virtue, morality and religion. Thus lived and died, BENJAMIN WEST. M. [Inquirer. Mr. West's vast conceptions, as well as his powers of execution, appear to have grown and strengthened, as in the usual course of things, both mind and body would relax. His old age displayed the vigor and imagination of youth, combined with the skill of an age of experiWitness his "Christ healing the sick," and his "Christ rejected," which latter was begun when he was seventy-four. And who can forget the prodigious effect A gentleman of Germantown, presented us, on Fri of his "Death on the pale horse? For the Christ reject- day last, with a musket Flint, which had been plough. ed ten thousand pounds sterling were offered and re-ed up that day, and found upon the Germantown battle fused in London. ground.-Village Telegraph. RECORDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. RECORDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. Abstract of the state records at Harrisburg, made by Thomas Sergeant, Esq. when Secretary of the Commonwealth, and by him presented to the Historical Committee of the American Philosophical Society, Nov. 3, 1819.-1748 to 1758. Bill for granting £100,000 presented by the House. Jan. 25.-Governor returns it on account of its bebe mode of taxing the proprietary. to en est 18 Answer to the request of Messrs. Callender and Pemberton. "Gentlemen: I laid your application with regard to the inspection of the Council Books before his honour the Governor, and in answer thereto I am comthemanded to acquaint you that as those books contain the most important affairs of government, many of which require the greatest secrecy, he cannot allow the perusal of them to any but those concerned in the administration; and further, that he looks upon the transacting of business with the Indians in this province, to be a matter so entirely pertaining to himself, that he cannot permit any but such as are immediately empowered by the King's authority or by his own, to treat with or intermeddle in the affairs of that people. That they might have a copy of what concerned affairs of property." Vest Boundaries ascertained by Walking.--Nicholas Scull, Surveyor General, on his oath, says "That he was present when James Yeates and Edward Marshal, together with some Indians, walked one day and an half back in the woods pursuant to a grant of land made by the Delaware Indians to William Penn. That the said day and an half's walk was begun at a place near Wrightstown in the county of Bucks, sometime in September 1737, and continued from the place aforesaid to some distance beyond the Kittanning mountains; that he believes the whole distance walked to be not more than 55 statute miles; that Benjamin Eastburn, Surveyor General, Timothy Smith, Sheriff of the said county of Bucks, and he, this affirmant, attended at the said day and an half's walk, from the beginning until the same was ended; that he well remembers that particular care was taken not to exceed the time of the day and an half or 18 hours; that he, this affirmant, then thought and still thinks the said walk to be fairly performed, and believes that the said walkers did not run or go out of a walk at any time, nor does he remember that those Indans who were present made any complaint of unfair practice.That Benjamin Eastburn and this affirmant, with some others, lodged the night after the said walk was completed at an Indian town called Pohkopophunk, where there were many of the Delawares, among whom he well remembers there was one called Capt. Harrison, a noted man among the Indians-neither he nor any of the Indians made complaint or shewed the least uneasiness at any thing done relating to the said walk; if there bad he would have heard of it." Jan. 28.-Assembly remonstrate against the Governor's refusing to pass the Money Bill; and desire him to assent to it without amendment. He adheres to his determination. The Quakers on behalf of their brethren inhabiting the three lower counties, presented an address to the Governor, complaining of the militia law enacted there, and of the oppressive conduct of a Magistrate and Constable-as contrary to Charter, and their rights and privileges. 839 Differences continued between the Governor and Assembly about the several bills. Feb. 11.-Letter from William Pitt, announcing his appointment of Secretary of the Southern Department in the room of Mr. Fox, and enclosing the King's speech. Number of Roman Catholics in Pennsylvania.-Eng. lish and Irish in Philadelphia, 139, viz: 77 males, 62 females. In Chester county, 40-25 males and 15 females: as given by Mr. Harding, the Roman Catholic priest, at the Governor's request. And that including all (viz. Germans, &c.) men, women, and children in Pennsylvania does not exceed 2000. Lord Loudoun (now in Philadelphia) desiring to be made acquainted with the nature of the Constitution and the matters in difference between the Governor and Assembly. The following was drawn up by Mr. PetersNumber of Inhabitants.-"The inhabitants have never been numbered, but it is believed by good judges that they amount to 200,000 in the province and coun ties-30,000 of which may be capable of bearing arms. "No militia is established by law, owing to the Quakers, who it is thought make one-eighth of the province; and as they are against defence, those who would oth erwise cheerfully defend their country are displeased, and decline to form associations, as they did in the last war, for their protection. "On the first attacks of the Indians, the back inhabitants having no arms nor order, were struck with a panic and deserted their plantations-on which a range of forts was built along the frontiers, and 1400 men raised for garrisons and patroles, which are still kept up.Each soldier has 18 pence currency a day and his victuals found. These 1400 men, with their officers, cost the province about £70,000 currency, annually. They are only enlisted for a year, which is either expired or near it, and five months pay in arrear. "The Assembly have sat five months without raising supplies. Last year an act passed granting £60,000 to the King, and a supplement to that act granting £100,000 is now before the Governor, with respect to which he is under this difficulty: that tho' the proprietary estate be exempted, yet the bill is framed on a plan very unjust, unequal, and oppressive; on which account the proprietaries in instructions given after the act to which this is a supplement, had received the Royal assent, have restrained their Governor from passing such a one as this by advice of the Lords of Trade—and if it be not passed just as it is, with many things in it which are ac knowledged by Mr. Franklin to be unjust, no supplies, it is said, will be raised. It is to be observed that neither in this nor the other supply bill is any money giv en for the general service of America; and that all monies raised and not particularly appropriated are at the disposal of the Assembly, so that the Governor is obliged to make particular applications for every article of expense, be it ever so trifling, or advance it out of his own pocket. "The Assembly withholds the Governor's support, which used to be £10,000 currency per annum; and the perquisites, which amount one year with another to £10,000, are chiefly paid at the close of the year. "The Assembly have of late very much encroached on the rights of government in this particular, viz. that when any office is created by act of Assembly, the offi cers are inserted in the bill, with a clause giving the Assembly the right of nomination in case of death; and they will not suffer amendments to their bills in these particulars. "The people, by the Proprietary Charters, choose the Sheriff's and Coroners. And all officers concerned in the raising, assessing, and collecting public monies, by express laws are chosen by the people annually, or nominated by the Assembly, and only accountable to them. "The Assembly say they cannot be prorogued nor |