when
submitted to the colonies and to the British government, pleased no one.
The colonies rejected it because it gave too much power to the king, the
king because it gave too much power to the colonies. Franklin's own
account of what followed is here given:

The British government, not choosing to permit the union of the colonies
as proposed at Albany, and to trust that union with their defence, lest
they should thereby grow too military and feel their own strength,
suspicions and jealousies at this time being entertained of them, sent
over General Braddock with two regiments of regular English troops for
that purpose. He landed at Alexandria, in Virginia, and thence marched
to Fredericktown, in Maryland, where he halted for carriages. Our
Assembly apprehending, from some information, that he had conceived
violent prejudices against them, as averse to the service, wished me to
wait upon him, not as from them, but as postmaster-general, under the
guise of proposing to settle with him the mode of conducting with most
celerity and certainty the despatches between him and the governors of
the several provinces, with whom he must necessarily have continual
correspondence, and of which they proposed to pay the expense. My son
accompanied me on this journey.

We found the general at Fredericktown, waiting impatiently for the
return of those he had sent through the back parts of Maryland and
Virginia to collect wagons. I stayed with him several days, dined with
him daily, and had full opportunity of removing all his prejudices, by
the information of what the Assembly had before his arrival actually
done, and were still willing to do, to facilitate his operations. When I
was about to depart, the returns of wagons to be obtained were brought
in, by which it appeared that they amounted only to twenty-five, and not
all of those were in serviceable condition. The general and all the
officers were surprised, declared the expedition was then at an end,
being impossible, and exclaimed against the ministers for ignorantly
landing them in a country destitute of the means of conveying their
stores, baggage, etc., not less than one hundred and fifty wagons being
necessary.

[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1706-1790]

I happened to say I thought it was a pity they had not been landed
rather in Pennsylvania, as in that country almost every farmer had his
wagon. The general eagerly laid hold of my words, and said, "Then you,
sir, who a