“To the Emperor of Canada:—The Great God that made thee and me and all the world, Incline our hearts to love peace and Justice that we may live friendly together as becomes the workmanship of the Great God. The King of England, who is a Great Prince, hath for divers Reasons, granted me a large Country in America, which however I am willing to Injoy upon friendly terms with Thee. And this I will say that the people who come with me are a just, plain and honest people, that neither make war upon others nor fear war from others, because they are just. I have set up a Society of Traders in my Province to traffic with thee and thy people for your commodities, that you may be furnished with that which is good at reasonable rates. And the Society hath ordered their President to treat with thee about a future Trade, and have joined with me to send this messenger with certain presents from us to testify our willingness to have a fair Correspondence with thee. And what this Agent shall do in our names we will agree unto. I hope thou wilt Kindly Receive him, and comply with his desires on our behalf both with respect to Land and Trade. The Great God be with thee. Amen.
“WM. PENN,
“Philip Theodore Lehnman, Sec.
“London, the 21st of the fourth month, called June, 1682.”
IX.
Philadelphia Post-Office—Posts, etc.
“Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect, a column in a scene of ruins, a pleasing example that the paths of honor and safety may sometimes be the same.”—Gibbon.
We purposely passed over Pennsylvania in giving a statistical account of post-offices, as we intend to make the Philadelphia post-office the starting-point of a more general history, as far as the State is concerned, as also a more extended notice of the system of the general postal department. Again, there are more historical and remarkable events associated with Pennsylvania, in connection with the Revolution, than any other State in the Union.
The history of any one post-office after the Revolution would be a history of all; and, as the writer is more familiar with that of Philadelphia, he is enabled to gather more materials for the miscellaneous portion of his work than if he had selected any other.
The general business routine of one office differs very little from that of another: yet every office has its “unwritten history” and its own “romance and realities.”