36 HISTOKICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE 



rules for enlarging our Society, and carrying his plan 

 into execution." 



This was flying in the face of the newly revived 

 "Philosophical Society. " It awakened them from 

 their slumber, and they set to work in earnest. On 

 the 19th of the same month, they associated to them- 

 selves seventeen new members, among whom were 

 John Penn, the Governor and one of the Proprie- 

 taries, James Hamilton, the President of the Council, 

 John Dickinson, David Eittenhouse, Hugh Roberts, 

 Israel Pemberton, Joseph Galloway, Thomas Willing, 

 Benjamin Chew, and several other eminent men; at 

 their next meeting, on the 26th, they began to frame 

 their rules (for the word " Const itution" was not at 

 that time so generally applied to such associations 

 as it is at present) and that they did by discussing 

 successively their most important principles, which 

 they continued until the 8th of March, when the rules 

 were finally adopted. 



The American Society were startled at these pro- 

 ceedings. They saw they had to do with powerful 

 adversaries and made proposals for an union of the 

 two Societies, of which the .particulars have not come 

 down to us, but it appears that they were based on 

 the principles of perfect equality. 



This was not, however, exactly what the Philosoph- 

 ical Society wanted, as will appear from the sequel. 

 At their meeting of the 2nd of February, the fol- 

 lowing paper was read: "A Society having subsisted 



