On this frank declaration he was allowed to go free, after giving a bond of six thousand pounds, until his public trial should take place, at which he was later acquitted. In spite of this, however, he was twice again tried for treason, in one case even being accused of complicity in a plot to restore James the Second to the throne, but his innocence was so clearly proved and his frank simplicity made so favorable an impression on his judges and on the King as well, that in both cases he was fully exonerated and discharged from custody. Owing to his being still under suspicion, however, and secretly watched, he was doubtless warned to remain out of sight for a time, for except for some works of his which were published at this period, even his friends saw nothing of him for a space of two years. The passage of a law framed by the new King acknowledging the existence of dissenters and forbidding their persecution in future rejoiced Penn greatly, even though the Test Act still remained in force and only members of the established church could enjoy the full rights of citizenship. But other matters had arisen in the meantime that caused him great uneasiness.
War between France and England again seemed inevitable, in which case the North American States would be placed in a position of great danger, the French having established such friendly relations with the Indians that an alliance between them must be expected. Under these circumstances it seemed absolutely necessary for Penn to carry out the plan he had long had in mind of returning to Pennsylvania to protect the rights he had earned by such labor and sacrifice. An unforeseen event, however, interfered for a time with this intention, for on the tenth of March, 1692, a royal decree was issued placing both Pennsylvania and New Jersey under the military command of a Colonel Fletcher, who was to defend them against the hostile tribes of Indians already on the war-path. It came about in this way. The North American provinces, already grown or growing into States, having been made practically independent either by gift or purchase during the preceding reigns, King William determined to unite them again with the English crown and thereby provide himself with part of the force he needed for the war with France. As the Quakers of Pennsylvania had shown no great haste to offer allegiance to the new sovereign, Penn’s enemies had taken advantage of this fact to urge the withdrawal of his charter, and while Penn himself had no doubt that this arbitrary measure would be revoked in the course of time, and felt convinced that the money he had spent in purchasing the land from the Indians, almost his entire fortune, must constitute an indubitable claim to the province, still the blow was a hard one and he found himself in a by no means encouraging situation. Added to this were family cares and anxieties, both his wife and eldest son being seriously ill at the time.
Amid these troubles he was only sustained by his faith in God and in the ultimate triumph of right, a faith which was justified after some delay by the restoration to him of his American province, the King, however, reserving the right to defend it until the end of the war, a condition to which Penn, being a Quaker, could conscientiously make no objection.
Penn’s greatest anxiety now was to return to America, but he was still detained in England by the condition of his oldest son, who had developed consumption. Shortly before this he had experienced the bitter sorrow of losing Guli, his beloved wife, who for twenty-one years had been the joy of his life. Being unable consequently to leave England he arranged by permission of the government to send a few trustworthy representatives to Pennsylvania to protect his rights while he remained to care for his sick son. After an illness of two years Springett died, February 10, 1696, and the heartbroken father exclaimed: “I have lost in him all that a father can lose in a son.”
Penn was now left in sole care of his two remaining children, Letty and William, the latter of whom, resembling his grandfather more than his father in character, needed judicious control. It was this fact chiefly that induced Penn, then nearly fifty years old, to marry again. At the beginning of the year 1696 he was united to Hannah Callowhill of Bristol, a sensible, pious woman, who presented him with six children and outlived him several years. Still Penn found himself unable to go back to Pennsylvania, which he had not seen for thirteen years. For neither his wife nor his daughter Letty, now grown to womanhood, could make up their minds to follow him to America and leave their native land, perhaps forever. As little would his son William listen even to the idea of exchanging the pleasures he enjoyed at home for the monotony of life in Pennsylvania.
By the year 1699, however, the English government had received so many complaints of mismanagement on the part of Markham and Penn’s other representatives there that Penn, fearing he might again be in danger of losing his province, decided to make the move to America at any cost, especially as the French war had been brought to a close by the Peace of Ryswick and the usual peaceful conditions might be expected again to exist in Pennsylvania. Under these circumstances his wife and daughter abandoned their opposition to the plan, but young William still refusing to leave England, the family were forced to sail without him. Owing to contrary winds, the passage this time was a very long one, lasting fully three months, a fortunate occurrence as it proved, notwithstanding general complaints, for they thereby escaped an epidemic of some malignant fever which had caused great loss of life in Philadelphia.
Penn’s return to his province after an absence of fifteen years was hailed with universal rejoicing, and now that he had brought his family with him it was hoped he would remain to watch over the people who had so long been deprived of his fatherly care. It must indeed have been a temptation to Penn to settle down here in peace for the rest of his days, for his Pennsburg had now grown into a most beautiful estate. The land chosen for it by himself and Markham was superbly situated and protected against any kind of attack by the Delaware River, which almost entirely surrounded it, affording at the same time a delicious coolness that made it comfortable even in the intense heat of summer. The house, which was built overlooking the river, was sixty feet in length by forty in depth and was surrounded with magnificent gardens, which were Penn’s special delight. Beyond these stretched a fine park, left for the most part in its natural wildness and filled with huge trees whose interlacing branches formed a canopy overhead, while here and there were artfully planned nooks and bits of fine landscape gardening. The lower story of the stately mansion was almost entirely taken up by a great hall capable of accommodating the largest assemblies, while the upper contained the living rooms, the windows of which commanded a charming view across the river to the wooded shores of New Jersey. The extensive outbuildings included a fine stable, for Penn was a great lover of horses, and on the water before the house was moored a charming pleasure yacht for excursions on the river. Penn’s wife and daughter were equally pleased with this delightful home, and as the master of the house was fond of having guests and willingly permitted all innocent forms of amusement, they found little reason to regret the change to which they had found it so hard to reconcile themselves.
Penn himself, however, had little time to devote to pleasure, for much and difficult work awaited him. First of all it was necessary to rectify the evils which had given rise to so much complaint, chief of which was the introduction of contraband trade. He soon found that by no means all the inhabitants of his colony shared his disinterestedness or his loftiness of purpose. He met with especial opposition in his efforts to better the condition of the negro slaves. This traffic in human beings had continued to flourish ever since his first visit to America, for at that time its infamy was not recognized. The blacks were looked upon as creatures little above the brutes, to buy and sell whom was perfectly legitimate. In the first constitution drawn up by him, Penn had inserted an article stipulating that negro servants should be freed after fourteen years of service, provided they gave their former masters two-thirds of all they produced from the land assigned to them, failing which they were to return to servitude. This did not prevent the continuation of slavery, however, the legality or illegality of which being regarded as a question which no reasonable man need trouble himself about. The German settlers from the Rhine Palatinate were the only ones to protest against it, and they indeed left no stone unturned to secure support and recognition for their cause. Penn’s attempts to introduce a law for the benefit of the negroes therefore met with such strong opposition from the assembly that he was forced to abandon his benevolent plans until a more favorable opportunity should occur. He kept no slaves himself, preferring to hire those of his neighbors when he needed their services.
The Indians were overjoyed at the return of the great Onas, who immediately renewed the old friendly relations with them. They had faithfully observed the treaty concluded in 1682 and had fared so well in consequence that other tribes which had then held aloof were now eager to join the alliance, to which Penn gladly agreed, as it would add in no small degree to the safety of his province. After this ceremony had been performed in the manner already described, Penn entertained his new allies in the great hall of his mansion, while they returned the hospitality by performing some of their wild dances upon the lawn for their host and his family.
Penn continued to labor unceasingly for the welfare not only of his own, but also of the neighboring provinces for two years, when once more he was interrupted by the arrival of bad news from England. This was the introduction of a bill into Parliament bringing all proprietary governments under the control of the crown, and it was with difficulty that Penn’s friends succeeded in having the hearing deferred until he could return from America. His presence in England therefore seemed indispensable at this juncture and the assembly of Pennsylvania urged him to lose no time. All necessary measures of government were hastily arranged and some alterations made in the constitution, but already it had become painfully evident that the representatives of the people were seeking their own advantage only and paying little heed to the interests of the man to whom they owed so much. They even refused to furnish the means for his journey to England, though it was undertaken entirely at their behest and in their interest, and Penn was forced to depend on raising the necessary money during his stay in London by the sale of some of his lands.