London, and Nicholas Lucas, of Hertford, two of the said creditors, to carry his intention into effect. To this, but not till after much consideration, he assented.

His new office requiring exertion, and this immediately, he was at once overwhelmed in business. The first thing he did in conjunction with the trustees, was to agree with Sir George Carteret upon a division of the province. They allotted to the latter the eastern part of it, which by this time was tolerably well peopled; and the western, in which no settlements had yet been made, they took in behalf of Byllinge to themselves. From this time the former took the name of East, and the latter that of West New Jersey, the dividing line running "straight north from Egg Harbor to the utmost branch of Delaware River.”

This division having been made, they then subdivided their own portion into a hundred lots. Ten of these they gave to Fenwick as a repayment for time, trouble, and money advanced by him to Lord Berkeley, and the remaining ninety they reserved for sale, for the benefit of the creditors of Byllinge.

The next step was to form a Constitution for those who in consequence of purchase were to settle in the new land. This task, the most difficult, fell almost exclusively upon William Penn. He, therefore, drew up what he called Concessions, or terms of grant and agreement, which were to be mutually signed. The great outline of these may be comprehended in few words. The people were to meet annually to choose one honest man for each proprietary, who had signed the Concessions. They who were so chosen, were to sit in assembly. They were to make, alter, and repeal laws. They were also to choose a

governor, or commissioner, with twelve assistants, who were to execute these laws, but only during their pleasure. Every man was to be capable both of choosing and being chosen. No man was to be arrested, imprisoned, or condemned in his estate or liberty, but by twelve men of the neighborhood. No man was to be imprisoned for debt;: but his estate was to satisfy his creditors as far as it would go, and then he was to be set at liberty to work again for himself and family. No man was to be interrupted or molested on account of the exercise of his religion. Such was the simple outline of the Concessions, "by an adherence to which he hoped that he had laid a foundation for those in after ages to understand their liberty both as men and Christians, and by an adherence. to which they could never be brought into bondage but by their own consent."

Having made these and other arrangements, he and his colleagues gave notice of the same in a public letter which they signed, and circulated through the kingdom. Through the medium of this, they particularly invited those who were of their own religious society to become the new settlers. They cautioned these, however, against leaving their country out of any idle curiosity, or rambling disposition, or improper motive, or to the violation of the feelings of their kindred, or of their religious unity as Friends. To this caution they annexed "A Description of West New Jersey," of its climate, soil, and produce, in order that none might be deceived, or have occasion afterwards to repent of their undertaking.

In the early part of 1677 William Penn continued to be employed on behalf of Byllinge. It appears that he

had then left his house at Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire and that he had established himself at Worminghurst in Sussex. Here, then, in the calm retreat of the country, he took thought for the new colony.

While at Worminghurst applications came to him, in consequence of the public letter which had been circulated, for shares in the new adventure, by which it appeared that there was a probability of disposing of a considerable portion of West New Jersey. He and his colleagues determined to appoint and send over commissioners, who should be empowered to purchase lands of the Indians, to examine the rights of such as might claim property in the new territory, to give directions for laying out the allotments there, and to administer, for the first year, the gov ernment according to the spirit of the Concessions before mentioned.

They resolved next to open proposals for the immediate sale of the lands. Among the purchasers were two companics, both consisting of members of the Society of Friends, one from London, the other from Yorkshire. These contracted for large shares, and had patents for them. The members of the Yorkshire company were principal creditors of Byllinge, and they received a tenth part of the whole land in consideration of their debts.

The commissioners, with several of the proprietors and their families and servants, to the number of two hundred and thirty, embarked in the ship Kent, and landed where Burlington now stands, on the Delaware, above Philadelphia.

Within two years after the sailing of the ship Griffith,

about eight hundred persons, mostly Friends, had been sent by the trustees to West New Jersey.

In 1680 much dissatisfaction was caused in the colony by the exaction of a duty of ten per cent., laid by the government of New York, and renewed in the year 1669, on all imports and exports at Hoarkill, now Lewistown, at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. The settlers therefore complaining to the trustees of Billynge, William Penn felt himself called upon to take a part on the occasion. He was aware that, if he succeeded in getting rid of this tax, it would be to the detriment of his friend, the Duke of York, and that he might even offend him on this account; but when he considered that his trusteeship involved in it a serious duty, and that the demands in question were unjust, he had no hesitation in pursuing the right path. Accordingly, in conjunction with the other trustees, he made a formal application to the duke on the subject. The duke referred the matter to the council. There it lay for some time. The council at length reported in favor of Billynge; for William Penn had made it appear that Billynge had purchased the government of the country with the soil; that the country therefore ought not to be subject to any imposition of duties by the government of New York; the Duke of York having granted all his right to the said country to the assigns of Lord Berkeley, and the latter to Billynge, in as ample a manner as it had been granted to the duke by the king.

THE

XI.

HE important question to the Society of Friends, of the establishment and extent of the discipline, occasioning some diversity and even opposition of sentiments. among them, William Penn wrote, in 1681, a small tract on this subject, in the way of question and answer, in which he explained the nature and extent of the authority which the church might justly exercise, and the obligation of the members to submit to that authority. This tract, entitled “A BRIEF EXAMINATION OF LIBERTY SPIRITUAL,” is here inserted in part.

DEAR FRIENDS AND BRETHREN :-It hath of long time rested with some pressure upon my spirit, for Zion's sake and the peace of Jerusalem, to write something of the nature of true spiritual liberty; liberty, one of the most glorious words and things in the world, but little understood, and frequently abused by many. I beseech Almighty God to preserve you, his people, in the right knowledge and use of that liberty which Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation, hath purchased for us and is redeeming us into, who hath led captivity captive, and is giving gifts to them that truly believe in his name.

Question. What is true spiritual liberty?

Answer. Deliverance from sin by the perfect law in the