The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1849-11-16
From the Boston Transcript
William Penn-No. q.

schoomstress, had walked in procession, and pre-
| sented standard TO Monmouth, at Taunton, In
| 1850. Some of them had expiated their offence
| already. That hell hound Of a Judge, Jeffreys,
had, literally, frightened one of them to death IL
was determined, under menace of the gibbet, to
extort ransom from the parents of all these limo
cent girls. Who does not apply those lines of
Shakespeare TO this internal Judge!
| "Did you say all What, all? Oh, Hellkite, all
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam,
| At one fell swoop?'
"rhe Queens maids of honor" says Mr.. Ma
caulay ''asked the royal permission to wiring
money out OF the parents Of the poor children;
and the permission was granted" they demanded
a. 600. and applied to Sir Francis Ware to exact
the ransom. she was charged TO declare, in strong
language that the maids Of honor would not en-
dure delay" &c.
| Ware excused himself Mr.. Macaulay pro-
ceeds as follows: 'The maids of honor then re-
quested William Penn to act for them, and Penn
| accepted the commission Yet it should seem that
little OF the pertinacious scrupulosity, which he
had often shown, about taking off his hat, would
| not have been altogether out of place upon this
| occasion. He probably silenced the remonstrances
OF his conscience, by repeating to himself, that
none OF the money, which he extorted, would go
into his own pocket; that, if he refused to be the
agent of the ladies' they would find agents less hui
name; that, by complying he should increase his
influence at the court and that his influence at the
| court had already enabled him, and might still
enable him. to render great services to his oppressed
brethren The maids of honor were at last forced
to content themselves with less than third part Of
| what they had demanded"
Now 1t seems to me, that no clear headed, whole
hearted, impartial reader will draw the inference,
from this passage, which Mr. Macaulay would
| maniestly have him draw. Penn well understood
the resolute brutality of Jeffreys the dying
obstinacy and vindictive malevoence of James,
and the heartess greediness of these maids of hon
| or. He knew, as MIR. Macaulay says, that 'tif he
refused to be the agent Of the ladies they tvould find
agents less humane" There was no secresy here
| this thing was not done in corner. Mr. Macau-
| EranCis
and after he refused they requested William
Penn" &c. Penn acted as a peace maker. Ee
stood between these she wolyes-these shameless
maids of honor-and the Taunton lambs; and, in
stead of f7 900, he persuaded those vampres-who,
under the royal grant, had full power in their
hands to do their wicked willto receive less than
90, 300. Mr.. Macauay admits, that Penn received
not a farthing; and that had he refused, matters
might have been worse for the oppressed
The known character of Penn demands Of us the
presumption, in his favor that he entered upon this
business consclentiously, and not as ertOrtiOner
and that he made, the results lead us to believe
| he did, the very best terms for the parents.
| Wherein was ever the sin or the shame Of negot-
| ating, between the Buccaneers of the Tortugas
and the parents Of captive children, for their
| som! Does not Mr.. Macaulay present the reign Of
James H., before u.s. blotted all over with official
piracy and judicial murder? If the adjustment of
this odious business increased the influence of Penn
at court, and thereby enabled him to 'render great
services TO his oppressed brethren"-these the
| natural consequences of the act without them,
there was enough OF just and honorable motive for
| a mediator TO step between the oppressor and the
| oppressed, and lessen much possible, the
weight of the oppression.
| If the conduct of William Penn, upon this COCA
sion, was the humane and christian thing which it
certainly appears to have been, 'ue pntinacious
scruposiy, iohich he had often shOcn, about taking
| off his hat,' would have been wholly out of place
And if so, what justification can be found for Mr..
Macaulay's expressions-"Lhe relOnstranceS of has
conscience" and "ue money tplich he ertorted?''
| II is proverbially hard for old dog to learn :,
new tricks. He to whose hand the Ratchet is ia
miliar when he substitutes the rapier, will still hack
| and hew with it, though il were Ratchet. 1t
may well be doubted, if an impartial history, espc-
cialy those parts of it wherein the writer deals
with character and motive, can ever be trusworthi
| ly and mpartally written by veteran, profess
sional reviewer, of the tomahawk school, however
| splendid his talents may be-
Upon this occasion, Penn, doubtless, persuaded
the maids of honor to moderate their demands; at
| the same time representing TO the parents the
compromising character of those with whom they
| had TO deal, and the unavoidable necessity of MAX
ing terms IL is impossible to Judge of the transac-
ton Alright, without taking intoview the character
| OF those dark days of tyranny and misrue, and
the little security then enjoyed by the subject.
On page 659 ibid, Mr.. Macauay once more in
| PRODUCES Penn TO his readers-"William Penn, for
| whom exhibitions which humane men generally
avoid seem to have had strong attraction, fastened
from Cheapsde, where he had seen Cornish hanged,
to Tyburn, in order TO Elizabeth Gaunt burned.
He afterwards related that, when she calmly dis
|
shorten her sufferings all the bystanders burst into
tears" Here Is another attempt TO lower the Qua.
ker in public estimation.
That Penn ever, from the cradle 10 the grave,
gazed OVERWHELMINGLY upon human suffering,
nobody, but madman will credit for a moment
Nor would Mr.. Macaulay, notwithstanding the ra-
Their peculiar construction of the paragraph, VEN
ture directly so TO represent him. Ii has been my
fortune TO know several men, of kind and warm
affections, who have confessed, without reserve,
strong desire TO witness the execution Of criminals
Cornish and Gauntw were executed on the same day,
and their fate excited universal attention. Penn's
account Of the last moments of both very mi
mute, and shows him to have been deeply inter
! osted observer. | am not aware that he ever at
tended any other execution And, if he did not,
the remark of Mr. Macaulsy, which is general, can
never be justified in relation TO Penn; though il
would fairly apply to the celebrated George Sewyn,
who, though remarkable for the kecnness of his
sibility, and the kindness of his heart, in the
habit Of attending every execution in London; and
who, upon one remarkable occasion of this kind.
actually embarked for the Continent.
Why could not Mr.. Macsulay, who, often refers
10 Clarkson, have adopted some Of his charitable
and gentlemanly constructions of PENIS conduct
upon this occasion. Clarkson says: " Men of the
most noted benevolencc have felt and INDUCED a
curiosity Of this sort. They have been worked upon
by different motives; some, perhaps, by desire of
seeing what human nature would be at such
awful crisis; what would be ts struggles; what
would be the effects Of innocence guilt; what
would be the power Of religion on the mind"
81 should say that he consented 10 witness
the scenes in question with view to do good; with
a view Of being able 10 make an impression on the
kings mind, by his own relation" &c.
In vol H., page 222, 1851, Mr.. Macaulay says
Penn had never been a strong headed man the
life which he had been leading during two years
had not little impaired his moral sensbility; and
If his conscience ever reproached him, he comfort
ed himself by repeating that he had good and
bic end in view, and that he was not paid for his
services in money"
Again, ibid, page 227, referring to the effort of
the king 10 propitiato William Kitten, great man
among the Baptists, no phraseology would suit Mr..
Macaulay but this "Penn tcas employed IN The icork
Of seduction" What seduction Indeed, when
good chance presents itself 20 reach the Qua
kcr, any where and any how through the joints Of
the harness, the phyactery Of Mr.. Macaulay seems
TO have been serlpey pdratus IL was enough that
Penn was in some sense the conhdant, and, occa-
sionally the unconsirdined and perfectly conscicp-
tious agent of this most miserable king
That postcrity will sanction these potco- histor-
ical filings at the character of William Penn can.