which they belonged. In these affrays several were killed and wounded. The Governor took prompt measures to ap prehend and punish the offenders, and succeeded in averting hostilities. A treaty was concluded with the Five Nations which was ratified with presents in the usual formal manner. At a council held at Philadelphia, on the 26th of May, for the purpose of renewing treaties with the several Indian tribes there represented, Captain Civility spoke in behalf of the chieftains, and in referring to the Governor's address, previously delivered to them at Conestoga, said that "the Governor's words were all right and good; that they never had any such speech made to them since William Penn was here." These conferences with the Indians were frequent, and were attended with much expense, being generally coupled with treaties for the transfer of land. The Assembly, at its meeting in 1729, drew a distinction between the expense of treaties for the preservation of peace in the Colony, and those for the acquisition of territory, claiming that the latter should be borne by the Proprietors, thus dividing the burden of the frequent visits of the chiefs and their followers, to polish the chain of friendship with English blankets, broadcloths, and metals."

The prosperity of the Colony at this period was remarkable. Though not planted till 1680, more than half a century after the settlements of the other Colonies on the coast, it had the finest capital city in all British America, and the second in size, and a greater white population than Virginia, Maryland, and both the Carolinas. The causes of this prosperity were the peaceful policy adopted towards the savages, the security of life and property guaranteed by its beneficent code of laws, free toleration of religious sentiment, and the equality of all men before the law, making them eligible to office, and competent to give testimony in court, not excluding even the Indian or the negro.

The entire amount of paper money which had been issued to the beginning of 1730, was seventy-five thousand pounds. Rumors being current of mismanagement in the loan office,

Governor Gordon instituted an inquiry into the affairs of the treasurer, William Fishbourne, when it was discovered that he was a defaulter to the amount of eighteen hundred pounds. This was secured by the estate of the treasurer; but he was punished by being removed, and forever disqualified from holding office.

In 1732, it was discovered that the French from Canada were building and establishing trading-posts within the territory of Pennsylvania, on the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, and that representatives of the Indians dwelling upon these rivers had been invited to a conference with the French at Montreal. To counteract this influence, the Shawanese upon the Allegheny were summoned to Philadelphia, and at a council there held, they were urged to remove farther east. This they declined to do, but asserted that the French had not manifested an unfriendly spirit towards the English. A treaty was soon afterwards made with the Six Nations, in which the Indians promised continued friendship for the English, and resistance to the encroachments of the French.

By the death of Hannah Penn, in 1733, and the previous decease of Springett Penn, the Assembly decided that the power of Governor Gordon was at an end, and refused to act upon a message which he had communicated. But shortly afterward, the Governor received a new commission, executed by John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, to whom William Penn's estate and proprietary rights had descended. In the approval of this commission, the King expressly reserved the right to govern the Lower Counties on the Delaware, commonly known as the Territories.

This reservation was but the beginning of a series of encroachments by the home government, not only upon the rights of this, but upon those of all the American Colonies. The judiciary act of 1727 was soon after annulled, which threatened great inconvenience, but was fortunately averted by reviving the act of 1722. This was followed by an attempt to pass a resolution, recommended by the royal board of trade, requiring that all laws not only of Pennsylvania,

but of all the Colonies, should be transmitted to the King, whose assent was necessary to their validity, and that a copy of all laws previously passed should be submitted to him, who might annul any or all of them at his pleasure. Through the influence of the agent of the Assembly, Mr. Ferdinando John Paris, who was kept at Court as the representative of the Province, joined with the agents and friends of the other Colonies, action upon this resolution was stayed. But the disposition manifested in this proposition, so hurtful in its tendency to the dearest and most cherished rights of the Colony, was in character with those infringements of the Crown, which finally resulted in armed resistance, and their complete separation and independence.

In August of 1732, Thomas Penn, and two years later, John Penn, the Pennsylvania born, and the eldest of the surviving sons of William Penn, arrived in the Province. Their advent was hailed with demonstrations of joy and satisfaction on the part of the people, and furnished occasions of congratulatory addresses from the Assembly, framed in a spirit of unfeigned respect and gratification, by whom answers were returned pledging constant devotion to the interests of the Colony. To John Penn, the Assembly said: "Excited by affection and gratitude, we cheerfully embrace this opportunity of congratulating thee on thy safe arrival to the place of thy nativity. When we commemorate the many benefits bestowed on the inhabitants of this Colony, the religious and civil liberties we possess, and to whom these valuable privileges, under God and the King, are owing, we should be wanting to ourselves, and them that we represent, did we not do justice to the memory of thy worthy ancestor, a man of principles truly humane, an advocate of religion and liberty. What may we not hope for from the son of so great a man, educated under his care, and influenced by his example! May his descendants inherit his virtues as well as his estate, and long continue a blessing to Pennsylvania." To which he returned this answer: "I return you my hearty thanks for this affectionate address. The kind regard you express for the memory

of my father is most agreeable to me; and, as it was always his desire, so it is strongly my inclination, to do everything in my power to promote the happiness and prosperity of this Province."

Not long after the arrival of the latter, Governor Gordon was advised from London, that Lord Baltimore had made application to the king to have the three Lower Counties transferred from the dominion of Pennsylvania to that of Maryland. Richard Penn, the only one of the Proprietors remaining in England, and a deputation of Quakers, protested against this; but lest this opposition should fail, John Penn determined to return to England, to defend the Proprietary interests at Court, and soon after took his departure from the Colony, to which he never again returned, having died, unmarried, in October, 1746, leaving his share of the Colony to his brother Thomas.

In August, 1736, Governor Gordon died, equally lamented by the Proprietaries and the people, he having so judiciously administered the government, as not to set the interests of the one in antagonism to the other. During his term of office, general prosperity had prevailed, and the Colony had greatly increased in wealth and numbers. Its commerce likewise had grown to commanding proportions, and the number and tonnage of the colonial-built ships had been rapidly multiplied.

JAMES LOGAN, President of the Council, August, 1736, to August, 1738. Upon the death of Governor Gordon, the executive authority devolved upon the Council, of which James Logan was President. During the two years which elapsed between the death of the late Governor and the arrival of his successor, the Assembly met regularly and advised with the Council, but no laws were passed and no legislative business was transacted, as the Council was forbidden by charter from exercising executive power in legislation. During this period, serious troubles arose from the contested jurisdiction of Pennsylvania and Maryland over portions of