Title: Thomas Moffat to ——, 15 November 1768
From: Moffat, Thomas
To:

Sir,
N. London, Nov. 15, 1768.
By Mr. Byles I am favoured with your most obliging letter of the second of August last, for which together with your extraordinary civility to Mr. Byles I truly thank you: I could not really think of such a person going from hence without shewing him to you, as a parson or minister of his way and turn of thinking may be considered as of the comit [comet?] kind here, which leads me to say somewhat abruptly if not improperly to you, that it seems to me here as if the universities of Scotland had conspired to distinguish all the firebrand incendiary preachers of this country with plumes of honorary degrees and titles, which in truth are only so many mortifications to the friends of G. Britain or lovers of letters, who cannot help being touch’d and chagrin’d at the too frequent profusion of honour and titles conferr’d from Scotland upon the leading preachers of sedition. I wish this affair of literary prostitution from my native country may induce you to speak of it to some of that nation with whom I know you are intimate, that may think of preventing it for the future.
As to Boston, the great theatre of action, I have been silent for some time past only for want of certain intelligence, as every day generally produc’d new rumours without any or much foundation in truth, but since the arrival of the two regiments with Col. Dalrymple all has been quiet there. I now flatter myself that measures of vigour will be pursued and maintained here, and I impatiently wish to hear that your friend is in power and confidence again, but that is indeed a point I have much expectation, desire and faith in. As you have express’d heretofore to me inclination of knowing the proceedings of the Rhode Island assembly respecting compensation to the sufferers in the riot of Newport, I now trouble you with a copy of my letter of this day to the lords of the treasury, which mutatis mutandis, is the same with that also to the Earl of Hillsborough of the same date with a copy of the narrative and letter to Lord Shelburne.

My Lords,
N. London, Nov. 14th, 1768.
Again I presume upon troubling your lordships with as short an account as may be written of what has very lately pass’d in the G. assembly of Rhode Island colony, in reference to their granting of a compensation to the sufferers from the riot of Newport 1765, as resolved on in the British parliament and very graciously recommended from his Majesty to the governor and company of that colony by his principal secretary of state.
Tired out and greatly mortified with a long course of frequent fruitless and a very expensive attendance upon the G. assembly, I had resolved above a year ago to solicit them no more: but at the intercession of my fellow sufferer Mr. Howard chief justice of North Carolina, I was again prevailed upon to go to Newport in September last, where and when the assembly then met and I had sufficient influence to engage the speaker of the house of deputies to move several times for reading a petition of Mr. Howard’s, with an estimate of his loss solemnly sworn to and authenticated by a notary publick with every necessary prescribed form. The speaker also urged upon the house because of my attending from another colony upon that account only, but the deputies would neither consent to hear Mr. Howard’s petition nor receive his estimate.
Immediately after this refusal a message was sent from the upper house of magistrates requesting the lower house to enter now upon the riot of Newport by immediately impowering the high sheriff to impannel a jury of inquisition to assertain and repair the loss of Dr. Moffatt, Mr. Howard and Mr. Johnson, but the house of deputies could not listen nor agree to any part of this proposal from the upper house.
About the middle of last I wrote a most respectful letter to the governor of Rhode Island and inclosed to his honor the estimate of my loss in the Newport riot sworn to before and attested by a magistrate here requesting the favor of the governor to lay the same before the ensuing assembly. The governor writes on the seventh of this month “that at the last session of assembly he presented my estimate and read my letter in a great committee of both houses of assembly but could not prevail to have it consider’d then;” and adds “that he will endeavour to bring it in again next February.”
Under the strongest impressions of assurance the G. Assembly of Rhode Island never will recompence the suffered in the riot of Newport, may I again presume to implore your lordships interposition and influence to obtain a recompence for the sufferers in Rhode Island from some more effectual and certain channel than that of depending any longer upon the duty or justice of the G. Assembly in that colony. And my lords may I yet farther presume in writing to your lordships to add that by endeavouring to restore in some measure what I lost in that riot I am now sadly sensible that I have not overvalued the same in my estimate, as also that if I am not compensated by the interest, generosity and equity of your lordships, I can never expect to be possess’d of half the value I then lost, as the office of a comptroler here I now hold, had but a very inconsiderable salary with small perquisites. I am, My lords, &c. &c. .
T. M

In my last letter which I hope you have received, as I address’d it to the care of your brother, I then touch’d upon sir Wm. Johnson’s being here some weeks in quest of health, and of the pleasure Mr. Stewart and I enjoy’d with him; as also that lord Charles Grenville Montague was here en passant with his lady; and I also then intimated to you our happiness in Mr. Harrison the collector of Boston having accepted Mr. Stewart’s warm invitation to come here after the very flagrant riot at Boston, in which he had been so greatly insulted, abus’d and hurt, who came here with his lady, son and daughter, and staid a fortnight: when we planned and regulated all these colonies into a system which I could wish to see effected. Since which Mr. Stewart has visited Mr. Harrison at Boston at the time when Mrs. Harrison with their son and daughter sailed for London as a place of perfect safety and liberty. Mr. Harrison’s son is capable and promising, but was cruelly us’d by the mob of Boston, which will I hope incline Mr. Harrison’s friends or rather the friends of government to provide suitably for so young a sufferer. I could not easily within the compass of a letter to you say the pleasure I have felt in observing the strict union and friendship that subsists and is now rivetted between Mr. Harrison and Mr. Stewart upon principles of the truest honor and virtue, both of whom well understand and sincerely wish the true interest of G. Britain and all her colonies, especially in the cardinal articles of legislation and government, as also in the subaltern or lesser points of taxation and revenue from which objects no attachments, connections or views will or ever can sway the one or the other. As I have been accustomed to write to you with a plainness and freedom which I flatter myself has not been disagreeable, so therefore I would farther say of Mr. Stewart that he married in an opulent popular and commercial family, some of whom perhaps may be supposed to have more oblique interest than may be consistent with regulation or a due submission to the laws of G. Britain, so it is with a peculiar and very sensible satisfaction that I can assure you his spirit address and conduct in so nice a situation deserves the greatest praise and commendation, as it has perhaps been or may be very influential on some of the best among them, even to a better way of thinking and acting. By the inclos’d you will know that Mr. Stewart now writes to Mr. Grenville, and mentions somewhat of his application for leave of absence from the Treasury board, which I only wish him to succeed in because I think Mr. Harrison and him really the most capable persons here to throw light upon many transactions here which cannot be communicated in letters or any written representation to satisfaction or proper advantage. If Mr. Stewart obtains leave to return home I shall be unhappy enough by his absence. Two years are now elapsed since I came here, a great part of which has been spent in anxiously wishing for the genius of Britain to awake and vindicate her supreme jurisdiction and authority impiously questioned and denied in colonies so very lately redeemed from hostile incursions and encroachments, but I believe the time is now come, and I rejoice in its approach. I wish you every felicity with the preferment and employment you like best, and am Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant,
Thomas Moffat.


Title: Thomas Moffat to ——, 15 December 1768
From: Moffat, Thomas
To:

Sir,
Boston, December 15. 1768.
In November last I wrote you from N. London, and inserted in that letter a copy of what I had written to the lords of the treasury and the Earl of Hillsborough, relative to the compensation of the sufferers in the riot at Newport 1765. I hope and very much wish that letter may have come to your hand, because in it you will see how strictly and soon I follow your counsel in making affidation to the estimate of my loss, which as I apprehended made not the least impression nor could make upon the general assembly of Rhode-Island, because there was not I believe a member in either house that did not think and believe my loss exceeded the estimate frequently laid before them to no purpose. I thank you therefore for the kind and good advice which I instantly followed, and which I think has finished this long and tedious transaction on this side of the atlantick, which has not only been ineffectual but attended with much trouble and expence to me. How or in what light it may be now considered by administration or parliament I cannot at this time and distance judge, far less determine. Sometimes I flatter myself that a resolve of the British senate will not be allowed to be thus scorned and trampled upon; at other times I despond and think the object too small for attention; and as there were but three sufferers in Rhode-Island colony, two of them to my great pleasure and triumph are now amply and very honorably provided for, I sometimes imagine that compensation may drop and be forgot, and indeed if it was not for the confidence which I have in you and some others in the house of commons, I should certainly despair of any recompence, and which upon recollection I must acknowledge as criminal in a very great degree, because of its having been resolved on in the parliament of Great-Britain that such sufferers should be compensated: And I am not conscious that I have omitted, delayed or neglected any part of my duty in the course of negociating it here in America.
A few days ago I came here chiefly to see and enjoy my friend collector Harrison that we might open bosoms to one another upon the great scene and field of affairs in this country, the face of which is only alter’d apparently here from the arrival of the King’s troops and ships, which have indeed restored a very certain security and tranquility, and prevented if not put a final period to their most pestilent town-meetings. There is nor can be no real alteration in the sentiment or disposition of the prime disturbers. This is but an interval or truce procur’d from the dread of a bayonet. The special and catholick remedy deriv’d from and founded in an acknowledgement of the British supremacy and legislation over America manifested under the exercise of a more firm, regular and consistent plan of civil government, must come from the decrees of the British parliament, otherwise the country and particularly N. England, will soon and forever be in perpetual anarchy and disobedience. The anxiety and distress of the few here that are well affected to government before the arrival of the troops and ships was very great, and in my opinion will be greater if vigorous, salutary and proper measures are not adopted in parliament.
All here seem anxious and impatient to know the complexion and temper of the British parliament, and what is very unaccountable if not incredible, the sons of liberty here so called are elevated with hope and assurance that their claims and pretensions will be receiv’d and recogniz’d, as they affect to phrase it, but if I err not, this presumption of hope may have arisen or been cherished in a great measure by some visits of an officer of high military rank from N. York to some of the most popular and violent ringleaders here, and I wish that I could say to you that the most mischievous here had not been countenanced also by a person of another and very different station.
I find that in consequence of and under an apprehension of unsettled, unsafe times here, Mr. Harrison has thought it best that Mrs. Harrison, his son and daughter, should go to London, as a place of true liberty and safety, and as I hope they will be arrived before this reaches you, and as I formerly mentioned to you Mr. Harrison’s son as a young sufferer very roughly handled upon the 10th of June, so if you incline to see and discourse him for intelligence or any other motive, Mr. Hallowell of this town can easily bring him to you.
If any thing remarkable occurs here during my stay I shall not fail to write to you again. I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Thomas Moffat.


Title: George Rome to ——, 22 December 1767
From: Rome, George
To:

Sir,
Narraganset, 22d December 1767.
I am now withdrawn to my little country villa, where, tho’ I am more retired from the busy world, yet I am still invelop’d with uneasy reflections for a turbulent, degenerate, ungrateful continent, and the opposition I have met with in my indefatigable endeavours to secure our property in this colony, but hitherto without success. The times are so corrupted and the conflict of parties so predominant, that faction is blind, or shuts her eyes to the most evident truths that cross her designs, and believes in any absurdities that assists to accomplish her purposes under the prostitution and prostration of an infatuated government. Judge then, my dear sir, in what a critical situation the fortunes of we poor Europeans must be among them.

We have not been able to recover our property for years past, how great soever our exigencies may have been, unless we soothed them into a compliance: We are unwilling to enter into a litiscontestation with them, because the perversion of their iniquitous courts of justice are so great, that experience has convinced us we had better loose half, to obtain the other quietly, than pursue compulsary measures: We are also afraid to apply to a British parliament for relief, as none can be effectually administered without a change of government, and a better administration of justice introduced; and was it known here, that we made such application home, not only our fortunes would be in greater jeopardy, but our lives endangered by it before any salutary regulations cou’d take place. We are sensible of the goodness of the KING and PARLIAMENT, but how far, or in what space of time our grievance, as a few individuals, might weigh against the influence of a charter government, we are at a loss to determine.
In 1761, I arrived in America, which circumstance you probably remember well: With great industry, caution and circumspection, I have not only reduced our demands, and regulated our connections in some measure, but kept my head out of a HALTER which you had the honor to grace. (Pray Doctor how did it feel? The subject is stale, but I must be a little funny with you on the occasion.) Much still remains to be done, and after all my best endeavours, my constituents, from a moderate calculation, cannot lose less than £50,000 sterling, by the baneful constitution of this colony, and the corruption of their courts of judicature. It is really a very affecting and melancholly consideration.
Under a deep sense of the infirmities of their constitution; the innovations which they have gradually interwoven among themselves; and stimulated by every act of forbearance, lenity and patience, we have indulged our correspondents until deluges of bankruptceys have ensued, insolvent acts liberated them from our just demands, and finally, had our indisputable accounts refused admission for our proportion of the small remains, until colony creditors were first paid, and the whole absorbed. We have had vessels made over to us for the satisfaction of debts, and after bills of sales were executed, carried off in open violence and force by Capt. Snip-snap of Mr. No body’s appointment, and when we sued him for damages, recover’d a louse. We have in our turn been sued in our absence, and condemned ex parte in large sums for imaginary damages, for which we can neither obtain a trial, nor redress. They refuse us an appeal to the king in council; the money must be paid when their executions become returnable; and were we to carry it home by way of complaint, it would cost us two or three hundred pounds sterling to prosecute, and after all, when his Majesty’s decrees comes over in our favour, and refunding the money can no longer be evaded, I expect their effects will be secreted, their body’s released by the insolvent act, and our money, both principal, interest and expences irrecoverably gone. Is not our case grievous? We have in actions founded upon notes of hand, been cast in their courts of judicature. We have appeal’d to his Majesty in council for redress, got their verdicts reversed, and obtain’d the King’s decrees for our money, but that is all; for altho’ I have had them by me twelve months, and empeen able to recover a single shilling, tho’ we have danced after their courts and assembly’s above THIRTY DAYS, in vain to accomplish that purpose only: Consider my dear sir, what expence, vexation, and loss of time this must be to us, and whether we have not just cause of complaint.
We have also in vain waited with great impatience for years past, in hopes his Majesty wou’d have nominated his judges, and other executive officers in every colony in America, which wou’d in a great measure remove the cause of our complaint. Nothing can be more necessary than a speedy regulation in this, and constituting it a regal government; and nothing is of such important use to a nation, as that men who excel in wisdom and virtue should be encouraged to undertake the business of government: But the iniquitous course of their courts of justice in this colony, deter such men from serving the public, or if they do so, unless patronized at home, their wisdom and virtue are turned against them with such malignity, that it is more safe to be infamous than renown’d. The principal exception I have met with here, is James Helmes, Esq; who was chosen chief justice by the general assembly at last election. He accepted his appointment, distinguishes himself by capacity and application, and seems neither afraid nor ashamed to administer impartial justice to all, even to the native and residing creditors of the mother country. I have known him grant them temporary relief by writs of error, &c. when both he, and they, were overruled by the partiality of the court; and in vain, tho’ with great candour and force, plead with the rest of the bench, that for the honour of the colony, and their own reputation, they ought never to pay less regard to the decrees of his Majesty in council, because the property was determined in Great Britain, than to their own. I have also heard him with resolution and firmness, when he discovered the court to be immoderately partial, order his name to be inrol’d, as dissenting from the verdict. For such honesty and candour, I am persuaded he will be deposed at next election, unless they should be still in hopes of making a convert of him.
I wish it was in my power to prevent every American from suffering for the cause of integrity, and their mother country; he, in an especial manner, should not only be protected and supported, but appear among the first promotions. Is there no gentleman of public spirit at home, that would be pleased to be an instrument of elevating a man of his principals and probity? or is it become fashionable for vice to be countenanced with impunity, and every trace of virtue past over unnoticed! God forbid.
The colonies have originally been wrong founded. They ought all to have been regal governments, and every executive officer appointed by the King. Until that is effected, and they are properly regulated, they will never be beneficial to themselves, nor good subjects to Great-Britain. You see with what contempt they already treat the acts of parliament for regulating their trade, and enter into the most public, illegal and affronting combinations to obtain a repeal, by again imposing upon the British merchants and manufacturers, and all under the cloak of retrenching their expences, by avoiding every unnecessary superfluity. Were that really the case, I am sure I wou’d, and also every other British subject, esteem them for it; but the fact is, they obtain’d a repeal of the stamp act by mercantile influence, and they are now endeavouring by the same artifice and finesse to repeal the acts of trade, and obtain a total exemption from all taxation. Were it otherways, and they sincerely disposed to stop the importation of every unnecessary superfluity, without affronting the British legislation, by their public, general, and illegal combinations, they might accomplish their purposes with much more decency, and suppress it more effectually by the acts of their own legislation, imposing such duties upon their importation here, as might either occasion a total prohibition, or confine the consumption of them to particular individuals that can afford to buy, by which measures they would also raise a considerable colony REVENUE, and ease the poorer inhabitants in the tax they now pay: But the temper of the country is exceedingly factious, and prone to sedition; they are growing more imperious, haughty, nay insolent every day, and in a short space, unless wholsome regulations take place, the spirit they have inkindled, and the conceptions of government they have imbibed, will be more grievous to the mother country than ever the ostracism was to the Athenians.
A bridle at present, may accomplish more than a rod hereafter; for the malignant poison of the times, like a general pestilence, spreads beyond conception; and if the British parliament are too late in their regulations, neglect measures seven years, which are essentially necessary now, shou’d they then be able to stifle their commotions, it will only be a temporary extinction, consequently, every hour’s indulgence will answer no other purpose than enable them in a more effectual manner to sow seeds of dissension to be rekindled whenever they are in a capacity to oppose the mother country and render themselves independent of her.
Have they not already in the most public manner shewn their opposition to the measures of parliament in the affair of the late stamp act? Don’t they now with equal violence and audacity, in both public papers and conversation, declare the parliamentary regulations in their acts of trade to be illegal and a mere nullity? What further proofs do we wait for, of either their good or bad disposition? Did you ever hear of any colonies, in their infant state, teach the science of tyranny, reduced into rules, over every subject that discountenanced their measures in opposition to the mother country, in a more imperious manner than they have done these four years past? Have they not made use of every stroke of policy (in their way) to avail themselves of the dark purposes of their independence, and suffered no restraint of conscience, or fear, not even the guilt of threatening to excite a civil war, and revolt, if not indulged with an unlimited trade, without restraint; and British protection, without expence? for that is the english of it. Is this their true, or mistaken portrait? Say. If it is their true one, ought not such pernicious maxims of policy? Such wicked discipline? Such ingratitude? Such dissimulation? Such perfidy? Such violent, ruthless and sanguinary councils, where a Cleon bears rule, and an Aristides cannot be endured, to be crushed in embryo? If not, the alternative cannot avoid producing such a government, as will ere long throw the whole kingdom into the utmost confusion, endanger the life, liberty and property of every good subject, and again expose them to the merciless assassination of a rabble.
I am sensible that in all political disputes, especially in America, a man may see some things to blame on both sides, and so much to fear, which ever faction should conquer, as to be justified in not intermedling with either; but in matters of such vast importance as the present, wherein we have suffer’d so much, still deeply interested, and by which the peace and tranquility of the nation is at stake; it is difficult to conceal ones emotions from a friend, and remain a tranquil spectator on a theatre of such chicanery and colusion, as will inevitably (if not checked, and may sooner happen than is imagin’d by many) chill the blood of many a true Briton.
It may be true policy, in some cases, to tame the fiercest spirit of popular liberty, not by blows, or by chains, but by soothing her into a willing obedience, and making her kiss the very hand that restrains her; but such policy wou’d be a very unsuitable potion to cure the malady of the present times. They are too much corrupted; and already so intoxicated with their own importance, as to make a wrong use of lenient measures. They construe them into their own natural rights, and a timidity in the mother country. They consider themselves a little bigger than the frog in the fable, and that G. Britain can never long grapple with their huge territory of 1500 miles frontier, already populous, and increasing with such celerity, as to double their numbers once in twenty-five years. This is not perfectly consonant with my idea of the matter, tho’ such calculation has been made; and admitting it to be erroneous, yet, as they believe it, it has the same evil effect, and possesses the imaginations of the people with such a degree of insanity and enthusiasm, as there is hardly any thing more common than to hear them boast of particular colonies that can raise on a short notice an hundred thousand fighting men, to oppose the force of Great-Britain; certain it is, that they increase in numbers by emigration &c. very fast, and are become such a body of people, with such extensive territory, as require every bud of their genius and disposition to be narrowly watched, and pruned with great judgment, otherways they may become not only troublesome to Great Britain, but enemies to themselves. Now is the critical season. They are still like some raw giddy youth just emerging into the world in a corrupt degenerate age. A parent, or a guardian, is therefore still necessary; and if well managed, they will soon arrive at such maturity as to become obedient, dutiful children; but if neglected long, the rod of chastisement will be so much longer necessary as to become too burthensome, and must be dropt with the colonies. They almost consider themselves as a separate people from Great Britain already.
Last month while I was attending the General Assembly, the Governor sent a written message to the lower house, importing his intentions of a resignation at the next election, assigning for reasons, the fumes in the colony and party spirit were so high, and that bribery and corruption were so predominant, that neither life, liberty nor property were safe, &c. &c. &c. Now Sir, whether the Governor’s intentions as exhibited in this open, public declaration, was real, or feign’d to answer political purposes; it still evinces their decrepid state; the prostitution of government; and melancholly situation of every good subject: For it cannot be supposed by any candid inquisitor, that a declaration of that nature, and form, would, if not true, been deliver’d by a Governor to a whole legislative body, in order to emancipate himself. If this truth is granted, and this allow’d to be their unhappy situation, how much is it the duty of every good man, and what language is sufficient to paint in an effectual manner, this internal imbecility of an English colony (in many other respects favourably situated for trade and commerce, one of the safest, largest, and most commodious harbours in all America, or perhaps in all Europe, accessible at all seasons, situated in a fine climate, and abounding with fertile soil), to the maternal bowels of compassion, in order that she may seasonably, if she thinks it necessary to interpose, regulate, and wipe away their pernicious Charter, render’d obnoxious by the abuse of it.
I am afraid I have tired your patience with a subject that must give pain to every impartial friend to Great-Britain and her colonies. When I took up my pen, I only intended to have communicated the out-lines of such of my perplexities (without diping so far into political matter) as I tho’t would atone for, or excuse my long silence, and excite your compassion and advice.
Our friend Robinson is gone to Boston to join the commissioners. My compliments to Colr Stuart. May I ask the favour of you both to come and eat a xmas dinner with me at batchelor’s hall, and celebrate the festivity of the season with me in Narraganset woods. A covy of partridges, or bevy of quails, will be entertainment for the colr and me, while the pike and pearch ponds amuse you. Should business or pre-ingagements prevent me that pleasure, permit me to ask the favour of your earliest intelligence of the proceedings of parliament; and of your opinion whether our case is not so great as to excite their compassion and interposition were it known. This narration, together with your own knowledge of many of the facts, and the disposition of the colonies in general, will refresh your memory, and enable you to form a judgment. Relief from home seems so tedious, especially to us who have suffered so much, like to suffer more, and unacquainted with their reasons of delay, that I am quite impatient.
Above twelve months ago, I received from three Gentlemen in London (in trust for several others) exemplified accounts for a balance of about twenty-six-thousand pounds sterling, mostly due from this colony, not £50 of which shall I ever be able to recover without compulsive measures, and what is still worse, my lawyer advises me from all thoughts of prosecution, unless a change of government ensues. I am therefore obliged to send them his opinion (in justification of my own conduct) in lieu of money ten years due. Poor Satisfaction! Our consolation must be in a British parliament. Every other avenue is rendered impregnable by their subtilty, and degeneracy, and we can no longer depend upon a people who are so unthankful for our indulgences, and the lenity of their mother country. I wish you the compliments of the approaching season, and a succession of many happy new years. I am Sir, with much regard, Your most humble Servant,
G. Rome.


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from Sarah Bache, 2 January 1774
From: Bache, Sarah Franklin
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Dear and Honoured Sir
Philadelphia Jan 2. 1774
I had sett this day apart to write you a long letter, but my little Will has been so much indisposed as to take up all my time and attention, he is now in a sweet Sleep, but its so late that I can only tell you how much pleasure your desire of hearing from me gave me and to asure you I will write fully and have my Letter ready for the next Opportunity. I have a deal to say to you about my Lovely Boys, whom I am sure you will See with pleasure, they join in duty with me, the word positively in your letter mentioning your coming home gave us all spirrits, when Mr. Bache read it were you speak of dying the tears came into both our eyes, and actualy set Ben a crying, he is one of the most Afectionate creatures living, and with regard to his Brother has never shewed the least Jalousy, for you cannot please him better than by shewing a fondness for Will, he says their is not such a Clever Boy no not in the Whole Town. I am my dear Papah with the sincerest wish for your return, and happiness Your Truly Afectionate Daughter
S Bache


Title: From Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Cushing, 5 January 1774
From: Franklin, Benjamin
To: Cushing, Thomas

Sir,
London, Jan. 5, 1774.
I received the honour of yours dated October 28 with the Journals of the house and Mr. Turner’s Election Sermon.

I waited on Lord Dartmouth on his return to town, and learnt that he had presented to his majesty our petition for the removal of the governors. No subsequent step had yet been taken upon it: but his lordship said, the king would probably refer the consideration of it to a committee of council, and that I should have notice to be heard in support of it. By the turn of his conversation, though he was not explicit, I apprehend the petition is not likely to be complied with: but we shall see. His lordship expressed as usual much concern at the differences subsisting, and wished they would be accommodated. Perhaps his good wishes are all that is in his power.
The famous letters having unfortunately engaged Mr. Temple and Mr. Wheatley in a duel, which being interrupted would probably be renewed, I thought it incumbent on me to prevent as far as I could any farther mischief, by declaring publicly the part I had in the affair of those letters, and thereby at the same time to rescue Mr. Temple’s character from an undeserved and groundless imputation, that bore hard upon his honour, viz. that of taking the letters from Mr. Wheatly, and in breach of confidence. I did this with the more pleasure as I believe him a sincere friend to our country. I am told by some that it was imprudent in me to avow the obtaining and sending those letters, for that administration will resent it. I have not much apprehension of this, but if it happens I must take the consequences. I only hope it will not affect any friend on your side the water, for I have never mentioned to whom they were transmitted.

A letter of mine to you, printed in one of the Boston papers has lately been reprinted here, to show, as the publisher expresses it, that I am “one of the most determined enemies of the welfare and prosperity of Great Britain.” In the opinion of some, every one who wishes the good of the whole empire, may nevertheless be an enemy to the welfare of Great Britain, if he does not wish its good exclusively of every other part, and to see its welfare built on their servitude and wretchedness. Such an enemy I certainly am. But methinks ’tis wrong to print letters of mine at Boston which give occasion to these reflections.
I shall continue to do all I possibly can this winter towards an accommodation of our differences; but my hopes are small. Divine Providence first infatuates the power it designs to ruin. With the great esteem and respect, I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
B. Franklin


Title: From Benjamin Franklin to William Franklin, 5 January 1774
From: Franklin, Benjamin
To: Franklin, William

Dear Son,
London, Jan. 5, 1774.
I received yours of October 29, and November 2. Your December packet is not yet arrived.
No insinuations of the kind you mention, concerning Mr. G—y have reached me, and if they had, it would have been without the least effect; as I have always had the strongest reliance on the steadiness of his friendship, and on the best grounds, the knowledge I have of his integrity, and the often repeated disinterested services he has rendered me. My return will interfere with nobody’s interest or influence in public affairs as my intention is to decline all interest in them, and every active part, except where it can serve a friend, and to content myself with communicating the knowledge of them my situation may have furnished me with, and be content with giving my advice for the public benefit, where it may be asked, or where I shall think it may be attended to: for being now about entering my sixty ninth year, and having lived so great a part of my life to the public, it seems but fair that I should be allowed to live the small remainder to myself and to my friends.
If the honourable office you mention will be agreeable to him, I heartily wish it him. I only hope that if offered to him, he will insist on its being not during pleasure but quamdiu se bene gesserit.
Our friend Temple, as you will see by the papers, has been engaged in a duel about an affair in which he had no concern. As the combat was interrupted and understood to be unfinished, I thought it incumbent on me to do what I could for preventing farther mischief, and so declared my having transmitted the letters in question. This has drawn some censure upon myself, but as I grow old, I grow less concerned about censure when I am satisfied that I act rightly, and I have the pleasure of having exculpated a friend who lay undeservedly under an imputation much to his dishonour.
I am now seriously preparing for my departure to America, I purpose sending my luggage, books, instruments &c. by All or Falconer, and take my passage to New York in one of the spring or summer packets partly for settling some business with the Post office there, and partly that I may see you on my way to Philadelphia, and learn thereby more perfectly the state of affairs there. Your affectionate father,
B. Franklin.


Title: From Benjamin Franklin to Samuel Rhoads, 5 January 1774
From: Franklin, Benjamin
To: Rhoads, Samuel

Dear Friend,
London, Jan. 5. 1774
I received your Favours of Oct. 29 and 31, inclosing the Votes, for which I thank you.
I am much obliged to the Assembly for the repeated Marks of their Confidence in me. The Great Officers of State having generally been in the Country, no public Business of consequence has for some time been transacted here. But the Parliament meets next Week, when all will return again to their Stations and the Duty of their Offices, and the Boards resume Business. I do not find that your Laws of last Winter have yet been presented, and the time is now near for carrying your Paper-money Act into Execution. At present I do not see any Difficulty likely to arise upon it, on the Part of the Board of Trade, unless one should be started on the Uncertainty, there being no mention of the Value or kind of the Money to be struck, whether Sterling or Proclamation, or any other. But it being an Act of Pennsylvania, I suppose it is to be understood that the Money will be of the Value of the present Currency of that Province. Virginia has lately had a Quantity of Copper-Halfpence struck at the Mint here for their Province. Inclos’d I send you a Specimen of them. They may serve to keep out the worthless counterfeit Trash of late so common. With great Esteem and Respect, I am ever, Dear Friend, Yours most affectionately
B Franklin
Samuel Rhoads, Esqr

Addressed: To / Saml Rhoads, Esqr / Philadelphia / via N York / per Packet / B Free Franklin


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from Richard Nicholls Colden, 5 January 1774
From: Colden, Richard Nicholls
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Dear Sir,
Genl. Post Office, New York 5th. Jany. 1774.
Inclosed is John Stute’s[?] Bill of Exchange, on Bogle, Somerville & Company, Glasgow, for £31 4s. 2½d. Sterling and John Mitchell’s Bill on Anthony Todd Esqr, for £50 4s. 2d. Sterling; which please to acknowledge the Rect. of.

My Father is getting better, and bids me present his best Compliments to you. I have the honour to be Dear Sir Your most Obedient Servant
Rich. Nicholls Colden
Benjn. Franklin Esqr.


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from William Franklin, 5 January 1774
From: Franklin, William
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Honoured Father,
Burlington Janry. 5th. 1774
I Yesterday sent down to Philadelphia two Half Barrels of choice Pork, and a Keg of dryed Apples, to be sent to you in a Vessel which I see has just entered out for London, vizt. the Brig John, J. Ashmead Master. One of the Barrels I should be glad you would order to be sent to Mr. Sargent with my Compliments, and Thanks for his Present of Wine, which came safe to hand and is much admired; And as you mention that Sir John Pringle would like some of our dryed Apples, I beg he would accept of the Keg. I have just received your Letter of the 3d. of Novr. enclosing his Opinion on my Case for which I am greatly obliged to him, and shall follow his Advice as closely as I am able. It is too late to get any Newtown Pippins to send him, and indeed they have been in general but very indifferent this Year. I am at present a good deal engaged with the Business of the Assembly; but if the Vessel at Philadelphia does not sail soon, I am in hopes I shall be able to write you fully by her.
We are all well. Betsy joins in Duty and in wishing you many happy Returns of the Season with, Honoured Sir, Your ever dutiful Son
Wm: Franklin

Addressed: To / Dr. Franklin / Craven Street / London / Via New York / per Packet


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from Elizabeth Henckell, 5 January [1774?]
From: Henckell, Elizabeth
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Dear Sir
Hampton Janry 5 [1774?]
I cannot refrain from taking up my pen to thank you warmly for your kind compliance with my requests and still kinder manner of conferring the favors. Mr. King also desires I would return his thanks. That this year may bring peace and freedom to the Americans built upon lasting and solid foundations and that you may long live to enjoy the fruits of your labours is the ardent wish of Dear Sir Your gratefully affectionate Friend
E Henckell

Compliments of the season attend Mrs. Stevenson and Mr. Temple. I am sorry the latter would not favor me with his company to dinner.

Addressed: Dr Franklin / Mrs Stevenson’s / Craven Street / Strand


Title: Note on a Pamphlet Defending the Walpole Grant, 7 January 1774
From:
To:

The pamphlet, dated January 7, 1774, and signed “A.B.,” is entitled Considerations on the Agreement of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury, with the Honourable Thomas Walpole and His Associates, for Lands upon the River Ohio, in North America. In a Letter to a Member of Parliament (London, 1774). Paul Leicester Ford believed that Franklin was the author, on two grounds: first, the pseudonym was one that he frequently used; second, the copy that is now in the New York Public Library has manuscript corrections, in his hand, “such as an author alone would make.” The first reason is not persuasive, for Franklin had no copyright on “A.B.” The second is no reason at all: the changes are not in Franklin’s hand and give no hint of authorship; they merely correct digits or typographical errors. The pamphlet contains much the same argument about the grant, furthermore, as that in the draft submitted to Franklin for his letter of resignation from the Walpole Company. The draft was the work of Samuel Wharton, we believe, and so was the pamphlet.


Title: William Whately’s Chancery Suit against Franklin: I. The Bill in Equity, 7 January 1774: résumé
From: Madocks, John,Whately, William
To: Apsley, Henry Bathurst, Baron

Franklin considered this suit as a stab in the back. He believed that it was the consequence of his revealing his part in the affair of the Hutchinson letters, which he had done in order to end the quarrel between John Temple and William Whately and which should have earned him the gratitude of both. Whately was further in his debt. The banker had inherited an ancestral land claim in Pennsylvania, about which at some point he had asked Franklin to inquire. The American had obliged, got legal opinion that the claim was still valid and worth at least £5,000, so informed Whately the previous November (apparently their first meeting face to face), and then helped him in advancing the claim. The banker’s return for this kindness, without any forewarning whatsoever, was “to clap upon my Back a Chancery Suit.” Franklin was convinced, rightly or wrongly, that the ministry had engineered the suit in order to harass him. He had never been sued before, and knew nothing about the maze of Chancery procedure; his account of the episode shows between the lines that he was worried—with good cause—by the danger that he would be compelled to testify in a matter on which he was pledged to secrecy. Over the next fifteen months that danger slowly but surely increased, until it may even have been a reason why he left England when he did.
Whately, whether or not he was serving the administration, had reasons of his own to seek redress for the wrong done his brother and himself. Rumor about the Hutchinson letters cast doubt on Thomas Whately’s carefulness, if nothing more, in guarding the confidentiality of his correspondents, and involved William in the public argument that culminated in his duel with Temple. The banker was doubtless in no mood to be grateful for help with his land claim. He had “dark Insinuations drop’d to me and distant Menaces thrown out (meant perhaps only to deter me) of intended Publications affecting my late Brother,” and his peace of mind, he declared, depended on getting to the bottom of the mystery. He would proceed coolly and firmly, without impugning any one’s character or reaching conclusions based on mere suspicion, and undeflected by “any artfull and doubtfull Declarations” intended to mislead him. “Dr. Franklin’s publick Avowal being sufficient to justify a judicial Proceeding on my part against him at least, I have as the immediate Representative of my late Brother filed a Bill in Chancery to purge that Gentleman on his Oath as to the Means by which he may alledge he became possessed of these Letters and to restore them to me as being now my Property.”
Franklin’s public avowal, on December 25, 1773, may have strengthened Whately’s grounds for suing but could scarcely have been what decided him to sue. The interval between the avowal and the beginning of the action was less than two weeks. It defies probability that Whately made up his mind and engaged and briefed counsel, who thereupon drew up a long and enormously detailed bill, conferred with him on it, and then filed it, all within a fortnight; preparing Franklin’s answer engaged him and his counsel for three and a half months. Whately, then, must have known of the American’s involvement long before the public did, probably before the duel and possibly by the time the two men met in November. How he knew is one of the many mysteries that still cloud the affair.
The purpose of the suit, to judge by the bill, was twofold: to protect Thomas Whately’s reputation by forcing the defendent to disclose what had happened, by securing any letters that were not yet in print, and by enjoining further publication of those that were; and to obtain whatever profit had accrued from the printing. The bill was what would now be called a fishing expedition, and it cast the widest possible net. A few of the questions asked were designed to obtain admission of demonstrable facts, others to explore well grounded suspicions, and still others to test conjectures that were wildly erroneous; the plaintiff in Chancery, Franklin remarked, “is allowed to lie as much as he pleases.” The document, like much legal liturgy of the period, is innocent of punctuation and cavalier about syntax; and a fog of verbosity often hides the meaning. We have therefore condensed and paraphrased the original.

<7th January 1774. To the Right Honourable Lord Apsley, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain:
Your petitioner, William Whately of London, banker and administrator of the estate of the late Thomas Whately, deceased, shows unto your Lordship that:
Thomas Whately, late of the parish of St. James, Westminster, carried on a correspondence with the Hon. Thomas Hutchinson and the Hon. Andrew Oliver of Boston in New England. Included in this correspondence were six letters from Hutchinson dated between June 28, 1768, and October 10, 1769, and four letters from Oliver dated between May 7, 1767, and August 12, 1769. At the time of Whately’s death these letters were either in his possession or had recently been given by him to some other person, to be read and safely returned. Shortly before or after his death they came, by means unknown to your petitioner and without his or Thomas Whately’s consent, into the possession of Benjamin Franklin or some other person or persons working with him or at his direction.
Franklin, who is or has lately been in the printer’s trade, has caused the letters to be published without the knowledge or consent of Thomas Whately, your petitioner, Hutchinson, or Oliver. Franklin or some one else caused the addresses to be defaced, and transmitted the letters to friends or agents in Boston or elsewhere for publication. Many copies were printed there, and many sent back to London to Franklin and his confederates.
Franklin corresponded with divers persons in Boston and elsewhere about the letters, arranged for their publication, and directed that they be concealed from certain persons who might have given your petitioner information about them. Franklin or others have acknowledgments of the receipt and publication of the letters. He still has in his possession some of the original letters and copies of those printed, and threatens to publish them in this kingdom. Your petitioner has applied to him to deliver the originals and all copies in his custody, to desist from publication, and to account to him for the profits thereof; but Franklin, confederating with persons unknown but who should be discovered and made parties to the suit, refuses to deliver the originals and copies or to reveal where they are or how, from whom, or by whose assistance they came into his possession, or to whom he transmitted them, and pretends that he gave a valuable consideration for them to some person or persons he refuses to name, and that your petitioner has no right to or interest in them. This pretension is contrary to equity and good conscience and tends to your petitioner’s manifest injury.
Therefore, because strict rules of common law offer no remedy to your petitioner, only by the assistance of a court of equity can he make discovery of the matters mentioned, compel redelivery of the letters and copies, and restrain further publication. To that end he begs that Franklin be made to answer in particular the following questions:
If Thomas Whately is dead, when did he die?
Did your petitioner or any one else have administration of his estate?

Was there a correspondence between Thomas Whately, Hutchinson, and Oliver, and if so for how many years?
During those years did not Whately reside in England and Hutchinson and Oliver in Boston?
How many letters did Whately receive from each, and in particular did he receive the ten letters in question?
Were they in his or some one else’s custody when he died, or had he delivered them to some person or persons for perusal and return, and if so when and to whom?
Did they come into Franklin’s possession, and if so when, where, and by the hands of what person or persons did he see and obtain them?
Did he or such person or persons receive them with the knowledge or consent of Thomas Whately or your petitioner?
Does not Franklin now, or did he not lately, carry on the trade of a printer?
Did not he or some other person, and if so who, publish the letters without the consent of Thomas Whately, your petitioner, Hutchinson, or Oliver?
Which of the letters was addressed to Thomas Whately, and when, by whom, and for what purpose was the address removed?
Did Franklin transmit such letters to friends or agents in Boston or elsewhere in America for the purpose of publication, or for what other purpose, and what letters were sent and to whom?
Were copies of the letters, not printed or disposed of in Boston, sent from there to Franklin or his agent in England?
Did Franklin not correspond about the letters with divers persons in Boston and elsewhere, and if so with whom?
Did he give instructions about publication, about concealing the letters from certain persons, and about showing them to certain others under promise of secrecy or similar restriction, and if so who were the persons and what were the restrictions?
Let him set forth all the correspondence in which the letters are mentioned, and say how many and which of them are now in his custody and how many copies, whether printed or not, and whether he intends to publish them in this kingdom.
Let him explain why he refuses to deliver the originals and copies to the petitioner, where they now are, and when, how, from whom, and for what valuable consideration he obtained them.

Let him be required to deliver them to the petitioner and account to him for receipts for all copies sold, and be restrained from publishing and otherwise using the originals or copies.
The petitioner begs for a writ of injunction to restrain Franklin accordingly, and a writ of subpoena to require him and his confederates, when discovered, to appear and make answer to all the premises and to abide by such further orders as to the court shall seem meet.>
John Madocks


Title: The Preliminary Hearing before the Privy Council Committee for Plantation Affairs on the Petition from the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the Removal of Hutchinson and Oliver, 11 January 1774
From: Franklin, Benjamin,Wedderburn, Alexander,Mauduit, Israel
To:

The record of the hearing survives in two parts. One is an extract, from a contemporary pamphlet, of the dialogue that took place between the principals; the quoted words may be inaccurate and are certainly incomplete, but give the flavor of the occasion. The other is the flavorless minutes of the proceedings in the Privy Council register.
Whitehall had received the petition from Massachusetts the previous autumn. In early December the machinery of government began to move, and by January the scene was set for action by the Privy Council sitting as the Committee for Plantation Affairs. Hutchinson had engaged as his agent Israel Mauduit, a friend of the late Thomas Whately and a London merchant and pamphleteer, who had long been connected with the affairs of Massachusetts. Early in January Mauduit conferred with several ministers, and as a result asked to be represented by counsel when the petition was heard. The date was set for the 11th, and on the 8th Franklin was summoned to attend. But not until the 10th, the day before the hearing, was he informed that Mauduit’s request for counsel had been granted. By then he had no time to engage and brief his own counsel. What William Bollan called “this sudden and precipitate proceeding” caught him and Franklin short. They could only work for delay, which they succeeded in obtaining: the matter was postponed to a second hearing on the 29th. Bollan was present on the 11th to watch over the interests of his employer, the Massachusetts Council; but because that body had not joined in the petition he had no chance to participate. He was confined to giving Franklin a lawyer’s informal advice on how to deal with opposing counsel, who turned out to be no less a figure than the Solicitor General, Alexander Wedderburn. The government was identifying itself from the start with Hutchinson’s defense.

I. The Report OF THE Hearing
At the Council Chamber, Jan. 11, 1774. Present, Lord President, the Secretaries of State, and many other Lords. Dr. Franklin and Mr. Bollan, Mr. Mauduit and Mr. Wedderburn.
Dr. Franklin’s Letter, and the Address, Mr. Pownal’s Letter, and Mr. Mauduit’s Petition, were read.
Mr. Wedderburn. The Address mentions certain papers. I would wish to be informed what are those papers.
Dr. Franklin. They are the Letters of Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Oliver.

Court. Have you brought them?
Dr. Franklin. No, but here are attested copies.
Court. Do you not mean to found a charge upon them? if you do, you must produce the letters.
Dr. Franklin. These copies are attested by several Gentlemen at Boston, and a Notary Public.
Mr. Wedderburn. My Lords, we shall not take advantage of any imperfection in the proof. We admit that the letters are Mr. Hutchinson’s and Mr. Oliver’s hand writing: reserving to ourselves the right of inquiring how they were obtained.
Dr. Franklin. I did not expect that Council would have been employed on this occasion.
Court. Had you not notice sent you of Mr. Mauduit’s having petitioned to be heard by Council on behalf of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor?
Dr. Franklin. I did receive such notice, but I thought that this had been a matter of politics and not of law, and have not brought any Council.
Court. Where a charge is brought, the parties have a right to be heard by Council or not, as they chuse.
Mr. Mauduit. My Lords, I am not a native of that country, as these Gentlemen are. I well know Dr. Franklin’s great abilities, and wish to put the defence of my friends more upon a parity with the attack; he will not therefore wonder that I chuse to appear before your Lordships with the assistance of Council. My friends, in their letters to me, have desired (if any proceedings, as they say, should be had upon this Address) that they may have a hearing in their own justification, that their innocence may be fully cleared, and their honour vindicated; and have made provision accordingly. I do not think myself at liberty therefore to give up the assistance of my Council, in defending them against this unjust accusation.
Court. Dr. Franklin may have the assistance of Council, or go on without it, as he shall chuse.
Dr. Franklin. I desire to have Council.
Court. What time shall you want?
Dr. Franklin. Three weeks.
Ordered, That the further proceedings be on Saturday 29th instant.

  II. The Action of the Privy Council
At the Council Chamber Whitehall the 11th. Day of January 1774. By the Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs
The Lords of the Committee having appointed this Day to take into Consideration the Address of the House of Representatives of the Province of Massachusets Bay complaining of the Conduct of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of that Province, and praying that they may be removed from their Posts, and Notice having been given to Dr. Franklin Agent for the House of Representatives, to attend, as likewise to Mr. Israel Mauduit (from whom a petition was Yesterday presented to their Lordships praying on behalf of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to be heard by Counsel) of which Petition the Agent on the other side had Notice; They did attend accordingly (Mr. Mauduit with his Counsel) and the parties being called in, and the said Address of the House of Representatives being Read, Dr. Franklin acquainted their Lordships that he knew nothing of the Intention of hearing Counsel till Yesterday that he had no such Intention himself, but proposed to lay before their Lordships Copies of the Resolutions of the House of Representatives, and the Letters on which those Resolutions were founded, and Submit the Matter to their Lordships Judgment and Decision; but if Counsel was heard on behalf of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, he should also pray to be heard by Counsel at a future Day. Mr. Mauduit Observed that he was not Master of all the Minuteness of the Constitution of the Province and was unwilling to rest the Defence of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor on himself without the Assistance of Counsel. Copy of the Resolutions of the Assembly Entitled Extract from the Journals of the House of Representatives Dated 16th June 1773 and Copies of the Letters (on which those Resolutions were founded) annexed to two Certificates tending to prove the Authenticity of the Copies of said Letters being proved by Dr. Franklin and read; Objections were made by the Counsel for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to admitting the Copies of said Letters; but the Objection being afterwards waived, and the Counsel for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor declaring himself willing to admit that the Letters (of which the above Exhibit purported to contain Copies) had been wrote, reserving to himself at the same time a right to ask such Questions as he might find necessary, touching the manner of Obtaining such the Original Letters and the person to whom the same were addressed, Their Lordships at the then further Instance of the Agent for the House of Representatives to be heard by Counsel at a future day were pleased to appoint Saturday the 29th Instant (each party consenting thereto) to resume the Consideration of this Matter, and hear Counsel on both sides thereupon.


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from Erasmus Darwin, 24 January 1774
From: Darwin, Erasmus
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Dear Sir,
Lichfield Jan. 24, 74
I have inclosed a medico-philosophical Paper which I should take it as a Favour if you will communicate to the royal Society, if you think it worthy a Place in their Volum, otherwise must desire you to return it to the Writer.
I have another very curious Paper containing Experiments on the Colours seen in the closed Eye after having gazed some Time on luminous Objects, which is not quite transcribed, but which I will also send you, if you think it is likely to be acceptable to the Society at this Time, but will otherwise let it lie by me another year. I hope you continue to enjoy your Health, and that I shall sometime again have the pleasure of seeing you in Staffordshire, and am, dear sir your affectionate Friend
Eras. Darwin

NB. If Dr. Franklin is not in England, I hope the Person intrusted to read his Letters will return the inclosed Papers to Dr. Darwin at Lichfield Staffordshire, which will be gratefully acknowledged.

Addressed: For / Dr. Benj. Franklin / Craven Street / Strand / London
Notation: Dr. Darwin


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from Jonathan Williams, Jr., 24 January–30 March 1774
From: Williams, Jonathan Jr.
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Dear and honoured Sir
Boston January 24[–March 30]. 1774
I received your much esteemed favour of November 1st 1773, and immediately delivered the Letters that were inclosed to the Gentlemen to whom they were directed. I thank you for your readiness in procuring the organ I recieved per Hall, which was much admired. I shall ever think myself happy when in my power to render you any services on this side; as far as my little abilities may extend. I am glad the Candles were agreeable to Mrs. Stevenson, and shall with pleasure obey at any time whatever she may please to command, thinking myself amply rewarded by her approbation. We recieved the Books for my Father, who is much obliged by your sending them.
I am much obliged to Mr. Warren (as to every one else) for his good opinion, and shall do all in my power to deserve it, but I cant help thinking that his application to you some time ago to advance money for me, and now to write to my Father, savors of distrust which I confess a little piques me; he tells you he did not charge interest meerly because he did not think a compensation [due?] for his disappointment. In his Letter to me it appears the effect of his friendship, which I have taken care to acknowledge at the same time offering to pay it in future; now these are very different Motives, the first I am not obligated by, but rather hurt in my feelings, which I hope will always be sensible enough to save me from reproach; by the last I am highly favoured, and the same feelings prompted a gratefull return. However, I hope I shall be able to pay him in the Spring the full Balance of my Account. I intend to strain every nerve to effect this purpose, and I think I have a tolerable prospect before me, when I hope to convince him that Honor and Honesty have been the guides of all my Actions.

March 30th.
Thus far I had wrote two months ago, but missed the opportunity. You will perhaps be surprised when I tell you I intend soon to pay my respects to you in person, as I have not yet imparted my design, which I declined doing because I knew I could not obtain your opinion before it was necessary to put my scheme in execution. Shipping you cautioned me against, therefore when I first mention my having entered into it, you will I fear think I have been imprudent; but if it should appear that I could not have effected the point I aim at in any other way, I hope you will judge of my conduct as favourably as you can. I found I had a great quantity of Goods on hand, and all the money my father had advanced to support me in trade, lay dead in my Store; I therefore thought that the greatest piece of Justice I could do to my creditors, would be to lessen that quantity as much as I could, and appropriate the proceeds to pay them. I could not sell them even at the cost without the charges (which are from 7½ to 10 Per Cent) for the Cash, because I could at any time buy as much as I pleased at that rate at a long credit, and I did not think I could be justified in trusting them. I therefore have built me two good Vessells, which with their Cargoes I intend shall pay all I owe in England. I shall risque nothing but the markets, for I intend to insure every farthing for the benefit of my concerns. Besides the above considerations, I was induced to adopt this mode of remittances, as I could not get Bills without a certain loss of 2½ Per Cent. As I could not divide the consignment, I have sent the whole to the address of Messrs. Champion & Dickason, and have drawn on them in favour of Mr. Warren for £500, which Sum he will recieve as soon as they are in Cash for me, and when I arive with the other Vessell and Cargo, I hope to pay him all I owe at once. In order to facilitate this matter I have ordered no Goods in the Spring, for I find that unless I can have them more advantageously, the trade will not be worth carrying on; for had I had a family to maintain during the time I have been in business, my Gains would have been but trifling, since every loss in remnants and unsaleable article must come out of the profits. My credit here is undoubted, and good for any sum I should incline to raise, the more so as my Father is always willing to lend his name if necessary. Now I intend to make one hand wash the other, and rather than overstrain my credit in England, I think best to make use of it here to keep that good. I hope to have 3 or 400 pound left from the proceeds of these vessells after paying what I owe, but that will depend on the quantity of Cargo I may be able to procure, but be that as it may, Payment is my first aim, and no flattering prospect shall induce me to keep other peoples money in my hands. After this purpose is effected, the next thing is to engage again in the best manner I can, and I beg leave to mention a Scheme upon which I request your advice.
Mr. Joseph Russell is a licensed public auctioneer and Broker in this Town, he began the world in the printing Business, and by his industry and merit has acquired something handsome, with an unblemished reputation. His Character in his present occupation, is universally established as a man honest, and upright in his dealings, and punctual in his payments; this comes within my own knowledge besides the corroborating opinion of all the Merchants in Town. From his conspicuous proffession and extensive connections, he is able to dispose of an immense quantity of Goods, but for not more than the price charged by the merchant, at 5 Per Cent Commissions for his trouble. Now as the Merchants in England who purchase Goods of the manufacturer, send them over to their correspondents here burdened with many charges, (not less than 7½ Per Cent) would not these persons who import thier Goods, find it more advantageous to purchase here free from all those charges? And as it is notorious, that the Merchants have a discount of 10 or 15 Per Cent from the manufacturers, which they put in thier own pockets: would it not be more advantageous to the manufacturer to send the Goods here consigned for sale, paying the said 5 Per Cent, and have their money in as short a time, or sooner, without any discount at all? These considerations gave rise to our plan, which is to propose this matter to the makers of the several kinds of Goods usually exported, producing undoubted assurances of both his and my fidelity. For his we propose to obtain the names of the principal men in this place to certify, for mine I must depend on the kind opinion of those who know me, for whose friendship I shall be greatly obliged, and my Father will engage to indemnify them from every possible disadvantage. Mr. Russell and myself are to be joint partners in every advantage arising from the Scheme, and he to do the whole of the business on this side the Water, I being only known on the other. The reason for the necessity of my not being conspicuous here, is because knowing this affair will be disrelished by our importers, it might affect me in my other concerns, and the torrents of their displeasure would perhaps be more than I could stem, otherwise I might undertake the affair myself, without Mr. Russells aid, but his proffession being licenced by an Act of the general Court, no person will or can object to it. In this way I doubt not we would sell a vast quantity, and for every £1000, I should gain £25, a sum seemingly small on a small principal, but multiplied by 20 or 50 would give me a handsome income; and sure ’tis worth my while to pursue the plan, since it will be like having a Salary for doing nothing, and I can supply my present trade 7½ Per Cent cheaper, than now, besides the Commission of 2½ Per Cent which will belong to me as much as if the Goods were sold to any other person; and this seperate Trade I can carry on, full as extensively as any other merchant. I doubt not this Scheme will be relished by the manufacturers at home, because it has already been offered, and Mr. Russell has had Goods consigned him from some of them at Leeds and Hull. So the plan only wants to be extended, which I think they will willingly do, as the more Goods a man can sell, the more he can make, and his profits will be greater in proportion. Besides my taking an obligation from Mr. Russell to allow me the half of the Commission I intend to make myself so necessary in the matter that he can’t do without me, for (tho’ I have the highest opinion of his honor) I do not intend to leave the possibility of being deserted by him. This must be to make myself most known to the manufacturers, which will prevent their trusting him without my countenance and support. I hope this matter will not be unfavourably recieved by You and that you will not condemn my Ambition when it leads in the way of my profession, upon a plan safe, prudent, and reasonable. Youth is the only time to be active in, and I wish to employ every moment of it now, to produce independance and tranquility when my Vigour fails. If you should esteem this affair a monopoly, and object to on that account, I would beg leave to observe, that there is no friendship in trade, and every man will (and has a right to) do the best he can for himself in an honest way; besides ’tis only putting ourselves in the place of the London Merchant, and gaining a profit which they now put in their pockets, that might as well fill an Americans. And I further think it will not hurt the political Interests of our Country, for instead of our labouring under a load of debt to the Merchants of old England for which they could at any time distress us, (for poor Richard tells us, the Debtor always sells his freedom to the Creditor.) The manufacturers will have their interest laying here, which they can’t demand ’till sold, and of consequence (the most important part of the Kings brittish Subjects,) will have every inducement to be friendly and obliging, while our people purchase their Goods 7½ Per Cent cheaper. Upon the whole If I am still happy enough to have that place in your regard, which you have frequently by unmerited favours given me reason to think I had, I hope you will excuse my venturing to ask your kind assistance in this Affair, by mentioning it to the manufacturers you know, and giving me such a character as you think I deserve. I rest the whole intirely on your Judgment, and be assured that if it meets with your disapprobation, I will give it up without the least regret, because that disapprobation will convince me ’twill not be for my Interest. You will please to be cautious in speaking of it where the mercantile interest is concern’d, as if I should ill succeed I might loose their good will, which would injure me. If you can conveniently make any connexions for me previous to my coming, and will kindly assist me afterwards, I will do my utmost endeavours to prove by every part of my conduct, that I am Your dutifull and Affectionate Kinsman
Please to deliver the inclosed

Addressed: To / Doctr Benja Franklin / at Mrs Stevensons / In Craven Street / Strand / London


Title: Franklin’s Ostensible Withdrawal from the Walpole Company: Two Letters, [on or after 24 January 1774]
From: Franklin, Benjamin
To: Walpole, Thomas

Franklin had for some time been playing a minor role in the affairs of the Walpole Company. The greater his unpopularity in Whitehall, the less the promoters of the grant wanted to emphasize his connection with them. He was well aware that he was a liability, according to William Strahan, and as early as 1771 had offered to withdraw. Thomas Walpole did not accept the offer at the time, but by the beginning of 1774 the situation had changed. Although a committee of the Privy Council had instructed the Attorney and Solicitor General the previous October to draw up a grant to the Company, the law officers had done nothing. They were ignoring their instructions, Samuel Wharton complained, in order to sabotage the whole scheme. The Attorney General put the matter differently: the grant would not be made, he said, while one of the grantees was a man who merited no favor from the crown. Many interests opposed the grant for diverse reasons, and Franklin’s being a shareholder strengthened their hand; developments in Massachusetts were making its agent an albatross around the Company’s neck. Walpole must have decided that he could wait no longer. With the note below he enclosed the suggested draft of a letter, predated January 12, renouncing Franklin’s ties with the Company. The American copied the draft with a few changes, and returned it.
Several aspects of this transaction are puzzling. First, why did Walpole act when he did, and then ask to have the reply predated; was it mere coincidence that the 12th was the day after the preliminary hearing before the Privy Council on the petition from Massachusetts? Second, why did he not leave Franklin to write his own letter, instead of suggesting to him one with an oddly structured argument? Third and most important, what was the meaning of the episode? On the surface Franklin withdrew from the Company; as he said to Bishop Shipley, “I have declin’d my Share in the Ohio Purchase.” In fact he did nothing of the sort, but remained an active if silent partner. Soon after his return to America he was one of four principals who signed a power of attorney for the Company. He continued to pay the charges on his two shares until 1777, when he negotiated the return of his unexpended balance. In 1778 he asked to have back this letter of resignation and, when Walpole sent it to him, appended a memorandum, in which he explained that the shares were still valid and would, he hoped, benefit his descendants; his reason for resigning had been to obviate the Attorney General’s objection to the grant.

I
Monday 24 Jany. [1774]
Mr. Walpole presents his compliments to Dr. Franklin, and sends him hereinclosed the plan of a letter submitted to his consideration and if Dr. Franklin approves it Mr. Walpole desires it may be dated the 12. of this month.

Addressed: To / Dr. Franklin / Cravenstreet / Strand

  II
  Sir,
Cravenstreet, Jan. 12 [i.e., on or after Jan. 24]. 1774
Being told that some Persons in Administration have suggested, That my Conduct in Affairs between this Kingdom and North America do not by any means entitle me to such a Mark of Favor from Government, as that of being a Proprietor in the Grant of Lands on the Ohio, to be made to yourself and Associates, I think it necessary to inform you, That I never considered the Agreement with the Treasury for these Lands as a Matter of Favor, unless it was such from us to Government, by showing them that the Lands they used to give away might produce something to the publick Treasury. The Agreement for them was fair and publick, at a Price fully adequate to their Value; and as the Lords of Trade have superadded several considerable Charges more than are immediately relative to the Expence of supporting the Government of the Colony (which, besides the Purchase-money and Quit Rent, is all we contracted to pay) and have rated that Support enormously high, in my Opinion, for an infant Colony, I can never consider the Purchase of those Lands as a Favour from Government, nor a great Bargain to the Purchasers. I do therefore desire that you will strike my Name out of the List of your Associates, and hereafter not look upon me as one of them. I wish you however all Success in your hazardous Undertaking, and am, with great Esteem, Sir Your most obedient and most humble Servant
B Franklin
Honble. Thomas Walpole Esqr

Endorsed: Paper that may be of Consequence to my Posterity


Title: To Benjamin Franklin from Charles-Guillaume-Frédéric Dumas, [after 28 January 1774?]
From: Dumas, Charles-Guillaume-Frédéric
To: Franklin, Benjamin

Monsieur,
[After January 28?, 1774]
Le porteur de la présente est mon ancien et bon ami, Mr. Marc Michel Rey Libraire à Amsterdam, qui va pour ses affaires à Londres; je profite de cette occasion pour me procurer des nouvelles de votre santé, Monsieur, à laquelle je m’intéresse constamment, ainsi qu’à la liberté et prospérité de vos braves Colonies du Continent Américain, et notamment de la Pensylvanie et N. Jersey, qui vous touchent particulierement.
Mr. Rey sera charmé d’ajouter une connoissance aussi estimable et respectable que la vôtre à celle de tant d’autres personnages savans et distingués que sa vocation l’a mis à portée de voir et d’entretenir; et tout ami qu’il m’est, je ne puis me défendre de lui envier celle-ci.
Il doit y avoir environ 3 ans, que je vous ai adressé par la voie de Rotterdam un paquet contenant quelques Exemplaires de l’ Expédition de feu Mr. Bouquet, que j’ai traduite en françois; et aussi quelques exemplaires d’une Lettre sur la sculpture, et d’une autre sur les Desirs, tant pour votre Bibliotheque, que pour celle de Philadelphie et de quelque ami à qui vous auriez plaisir d’en faire part. Ces lettres ne sont point à avoir chez les Libraires, ayant été imprimées aux dépens de l’Auteur, pour n’en faire que des présens. Je serois bien aise de savoir, Monsieur, par Mr. Rey si ce paquet-là vous est parvenu. En attendant, je remets au dit Mr. Rey les Livres suivans pour vous les porter lui-même s’il lui est possible; sinon, pour vous les faire parvenir dans la premiere balle de Livres qu’il enverra d’Amsterdam à Londres Savoir.
4 Lettre sur l’Homme et ses rapports, par l’Auteur des Lettres sur la Sculpture et sur les Desirs. Cet auteur, mon intime ami, est Mr. Hemsterhuis fils du feu Professeur en Grec de ce nom. Cette Lettre avoit été réellement écrite à feu Mr. F. Fagel, fils du Greffier de cette république, mort depuis peu; aussi j’y joins la description philosophique du caractere de ce dernier, qu’il vous fera plaisir peut-être d’avoir aussi.

2. Exemplaires du Traité de la circulation et du crédit par Mr. de Pinto, que j’ai fait imprimer chez Mr. Rey à Amsterdam.
1 Exemplaire de l’Examen du salut des payens, que j’ai traduit de l’Allemand, sans y mettre mon nom, par la raison que je n’ai pas voulu m’exposer à la persécution de certaines gens aussi violents qu’ils sont méprisables. J’y joins 2 petites pieces, l’une qui est un Extrait que j’ai fait moi-même de cet Ouvrage. Vous pourrez, Monsieur, par le commencement et par la fin de cet Extrait, vous former une idée de nos Théologiens Bataves: car ceux à qui j’en veux-là sont à la tête du parti, et des Professeurs, dont l’un écrit encore un ouvrage fort mal intentionné sous le titre d’ Avocat de l’Eglise dominante.
L’autre piece est une réfutation un peu badine d’un assez mauvais Livre du fameux Avocat Linguet, intitulé Théorie des Loix civiles. Ce Livre avoit trouvé nombre d’admirateurs ici. Ennuyé de m’entendre vanter cet Ouvrage par des gens qui ne laissoient pas que d’avoir de l’esprit, j’ai fait insérer cela dans le Journal des savans, pour les turlupiner eux, plutôt que pour donner un Extrait en forme. Si vous aviez encore, Monsieur, un paquet de vieilles gazettes Allemandes ou Angloises de vos Colonies, comme celui de l’année 1768 que vous m’avez fait la faveur de m’envoyer ci-devant, et si elles vous étoient inutiles, je vous serois fort obligé de me les envoyer par Mr. Rey. Ce seroit pour moi une lecture bien plus intéressante que celle de nos Gazettes d’Europe.
Ce qui vient de se passer en Amérique par rapport au Thé, me fait un plaisir infini. Je prédis et soutiens ici dans toutes les conversations, que vos braves colonies, avec tant de fermeté et de vigueur, triompheront, à la longue, des ennemis de leur repos, de leur liberté et de leur grandeur future: Qu’il est heureusement trop tard, et aussi fort imprudent, de s’opposer à leurs progrès; et qu’elles formeront certainement, avec le temps, un systême de nations aussi brillant que l’ancienne Grece ou que la moderne Europe. Que leur heureuse étoile en écarte à jamais les tyrans religieux et civils! C’est le plus grand voeu qu’il soit possible de former pour elles.
J’ai tant d’estime pour l’Histoire de Charles V par Mr. Robertson, que j’ai conseillé à Mr. Rey de faire traduire en François l’ Histoire de l’ Amérique du même Auteur que j’ai vu annoncé dans les Gazettes; et je lui ai offert [remainder missing.]