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Show W I If am ram and Wu ( 0 'ff , 'yfwrtft) toH? vt rj!;y W cj&tuy ts- j$f Shupefi a4 to All cM -fif nJk -J3Z&t ff & hMc jJJXMT3 e S ' ' " Vv- """ 3 r y VJCxfx . fill A S iFv fK'.X -" "'f-A.Hll li i', 1 'wX.liif' fJ nil I: lyVflftW Illy H i 4ff4'Sl l&W&TTren w&?TTr I if V' f if m By ELMO SCOTT WATSON fWAS just 260 years ago that an Englishman Eng-lishman gave to the world a new idea In government which anticipated antici-pated modern ideas of a rule of the people which guaranteed religious and civil liberty. The man was William Penn, and this is the story of his "holy experiment." In 16G1 William Penn was a seventeen-year-old student at Christ Church, Oxford. His father, a distinguished dis-tinguished admiral of the British navy, was in high favor at the court because he had abandoned aban-doned his former allegiances of friendship and had aided in the restoration of King Charles H to the throne. His son was associating with the sons of the nobility who had remained loyal to the Stuarts and was receiving an education which would fit him to follow in the footsteps of his father, the old sea dog, and to obtain preferment at the hands of King Charles. But, unlike the other young men of the time, there was a vein of serious thought in young Penn and he had become much concerned with the problem of religious liberty. Even while attending at-tending a high church college he was secretly attending the meetings and listening to the doctrines doc-trines of the Quakers, a despised and outlawed sect which had spruug up during the Seventeenth century. It was during this time that young Penn began to hear of the plans of a group of Quakers to found colonies in the New world, but it was to be many years before Penn was to see those plans materialized and he himself, to have a hand in bringing them about. At Oxford, Penn came under the influence of two men who were profoundly influencing the youth of that day John Locke, the philosopher, . .. and Thomas Lowe, a leading Quaker preacher. In 1670 Penn was arrested in London for preaching in the street and was confined in the Tower. After his release from prison he made a missionary journey through Holland and Germany Ger-many and at Emden founded a Quaker colony. Some of these Germans were later to aid him in building his great commonwealth. In the meantime his father had died, but had called his son to his deathbed. ''Let nothing in the world tempt you to wrong your conscience," was his last whispered admonition to his Quaker son and one of the last acts of the admiral was to send a message to the king's brother, the duke of York, begging him, in memory of his services to the Stuarts, to protect William from persecution. He also left his son a debt of 16,000 sterling owed him by, Charles II. Although Charles was not especially famous for remembering remem-bering and repaying debts, this is one which he seems to have been scrupulous about. The king was poor in money, but he was rich in lands in North America. This immediately suggested to Penn a chance to carry out the plan for a Quaker colony which he had first heard as a student at Oxford. In a royal proclamation dated April 2, 16S1, King Charles announced "to the inhabitants and planters of Pennsylvania in America" be had granted a charter to William Penn to take possession pos-session of this new American province. Having received his charter Penn next drew Tip a constitution or "frame of government" in consultation with Algernon Sydney and other noted English Liberals. The preamble and some of the provisions of this charter of liberties, the original of which is preserved in the Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania state archives of today, reads as follows : To all people to whom these present shall come WHEREAS King Charles the second by his Letters, Patents under the Great Seal of England Eng-land for the Considerations therein mentioned hath been graciously pleased to give and grant unto me William Penn (By the name of William Penn Esq'r, son and heir of Sr. William Penn deceased) and to my heirs and assigns forever ALL that tract of land or province called Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania in America with divers Great Powers Freheminencie Royalties Jurisdictions and Authorities Au-thorities necessary for the well-being and Government Gov-ernment thereof now know ye that for the Well , Being and Government of the said Province and for the Encouragement of all the ffreemen and Planters that may be therein concerned in pursuance pur-suance of the powers afore mentond I the said William Penn have declared Granted and Confirmed Con-firmed and by these presents for me my heirs and Assigns do declare grant and Confirm unto all the freemen Planter and Adventurers of in and to the said Province those Liberties (franchises (fran-chises and properties to be held Enjoyed and Kept by the Freemen Planters and Inhabitants of and in the said province of Pennsylvania forever. "Imprimis" THAT the Government of this province shall according to the Powers of the Patent consist of the Governour and ffreemen of the said Province in the fform of a Provincial Provin-cial Council and General Assembly by whom all I-aws Shall be made Officers Chosen and publick affairs Transacted and is here after Respectively declared That Is to say 2. That the ffreemen of Uim said Province s-'iall on Uve TweuUeth daj 1. William Penn, Founder of the Colony of Pennsylvania, which became the Keyeionc State of today. 2. Penn' Treaty with the Indians. From the painting by Benjamin Webb. 3. A portion of the original William Penn Charter of Liberties, showing his signature and seal affixed by him in 16S2. This historic document was purchased from a New York collector several sev-eral years ago for $25,000 raised by popular subscription and is now in the state archives in Har-risburg. Har-risburg. 4. Old Quaker Meeting House at Jordans in Buckinghamshire, England. In the foreground is the private cemetery of the Penn family. The headstone at the extreme right marks the grave of William Perci, who was buried there after his death in 1718. He was survived by 11 sons who, with his two wives, are also buried here, with the exception of two sons, who are buried in the Stoke Poges graveyard. of the Twelfth month which shall be In this present year One Thousand Six Hundred Eighty and two Meet and Assemble in some fit place of which timely notice shall be beforehand given by the Governour or his deputies and then and there shall chuse of themselves Seventy-two persons per-sons of most note for their Wisdom Virtue and Ability who shall meet on the Tenth day of the ffirst month next ensuing and always be called and act as the Provincial Council of the said province. ... 5. That In the provincial Council in all Cases and matters of moment as There agreing upon Bills to be passed into Laws Exhorting Courts of Justice having Judgment Judg-ment upon criminals Impeached and choice of Officers in such manne? as is herein after men-coned men-coned Not lesse than Two Thirds of the whole Provincial Council shall make a Quorum and that the Consent and approbation of Two Thirds of said Quorum shall be had in all such Cases or matters of Moment. And moreover that In all cases and matters of lesser moment Twenty-ffour Twenty-ffour members of the said Provincial Council shall make a quorum. The Majority of which ffour and Twenty shall and may always determine deter-mine on such Cases and Causes of Lesser moment. mo-ment. 10. That The Governor and Provincial Council shall at all times settle and order the Situation of all Cities ports and Market Mar-ket towns in every County modelling therein all publick buildings Streets and Market places and shall appoint all necessary roads and highways high-ways in the province. 11. That The Governour Gover-nour and Provincial Council shall at all timos have power to Inspect the management of the public Treasury and punish those who shall Convert any part thereof to any other use than what hath been Agreed upon by the Governour Provincial Council and General Assembly. 12. That The Governour and Provincial Council shall Erect and order all publick Schools and incourage and Reward the Authors of usefull Science and Laudable Inventions in the said province. . . 21. And lastly that I the said William Penn for myself, my heirs and Assigns have Solemnly declared granted and confirmed and do hereby solemnly declare grant and confirm con-firm thut neither I my heirs nor Assigns shall procure or do anything or things whereby the Liberties in this Charter contained and expressed ex-pressed shall, be Infringed or broken And if anything be procured by any person or persons contrary to these premises it shall be held of no force or Effect. In witness whereof I the said William Penn have unto this present Charter Char-ter of Liberties Set my hand and Broad Seal this five and Twentieth day of the Second Month vulgarly called April In the year of our Lord One Thousand Six Hundred Eighty and Two. WM. PENN. Penn brought this charter of liberties with him when he came to his colony for the first time in the fall of 1082. It was submitted to the people at a meeting of the first assembly of the new colony held at Chester, Pennsylvania, formerly for-merly known as Upland, which had been settled set-tled by the Swedes in 16-15. This frame of government gov-ernment underwent several minor ohanges later, becoming more liberal each time. "Penn had now started his 'Holy Experiment,' as he called his enterprise in Pennsylvania," writes Fisher, "by which he intended to prove that religious liberty was not only right, but that agriculture, commerce and all arts and refinements re-finements of life would flourish under it. He would break the delusion that prosperity and morals were possible only under some one particular par-ticular faith established by law. Penn's "Holy Experiment" soon passed out of the realm of experiment. It became a fact. The colony prospered amazingly. Penn's famous treaties of friendship with the Indians permitted permit-ted the colony to live In peace with the red men for three-quarters of a century. The doors of the colony were hospitably opened to men of all nations and of all creeds. After Penn's return to England he fell for a time upon evil days. He became the victim of dishonest subordinates, sub-ordinates, ran into debt and for some time was consigned in debtor's prison. But the last six or eight years of his life were free from trouble. trou-ble. On July 30, 1718, Penn died at the ago of seven-y-four. He was burled In the graveyard grave-yard of the little Quaker church at Jordans In Buckingham. (0 by Western NswHluuuff Union.) |