written to the King my Master who hath as much zeal as any prince liveing to propagate the Christian faith and assure[d] him how necessary it is to send hither some Fathers to preach the Gospel to the natives allyed to us, and care would be then taken to dissuade them from their drunken debauches, though certainly our Rum doth as little hurt as your Brandy and in the opinion of Christians is much more wholesome; however, to keep the Indians temperate and sober is a very good and Christian performance, but to prohibit them all strong liquors seems a little hard and very turkish. . . . ... Sir, assuredly with all due respect Your most humble and affectionate servant T. Dongan DONGAN TO DENONVILLE June 20, 1687 S', I send you some Oranges hearing they are a rarity in your partes and would send more but the bearer wants conveniency of Carriage. DENONVILLE TO DONGAN August 27, 1687 27. The of union, 1754 [96] I thank you, Sir, for your oranges. It was a great pity that they should have been all rotten. Benjamin Franklin, whose long life almost spanned the Albany plan eighteenth century (1706-1790), was the most versatile genius of our colonial period. A few months before his death he received from President Washington this message: "If to be venerated for benevolence, if to be admired for talents, if to be beloved for philanthropy can gratify the human mind, you must have the pleasing consolation that you have not lived in vain." One of Franklin's most 1 Writings of George Washington, ed. W. C. Ford, Vol. XI, p. 432. cherished plans was the union of the colonies under the presidency of a benevolent governor-general from the mother land, for better mutual acquaintance and common defense against the French and Indians. In his "Autobiography," he gives the following account of the plan of union: In 1754, war with France being again apprehended, a congress of commissioners from the different colonies was, by 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 received 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 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 defence, and other important general purposes. As we passed through 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 ventured to lay it before the Congress. It then appeared that several of the commissioners had formed plans of the same kind. A previous question was first taken, whether a union should be established, which passed 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. 1 The Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations was a board created in 1696 by William III, a reorganization of the old Council for Foreign Plantations appointed by Charles II in 1660. By this plan the general government was to be administered by a president-general, appointed and supported by the crown, and a grand council was to be chosen by the representatives of the people of the several colonies, met in their respective assemblies. The debates upon it in Congress went on daily, hand in hand with the Indian business. Many objections and difficulties were started, but at length they were all overcome, and the plan was unanimously agreed to, and copies ordered to be transmitted to the Board of Trade and to the assemblies of the several provinces. Its fate was singular: the assemblies did not adopt it, as they all thought there was too much prerogative in it, and in England it was judg'd to have too much of the democratic. . . . I am still of the opinion that it would have been happy for both sides of the water if it had been adopted. The colonies, so united, would have been sufficiently strong to have defended themselves; there would then have been no need of troops from England: of course, the subsequent pretence for taxing America, and the bloody contest it occasioned, would have been avoided. But such mistakes are not new; history is full of the errors of states and princes. "Look round the habitable world, how few Know their own good, or, knowing it, pursue!" Those who govern, having much business on their hands, do not generally like to take the trouble of considering and carrying into execution new projects. The best public measures are therefore seldom adopted from previous wisdom, but forc'd by the occasion. The plan drafted by Franklin was as follows: SHORT HINTS TOWARDS A SCHEME FOR UNITING THE NORTHERN COLONIES A Governor-General To be appointed by the king. To be a military man. To have a salary from the crown. To have a negation [veto] on all acts of the Grand Council, and carry into execution whatever is agreed on by him and that Council. Grand Council One member to be chosen by the Assembly of each of the smaller colonies, and two or more by each of the larger, in proportion to the sums they pay yearly into the general treasury. Members' Pay 1 shillings sterling per diem, during their sitting, and milage for travelling expenses. Place and Time of Meeting To meet 2 times every year, at the capital of each colony, in course, unless particular circumstances and emergencies require more frequent meetings, and alteration in the course of places. The governor-general to judge of those circumstances, &c. and call by his writs. General Treasury Its fund, an excise [internal revenue tax] on strong liquors, pretty equally drunk in the colonies, or duty on liquor imported, or shillings on each license of a public house, or excise on superfluities, as tea, &c. &c. All which would pay in some proportion to the present wealth of each colony, and increase as that wealth increases, and prevent disputes about the inequality of quotas. To be collected in each colony and lodged in their treasury, to be ready for the payment of orders issuing from the governor-general and grand council jointly. Duty and Power of the Governor-General and Grand Council To order all Indian treaties. Make all Indian purchases not within proprietary grants. Make and support new settlements, by building forts, raising and paying soldiers to garrison the forts, defend the frontiers, and annoy the enemy. Equip guard-vessels 1 Later filled in "ten." 2 Later filled in "once." 28. Wash ington's em to scour the coasts from privateers in time of war, and protect the trade, and everything that shall be found necessary for the defence and support of the colonies in general, and increasing and extending their settlements &c. For the expense they may draw on the fund in the treasury of any colony. Manner of Forming this Union The scheme, being first well considered, corrected, and improved by the commissioners at Albany, to be sent home, and an act of Parliament obtained for establishing it. The draft was sent to Mr. James Alexander with the following letter: New York, June 8, 1754 Mr. Alexander is requested to peruse these Hints, and make remarks in correcting or improving the scheme,1 and send the paper with such remarks to Dr Colden, for his sentiments, who is desired to forward the whole to Albany to their very humble servant, B. Franklin THE FALL OF NEW FRANCE As the eighteenth century progressed the rivalry between bassy to the French and English in America increased. The abandonFrench forts, ment of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay 1753 [97] region to the English, and the recognition of the English protectorate over the Iroquois, by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), marked the beginning of the disintegration of the French power in the new world. The colonies, following the example of New York, gradually woke to the danger of the French establishments behind the Alleghenies; 1 Several changes were made in the plan before its adoption at Albany. The student may find these changes by comparing the present text with the finished plan as published in Macdonald, Select Charters of American History, 1606-1775, pp. 253-257, or in the Old South Leaflets, |