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My being many years in the Assembly, the majority of which were
constantly Quakers, gave me frequent opportunities of seeing
the embarrassment given them by their principle against war,
whenever application was made to them, by order of the crown,
to grant aids for military purposes. They were unwilling to offend
government, on the one hand, by a direct refusal; and their friends,
the body of the Quakers, on the other, by a compliance contrary
to their principles; hence a variety of evasions to avoid complying,
and modes of disguising the compliance when it became unavoidable.
The common mode at last was, to grant money under the phrase of its
being "for the king's use," and never to inquire how it was applied.
But, if the demand was not directly from the crown, that phrase was
found not so proper, and some other was to be invented. As, when powder
was wanting (I think it was for the garrison at Louisburg), and the
government of New England solicited a grant of some from Pennsilvania,
which was much urg'd on the House by Governor Thomas, they could
not grant money to buy powder, because that was an ingredient of war;
but they voted an aid to New England of three thousand pounds,
to he put into the hands of the governor, and appropriated it
for the purchasing of bread, flour, wheat, or other grain. Some of
the council, desirous of giving the House still further embarrassment,
advis'd the governor not to accept provision, as not being the thing
he had demanded; but be reply'd, "I shall take the money, for I
understand very well their meaning; other grain is gunpowder,"
which he accordingly bought, and they never objected to it.
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