seen themselves enriched from year to year even while they held only the same numerical quantities. The causes then, if I understand the subject, why we so rapidly rose, against so many untoward circumstances, to national and individual wealth, is chiefly imputable to our facilities in providing places for a rapidly increasing population, and their skill and industry in improving and enhancing their value by agriculture, manufactures, and traffic. An older country whose population was full, and whose improvements were at their utmost already, could not have sustained our successive disasters, or have surmounted them triumphantly as we have done.

Those remarks, already over long, have been elicited by so of ten noticing the terms of despondency in which the early settlers of Philadelphia were accustomed to speak of their condition and prospects. There was a constant cry of want of money, where little existed,—of bad markets,-where heaven had most "blest their store,❞—of little value of lands and improvements,-where so much abounded, &c. They feared to invest capitals if they had them, even while the properties they actually held were progressively, though with small momentum, rising in value to their zenith. Thus, as late as the year 1700 to 1705, &c. we see such a man as Samuel Carpenter, who made the first and most numerous important improvements in Philadelphia and the country, selling them out in vexation and disappointment. James Logan's letters too, abound with remarks of dissatisfaction at things as he found them:-especially in managing William Penn's affairs,-in collecting rents,-disposing of lands, and in being deferred the pay for them. "They make my life (says he,) so uncomfortable, that it is not worth the living,"—and again, "I know not what any of the comforts of life are.' 99 As late as 22 years after the settlement (say in 1704) James Logan thus states the perplexities of things, to wit: "Money is so scarce that many good farmers now scarce ever see a piece-of-eight of their own throughout the year,"-but although this could not prevent their fields to yield, and their cows to calve, and abundance of children to be warm clothed and well fed! the sad story is continued: "What little there is of money is in town, and wheat for two years past has been worth very little." On another occasion he complains that "pay for land sold near New Castle to amount of 3000£. is due, and I have received but 200£. and that in produce, nor will one half of it ever be paid unless times should mend; for the land, as in many other cases, will be cast back on our hands." "The Susquehanna lands (says he) is much in the same state; and I could have wished it had been a lake, rather than it should have ever been purchased for thee." In another place, he says, "last night William Penn, jun'r. sold his manor on Schuylkill (now Norrington) to William Trent and Isaac Norris for 850£. They were unwilling to touch it,—for without a great prospect none will now meddle with land,

but in his case he was resolved to sell and leave the country." At the same time, William Penn exclaims in bitterness of soul, "Oh, Pennsylvania, what hast thou cost me!-surely above 30,000£. more than ever I got by thee!" But notwithstanding such discouraging feelings and prospects, the country, even while they slept, went on prospering, and the interests which any of them retained in the land and its improvements, enriched their families. Labour produced fruitful fields, and that produced commerce, these united, enriched all; so that what was sown in bitterness, brought forth a fruitful and honied harvest to the reapers.

In this was verified: "One hath sown and another hath reaped," "Others entered into their labours!"-Yea, even we of this day are the happy partakers! Seeing things so prosperous as we now do, -and, the march of empire such as we behold and enjoy,-we thus apostrophise our sires,—

FRAGMENTS

OF OUR

Primitive Wistory,

"Colligite fragmenta, ut non quid pereat!"

Scraps of ancient lore, he culls from ev'ry store.

IT is intended, within the compass of the present article, to collect and arrange several items of a miscellaneous character, illustrative of our primitive history. The most of them having been derived from Mrs. Logan's MS. selections, and now first meeting the public eye, will give them additional attraction.

I take this occasion to acknowledge my obligations to my much valued friend for her generous indulgence, in allowing me freely to extract what I pleased from her valuable and voluminous selections-in five volumes quarto-compiled from numerous files of papers left by the honourable James Logan and by the kindred Norris family. To the future historian of Pennsylvania they will furnish documents of much value; and a grateful posterity will not fail to commend the kindness of the heart, and the untiring patience of the head that has thus usefully laboured for their information and entertainment.

As most of the facts are derived from the frankness and unreserve of confidential letter correspondence, they will therefore partake of the minds of the writers, and let us into the double reward of learning more intimately the characters of Logan, Norris, Penn, &c.-for, as has been well observed, "there is nothing in general which can give a better opportunity of understanding a man's character, than those letters he never meant for the public eye."

SALARIES TO OFFICERS, IN 1701.

William Penn, in his letter of 1701, to James Logan, says,"To colonel Hamilton, as deputy governor, give him 200£. per annum, of your money,-this, till I procure an approbation for him, afterwards, let it be 300£. To John Moore, as the attorneygeneral, give 30£. a year. I hope the Assembly will take these charges off my hands. Use your endeavours. Judge (J.) Guest expects 100. a year;- I would give him 50. [James Logan was promised 200£. but he never took but 100£. because of Penn's embarrassments.]

THE VALUE OF THE CUSTOMS.

In William Penn's letter of 1701, he writes, "This year the customs from Pennsylvania, for amount goods, amount to 8000£. The year I arrived there, in 1699, it was but 1500£.—a good encouragement for me and the country. New York has not the half of it. [This is remarkable of a country then so much older!] But oh, that we had a fur trade instead of a tobacco one. Fur is almost any price,-I would say, 16 shillings,-ay, 20 shillings."

TOBACCO CULTIVATION.

Tobacco was much cultivated about Philadelphia at first, and much of it in the lower counties:- Penn's rents were chiefly paid in it. In 1702, eight vessels were loaded for England with 80 to 90 hogsheads each.

FAIRMOUNT.

William Penn, in 1701, in writing to James Logan, shows his fancy for the scite of the present water works, and his intention to settle there if he returned, saying, "My eye, though not my heart, is upon Fairmount, unless the unworthiness of some spirits drive me up to Pennsbury or Susquehanna for good and all." He had before projected and published a scheme of making another city and settlement on the Susquehanna. One of the Penns afterwards built and occupied a country-seat at Springettsbury, near to Fairmount.

THE FACTION AGAINST PENN.

These drove their opposition to Penn's interests to extremes. In 1700, colonel Quarry, judge, and John Moore, advocate, of the admiralty, were the two ring-leaders. The faction (says James Logan) had long contended to overthrow the settled constitution of the government." At that time, David Lloyd, the attorney-general, (afterwards an opposition leader, although a Friend) defended the measures of Penn's administration. James Logan remarks on these ungenerous hostilities to their patron, that governor Penn "was sometimes warm enough to inveigh highly against past proceedings, not sparing several, in express words, that were concerned in them." Penn himself calls them "knavish and foolish enemies." It was a part of their regular business, as mal-contents, to send many idle and pernicious tales to England, and also to the government there.

In 1702, James Logan thus writes of them,-"We are here unhappily exposed to such malicious spies, who, sedulously to serve a dishonest cause, keep themselves constantly on the alert, and in their secret cabals dress up every trivial occurrence into a monstrous shape of malfaisance;-the real subject of which is so slight, that the persons concerned scarce ever think of it more, until they hear it roar from some mighty court or committee there," in England.

In 1704-5, he says, "Some in America, who were lost here in the crowd of their superiors, having got into power there, in feeling their little eminency, think nothing taller than themselves but their trees! It might amend them to send them back to lose themselves again in the crowds of more considerable people!" [a cutting satire!]

Parties and factions ran high in the time of Sir William Keith, who promoted political divisions for his personal benefit. James Logan's letter to the proprietaries, of the year 1729, speaks of an intended mob or insurrection of about 200 people purposing to come in from the country with clubs, &c. and to be increased with such of the city as would join them, to overawe the Assembly, and to storm the government and council! In the mean time, the Assembly proclaimed the riot act as in force, with the penalty of death annexed. Three or four score of the mob came next day near to the town's end, but on hearing of the riot act they retired. Under a sense of such troubles, James Logan advises them,-even at that late day-to sell back to the crown!

In the 5th vol. of Mrs. Logan's selections is a long justification of 50 pages, by James Logan, of all his public measures, being in design a refutation of sundry malevolent accusations or insinuations prompted by the jealousy or bad motives of governor Keith. It is dated the 29th of September, 1709, and is addressed to the Assembly in the name of a remonstrance. It shows that much of the perverseness of David Lloyd in the Assembly, was caused by his personal pique against William Penn,-towards whom he acted apparently with much unfair dealing. It furnishes an ample portrait of Lloyd's general character.*

In 1734, James Logan gives a general history of the state of the province, and of all its political divisions and cabals, it being a long letter of 24 pages to John Penn.-Vide vol. 5, page 174, of Mrs. Logan's MS. selection. It gives many characteristics of Andrew Hamilton, Esqr. to whom the Penns gave the Bush-hill estate for useful legal services and benefits.

*In the year 1774, John Reed, of Philadelphia, published a book of 60 pages, 8vo. avowedly to illustrate his large map of city lots. It would seem he had hostilities to the Penn interest here, and intended to weaken their titles. His book is very deficient in perspicuity, even hard to be understood ;-but he has revived some buried scandals, taken from minutes of the early Assemblies-such as reproaching Penn,-" With thy unheard of abuses to thy purchasers, &c. in pretending to give them a town, and then by unconscionable quit rents make it worse by tenfold than a purchase; not only so, the very land the town stands upon is not cleared of the Swedes' claims,"