SIR,

71. TO CADWALLADER COLDEN

PHILADELPHIA, November 27, 1747.

The violent party spirit, that appears in all the votes, &c., of your Assembly, seems to me extremely unseasonable as well as unjust, and to threaten mischief not only to yourselves but to your neighbours. It begins to be plain that the French may reap great advantages from your divisions. God grant they may be as blind to their own interest, and as negligent of it, as the English are of theirs. It must be inconvenient to you to remove your family, but more so to you and them to live under continual apprehensions and alarms. I shall be glad to hear you are all in a place of safety.

Though "Plain Truth" bore somewhat hard on both parties here, it has had the happiness not to give much offence to either. It has wonderfully spirited us up to defend our

future pleasures, I beseech you by the immortal Gods, rouse at last, awake from your lethargy, and save the commonwealth. It is not the trifling concern of injuries from your allies that demands your attention; your liberties, lives, and fortunes, with every thing that is interesting and dear to you, are in the most imminent danger. Can you doubt of or delay what you ought to do, now, when the enemy's swords are unsheathed, and descending on your heads? The affair is shocking and horrid! Yet, perhaps, you are not afraid. Yes, you are terrified to the highest degree. But through indolence and supineness of soul, gazing at each other, to see who shall first rise to your succour; and a presumptuous dependence on the immortal Gods, who indeed have preserved this republic in many dangerous seasons; you delay and neglect every thing necessary for your preservation. Be not deceived; Divine assistance and protection are not to be obtained by timorous prayers, and womanish supplications. To succeed, you must join salutary counsels, vigilance, and courageous actions. If you sink into effeminacy and cowardice; if you desert the tender and helpless, by Providence committed to your charge, never presume to implore the Gods; it will provoke them, and raise their indignation against you."

selves and country, to which end great numbers are entering into an association, of which I send you a copy enclosed. We are likewise setting on foot a lottery to raise three thousand pounds for erecting a battery of cannon below the city. We have petitioned the Proprietor to send us some from England, and have ordered our correspondents to send us over a parcel, if the application to the Proprietor fails. But, lest by any accident they should miscarry, I am desired to write to you, and ask your opinion, whether, if our government should apply to Governor Clinton to borrow a few of your spare cannon, till we could be supplied, such application might probably meet with success. Pray excuse the effects of haste on this letter.

I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, your most obliged humble servant. B. FRANKLIN.

72. TO WILLIAM STRAHAN

PHILADELPHIA, November 28, 1747. SIRI received your favour of June 11th, per Capt. Tiffin, with the books, etc., all in good order. Mr. Parks, who drew the bill on Guidart & Sons, is surprised at their protesting it, they having, as he says, large effects of his in their hands: he will speedily renew that bill. Enclosed I send you a bill on Hr. Kilby, Esq., for £19 75. 1d. sterling, which I hope will be readily paid; and you may expect other bills from me for larger sums. What books will be wanted for the shop hereafter, Mr. Hall will write for. I shall send for no more unless for myself or a friend. I must desire you to send per first opportunity the maps formerly wrote for, viz.: Popple's large one of North America, pasted on

rollers; Ditto bound in a book; and eight or ten other maps of equal size if to be had; they are for the long gallery and the Assembly room in the State-house. If none so large are to be got, let prospects of cities, buildings, etc., be pasted round them to make them as large. I want also Folard's Polybius,' in French; it is in six volumes, 4to, printed at Paris, and costs about three guineas. My best respects to good Mrs. Strahan; I know not but in another year I may have the pleasure of seeing you both in London. Please to deliver the enclosed to Mr. Acworth-I know not where to direct to him. I am, dear sir, your most obliged humble servant, B. FRANKLIN.

73. TO JAMES LOGAN

SIR, MONDAY NOON, [December 4, 1747]. I am heartily glad you approve of our proceedings. We shall have arms for the poor in the spring, and a number of battering cannon. The place for the batteries is not yet fixed; but it is generally thought that near Red Bank will be most suitable, as the enemy must there have natural difficulties to struggle with, besides the channel being narrow. The Dutch are as hearty as the English. "Plain Truth" and the "Association" are in their language, and their parsons encourage them. It is proposed to breed gunners by forming an artillery club, to go down weekly to the battery and exercise the great guns. The best engineers against Cape Breton were of such a club, tradesmen and shopkeepers of Boston. I was with them at the Castle at their exercise

in 1743.

2

1 See letter to Strahan, Oct. 19, 1748, for the explanation of this order. — ED. 2 Castle William, in Boston harbour. - ED.

I have not time to write longer, nor to wait on you till next week. In general all goes well, and there is a surprising unanimity in all ranks. Near eight hundred have signed the Association, and more are signing hourly.1 One company of Dutch is complete. I am with great respect, Sir, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

74. TO CADWALLADER COLDEN

DEAR SIR,

PHILADELPHIA, January 27, 1748.

We have

I received your favour relating to the cannon. petitioned our Proprietors for some, and have besides wrote absolutely to London for a quantity, in case the application to the Proprietors should not succeed; so that, accidents excepted, we are sure of being supplied some time next summer. But, as we are extremely desirous of having some mounted early in the spring, and perhaps, if your engineer should propose to use all you have, the works he may intend will not very soon be ready to receive them, we should think ourselves exceedingly obliged to your government, if

1 The "Association 99 was intended for the defence of Philadelphia. In The Pennsylvania Gazette, November 26, 1747, it is thus referred to: "Last Saturday a great number of the Inhabitants of this City met at Mr. Walton's School-House in Arch Street, where a Form of an Association for our common Security and Defense against the Enemy was consider'd and agreed to. On Monday following the same was laid before a great meeting of the Principal Gentlemen, Merchants and others, at Roberts' Coffee House, when, after due Debate, it was unanimously approv'd of, and another meeting appointed for the next Day following at the New Building, in order to begin signing. According, on Tuesday Evening upwards of five hundred men of all Ranks subscribed their names; and as the Subscribing is still going on briskly in all parts of the Town, 'tis not doubted but that in a few Days the number will exceed a thousand in this City, exclusive of the neighbouring Towns and Country."- Ed.

you would lend us a few for one year only. When you return to New York, I hope a great deal from your interest and influence.

Mr. Read, to whom Osborne consigned your books,1 did not open or offer them for sale till within these two weeks, being about to remove, when he received them, and having till now no conveniency of shelves, &c. In our two last papers he has advertised generally, that he has a parcel of books to sell, Greek, Latin, French, and English, but makes no particular mention of the Indian History; it is therefore no wonder that he has sold none of them, as he told me a few days since. I had one of them from London, which I sent you before any of my friends saw it. So, as no one here has read it but myself, I can only tell you my own opinion, that it is a well written, entertaining, and instructive piece, and must be exceedingly useful to all those colonies, which have any thing to do with Indian affairs.

You have reason to be pleased with the mathematician's envious expression about your tract on gravitation. I long to see from Europe some of the deliberate and mature thoughts of their philosophers upon it.

To obtain some leisure I have taken a partner into the printing-house; but, though I am thereby a good deal dis

1 Mr. Colden's "History of the Five Indian Nations," which was published in London, and copies of which were sent over to be sold in Philadelphia. — ED. 2 David Hall, a Scotchman by birth, and a friend of Mr. Strahan, worked in the same office with him as a journeyman printer in London. His partnership with Franklin continued eighteen years, during which time he had the principal charge of the business, and proved himself an honest, industrious, and worthy man. He conducted the Pennsylvania Gazette with prudence and ability. He was likewise a bookseller and stationer. He died on the 17th of December, 1772, at the age of fifty-eight years. See Thomas's "History of Printing," Vol. II. p. 54.-S.