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Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

The Conduct of the Paxton Men Impartially Represented - 6

rendered unable to act in Defence of their Lives and Properties; and therefore have lain for above eight Years at the mercy of a cruel Savage Enemy and an unrelenting Quaker Faction: Whereas had they been justly represented in Legislation, instead of presenting PACIFICK ADDRESSES to the Assembly, telling them that “the raising of large Sums of Money, and putting them into the Hands of COMMITTEES, who might apply them to Purposes inconsistent with their PEACEABLE TESTIMONY, was in its Consequences destructive of RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.” (e) Instead of doing this, I say---the first great Law of Nature, that of SELF-DEFENCE, would have been administered to the People upon the first Alarm of Danger, and the Hands of the HARDY and the BRAVE would have been set at Liberty, til they had taken ample Vengeance of their MURDERERS.

‘That they have often, in the most suppliant Manner, laid their Grievances before the Assembly; and instead of being redress’d, have been abused, insulted, and even by some Members of that venerable House, deem’d as unworthy of Protection, as “A Pack of insignificant SCOTCH-IRISH, who, if they were all killed, could well enough be spared.” (f)

‘That whilst they were thus abused, and thus stript of their Birth-Rights,----ISRAEL and JOSEPH, two petty Fellows, who ought to have no higher Claims than themselves, were permitted to lord it over the Land; and in Contempt of the Government, and the express Orders of the Crown, forbidding them to hold private Treaties with the Indians, exchange Belts of Wampum with them---make them Presents---all this they have done, and in their own Name, without so much as including the simple MENONISTS, from whom they had extorted large Sums of Money to Support this Expence.-----Nay, even with the most matchless Impudence, insinuated to the Indians that they were Rulers and Governors; as plainly appear’d at the Late Treaty at LAN-

(e) See the Quaker-Address to the Assembly, November 6, 1755.
(f) This unchristian and ungenerous Speech was made by N------L G----H, a Quaker, member of the Assembly for Chester County, and some others.

Contents of this annotation:

A defense of the Paxton boys, in reply to Benjamin Franklin's "A narrative of the late massacres, in Lancaster County, of a number of Indians." Attributed to Thomas Barton by Hildeburn and Evans. Also attributed to the Rev. John Ewing. Cf. Egle, W.H. History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon, 1883, p. 68. An added title page identifies John Creaig of Lancaster as bookseller. Signatures: pi [A]? B-D? E1.