I should stay and help to fight the ship when
thee thought there was danger."_

[82] James Logan (1674-1751) came to America with William
Penn in 1699, and was the business agent for the Penn
family. He bequeathed his valuable library, preserved at
his country seat, "Senton", to the city of
Philadelphia.--Smyth.

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 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
Pennsylvania, 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 be 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 he repli'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.[83]

[83] See the votes.--_Marg. note_.

It was in allusion to this fact that, when in our fire company we
feared the success of our proposal in favour of the lottery, and I had
said to my friend Mr. Syng, one of our members, "If we fail, let us
move the purchase of a fire-engine with the money; the Quakers can
have no objection to that; and then, if you nominate me and I you as a
committee for that purpose, we will buy a great gun, which is
certainly a _f