Thus, in the legislature of Pennsylvania, Franklin found great
difficulty in carrying on the necessary measures for military defence,
because a majority of the Assembly were Quakers, who, though friendly
to the success of the revolution founded contrary to their principles,
refused to vote the supplies of war. So he caused them to vote
appropriations to purchase bread, flour, wheat, _or other grain_. The
Government said, "I shall take the money, for I understand very well
their meaning,--other grain is gunpowder." He afterwards moved the
purchase of a fire-engine, saying to his friend, "Nominate me on the
committee, and I will nominate you; we will buy a great gun, which is
certainly a fire engine; the Quakers can have no objection to that."
Such was the course of policy that Franklin took, as I think, to excess;
but yet I believe that no statesman of that whole century did so much to
embody the eternal rules of right in the customs of the people, and to
make the constitution of the universe the common law of all mankind; and
I cannot bestow higher praise than that, on any man whose name I can
recall. He mitigated the ferocities of war. He built new hospitals, and
improved old ones. He first introduced this humane principle into the
Law of Nations, that in time of war, private property on land shall
be unmolested, and peaceful commerce continued, and captive soldiers
treated as well as the soldiers of the captors.
Pages:
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349