The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-10-20

because Of their religion. or because -
h hard conditions Of life they were c1m-
PEELED Ia face at home The other Gins.
wa made up 81 criminals and felons. whom
the mother country dumped upon the how
province. Such involuntary einigrants had
nothing In common with the GERMAN.
who came 10 better their condition and fro.
qucntly against the protests ~ tho -.
tentate~ under whose rule they hal uvs,I
II was a general principle 81 las ina.
the holder Of an indentured servant could
sell his services for the une1pirei portion
Of the term Of indenture. This princip,,
was soon qualified by statutes. however.
An act passed by the provincial assembly
81 Pennsylvania in 100 providoi thai T.,
servant bound 20 serve a certain time.
should be sold or disposed Of 10 any lrs
residing In any other province or Govern
ment without his consent and that II Two
Justices Of the Pence ~ the county wha-.
the servant resided, under a ten-p,und
penalty hy the seller No servant wa,
"a he sold or assigned. even to another
person within the province. unless In ths
presence Of a justice. under n ten.pound
penalty. II seems. however. that thctraRo
In indentured persons did not entirely
cease in Pennsylvania until after 1881
BY the same law to which we have iu-t
referred. IL wa enacted that every IN
drnturcd servant who should faithfully
serve four years or more should at the exc
piration of his servitude nave a discharge
and 10 clothed with two complete sun.
- apparel. one 81 which should be lew,
and should also bc furnished with one new
axe, one grubbing hoe, and one wedding
hoe, al the charge Of his master or mis-
treSs There was a further arrangement
that bond servants should receive. at tho
expiration ~ their term 81 service. fifty
arros Of land each from the proprietary
Government. al thu annual quit rent 81
two -ulling~, or about ono cont per AGRA.
ON author. however. has sought In vain
the original decree upon which was based
the practice 81 be~towing this grant -
land upon bond serv ants Il IL always
alluded 20 ~ an already existing Law An
account OF his nev possessions written
by Penn himself soon after he received
from King Charles II tho gram Of Penn
sylvsnia reSrite- the conditions under witch
he PROPOSED Ia coioni1e his new province.
In this document he declares his intention
"a allpt fifty acres 10 every servant when
his time hal have expired, Just when
and how this intention acquired a legal
form is as yet undiscovered.
While the suthor Of this volume Il hv no
means disposed 20 underrate the hard
ships and abuses incident 10 the indenturs
system. he still recognizes that the Re-
demptioners were. on the whole, better
or than they would have been had they
remained In their native country. where
they were practically serfs There I'm
Germany they were not bound to a mas
ter hy indenturos, hut necessity compelled
them 10 serve him from hoyhood until
incapacitated by age, when the poorhou-s
received their wornout Frames A. home
the Redemptioncr would have been n SER
want virtually a serf all his life. without
any a. its close, while his food
In IN. meantime would have been that
Of the poor lahorer. wretched In Kind and
scant in quantity. Such an existence cam
not be compared with that Of m. German
emigrani, indentured servant though lie
might be, on tho fertile soil 81 Pennsyl-
vania The early history Of the province
l. filed With the story 81 Redemptioners
who grew rich 10y honest toll and left honor
able names 20 their descendants Mr..
Difenderffer tells VA tina, he has had before
him an autobiographical sketch of n
of these, 'Ile the subject Of the autohi-
ographyl came to the town where | was
born. and for nearly half a century lived
within speaking distance 81 my own home.
He was well educated lie wa honest
and faithful The community honor"d
him with public office. while his enter
prise. energy and thrift brought him a
large estate. He founded a family. and
his descendants to-day are honorable and
honored. the richest people In the com
munity. These are things We must not
forget in passing Judgment upon the trahio
Ia human beings
There Is no doubt hat the suhertngs ~
the Reicmptioners on shipboard we're often
frightml, and that the resultant mortality
was at times appalling Caspar Wis'ar
wrote In I5H? Last year n ship was twenty
four weeks AZ sea and Of the one num-
dr,Si and ATTY passengers on board thereof
NOR than one hundred died OF hunger and
privation : Johann Heinrich Keppele, who
afterwards became the first Presidpr' -
the German Society Of Pennsylvania saws
in hi- diary that, Of the II? passenger on
board tho ship ON which he came over. 20
di,Si during the voyage. Christopher Seur
III los rAAltAhN'A hhoh 49, "
on the fifteen ships hat arrived tina, YEAR
died during the voyage, A ship that of
Europa in December. i7ss. with .o ra.a-
tines wa. wrecked on tho coast Of Hors
Island All save i0S had previously died.
and fifteen 81 those who landed also died
after landing. making n lose Of II per cent.
A vessel that reached tia port ~ PILLS.
delphia In lT&5 landed only ATTY survivors
ont Of a total OF 600 souls that had sailed
for Europe. We are cautioned. however hv
the author Of this book against inferrnS
that all ships carrying German immigrants
encountered such losse~ as We have mem
toned. In i7ts the following report occurs
In Saur's paper: Seven ships loaded With
German immigrants left Rotterdam. -
these three have arrived ia Philadelphia.
making the pa-sege from port To port In
,hirt v DAYS. all fr~sh and well. 80 far ss
We know They werr also humanely treated
ON th. voyage There was a marked
change for the better after ITGt, In which
vear the -G.rman Spcicty ~ Pennsylvania
vas organized FOR IN" purpose 81 min
iui,ins the abuses that attsnded the im-
migration Of Germans. 1h"nceforward
his .pcir,v hecame the champion OF ths
Rsiemptioners.