Benjamin Franklin | "God knows when we shall see… our Constitution settled firmly on the Foundations of Equity & English Liberty"

Benjamin Franklin

Autograph letter signed ("BFranklin") to Joseph Galloway ("Dear Sir"), 1 ½ pages (318 x 201 mm) on a bifolium of laid paper (watermarked Pro Patria with Maid of Dort, countermarked crowned GR), London, 10 June 1758, regarding his negotiations with the Pennsylvania Proprietors and the British government, integral leaf with autograph address panel ("To | Joseph Galloway Esqr | Philadelphia") on verso and reception docket ("Benjn. Franklin's Letter June 10.1758") on recto; fold separations and repairs chiefly to integral leaf, seal tear and repair, but red wax seal preserved largely intact. Half-red morocco folding-case gilt, chemise.

Writing from London during his first mission to England, Franklin reports to Galloway about his progress in representing the Pennsylvania Assembly against the interests of the colonial Proprietors. The Assembly had several longstanding disputes with Thomas and Richard Penn, descendants of William Penn, chief among which was the Proprietors’ insistence that their estates be exempt from taxation. Galloway was one of Franklin's chief allies and a member of the Assembly's Committee of Correspondence, to which Franklin alludes at the outset. “I have been so full lately in my Letters to the Committee, which you of course must see, that I need not trouble you particularly with one of any Length.

“I find myself engag'd in an Affair that will take much more time than I expected. God knows when we shall see it finish'd, and our Constitution settled firmly on the Foundations of Equity & English Liberty. But I am not discourag'd, and only wish my Constituents may have the Patience that I have, and that I find will be absolutely necessary.”

Franklin was correct in counseling patience, since it was not until 1760 that King George II authorized the Pennsylvania Assembly to pass a bill taxing proprietary lands. Franklin comments on the conflicting factions within the Assembly, and mentions the “diplomatic illness” that Speaker Isaac Norris employed to absent himself from a rancorous session: “I receiv'd your Favour of Feb. 4. at the same time with the Letter from the Commission. It had been represented here, (as you were told it would be) that the Speaker not liking the Warmth of the House, pretended Sickness to be out of the Way; but I have heard of no particular Reflections on you. I know that the Cannon & Small Arms of the Party consist of great & little Calumnies and Falsehoods, and you may depend on my endeavoring to shield your Reputation wherever I find it attack'd, as I rely on the like Defence in the same Case from your Friendship."

After commenting that some correspondence from a Captain Gmelin never reached him (this refers, evidently, to Captain Gmeling of the British army, suspected of theft, and perhaps returned to England for a court martial), Franklin reports on James Hamilton’s efforts to secure a royal charter for Philadelphia: “I hear nothing of Mr. Hamilton's Application for a Crown Charter for Philadelphia. It is no easy Matter here to get Alterations made in Constitutions, either for the better or the worse. The Ministry don't care for the Trouble of these Things. I believe he will hardly attempt it; the Proprietors will be against the Application, as it will seem to call their Power of granting Charters into Question. However, I shall enquire, and if I find any steps taking towards a new Charter, endeavour to get some Alterations for the better: to be sure there is room enough for Amendment.”

The previous year, Galloway had been appointed to a committee “to consider the Charter of the City of Philadelphia, and Conduct of the Mayor and Commonalty of the said City,” but “[n]othing is known of the committee's deliberations or of Hamilton's application, if indeed he made any” (Papers 8:97 note). Franklin ends by sending his regards and those of his son, “Billy.”

This is one of the earliest letters in the lengthy correspondence between these Assembly allies and longtime friends. Both served in the Continental Congress, but their tenures barely overlapped as Galloway resigned after his plan for reconciliation between the American colonies and Great Britain was rejected. Franklin’s final letter to Galloway was written on 8 May 1775 and attempted to persuade him against “quitting public Life at a time when your Abilities are so much wanted” (Papers 22:34). This seems to have been their final communication. Galloway went on to serve in the British occupation government of Philadelphia before fleeing to England, where he became a Loyalist propagandist. The Pennsylvania Assembly convicted him of treason, confiscated his properties, and barred him from returning to the commonwealth.

REFERENCES

Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Larabee, 8:96-7 (text taken from a duplicate letter marked “Copy; Original per Robinson,” with a very few variations in incidentals; the present original was unlocated until the time of Park sale)

PROVENANCE

Laird U. Park Jr. (Sotheby’s New York, 29 November 2000, lot 114)