The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-08-13
The Jersey Quakers.

George Alfredi Townsend writes to the Chi
cago Tribune from Cape May:
The life OF people in Lower, or what is
caued West Jersey, is novel study 10 a man
FROM the great interior plain of the country.
West Jersey is more Quaker than Pennsylva-
mia, and the Quaker nature prevails in the
major past of the State-often, indeed geDer-
ally, engrafted upon Baptist, Methodist, and
other ''persuasions." There it loses the
broad-brim and the sonorous singular pro-
noun, but keeps az close, thrifty and penurious
as ever. "He penures very well" said one
Jersey farmer of his nejghbor. "He fishes
up his boarders Igives them fish to eatl, and
lets 'em scratch for tkeir own Selves" Out
of jersey, if l remember well, came Hicks,
the great splritualizer or de-spiritualizer Of
Quakerism.
William Penn had a manor and great pos
sessions here, and he was probably the father
of this State as well as of Pennsylvania He
always seemed to me to be curious compound
of the common place and the main ciiance;
his posterity were neither good Quakers nor
good men. But, by fortuitouslv falling upon
the best belt of land in any of the royal grants,
he turned out to have done better thing
than any Lord-Proprietor of the colonies.
His people grew rich, and then others stopped
prosecuting them. His doctrine of non-resist-
Snce drew the war-ridden thousands of tie
continent TO rest under that blessed promise
of truce and peace forever; and it is to this
day more statesmanlike touchwoid to peo-
pie, and better to country, than the c1nscript-
system of Schornhorst and Bismarck. lmmi-
grafton TO America will never grow less while
Europe is agreed to draft the best years OF
every mans life for military service. The in
fiuence of Quakerism in the middle States has,
to great degree, extended over the German
elements which settled under their patronage.
The two make the ponderosity and stability,
as well as the notable want of finterestingness.
in this latitude.
I don't know what this has to do with a
waterngplace letter, except to introduce the
remark that West Jerseymen got the Quaker
''sst'' in the beginning-that mixture OF spir-
itual light and hard six-pences; plain, short
speech, amounting to no manners, and abid-
ing love Of money. Their blunt courtships,
little recreation, long lives lenethened out by
abstinence, and heads always cool and level
for business, have, in some instances, made
them the most prosperous mert hants in the
world: but, in much Of Jersey, they have had
no such opportunities, and are proverbial for
tb cir almost heathenish dislike of strangers.
This coast, from the Hudson River to CAPE
Nav, is dotted with summer SETTLE merits but
the Jersey character at Long Branch Is Graz
bed and hard as at Cape May. The laws arc
properly severe, but punishment is not equal
ly Observation-Disclosures discriminating against
the outsider. The hospitality so notable IN
other sequestered places, which eladdens az
the coming OF guest, is replaced "a Jersey
by a hard visase, which softens scarcely 70 the
paramount love of Mammon and ltisaton Is
the highest form of public hfe IN many oil
thosa country communities. he penurec,
III s,es neonle. said the old farmer above
referred TO. of his neghbor.