Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

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The trustees of the academy, after a while, were incorporated by a
charter from the governor; their funds were increas'd by contributions
in Britain and grants of land from the proprietaries, to which the
Assembly has since made considerable addition; and thus was
established the present University of Philadelphia.[87] I have been
continued one of its trustees from the beginning, now near forty
years, and have had the very great pleasure of seeing a number of the
youth who have receiv'd their education in it, distinguish'd by their
improv'd abilities, serviceable in public stations, and ornaments to
their country.

[87] Later called the University of Pennsylvania.

When I disengaged myself, as above mentioned, from private business, I
flatter'd myself that, by the sufficient tho' moderate fortune I had
acquir'd, I had secured leisure during the rest of my life for
philosophical studies and amusements. I purchased all Dr. Spence's
apparatus, who had come from England to lecture here, and I proceeded
in my electrical experiments with great alacrity; but the publick, now
considering me as a man of leisure, laid hold of me for their
purposes, every part of our civil government, and almost at the same
time, imposing some duty upon me. The governor put me into the
commission of the peace; the corporation of the city chose me of the
common council, and soon after an alderman; and the citizens at large
chose me a burgess to represent them in Assembly. This latter station
was the more agreeable to me, as I was at length tired with sitting
there to hear debates, in which, as clerk, I could take no part, and
which were often so unentertaining that I was induc'd to amuse myself
with making magic squares or circles, or anything to avoid weariness;
and I conceiv'd my becoming a member would enlarge my power of doing
good. I would not, however, insinuate that my ambition was not
flatter'd by all these promotions; it certainly was; for, considering
my low beginning, they were great things to me; and they were still
more pleasing, as being so many spontaneous testimonies of the public
good opinion, and by me entirely unsolicited.

The office of justice of the peace I try'd a little, by attending a
few courts, and sitting on the bench to hear causes; but finding that
more knowledge of the common law than I possess'd was necessary to act
in that station with credit, I gradually withdrew from it, excusing
myself by my being oblig'd to attend the higher duties of a legislator
in the Assembly. My election to this trust was repeated every year for
ten years, without my ever asking any elector for his vote, or
signifying, either directly or indirectly, any desire of being chosen.
On taking my seat in the House, my son was appointed their clerk.

The year following, a treaty being to be held with the Indians at
Carlisle, the governor sent a message to the House, proposing that
they should nominate some of their members, to be join'd with some
members of council, as commissioners for that purpose.[88] The House
named the speaker (Mr. Norris) and myself; and, being commission'd, we
went to Carlisle, and met the Indians accordingly.

[88] See the votes to have this more correctly.--_Marg.
note._

As those people are extreamly apt to get drunk, and, when so, are very
quarrelsome and disorderly, we strictly forbade the selling any
liquor to them; and when they complain'd of this restriction, we told
them that if they would continue sober during the treaty, we would
give them plenty of rum when business was over. They promis'd this,
and they kept their promise, because they could get no liquor, and the
treaty was conducted very orderly, and concluded to mutual
satisfaction. They then claim'd and received the rum; this was in the
afternoon: they were near one hundred men, women, and children, and
were lodg'd in temporary cabins, built in the form of a square, just
without the town. In the evening, hearing a great noise among them,
the commissioners walk'd out to see what was the matter. We found they
had made a great bonfire in the middle of the square; they were all
drunk, men and women, quarreling and fighting. Their dark-colour'd
bodies, half naked, seen only by the gloomy light of the bonfire,
running after and beating one another with firebrands, accompanied by
their horrid yellings, form'd a scene the most resembling our ideas of
hell that could well be imagin'd; there was no appeasing the tumult,
and we retired to our lodging. At midnight a number of them came
thundering at our door, demanding more rum, of which we took no
notice.

The next day, sensible they had misbehav'd in giving us that
disturbance, they sent three of their old counselors to make their
apology. The orator acknowledg'd the fault, but laid it upon the rum;
and then endeavoured to excuse the rum by saying, "_The Great Spirit,
who made all things, made everything for some use, and whatever use he
design'd anything for, that use it should always be put to. Now, when_
_he made rum, he said, 'Let this be for the Indians to get drunk
with,' and it must be so._" And, indeed, if it be the design of
Providence to extirpate these savages in order to make room for
cultivators of the earth, it seems not improbable that rum may be the
appointed means. It has already annihilated all the tribes who
formerly inhabited the sea-coast.

[Illustration: "In the evening, hearing a great noise among them, the
commissioners walk'd out to see what was the matter"]

In 1751, Dr. Thomas Bond, a particular friend of mine, conceived the
idea of establishing a hospital in Philadelphia (a very beneficent
design, which has been ascrib'd to me, but was originally his), for
the reception and cure of poor sick persons, whether inhabitants of
the province or strangers. He was zealous and active in endeavouring
to procure subscriptions for it, but the proposal being a novelty in
America, and at first not well understood, he met but with small
success.

At length he came to me with the compliment that he found there was no
such thing as carrying a public-spirited project through without my
being concern'd in it. "For," says he, "I am often ask'd by those to
whom I propose subscribing, Have you consulted Franklin upon this
business? And what does he think of it? And when I tell them that I
have not (supposing it rather out of your line), they do not
subscribe, but say they will consider of it." I enquired into the
nature and probable utility of his scheme, and receiving from him a
very satisfactory explanation, I not only subscrib'd to it myself, but
engag'd heartily in the design of procuring subscriptions from others.
Previously, however, to the solicitation, I endeavoured to prepare the
minds of the people by writing on the subject in the newspapers, which
was my usual custom in such cases, but which he had omitted.

The subscriptions afterwards were more free and generous; but,
beginning to flag, I saw they would be insufficient without some
assistance from the Assembly, and therefore propos'd to petition for
it, which was done. The country members did not at first relish the
project; they objected that it could only be serviceable to the city,
and therefore the citizens alone should be at the expense of it; and
they doubted whether the citizens themselves generally approv'd of it.
My allegation on the contrary, that it met with such approbation as to
leave no doubt of our being able to raise two thousand pounds by
voluntary donations, they considered as a most extravagant
supposition, and utterly impossible.

On this I form'd my plan; and, asking leave to bring in a bill for
incorporating the contributors according to the prayer of their
petition, and granting them a blank sum of money, which leave was
obtained chiefly on the consideration that the House could throw the
bill out if they did not like it, I drew it so as to make the
important clause a conditional one, viz., "And be it enacted, by the
authority aforesaid, that when the said contributors shall have met
and chosen their managers and treasurer, _and shall have raised by
their contributions a capital stock of----value_ (the yearly
interest of which is to be applied to the accommodating of the
sick poor in the said hospital, free of charge for diet, attendance,
advice, and medicines), _and shall make the same appear to the
satisfaction of the speaker of the Assembly for the time being_, that
_then_ it shall and may be lawful for the said speaker, and he is
hereby required, to sign an order on the provincial treasurer for the
payment of two thousand pounds, in two yearly payments, to the
treasurer of the said hospital, to be applied to the founding,
building, and finishing of the same."

This condition carried the bill through; for the members, who had
oppos'd the grant, and now conceiv'd they might have the credit of
being charitable without the expense, agreed to its passage; and then,
in soliciting subscriptions among the people, we urg'd the conditional
promise of the law as an additional motive to give, since every man's
donation would be doubled; thus the clause work'd both ways. The
subscriptions accordingly soon exceeded the requisite sum, and we
claim'd and receiv'd the public gift, which enabled us to carry the
design into execution. A convenient and handsome building was soon
erected; the institution has by constant experience been found useful,
and flourishes to this day; and I do not remember any of my political
manoeuvers, the success of which gave me at the time more pleasure,
or wherein, after thinking of it, I more easily excus'd myself for
having made some use of cunning.

It was about this time that another projector, the Rev. Gilbert
Tennent[89], came to me with a request that I would assist him in
procuring a subscription for erecting a new meeting-house. It was to
be for the use of a congregation he had gathered among the
Presbyterians, who were originally disciples of Mr. Whitefield.
Unwilling to make myself disagreeable to my fellow-citizens by too
frequently soliciting their contributions, I absolutely refus'd. He
then desired I would furnish him with a list of the names of persons I
knew by experience to be generous and public-spirited. I thought it
would be unbecoming in me, after their kind compliance with my
solicitations, to mark them out to be worried by other beggars, and
therefore refus'd also to give such a list. He then desir'd I would at
least give him my advice. "That I will readily do," said I; "and, in
the first place, I advise you to apply to all those whom you know will
give something; next, to those whom you are uncertain whether they
will give anything or not, and show them the list of those who have
given; and, lastly, do not neglect those who you are sure will give
nothing, for in some of them you may be mistaken." He laugh'd and
thank'd me, and said he would take my advice. He did so, for he ask'd
of _everybody_, and he obtain'd a much larger sum than he expected,
with which he erected the capacious and very elegant meeting-house
that stands in Arch-street.

[89] Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) came to America with his
father, Rev. William Tennent, and taught for a time in
the "Log College," from which sprang the College of New
Jersey.--Smyth.

Our city, tho' laid out with a beautiful regularity, the streets
large, straight, and crossing each other at right angles, had the
disgrace of suffering those streets to remain long unpav'd, and in wet
weather the wheels of heavy carriages plough'd them into a quagmire,
so that it was difficult to cross them; and in dry weather the dust
was offensive. I had liv'd near what was call'd the Jersey Market, and
saw with pain the inhabitants wading in mud while purchasing their
provisions. A strip of ground down the middle of that market was at
length pav'd with brick, so that, being once in the market, they had
firm footing, but were often over shoes in dirt to get there. By
talking and writing on the subject, I was at length instrumental in
getting the street pav'd with stone between the market and the brick'd
foot-pavement, that was on each side next the houses. This, for some
time, gave an easy access to the market dry-shod; but, the rest of the
street not being pav'd, whenever a carriage came out of the mud upon
this pavement, it shook off and left its dirt upon it, and it was soon
cover'd with mire, which was not remov'd, the city as yet having no
scavengers.

After some inquiry, I found a poor, industrious man, who was willing
to undertake keeping the pavement clean, by sweeping it twice a week,
carrying off the dirt from before all the neighbours' doors, for the
sum of sixpence per month, to be paid by each house. I then wrote and
printed a paper setting forth the advantages to the neighbourhood that
might be obtain'd by this small expense; the greater ease in keeping
our houses clean, so much dirt not being brought in by people's feet;
the benefit to the shops by more custom, etc., etc., as buyers could
more easily get at them; and by not having, in windy weather, the dust
blown in upon their goods, etc., etc. I sent one of these papers to
each house, and in a day or two went round to see who would subscribe
an agreement to pay these sixpences; it was unanimously sign'd, and
for a time well executed. All the inhabitants of the city were
delighted with the cleanliness of the pavement that surrounded the
market, it being a convenience to all, and this rais'd a general
desire to have all the streets paved, and made the people more willing
to submit to a tax for that purpose.

After some time I drew a bill for paving the city, and brought it into
the Assembly. It was just before I went to England, in 1757, and did
not pass till I was gone,[90] and then with an alteration in the mode
of assessment, which I thought not for the better, but with an
additional provision for lighting as well as paving the streets, which
was a great improvement. It was by a private person, the late Mr. John
Clifton, his giving a sample of the utility of lamps, by placing one
at his door, that the people were first impress'd with the idea of
enlighting all the city. The honour of this public benefit has also
been ascrib'd to me, but it belongs truly to that gentleman. I did but
follow his example, and have only some merit to claim respecting the
form of our lamps, as differing from the globe lamps we were at first
supply'd with from London. Those we found inconvenient in these
respects: they admitted no air below; the smoke, therefore, did not
readily go out above, but circulated in the globe, lodg'd on its
inside, and soon obstructed the light they were intended to afford;
giving, besides, the daily trouble of wiping them clean; and an
accidental stroke on one of them would demolish it, and render it
totally useless. I therefore suggested the composing them of four flat
panes, with a long funnel above to draw up the smoke, and crevices
admitting air below, to facilitate the ascent of the smoke; by this
means they were kept clean, and did not grow dark in a few hours, as
the London lamps do, but continu'd bright till morning, and an
accidental stroke would generally break but a single pane, easily
repair'd.

I have sometimes wonder'd that the Londoners did not, from the effect
holes in the bottom of the globe lamps us'd at Vauxhall[91] have in
keeping them clean, learn to have such holes in their street lamps.
But, these holes being made for another purpose, viz., to communicate
flame more suddenly to the wick by a little flax hanging down thro'
them, the other use, of letting in air, seems not to have been thought
of; and therefore, after the lamps have been lit a few hours, the
streets of London are very poorly illuminated.

[90] See votes.

[91] Vauxhall Gardens, once a popular and fashionable
London resort, situated on the Thames above Lambeth. The
Gardens were closed in 1859, but they will always be
remembered because of Sir Roger de Coverley's visit to
them in the _Spectator_ and from the descriptions in
Smollett's _Humphry Clinker_ and Thackeray's _Vanity
Fair_.

The mention of these improvements puts me in mind of one I propos'd,
when in London, to Dr. Fothergill, who was among the best men I have
known, and a great promoter of useful projects. I had observ'd that
the streets, when dry, were never swept, and the light dust carried
away; but it was suffer'd to accumulate till wet weather reduc'd it to
mud, and then, after lying some days so deep on the pavement that
there was no crossing but in paths kept clean by poor people with
brooms, it was with great labour rak'd together and thrown up into
carts open above, the sides of which suffered some of the slush at
every jolt on the pavement to shake out and fall, sometimes to the
annoyance of foot-passengers. The reason given for not sweeping the
dusty streets was that the dust would fly into the windows of shops
and houses.

[Illustration: "a poor woman sweeping my pavement with a birch
broom"]

An accidental occurrence had instructed me how much sweeping might be
done in a little time. I found at my door in Craven-street,[92] one
morning, a poor woman sweeping my pavement with a birch broom; she
appeared very pale and feeble, as just come out of a fit of sickness.
I ask'd who employ'd her to sweep there; she said, "Nobody, but I am
very poor and in distress, and I sweeps before gentle-folkses doors,
and hopes they will give me something." I bid her sweep the whole
street clean, and I would give her a shilling; this was at nine
o'clock; at 12 she came for the shilling. From the slowness I saw at
first in her working, I could scarce believe that the work was done so
soon, and sent my servant to examine it, who reported that the whole
street was swept perfectly clean, and all the dust plac'd in the
gutter, which was in the middle; and the next rain wash'd it quite
away, so that the pavement and even the kennel were perfectly clean.

[92] A short street near Charing Cross, London.

I then judg'd that, if that feeble woman could sweep such a street in
three hours, a strong, active man might have done it in half the time.
And here let me remark the convenience of having but one gutter in
such a narrow street, running down its middle, instead of two, one on
each side, near the footway; for where all the rain that falls on a
street runs from the sides and meets in the middle, it forms there a
current strong enough to wash away all the mud it meets with; but when
divided into two channels, it is often too weak to cleanse either, and
only makes the mud it finds more fluid, so that the wheels of
carriages and feet of horses throw and dash it upon the foot-pavement,
which is thereby rendered foul and slippery, and sometimes splash it
upon those who are walking. My proposal, communicated to the good
doctor, was as follows:

"For the more effectual cleaning and keeping clean the streets of
London and Westminster, it is proposed that the several watchmen be
contracted with to have the dust swept up in dry seasons, and the mud
rak'd up at other times, each in the several streets and lanes of his
round; that they be furnish'd with brooms and other proper instruments
for these purposes, to be kept at their respective stands, ready to
furnish the poor people they may employ in the service.

"That in the dry summer months the dust be all swept up into heaps at
proper distances, before the shops and windows of houses are usually
opened, when the scavengers, with close-covered carts, shall also
carry it all away.

"That the mud, when rak'd up, be not left in heaps to be spread abroad
again by the wheels of carriages and trampling of horses, but that the
scavengers be provided with bodies of carts, not plac'd high upon
wheels, but low upon sliders, with lattice bottoms, which, being
cover'd with straw, will retain the mud thrown into them, and permit
the water to drain from it, whereby it will become much lighter, water
making the greatest part of its weight; these bodies of carts to be
plac'd at convenient distances, and the mud brought to them in
wheelbarrows; they remaining where plac'd till the mud is drain'd, and
then horses brought to draw them away."

I have since had doubts of the practicability of the latter part of
this proposal, on account of the narrowness of some streets, and the
difficulty of placing the draining-sleds so as not to encumber too
much the passage; but I am still of opinion that the former, requiring
the dust to be swept up and carry'd away before the shops are open, is
very practicable in the summer, when the days are long; for, in
walking thro' the Strand and Fleet-street one morning at seven
o'clock, I observ'd there was not one shop open, tho' it had been
daylight and the sun up above three hours; the inhabitants of London
chusing voluntarily to live much by candle-light, and sleep by
sunshine, and yet often complain, a little absurdly, of the duty on
candles, and the high price of tallow.

Some may think these trifling matters not worth minding or relating;
but when they consider that tho' dust blown into the eyes of a single
person, or into a single shop on a windy day, is but of small
importance, yet the great number of the instances in a populous city,
and its frequent repetitions give it weight and consequence, perhaps
they will not censure very severely those who bestow some attention to
affairs of this seemingly low nature. Human felicity is produced not
so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by
little advantages that occur every day. Thus, if you teach a poor
young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may
contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a
thousand guineas. The money may be soon spent, the regret only
remaining of having foolishly consumed it; but in the other case, he
escapes the frequent vexation of waiting for barbers, and of their
sometimes dirty fingers, offensive breaths, and dull razors; he shaves
when most convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its
being done with a good instrument. With these sentiments I have
hazarded the few preceding pages, hoping they may afford hints which
some time or other may be useful to a city I love, having lived many
years in it very happily, and perhaps to some of our towns in America.

Having been for some time employed by the postmaster-general of
America as his comptroller in regulating several offices, and bringing
the officers to account, I was, upon his death in 1753, appointed,
jointly with Mr. William Hunter, to succeed him, by a commission from
the postmaster-general in England. The American office never had
hitherto paid anything to that of Britain. We were to have six hundred
pounds a year between us, if we could make that sum out of the profits
of the office. To do this, a variety of improvements were necessary;
some of these were inevitably at first expensive, so that in the first
four years the office became above nine hundred pounds in debt to us.
But it soon after began to repay us; and before I was displac'd by a
freak of the ministers, of which I shall speak hereafter, we had
brought it to yield _three times_ as much clear revenue to the crown
as the post-office of Ireland. Since that imprudent transaction, they
have receiv'd from it--not one farthing!

The business of the post-office occasion'd my taking a journey this
year to New England, where the College of Cambridge, of their own
motion, presented me with the degree of Master of Arts. Yale College,
in Connecticut, had before made me a similar compliment. Thus, without
studying in any college, I came to partake of their honours. They were
conferr'd in consideration of my improvements and discoveries in the
electric branch of natural philosophy.

XIV

ALBANY PLAN OF UNION

In 1754, war with France being again apprehended, a congress of
commissioners from the different colonies was, by an order of the
Lords of Trade, to be assembled at Albany, there to confer with the
chiefs of the Six Nations concerning the means of defending both their
country and ours. Governor Hamilton, having receiv'd this order,
acquainted the House with it, requesting they would furnish proper
presents for the Indians, to be given on this occasion; and naming the
speaker (Mr. Norris) and myself to join Mr. Thomas Penn and Mr.
Secretary Peters as commissioners to act for Pennsylvania. The House
approv'd the nomination, and provided the goods for the present, and
tho' they did not much like treating out of the provinces; and we met
the other commissioners at Albany about the middle of June.

In our way thither, I projected and drew a plan for the union of all
the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for
defense, and other important general purposes. As we pass'd thro' New
York, I had there shown my project to Mr. James Alexander and Mr.
Kennedy, two gentlemen of great knowledge in public affairs, and,
being fortified by their approbation, I ventur'd to lay it before the
Congress. It then appeared that several of the commissioners had
form'd plans of the same kind. A previous question was first taken,
whether a union should be established, which pass'd in the affirmative
unanimously. A committee was then appointed, one member from each
colony, to consider the several plans and report. Mine happen'd to be
preferr'd, and, with a few amendments, was accordingly reported.

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