xxiv END OF THE QUAKER EXPERIMENT 309 



Pemberton and six others dissenting ; many other Friends 

 could not approve, and some suffered distraint for non- 

 payment of the tax. Forts were erected in February 

 along the frontier, but necessarily at far intervals ; as 

 useless, said one, "as an attempt to hedge out birds." 

 On April 10, 1756, Governor Morris declared war against 

 the Delawares, delivered the hatchet into their hands, 

 and offered a bounty for Indian scalps 130 Spanish 

 dollars for every male, and 50 for every female scalp. 

 William Logan vainly denounced this act in the Council : 

 the Assembly was not consulted. The province was now 

 at war : it was time for the Friends to leave the helm 

 of the state. 



On June i, James Pemberton and five other Friends 

 resigned their seats in the Assembly. One of these, 

 William Callender, writes in an interesting letter to 

 Fothergill : "I believe Friends will pretty generally 

 accept of your guarantee for their resigning their seats 

 in the House, and as a specimen of this six of us resigned 

 yesterday. It is thought proper not to break the House 

 as it would throw matters into confusion." The result 

 attained was in part due, as shown in an earlier chapter, 

 to the labours of Fothergill's brother Samuel, who was 

 on a visit to the country, as well as to those of the deputies 

 from England. Four more members who had been 

 elected in the autumn were induced " to shake off their 

 rags of imaginary honour " ; thus the majority was 

 destroyed, and the Quaker experiment of government 

 in Pennsylvania was at an end. 1 



Nevertheless the Assembly still contained a number of 

 Friends, and their general policy continued to have much 

 influence in the province for many years. During this 

 period proprietary encroachments had still to be withstood 

 and the charter of liberties to be maintained. Nor did 

 Friends themselves sit with folded hands. Parted, as 



1 See MS. Letter, W. Callender to J. F., 2.vi.i7s6. Frds. Ref. Lib. Samuel 

 Fothergill persuaded the Assembly Friends to be more respectful to the 

 governor. He suspected Franklin, who was clerk to the Assembly, of pur- 

 posely drafting the Address in a tone which would bring the society into 

 obloquy. Mem. S. Fothergill, p. 247. 



