Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1855-08-29
the matter at court, until he following letter

was writtcn
wnIfeuAl.l, te5fy. 1aA 1856.
HB. PENvt-Hcr 5f4festy's Maids Of Honor
having acquainted me that they design to en-
ploy youand Mr. " alden in m 5i1ing a conipo-
ii sitiQn with. the Relations ofsHhe Maids Of
Taunton, TOR the high MSdeTneanor they have
been guilty OF, | do at their request hereby
E letyoH know thae His Mqiestv has been pleas
ed to give their Fines to the said Maids Of
= Homer, and therefore rcc0nmend. il to Mr.
Walden and you 70 m2iie the most advantage
Gus coTuposftio. yod can in their be!alle.
81 am, Sir, your humble serv't,
,t l,a.siS SUNDERLAND P.''
To whom was this letter addresscd2 Sir
James Mcintosh, the first man who lro't the
letter to lig si5--tor AEr. Macanlay has not even
tine merit 81 originality in his errors,--assu'seol
that it was .ddFessed 10 William Penn; and in
hthis singular ass. raIstioh.he has been followed
by his friend and admirer. But Macintosh
-weut still farther: he mot only assumed, with
cut wtTryut, that a ictier addressed to NsMr.
fenneT toengage him ia a s.scandalous trans
actjqn2 was qddrasseasto the.s9yenor ef Penn
sXIyapia; but he also dared, ia defance OF ey-
cry rule of ofhistosicslepiticisnl 10 assume that
William Penn accepted the commission that
WAS SO offered. Nr. liacaulaY, ofcourse, cop
gave it the additional currency Of his own vol
umes. This point is particularly noticeable
that Mr.. Macaulty did not consult the origin
al authorities, but satisfied himself witii mere
Iy quoting fromthc .'Maeintosh COLLECTIONS
Now this letter was certainly not addressed TO
William Pthn. /. In the first place, ii does
moi bear his name ihe never wrote his name
tfPenpe, nor did others ever SO write it. In the
/ Pennsylvania correspondence, ia the Minutes
/ Of the PriYy Council, and in the letters Van
/ Citters, Locee, LawtoR, Bailey, Creech, and
Hunt,and in the correspondence Of his friends,
4 l have seen it written hundreds of times, but
i never once, even by accident, with final.
( Least OF all men could Sunderland, his inti-
mate acquaintance from boyhood, make such
a mistakc-2. The letter is highly disrespect-
I fuI, If supposed to be written 10 man o1. rank
Ia man who had refused a1peerage, and who
stood before she Court, not only as personal
friend The King, but Lord Proprietor OF
the largest proyace in Anlercai the more es-
pecially Wo.pl til;s be thesc case when it is con
sidevcd that the le,ter was written by the po-
lite and dp!ematic Earl Of Sunderland.--3.
The work to be done required allow tranicing
th-re until the business was concluded it is
o.svioas that this could not be done by Will
inn reRR.-z4. The letter is evidently a reply
to an oiier Of service: the maids Of honor ..de-
signe 10 amFoy2 Mr.. PeBne and Mr.. Walden
because, IS it seems to -nne,.,thcy had applied
for Tie Office. Malice itself would shrink from
the assumption that tllegovenQr Of PennSylva-
MIA would voluntarily solicit such an employ
megt.--5. I. IS contrary to everything else
that is known Of Penn that he would allow
himself, on any pretence, to be drawn into
such a businqss:-6. No mention Of it occurs
in any Of his letters: have read some hun
4reds Of them, and although he was the most
communicative of correspondents, not trace
Of his action. or Of his having been applied to
in the Affair." is to be found. Knowing his
epistolary habit, this fact alone would have
satisfied N.Y. own mind. No mention has
been made &C his interference by any news
writer, p3mphleteer, or hstoriaRs-thoggh he
had been concerned, the host OF .malignerSs
VINO rose against him on the dighsof James,
couid certainly not have failed to point their
#sarcosms with the sscandalous transaction
and ssextoltou Of money. IS. No tradition
of his appearance on the sceue.is preserved in
the neighborhood; when, had he really been
the ageut employed. it is impossible that so
conspicuous q broker could have faded so
soon from local recollection.
But, if William Penn were not the ''1r.
Penne" addressed by Lord Sunderland. aud
designed by the ladies to. be employed in their
behalf--who was the man? A little research
enables me to answer this question, In the Re-
gisters Of tle Privy Council, find this entry
AZ" Nov. 25th, 1857.
g GEoReE PEsNE-Upon reading the petit /
tion Of George Peune, gent. setting forth that
his family having been great sufferers for their
loyalty, He humbiy ibegS that His Majesty |
would be gracieusly pleased to grant him a
patent for the sole exercising the royal Oake !
lottery, and licensing all other games, in his /
Mliesty'S plantatidns in America, for twenty
one years. His Majesty in Council is pieased
to refer this matter to the consideration of the
Rt. Hon. the Lords Commissioners of the |
Treasury, and upon what their lordships report
OF what is fit to be done thereinforthe petitioner
hiSmaiesty will declare his further pleasures
This man. whose fitting reward, according |
to his own estimate OF the the value of his ser
vices. was the fief of a gamng-table, was the |
Mr.. Penne. g. name is always spelt with tae /
final c. In the first draft of the foregoing mir
ute, the clerk had spelt the name George
Penn, both in the margin and in the text, but
has filed the final letter in afterwards, as if
prophetically guarding against any confusion
of this wretched fellow with the great govern
at of Pennsylvania. He was a low hanger-on
about back-doors of the court, ready for any