CHAPTER X.
Entry of Philadelphia: history and constitution of the state of Pennsylvania: commerce, agriculture, &c.: city of Philadelphia: public buildings, public institutions, prisons, &c.
On Monday, the 27th of September, we crossed the Delaware upon a bridge about nine hundred feet long, and entirely roofed, so as effectually to preserve it from the weather. Foot passengers cross on a good side walk; the middle of the bridge is divided into two roads, one of which carriages take in going, and the other in coming, in order to avoid all accidents. It is built after the plan of Mr. Burr, who laid the foundation in 1804; the structure was completed in 1812. At his entrance into Pennsylvania, General Lafayette was received by the governor and his staff, at the head of a number of troops, and citizens of Morrisville; from Morrisville we went to sleep at the arsenal in Frankford, after passing through the charming little town of Bristol. We resumed our march next morning, amidst a still more numerous escort than that of the previous evening; and as we approached Philadelphia, the footmen, horsemen, and carriages, increased our procession so much, that we could not without great difficulty advance. On a plain at a short distance from the city, General Lafayette was received by the civil and military officers, and about 6000 uniformed volunteer militia, drawn up in hollow square, amid the thunder of cannon. After he had reviewed the troops, and they had defiled before him under the command of General Cadwalader, we resumed our march to enter the city. Never could it be more truly said, that a whole population came out to meet Lafayette; none remained at home but those whom age and feebleness detained. Stages had been erected on each side of the streets, as high as the eves of the houses, for the accommodation of spectators. In the principal street of the suburbs by which we entered, the different trades were drawn up in line, at the head ofeach corps was a workshop, in which were workmen at their employments; a banner accompanied each of these workshops, containing portraits of Washington and Lafayette, with this inscription, “To their wisdom and courage we owe the free exercise of our industry.” The printers were the most remarkable among all these mechanics. Over a press which they had in operation in the open street, was the following inscription, “Liberty of the Press, the surest guarantee of the rights of Man.” From this press, an ode to Lafayette, written byJames N. Barker, was thrown into the carriages, and among the crowd, as they passed. After the mechanics, followed the public schools, the masters and scholars all being decorated with a ribband bearing a portrait of the general, and the motto “Welcome Lafayette.” At the head of the procession marched a detachment of cavalry; the nation’s guest followed in a magnificent barouche drawn by six horses, and by his side was placed the venerable JudgePeters, who was the secretary and soul of the war office throughout the revolutionary struggle. Then followed the mayor, city council, and judges, in different carriages; then George Lafayette and myself in a barouche, and behind us four large open cars resembling tents, containing each forty revolutionary soldiers. No one could, without emotion, behold these veterans of liberty, whose eyes half extinguished by age, still poured forth tears of joy at their unexpected happiness, in once more beholding their ancient companion in arms. Their feeble and trembling voices were re-animated by the sounds of the martial music which accompanied them, and acquired a new vigour in blessing the names of Washington and Lafayette. A long column of infantry closed the procession. After passing through the principal streets, and under thirteen triumphal arches, we halted and alighted before the state house. While we rested there a few moments, the representatives and senators of Pennsylvania, the city councils, judiciary, and military officers, assembled in the principal hall, and a few minutes after, under a salute of thirteen guns, we were conducted into the Hall of Independence, and the general having been led to the foot of the statue of Washington, was impressively addressed by the mayor.
In listening to this address, and recognizing this hall inwhich the declaration of independence of the United States was signed; this hall at whose door he had waited in 1777, with so much impatience to devote his life and fortune to an almost desperate cause, Lafayette felt an emotion he could scarcely conceal, and which several times shewed itself in his eloquent answer.
The people were then admitted to take the guest of the nation by the hand; this greeting lasted for several hours, and presented a picture of the most perfect equality that can be imagined. Mechanics with their hardened hands and uprolled sleeves, advanced to Lafayette; the magistrate and plain clad farmer stood together; the clergyman and player moved side by side, and children sure of having their rights and feebleness respected, marched boldly along before soldiers and sailors. The varieties of dress contrasted singularly with the uniformity of physiognomy, which all expressed the same sentiment of gratitude and admiration.
After this reception, General Lafayette was conducted to Washington Hall amidst a constantly increasing crowd.—A splendid dinner was here served up; all the public officers were present, and numerous toasts were drank. One was drank to Greece regenerated, wishing her a Washington for a leader, and a Lafayette for a friend.
At night, a population of one hundred and twenty thousand souls, augmented by forty thousand strangers from various parts of the union, walked about by the light of an illumination, celebrating the exploits of the champion of liberty, and these rejoicings of the people, which in Europe under the protection of the police would have been signalized by murders, robberies, and accidents of all sorts, here passed without the slightest disorder. The next morning the mayor,Joseph Watson, came to visit General Lafayette. He brought in his hand the report from the high constable, which he showed us. “See there,” said he with an expression of lively satisfaction, “see how freemen behave! More than forty thousand strangers have come to participate in the rejoicings of my fellow citizens, and I have not found it necessary to increase the number of watchmen. We have but a hundred and sixty, who are unarmed, and they have not had a single tumult to repress in this night of joyous and popular effervescence! Examine these reports! not a single complaint—not the slightest trouble,” and joysparkled in the eyes of this virtuous magistrate, whose chief happiness has its source in the excellence of those over whom he presides. In my opinion the mayor of Philadelphia would make a very bad prefect of police in Paris.
On the succeeding days the general received in the Hall of Independence, the addresses of various regularly constituted bodies, such as the clergy, the Philosophical Society, Bible Society, the University, the Chamber of Commerce, the bar, children of the public schools, Washington Light Infantry, Lafayette Benevolent Association, the revolutionary soldiers, the French residents of Philadelphia, &c. &c. To each of these addresses General Lafayette replied extemporarily with an elegant facility, so appropriate to the various circumstances by which he was surrounded or was reminded of, that the admiration and surprize of the public constantly increased.
The deputation of the clergy presented a very interesting picture, and was well suited to fix the attention of an European. Led by the venerable BishopWhite, who was chaplain to Congress during the revolutionary war, it consisted of nearly eighty pastors of almost every different sect, but all animated with the same sentiment of tolerance and charity. The orator always expressing himself in the name ofthe ministers of all denominationsproved himself the faithful organ of their unanimous sentiments in the following address.
“General,
“General,
“General,
“General,
“The Ministers of the Gospel, in this City and its Liberties, present to you their congratulations on your arrival in the United States, and assure you of the interest which they take in the satisfaction manifested universally by their fellow-citizens, on the occasion: the effect of gratitude for your services, in the infancy of their national existence.
“As Pastors of different religious denominations, we are thankful to the Bestower of all Good, for the enjoyment of a Government of equal laws, extending its protection to professors of religion in every form, not hostile to the peace and the due order of civil life. Possessed of this sentiment, we honour and esteem those who have contributed to the establishment, or to the stability, of the liberal institutionsof our country. Among them we cannot but perceive a conspicuous station to be occupied, by the eminent person whom we have now the honour of addressing.
“It is gratifying to us, that having hazarded his person and his fortune in the cause of our commonwealth, in the season of her difficulties and her dangers, he has revisited her after such a lapse of years; and become a witness of her subsequent prosperity, and of her progress in whatever can adorn society, or ensure its safety.
“With our congratulations, general, we request you to accept of our affectionate wishes, and the assurances of our prayers, that under the blessings of a gracious Providence, your remaining days may be as happy, as the former have been glorious.”
The following is General Lafayette’s answer.
“The joint testimonies of affection and esteem, with which I am honoured by the respectable pastors of the several denominations in the city and environs of Philadelphia, at the same time that they fill my heart with sentiments of high gratification and profound gratitude, afford an additional proof of the holy fraternity which, in this happy land, unite together the ministers of a gospel of liberty and equality.
“How can republican principles be better supported than by pastors, who, to their own eminent virtues, join the inappreciable advantage of being the free elective choice of their respective congregations.
“I beg you, reverend gentlemen, to accept my respectful and affectionate thanks for your kind address, the more gratifying to me, as it is delivered by a respectable old friend, the friend ofWashington, whose patriotic prayers and blessings have in this Congress Hall been associated with the most important events of the revolution.”
The discourse of bishop White, and the answer of Lafayette awakened in me, I confess many new ideas; I began to comprehend that under a good government, religion and liberty, far from being incompatible, mutually support each other, and to procure this happy alliance, unknown in Europe, nothing is wanting but that government, renouncing the absurd and monstrous system of wishing to maketool of religion, should leave the citizens to choose and pay those to whom they entrust their consciences.
I have said that the French residents of Philadelphia, expressed to General Lafayette their sentiments of personal attachment, and the pleasure they experienced in seeing one of their compatriots in the enjoyment of so glorious a triumph. They were led by Mr. Duponceau, their orator, who acquitted himself with that ardent eloquence which has its source in loyalty and love of liberty.
Mr. Duponceau, whom we already had the pleasure of hearing address General Lafayette, at the head of the Philosophical Society, of which he is a member, and of the Philadelphia Bar, of which he is one of the principal ornaments, has resided in the United States since the war of Independence, through which he served with distinction under the command of Baron Steuben, whose aid-de-camp he was. As a lawyer and learned man, Mr. Duponceau has acquired in his adopted country a brilliant reputation, which is enhanced by the practice of every virtue. During our stay in Philadelphia, we counted among our happy moments, those which were passed in his always amiable and instructive conversation.
We found also in Philadelphia another of our compatriots, whom we were very happy to embrace; this was GeneralBernard, a man not less modest than learned, whose talents and disinterested patriotism were not appreciated by the French government of 1815. General Bernard, who as is known passed with distinction through the imperial court of Napoleon, without losing any thing of his republicanism, which may be considered as a phenomenon, has here found just estimators of his merits. Charged by the American government to secure the defence of the Union by a complete system of fortification, and the prosperity of its commerce by the construction of canals and roads of immense extent, he gives us the satisfaction of seeing a French name nobly connected with all the sublime enterprises of a great nation. No one can know General Bernard without feeling for him sincere sentiments of esteem, admiration and friendship.
All the time that General Lafayette could withhold from the kindness of his numerous friends and the people of Philadelphia, was spent in visiting the humane and public institutions,which are exceedingly multiplied in this vast city; but before designating or describing them, I will give a rapid glance at the settlement and history of Pennsylvania.
In 1627, a company of Swedes and Finlanders landed on the banks of the Delaware, and laid the first foundations of that colony, which was afterwards so rapidly developed under the mild and humane institutions of William Penn. The wisdom and moderation of the Swedes and their excellent administration, should have secured them the peaceful possession of a soil which they had acquired by the free grant of the natural proprietors, the Indians, but scarcely thirty years elapsed before they were deprived of their possessions by the Hollanders, who themselves were soon dispossessed by the English, not less rapacious, and more cunning.
In 1681, Charles II. king of England willing to reward the services Admiral Penn had rendered to the crown, granted to his son William Penn 20,000 acres of land upon the banks of the Delaware; this grant was secured by a charter which contained the following clause.
“The colony shall bear the name of Pennsylvania. William Penn, his successors and lieutenants, with the consent of a majority of the freemen, or their representatives freely assembled, shall levy taxes for public service, establish tribunals, appoint judges, &c. The laws shall be framed with reason and in such manner as not to be in opposition with those of England. The sovereign reserves to himself the right of examining private affairs, and to judge them in cases of appeal. In all cases where the positive law of the province is mute, the laws of England shall be followed. A duplicate of all the laws passed in the province shall be forwarded every five years to the Privy Council, and if in the lapse of six months afterwards, they are declared to be contrary to the royal prerogative, or to the laws of England, they shall be declared null. The proprietary shall collect such taxes as the assembly shall fix upon merchandize: they shall always have at the court of London a deputy to answer any allegations against them; and in case they shall be condemned by the courts, and shall not satisfy the award within the lapse of a year, the king shall resume the government until the demands are satisfied, nevertheless withoutprejudice to individual proprietors, as well as the inhabitants of the province. They may transfer the property. The property of lands already occupied by Christians shall be respected. The monarch will neither impose fines nor taxes upon the colony without the consent of the proprietary or the assembly, or without an act of the government.”
On the 11th July 1681, the proprietary, and those who were to emigrate with him, agreed “that before distributing lands to purchasers enough should be reserved for the public roads, and that all business with the Indians should be transacted in the public market; that all differences with the Indians should be settled by six emigrants and six Indians; that of every five acres one should be left in wood, in order to preserve the oaks and white walnuts for shipbuilding; and that no one should leave the province without giving three weeks previous notice at the public market.”
About the end of the same year the colonists arrived in Pennsylvania, and commenced their settlement. Penn himself arrived at the beginning of the next year, and bought of Lord Berkely, and the heirs of George Carteret, for the sum of £4,000, some parts of New Jersey, which he added to his property, and thus became possessor of all the space comprised between the 40th and 42d degree of latitude. He also bought some lands of the Indians, which he paid for with scrupulous exactness, never thinking that his title of European gave him the right of unmercifully despoiling the savage nations of their natural and legitimate possessions. This spirit of justice and moderation soon conciliated the attachment of the Indians, who from being as at first hostile to the settlements of the whites, soon became benevolent and faithful allies; Penn’s reputation soon reached Europe, and inspired a multitude of unfortunate men with the desire of seeking within his territories for peace and liberty. The first colonists, who came over with him, imitated his virtues, and the settlement flourished. In the year 1682, William Penn called a general assembly of the inhabitants, and employed their aid in drafting a constitution, the execution of which should be confided to a governor assisted by a provincial council, and the inhabitants formed into a general assembly. The council was to becomposed of seventy members chosen by the inhabitants, and presided over by the governor or his representative. One third of this council was to be renewed every year.—On this occasion William Penn delivered an address in which he established this proposition, too much misunderstood by the people and governments of Europe.—
“Whatever may be the form of government, the people are always free so long as they are only governed by the laws, and they participate in the formation of these laws; that it is the sole means by which they can be free; and that beyond these conditions there is nothing but oligarchy and confusion: that the great ends of all government are, to make power respected by the people, and to guarantee the people from the abuse of power; and that thus a people is free in obeying, and the magistrates are honorable, and honored by the justice of their administration and submission to the law.”
Troubles, however ensued; they were caused by the claims of the governor of Maryland, Lord Baltimore, and William Penn was obliged to go to England to maintain his rights. During his absence he confided the government to five commissioners, who disappointed every one by abusing their authority. Under these circumstances, king James having abdicated, his successors seized on the government of Pennsylvania, but three years after, that is, in 1696, it was restored to the proprietary. In 1699 Penn returned to Pennsylvania, and resumed the management of affairs; he then proposed a new constitution which was adopted and maintained until the revolution. New vexations soon recalled Penn to England where he suddenly died of apoplexy in 1718. His death was undoubtedly a great loss to the colony, but the society of Friends, of which he was the chief, showed itself a worthy inheritor of his virtues, and continued by its liberal politics to attract to the province all the men who were disgusted by regal despotism and religious persecution in Europe. From 1729 to 1754 the colony received 30,517 emigrants, principally Irish and Germans. Then all the different doctrines arose from the bosom of the new population, which affected their consciences, and separated the colony into quakers, episcopalians, baptists, presbyterians, catholics, lutherans, calvinists, moravians, covenanters, methodists, universalists, &c. &c. Someof these sects unfortunately let loose their spirit of proselytism and persecution, of which themselves had been victims in Europe, and sometimes they were found to persecute their neighbours the Indians, to impose upon them their creeds. It was this fanaticism which led in 1763, under the execrable pretext of freeing the land from the pagans to the merciless massacre of the Conestoga tribe, which lived so peacefully and securely under the treaty of William Penn. This barbarous act destroyed the good understanding, which had existed during nearly sixty years between the Indians and colonists, and excited those wars which were only terminated in 1779 by the almost total extermination of the natives, the sad remains of which were sent to the banks of Niagara.
From the death of Penn until 1763, the good understanding between the colony and mother country appeared to have suffered no alteration; but the stamp act met with as much resistance from the Pennsylvanians as it did in New England; and in 1768 the provincial assembly protested with energy against the right which parliament wished to arrogate of taxing the colonies. In 1773, the tea imported into Philadelphia by the British was destroyed as it had been at Boston, and all Pennsylvania answered by an unanimous cry of approbation to the insurgent voice of Massachusetts. Finally it was at Philadelphia that in 1776, fifty-four representatives from thirteen states, headed by John Hancock their president, signed the immortal declaration of Independence of the United States.
Towards the end of the same year, the convention of Pennsylvania assembled at Philadelphia, adopted and proclaimed a new constitution, which was preceded by a preamble and declaration of rights.
From the time that this constitution was adopted, Pennsylvania has continually advanced in population, wealth, and prosperity. In 1790, she had but 450,000 souls, at present she contains 1,500,000, of which 41,000 are engaged in agriculture, whose flourishing condition may be compared with the most fertile parts of France. It is especially since property has become more divided by the augmentation of population, that agriculture has made such rapid advances. Ancient estates of 1200 acres, are at present generally divided into farms containing from eighty to a hundredacres, on which are erected commodious dwellings and out-houses, and rich orchards, which constantly furnish the markets with the finest fruits. Since the introduction of plaster as a manure, lands have much increased in value. It would be difficult, I believe, to purchase land in the vicinity of large towns, lower than at the rate of one hundred dollars an acre, or lower than from six to seven dollars in the least inhabited parts of the state.
The greater part of the farmers are not only cultivators, but also traders and manufacturers; they make the woollen cloths for their own use, and sell a great deal of liquor distilled from peaches, corn, rye, maple sugar, &c. They make also large quantities of cider, and for their particular occasions they make wine from currants, raspberries, &c. &c. but seldom from the grape.
The war of 1812, which paralyzed foreign commerce, largely contributed to the advancement of the manufactures of Pennsylvania, which are at present very numerous and very various. According to late estimates it appears, that they employ a capital of more than 40,000 dollars, and at least 60,000 persons.
Since the last war, commerce has resumed its wonted activity; however, the exports are not in proportion with the activity of the industry of the state. Exports consist principally of corn, flour, beef, pork, flax-seed, iron utensils, plank, soap, candles, &c.: in 1820 they did not exceed 8,000,000 of dollars. The coasting trade is considerable, and about thirty ships are employed constantly in the India, China, and North West Coast trade. Altogether, internal and external commerce occupies about 7,000 persons.
As commerce, agriculture and industry, have no obstacles to prevent their increase, and have no great burthens to support, their prosperity is unavoidably augmented every year. Taxes are light, since none of them can ever be increased beyond one per cent. of the value of the goods. They are levied and collected in the following manner. Every three years, at the period of the general election,the peoplechoose assessors, who after having estimated in money the value of the taxable property, send to the commissioners of the county the names of two respectable freeholders of the district, one of which is appointed receiver. This individual announces to the citizens the amount oftheir taxes, and the day on which their objections will be heard by the commissioners. The payments are then made, and the money placed in the hands of the county treasurer, who receives as his fee one per cent. of the funds that pass through his hands. The taxes are levied upon lands, houses, mills, manufactures, ground rents, cattle over four years old; upon lucrative commercial charges, and in general upon all offices, except those of ministers of the gospel, and schoolmasters; and in short upon tavern licences, and upon adults engaged in no profession.
The excellent financial organization of the state, and the severe economy carried into all the expenses of government, never require extraordinary taxes, and still allow the public agents to devote sufficiently considerable funds to the execution of the seventh article of the constitution, which directs the legislative power to employ all the means proper to multiply the means of public instruction, to procure gratuitous elementary education for indigent children and contribute to the rapid developement of the arts and sciences. The primary schools for the poor, and academies for the study of literature and the sciences are encouraged not only by legislative enactment, but also by the constant efforts of all the citizens, who subscribe together to create new ones where a want of them is felt.
The civil laws of England are still generally in force in the state of Pennsylvania; their conservation was one of the conditions stipulated in the patent granted by Charles the 2nd to Wm. Penn; they should have been entirely changed at the epoch of the revolution, as all connection with England was then broken off; but time and use had so consecrated them that they were left untouched, and even at present they have undergone but few and slight modifications. The same could not be the case with the criminal laws. The penal code of Great Britain, so often sanguinary, is entirely repugnant to the principles of the mild and philanthropic society of Friends; thus from the earliest days of the colony the object of Penn’s attacks who sought to substitute for it a code more conformable to the spirit of his sect, which vigorously opposed capital punishment, or at least desired that it should not be of such frequent and easy application. But the English Parliament was deaf to the cry of humanity and revokedthe code of Penn and the tolerant decrees of Calvert which preceded them about half a century.
After the revolution, the disciples of Penn always animated by his philanthropic spirit, again raised their voice against the barbarity of the English penal code. This voice found an echo in the luminous and profound writings of Franklin, William Bradford, Caleb Lowndes and Dr. Rush, and soon after punishment by death was only inflicted upon premeditated murderers or poisoners. Imprisonment and labour proportioned to the strength of the convict, displaced corporal punishment, and those shameful brandings which complete the corruption of the soul, by consigning the body to enduring contempt.
These happy changes were wrought in 1793; from that period a considerable number of useful essays on the improvement of prisons and amelioration of the condition of prisoners, and particularly on the philanthropic system of the moral improvement of the convicts, have appeared in Philadelphia, and soon were imitated in other parts of the union. The state and city governments have not been the exclusive agents in this work, but a great number of benevolent societies, among which the society of Friends occupy a distinguished place, have devoted themselves to this great and good work. Among all the evidences I could cite, I shall confine myself to that of the most respectable and useful philanthropist, the duke Delarochefoucault Liancourt, who in a large and very instructive work, his travels in the United States during the years ’95, ’96 and ’97, speaks with enthusiasm of the reforming prisons of the United States, and particularly of thestateprison of Philadelphia, principally managed by the society of Friends. This word state prison has another signification in Europe; but it here signifies the prisons erected by the state legislatures, for the criminals condemned by the courts of justice. Whenever the prisons of France, England, or other parts of Europe have been ameliorated, the prisons of the United States, and especially those of Philadelphia, have been taken as models.
However, the moral means of reformation so well detailed in the works of Liancourt and other travellers, have not entirely satisfied the ardor of improvement which animates the managers of these establishments; on the otherhand, it is probable that the prisons of Philadelphia, by receiving a greater number of convicts, and among these a greater number of Europeans, and a much larger proportion of men less susceptible of reform, have furnished less satisfactory results than at the period described by the duke De Liancourt. These respectable friends of humanity have thought to do still better, and by resorting to solitary confinement, which leaving the prisoner to his reflexions, or to those which may be suggested to him, and separating him from other convicts, offers more chances of his amendment. In consequence, and as no expense frightens the Americans when they are once convinced of any great public good, they have built at a great cost, near Philadelphia, an immense building with its court yards and cells, where every prisoner may be separately shut up, and where from the form of the edifice, an easy and continual watch may be kept up.
This superb establishment was still unfinished, when general Lafayette, accompanied by the committee appointed to do the honours of the city went to visit it, and were received by the respectable directors and managers, who explained to him the improvements made. One must have courage to venture upon contradicting men so virtuous and experienced, as generous in design as in the execution of their benevolent works. The frankness and conviction of the general, overcame his repugnance, and with all the regard and respect which were due, and which his personal situation rendered still more necessary, he represented to them that solitary confinement was a punishment which should be experienced to be rightly appreciated; and that the virtuous and enlightened Malesherbes, who during his administration under the monarchical government of France, had ameliorated the condition of prisoners of state, regarded solitary confinement as leading to madness. The general observed that during his five years’ captivity, he had passed an entire year in solitary confinement, and another part of the time seeing a companion but during a single hour, and he added, smiling, that he had not found it to be the means of reformation, since he was imprisoned for wishing to revolutionize the people against despotism and aristocracy, and passed his solitude in thinking upon it, without coming out corrected in that respect. Healso made some observations on a too assiduous watchfulness, such for example as that he had been subjected to, during the early part of his captivity, when he was constantly guarded by a sub-officer who remained in sight of him, and was relieved every two hours. Mr. Adams, at this time secretary of state, appeared to be of the same mind with Lafayette. These opinions have since been discussed in newspapers and pamphlets, in which persons on both sides, understanding the subject thoroughly, have maintained opposite opinions. “I observe,” said Lafayette, “that in the states where the prisons are less crowded, in New Hampshire, or in the state of Vermont, the managers, (in New Hampshire the senate have charge of the prisons,) the legislators and the public, find the old method still good, and it procures the reformation of the convicts, which you complain of being unable to effect in Pennsylvania, and in the most populous states. Why may not your fine building be divided into several parts, each of which to contain the same number of prisoners as the prisons of New Hampshire and Vermont, which would be a mode of separating the criminals and exciting the emulation of prisoners who behaved well; and since in your admirable and philanthropic generosity, you have gone to the expense of a cell for each prisoner, shut them up separately at night, instead of crowding them together in those vast sleeping rooms, where it is true the convicts mutually corrupt each other more than in the day time and at work, when they are watched by their guards.” This discussion of equally well meant opinions, in which it must be confessed the directors and managers have the advantage of experience, has not been limited to Pennsylvania, nor even to America. Many philanthropic Europeans who considered the prisons of Pennsylvania as the type of perfection, have become alarmed at this avowal of their insufficiency, this necessity for change, as likely to trammel the efforts of the friends of humanity in Europe. One of the most distinguished Englishmen,Roscoe, the historian, has already written against some opinions which he regards as erroneous, contained in a report made upon prisons to the legislature and public. Soon after Mr. Roscoe entered into a discussion relative to the prison of Philadelphia, and has published some pamphlets on the subjectwhich do equal honour to his understanding and his heart. Such was the existing state of the question, which the circumstance of our visit to the prison caused me to consider. A numerous, enlightened, and experienced portion of the citizens of Pennsylvania, and especially of Philadelphia, appear disposed to try solitary confinement, not as an exception to, but as the basis of, the penitentiary system. Many worthy men whom I have seen and conversed with on both sides of the Atlantic, are of an opposite opinion; but it is exceedingly fortunate for a country that already bestows so much attention upon questions of this sort, that the experiment will be made by well meaning persons, who beyond doubt will modify their system when they perceive its unfitness. After having obtained such wise and generally desired reforms, the ever active philanthropy of the Pennsylvanians has been unremittingly directed to every thing which can contribute to repair or diminish the evils of humanity. The government and directors have vied with each other in zeal; in all parts of the state, hospitals and charitable establishments have exceedingly multiplied. In the year 1774, a society devoted to the abolition of the slave-trade, and to the succour of blacks illegally held in bondage was formed, of which Franklin was the first president.
The Humane Society for affording succour to apparently drowned persons, was established in 1780. This society has considerably diffused the apparatus necessary for attempting to afford such relief; and has established prizes for those who have in any way contributed to save the life of a fellow creature.
Four female benevolent societies, for the relief of widows and orphans, were founded during the years 1793, 1802, 1809, and 1811. The Washington Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania, founded in 1812, also deserves to be mentioned; it was composed of more than 3,000 members, each of which payed two dollars on admission, and the same sum annually into the treasury. These funds were devoted to the relief of members of the society, or to their families.
Nearly thirty benevolent associations for mutual assistance, have been established by the different classes of mechanics, designated by the names of thesociety of mastermasons;of carpenters;of stone-cutters, &c. There are similar associations for foreigners, and their descendants, among which may be numbered the benevolent society for Frenchmen in distress, founded in 1805. That for the Germans was founded in 1801.
A circumstance well worthy of remark, is that of four great benevolent establishments in Philadelphia; there is not one which is not founded and supported by private donations or subscriptions, and managed by citizens who devote their time and attention to them without fee. These four institutions are the Pennsylvania hospital; Christ church hospital; the Philadelphia dispensary, and the lunatic asylum.
Most of the travellers who have visited Philadelphia, agree in this point, that the rigid manners and grave characters of the Friends, who are very numerous in the city, have produced an unfortunate effect upon general society, by impressing upon it an air of frigidity and monotony, which render it insupportable to Europeans. I can neither contradict nor adopt these opinions; for how can I form a judgment upon a population which I have only seen in an accession of enthusiasm and gratitude, which reigned in all hearts, and drew along with it the most serious, even the Friends themselves, after him who was the cause of the sentiment. It is difficult, however, to believe that society lacks charm and resources in a city where science and the arts are cultivated so successfully. The learned men who belong to the philosophical society, the medical society, to the academy of natural sciences, the agricultural society, &c. &c. the large public libraries, rich museums, numerous journals of all sorts, &c. ought to offer in this city sufficient aliment to the most active mind, and in my opinion may largely compensate for the absolute want of all the frivolities to which we unfortunately attach so high a price in Europe.
One may affirm that Philadelphia is the most regularly beautiful city, not only of the United States, but in the world. Its fine streets crossing all at right angles, its large and always clean foot pavements, the elegance of its houses, built of brick, and adorned with fine white marble, and the good taste of its public buildings, at first sight present a seducing view; but may eventually become fatiguing fromtheir exceeding regularity. The plan of the city which was drawn by Penn himself, extends from the right bank of the Delaware to the left bank of the Schuylkill; this distance is about two miles long by one broad; two-thirds only of this space is at present covered with buildings, but new houses are daily erected, and I believe a few years will be sufficient to fill with houses all the space at present remaining unoccupied between the city and the Schuylkill.
Among the public buildings which adorn this beautiful city, we cannot avoid indicating the old bank of the United States, in Third street, the first edifice erected in Philadelphia with columns and a portico. It was begun in 1795, and finished in 1798. Its principal front is entirely of white marble, and resembles considerably the Dublin exchange, which is said to have served for its model. It is at present the banking-house of Stephen Girard.
The new bank of the United States in Chesnut street, the work of the American architect Strictland, is generally considered as one of the finest pieces of architecture in the union. It presents in miniature a tolerably exact image of the temple of Minerva at Athens. It is entirely built of white marble, brought from Montgomery county, in the state of Pennsylvania.
Perhaps, before ending this chapter, I should resume the description of the brilliant and varied festivities which the inhabitants of Philadelphia offered to the Nation’s Guest, during the eight days we passed among them; but a simple enumeration of them, would carry me far beyond the circle to which I wish to confine the narration of this journey, or rather triumph; and notwithstanding all the pleasure I should have had in speaking of the masonic dinner, the civic ball, the visit of general Lafayette to the arsenal, and navy yard, the party at general Cadwalader’s, &c. &c., I am forced to pass from Philadelphia to Baltimore, where the guest of the nation was received with equal transports of love and gratitude.