An Estimate of William Penn

Abstract

90 BULLETIN OF FRIENDS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION It is a gratification to find erected here, in the New World, to the memory of one of the founders of the ancient town of Chester, a mural tablet of such " antiquity, picturesqueness and excellence of execution." References Ashmead, Henry Graham : History of Delaware County, 1884. Keen, Gregory B. : The Descendants of Jöran Kyn. Martin, John Hill : History of Chester, 1877. Record of the Chester County Court, 1681-1697. Record of the Court at Upland. AN ESTIMATE OF WILLIAM PENN By Rayner W. Kelsey 1 The year 1932 witnesses the 250th anniversary of the coming of William Penn to Pennsylvania. In the prime of life, at thirtyeight years of age, he sailed up the stately Delaware and caught his first view of his " fresh new country." He brought the enthusiasm of youth and the idealism of religious faith to the tasks of his " Holy Experiment in Government." We now have the goodly perspective of two and a half centuries in which to view his work. Hence it may be worth while to outline here some of his larger contributions to human thought and life. One naturally recalls at the beginning Penn's contribution to the cause of religious freedom. He spoke, wrote, wrought and suffered for this cause. He was expelled from Oxford University for non-conformity. For a time he was exiled from his father's house because of his adherence to a despised sect. He went to prison again and again for his faith. On one such occasion he declared : " My prison shall be my grave before I will budge a jot; for I owe my conscience to no mortal man." In a constitution for West New Jersey he wrote : " No Men nor number of Men upon Earth, hath Power or Authority to rule over Men's Consciences in religious Matters." In his famous Frame of Government of 1682 1 This article is the Foreword, somewhat adapted, of an anniversary edition of Sydney George Fisher's The True William Penn, 1932. It is used in this place by the courtesy of the J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. For a notice of The True William Penn see Books and Notes below. AN ESTIMATE OF WILLIAM PENN91 for Pennsylvania he provided that all believers in God " shall in no ways be molested or prejudiced for their religious Persuasion or Practice in Matters of Faith and Worship." Those who know this chapter of William Penn's life are likely to count him one of the world's great leaders in the struggle for religious freedom. His life also counted heavily in the cause of political liberalism. In spite of friendly connections with the Stuart court, inherited from his father, the voice of Penn was often raised for the rights and liberties which were threatened by the Stuart despotism. At one time he suffered imprisonment to help establish the freedom of English juries from the dictation of judges. In his pamphlet, " The People's Ancient and Just Liberties Asserted," and in various similar treatises he argued for security of person and property, for the right of a fair trial by jury, for free and frequent parliaments , and for other ancient and fundamental rights of Englishmen . In the library of Haverford College is preserved the only complete copy known to exist of a pamphlet by Penn entitled, " The Excellent Priviledge of Liberty and Property, being the BirthRight of the Free-born Subjects of England." It contains a copy of Magna Charta, the Confirmation of the Charters, the Charter of Liberties granted by Penn to Pennsylvania, and other historic documents of English liberty. It was published in Philadelphia in 1687, and the high purpose of it, as stated in the Foreword, was to inform Pennsylvanians and other Americans of the " many precious Priviledges of Liberty and Property, by which every man that is a Subject to the Crown of England, may understand what is his Right, and how to preserve it." In Penn's political activities in the New World he strove earnestly to advance the cause of democracy. He was the chief author of the Concessions and Agreements of 1677 for West New Jersey. Of that...