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

The Plain Dealer, Numb. II - 10

ting the Paper Money, and striking a further Sum to be emitted on Loan, by which the Money to be made and continued, was, according to an Act of Parliament of the 6th of QUEEN ANN, and the Tenor of the Bill itself, to pass at Thirty-three Pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence Advance upon One Hundred Pounds Sterling, altho’ at the same Time the Exchange between the Province and London was at Seventy Pounds Advance per Hundred Pounds Sterling; and the People at that Time indebted to the Proprietaries the Sum of Eleven Thousand Pounds Sterling, which according to Agreement was to be paid at the Rate of Exchange settled by the aforesaid Act of QUEEN ANN, viz. at Thirty-three and one Third per Cent Advance: General Thomas being then Governour, refused to pass the Bill, unless some Provision was made to indemnify the Proprietaries from the Loss they must sustain by receiving their Debts at Seventy per Cent. Exchange, instead of Thirty-three and one Third, which would have amounted to upwards of Four Thousand Pounds. This the Assembly for some time refused, until Mr. Thomas Penn, one of the Proprietaries then here, agreed generously to give up above Fifteen Hundred Pounds, upon their having allowed him Twelve Hundred Pounds, to be paid in a short Time, and One Hundred and Thirty Pounds, per Annum, for Ten Years.------“As a Composition for larger Sums which should have been paid by private Persons many Years ago.”

OTHER Instances of their Generosity, and Affection for the People are not wanting; and altho we are told that “the Defence of a Proprietary Province was originally looked upon as the Duty of the Proprietaries;” yet we find that latterly it has been looked upon in a different Light; the Proprietary Provinces having shared the same Protection with those immediately under His Majesty: To which we may add, that it had been accepted, we should have received an Advantage from being under Proprietaries, which Royal Governments don’t experience; our Proprietaries having offered at the Commencement of the last War, to give Five Hundred Pounds towards building a Fort on our Frontiers, and One Hundred Pounds a Year towards the Maintenance thereof. But this it was necessary to conceal, as a Consideration that

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Mistakenly attributed by Evans to Hugh Williamson, author of numbers 1 and 3. Cf. the Advertisement in number 3, where it is stated: The author of this is obliged to the gentleman, who wrote the piece which was published on Teusday [sic], by the title of Plain dealer, no. 2. As his endeavours to prevent the people from being deceived by the chicane of a faction, prove him to be a friend to the oppress'd inhabitants of this province. Dated May 7, 1764. Imprint supplied by Evans.