The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-05
BENJ1MIN FR.INKLIN.
Lecture by Rev. Joseph H. Twichel1 of
 Hartford Before Mems Club.

Hartford Before Mems Club.
 The mems club of the United church was addressed last evening by the Rev. Joseph H. Twichell of Hartford on the subject "Benjamin Franklin" Franklin was born in Boston, but early in life went to Philadelphia, where he soon became interested in a printing of flee. He published Poor Richards Almanac" which contained many wise sayings such as Three persons can keep a secret if two of them as dead' and
 Early to be and early to rise,
 Makes man healthy, wealthy and
 wise'
 He established printing office, which was also bookstore, and this became the intellectual center of Philadelphia. During this period of his life he found time to make researches in electricity. A shock of electricity which nearly killed him led him to believe that the power in lightning and electricity were the same. In 1852 he raised the historic kite, which is the mother of every
 
 every one of which is a monument to Franklin.
 His treatise on electricity was widely read in England and France and he was highly honored by both countries. The English society gave him the Cob den medal, the highest honor in it's power, aud one which has been recently conferred on. Prof Marsh of Yale. He was about this time given the degree of M. A. by Yale and Harvard col leges, honors which seemed to amuse him rather than otherwise. He also found time to interest himself in the public welfare, and he SC ured the erec- tion of a hospital in Philadelphia and the foundation of the institution which is now the University of Pennsylvania. He also secured the adoption of law for the lighting and cleaning of streets of Philadelphia. As postmaster for the colonies he made the mail service pay for itself for the, first time. At the Albany convention of the colonies he proposed a plan of confederation which was in the main the same as that adopted nla ny years later by the conti- mental congress- His. plan was adopt i ed by the convention and rejected by the colonies and by the English gov- ernment He acquired his first school ing in diplomacy as a commissioner of Pennsylvania to England to secure the taxation of the large proprietary estates in the escolony, the proprietors 1 refusing to submit to taxation.
 He boldly opposed the imposition of the stamp duties by the English govern ment, and left England and returned to i America shortly after the battle of Lex l ington He was elected delegate to I the continental congress, where he per ! formed highly important services. He alone was considered competent to rep resent the country at the French court I and iii securing French aid and he per formed his mission in a most success full manner. He was also one or the commissioners selected to arrange the terms of peace with Great Britain. Or his return to- this country he was one of the delegates to the famous con- vention of 17S7, which formed the feder al constitution in which convention ht took an important part. During the revolution his son was tory and wal imprisoned by the continentals fol some time in Middletown and Litch field in this state.
 The lectures next Sunday evening will be given by Rev. Charles E. Jeffer' son, D. D., pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle church. New York city. Int subject will be James Russell Lowel as seen in his lectures and poems"