NEW ECENTLY there gathered at Jordan's near Beaconsfield In Bucks, England, a great crowd to witness a pageant which was given In the picturesque courtyard of old Jordan's Hostel, Al- though the locale of the pageant was English and the actors In it were English, it was staged In celebra- tion of an event In American history —the 250th anniversary of the found- ing of Pennsylvania. For, adjoining the broad grounds which surround the old hostel, Is an ancient graveyard and the inscription on one of the sim- ple headstones in this graveyard tells the visitor that underneath it lies the dust of what had once been a man named William Penn. Just be- yond this grave stands a small brick bullding which had once been a farm house but which Is now used as a meeting house for those who call themselves the Society of Friends but whom we know as the Quakers. Nearby, also, is another building which tells a tale from American his. tory. It is only a barn but the beams In it were once the timbers of the good ship “Mayflower” in which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to New Eng- land and this barn is now used as a recreation room by the Society of Friends. So this pageant recalled once more to both England and America the name of an English man whose Influence in the history of their na- tion is greater than most Ap What that influence was is pointed out in 8 new biography of the founder of Pennsylvania which appeared recently, It is “William Penn, Quaker and Ploneer” by Bonamy Dobree, published by the Houghton Mifflin company. In an epilogue, which sums up the contribution of Penn to his tory, the author points to the gigantic statue of Penn which stands on the top of the cupola on the city hall in Philadelphia and says: “He has, however, every reason to be proud of what he sees from his Inhuman eminence— the miles of habitats containing some two mil lion people, spreading away from between the rivers to the foothills; the factories: the wharves; the great bridge which swings irresist- ibly across the whole width of the Delaware: the structures growing ever higher, If less gra- cious, spaced out on the grid he had conceived. “Its history has been noble, for though it hesi- tated at the beginning of the struggle against England the still important Quakers being large. Jy indifferent and then loyalist, it was within its precincts that the Declaration of Independence was signed, and that the first flag of Stars and Stripes was woven, Later, in the Civil war. the Quaker Influence came into its heritage, for Phil. adelphia was stoutly anti-slavery and, as Penn would have wished, convinecedly antl-secessionist, “The United States of America !—that name would have pleased Penn, for In 1606. with his startling capacity for seeing ahead, he had writ. ten a booklet advocating the federation of all the colonies, though not, he would have pro- tested vehemently, in opposition to the crown. Moreover, of those states his own has been one of the most flourishing. . . . Tt had been a flour. ishing colony from the beginning, for with what. ever troubles Penn may have had In govern. ment (and his Province was not by any means the only one to have such troubles) of all the proprietary colonies, his was easily the most successful, “And even In government he had not falled go disappointingly as he supposed: for with all the alterations and tamperings, his old and seem- ingly battered Frame (“The Frame of Govern. ment,” written by Penn In 1681) is yet the basis of fundamental liberties, “Nor does his influence ecase with the state government, for the present Constitution of the United States in many ways reflects Penn's mind, notably in the executive being separate from the legislature, and in the President's appointment of certain officers, It Is not Pennsylvania alone that owes its shape to the constructive brain of William Penn” Such was the man who began his ploneering- ploneering In departing from the beaten path of most men's thinking—early in his life. Penn was born in 1844, the son of Admiral Sir Wil Bo Pn of the British royal navy. He entered a ericans realize, 1. William Penn at the age of twenty.two. From the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's copy of the portrait painted In Ireland in 1666, 2. Map showing the 40th parallel! of latitude and the part it played in the boundary dispute between William Penn and Lord Baltimore. 3. The "Mayflower barn” at Jordan's in Bucks, England. The beams were formerly the timbers of the historic ship “Mayflower.” The barn Is now used as a recreation room for the Society of Friends. 4. The farm house at Jordan's in Bucks, Eng- land, used by the Society of Friends as a meet. ing house. In the foreground is the private cem. etery of the Penn family, The grave before which the man is standing is that of William Penn who died in 1718. He was survived by 11 sons who were also buried here with the exception of twh who were buried In the Stoke Poges graveyard. 5. The letters patent, dated August 20, 1694, reinstating William Penn as governor of Penn. sylvania in place of Benjamin Fletcher who had been appointed in Penn's place when he was de. prived of the government of his colony. “ » Chirist college, Oxford. at about the age of fif- teen where he came under the influence of George Fox and Thomas Loe, the great Quakers of the period, who indveced him to join that body. The college authorities fined him for non- conformity but as he adhered to his faith he was expelled from the college. Penn's father was forlous with him at first but finally relented and sent him to France where he was presented to Louls XIV and became a great favorite at the court. Then followed a brief career as a law student and as a member of the staff of his father, the admiral In 1668 he returned to Navy Gardens and dropped the sword for the pen, writing a num- ber of tracts for one of which, entitled "Truth Exalted” he, in 16688, was committed to the Tower of London. In 1676 Willlam Penn was one of the early settlers in West New Jersey in America, but prior to this he had often In his mind the idea of forming a settlement abroad in some country where the Quakers could estab. lish themselves for thelr own good, and live at peace with all men. As the king, Charles 11, was indebted to his late father, Admiral Sir William Penn, not only for services rendered, but for 16000 pounds actual eash, he was willing enough to pay off the debt by granting Penn a charter, dated March 4, 1681, for the governor- ship of the colony of Pennsylvania, then held by the Duke of York and Albany, who had leased it to Sir George Carteret. In addition to this charter Penn obtained (to prevent all future claim or trouble) a deed from the Duke of York, certifying that he was the sole proprietor of the county. Besides, as addl- tional territory to the Province, he obtained from the duke his rights, title, ete, to the three lower countries on the Delaware. In fixing the boun- daries between this territory and Maryland, a dispute arose with Lord Baltimore, due to the ignorance of the geography of the Atlantic coast by the commissioners of trade and plantations who In the charters of the two colonies granted certain tracts of the same land to both Penn and Baltimore, The charters stated that the boundary between the two colonies was to be the 40th parallel of latitude but no one knew exactly where this parallel ran. It was intended that Penn's south- ern boundary should cut through Delaware bay and include some of the waters of the Chesa- peake bay, thus giving him a sea outlet neces sary to his trading schemes. Put it was soon discovered that the vagueness of the commis sloners’ geographical knowledge was to deprive him of this outlet, Nor was this his only trouble. During the whole of his proceedings In getting a charter, he was bitterly opposed by many at the court of Charles Il, among them Henrietta Maria, the queen mother, and others who did thelr best to prevent the patent hel Penn was 8 staunch fighter for | rights and he finally obtained the charter early In 1681, He at once prepared to take uj ship and on August 30, 1682 ship, Welcome, Greenway, arriving at 1682. Then followed the promi “Great Law.” containing the 69 sections which embodied his “Frame of Government” and the English laws adapte 0 it, as the code of gov. ernment for the new by the shipload began he salle wi the commanded by Cag lobert 3 Newenstle October 24. gation of his which colonists Penn remained in Pennsylvania, anti] 1684, but his dispute with Lord Baltimore over the hound. ary (which until 1732) and important home affal his presence in England, So, appointing a Pres ident, Thomas Lloyd, and a boa of commis sioners to act ag governors, he left for England on June 16, 1084, settled ® required While In England he was abu and misrep. ¢ resented because he still defended his position in regard to his rights under t charter and because of his membership In the Society of Friends court and he found In King James Il a strong friend. James and that monarch was deposed The Prince of Orange and Mary, King James’ were proclaimed king and queen of England on February 13, 1688 However, he was always received at Then in 1088 eame the revolution against Princess daughter, Penn's friendship for James {1 made him sus pect to the new monarch an? on December 10, 1688. he was called to Whitehall and made to give securities for good conduct until the fol lowing Easter. In 1600 he was again summoned before the Lords of Council and accused of cor responding with the former king. Penn appealed to King W am who was inclined to acquit him but his councillors induced him to require Penn to post bail again, On July 18 1600, he was charged with treason but no proof to sup port it could be obtained so he was discharged. Penn now proposed to return to Pennsylvania but he was prevented by another accusation lev. eled against him by a certain “cheat and im- postor™ named William Fuller, and the machina. tions of this man kept him in England three years longer. In the meantime the colony had fallen into a state of disorder and religions dis turbance created by a certain George Keith and it finally ended in Penn's being deprived of the government of Pennsylvania by King William II, who granted Benjamin Fletcher, governor of New York, authority over Pennsylvania. Fletcher at once went to Philadelphia and the government was surrendered to him, a hasty ne. tion which Penn resented bitters He wrote a letter to Fletcher declaring that he had not yet given up his rights to the province and he set about making good his word, In 1003 he pleaded that his innocence of the suspicion of treason against the rulers of England be made clear and at last King William gave him the reassurance as to that and on August 20, 1604, granted him letters patent reinstating him in the government of Pennsylvania, In 1600 Penn revisited Pennsylvania with his wife and family and In 1701 he granted a char. ter to Philadelphia, making It a city. In Decem- ber of that year he returned to England and there his declining years were spent. In 1712 he suffered a stroke of paralysis from which he never fully recovered. Of the end of hix ea. reer Dobree writes: “His wife took him to Rus combe for a rest, but no cooner had he got there than the powerful body, the insurgently active brain, broke down irremediably, He nev. er fully recovered his reason, . , , For six years he lingered on happily at Ruscombe, very hap pily, as the pleased smile he nearly always wore proved to the wondering visitor, . . , At length, almost without warning, In the very early hours of July 30, 1718, he left the life In which he had played so continuous, so generous and so opti mistic a part, a life to which hig inborn simplicity had been unable to adapt itself and from which 3 his mind, bewildered by disillusion, had escaped some years before hin” (© by Western Newspaper Union.) Descriptive A young wife, wishing to nunounce the birth of her first child to a friend in a distant city, telegraphed: #saiah 9: 6." Which passage be ging: “For unto us a child is born, unto us'a son is given,” Her friend, unfamiiiar with the Scriptures, sal te her husband: weighs nine pounds and six ounces but why on earth did they name him Isaiah? Maybe He Was O. K. At 8 recent gathering, the nervous young secretary of a church social club was confused by the presence of ir two people of title, and sfnced his opening with “Ladies, Gentlemen, " Debatable do you ecinim less of a bore than a Man i hails » i8 becnuse he He doesn’ find a tre wine in every home he vigitg. Brooklyn Da y Eagle doesn’t IN A HUMOROUS VEIN = Yo) : 1n- “fhe suys that | am dul “You should crack n few jokes once in a while: ask her to marry you, or something like that” Not the Only One Chlupp-1 understand that Quiggle hus 8 very good voice, Does he cul tivate 1% Cutnjar—| don't know whether he cultivates It but | do know that he irrigates it sometimes Vital Information “So you joined the army so as to ‘see the world,” as the posters say? What nude you leave?” “They didn't tell me that | would have to do It on foot” Boating Party fhe—Where did you put the ree ords? Ingging this beavy gramophone along without bringing a box of records QUESTION “Are you laughing nt me?’ de manded the professor sternly of his class, . “Oh, no gir,” came the reply from the class president, at?” Reason for It “This egg is bad” n Landiady— Well, what do you ex. to breakfast ?— Everybody's Weekly. Drug Shop Burglars ing raid on chemist’s shop) I'll take thing for that cold Two clubmen were discussing their wives, *1 suppose 1 mustn't grumble at mine” sald Martin, “Bhe looks after me very well” “In what way especially? his friend, “Weld, for Instance” sald Martin, “she takes off my boots in the eve ning.” asked “What, when you come home from | the club?” asked the other “Oh, no; when | want to go there,” | | came the rep! " Blooming Liar “You don't say you got rid of that nice lodger of yours. Mrs Brady? “Yes! 1 got suspicious of him. He told me he was a bachelor of arts and 1 found out he had a wife and two children.” — Sheffield Telegraph ‘WISE JACK Weekly *Jack is n foxy posed to Miss 1'en “wi it “It leax where case he i tell #ne er ten boh an ‘wHumorist Magazine, Little Sunshine rn Mistress (to nnid)—You pre irged. Sarah, for allowing the to Kise you. What sort of reference da you expect from me after that? Pretty Muaid—Well, you might at lens! say at 1 tried to please every ; one acnm No Luck a'Tall Bobby—1 lost a quarter this morn {ing Nellle—Thats' a pity. Bobhy How | did you lose 11? Bobhy— Aw, the man what dropped ft heard It fall —~Philadelphia Eve ning Bulletin, : GOING THE LIMIT She—Dont you think tha! women should have the privilege of propos ing, as well ns men? He—(Certainly they shouid, and they ought to have the privilege of buying theater tickets and cigars for the men if they want to. An Angel in Sight Muriel at pantomime rehenrsal)— Who's the properous-looking Johnny? Not in the show, is he? Frank— Well, we're trying to per suade him to put up the money for the production — our “Principal Buoy,” so to speak!—London Tit Bits, Wasted “Here's na dandy car with a rumble weat, too,” said the enthusiastic sales. man. “Rumble seat 'd be no use to me.” growled the unenthusiastic customer, “my wife inzists on doing all her back seat driving from the front | seat."—Cincinnati Inquirer, Up to the Player Binks was making a hopeless first attempt at golf, and to cover his em- barrassment he remarked to the caddy, "Golf's a funny game, isn't ny “Sometimes it is, sir,” retorted the boy, “but it isn't meant to be” Exact Change | "I have known gents what gives a ‘hit over,” observed the magi-driver “Ay.” sald McPherson, “thai’s why {1 agked ye to stop under a lamp”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers