it would, I thought, be time enough to prepare for the rejoicing
when we knew we should have occasion to rejoice. They seem'd surpris'd
that I did not immediately comply with their proposal. "Why the
d----l!" says one of them, "you surely don't suppose that the
fort will not be taken?" "I don't know that it will not be taken, but
I know that the events of war are subject to great uncertainty." I
gave them the reasons of my doubting; the subscription was dropt, and
the projectors thereby missed the mortification they would have
undergone if the firework had been prepared. Dr. Bond, on some other
occasion afterward, said that he did not like Franklin's forebodings.

Governor Morris, who had continually worried the Assembly with message
after message before the defeat of Braddock, to beat them into the
making of acts to raise money for the defense of the province, without
taxing, among others, the proprietary estates, and had rejected all
their bills for not having such an exempting clause, now redoubled his
attacks with more hope of success, the danger and necessity being
greater. The Assembly, however, continu'd firm, believing they had
justice on their side, and that it would be giving up an essential
right if they suffered the governor to amend their money-bills. In one
of the last, indeed, which was for granting fifty thousand pounds, his
propos'd amendment was only of a single word. The bill express'd "that
all estates, real and personal, were to be taxed, those of the
proprietaries _not_ excepted." His amendment was, for _not_ read
_only_: a small, but very material alteration. However, when the news
of this disaster reached England, our friends there whom we had taken
care to furnish with all the Assembly's answers to the governor's
messages, rais'd a clamor against the proprietaries for their meanness
and injustice in giving their governor such instructions; some going
so far as to say that, by obstructing the defense of their province,
they forfeited their right to it. They were intimidated by this, and
sent orders to their receiver-general to add five thousand pounds of
their money to whatever sum might be given by the Assembly for such
purpose.

This, being notified to the House, was accepted in lieu of their share
of a general tax, and a new bill was form'd, with an exempting clause,
which passed accordingly. By this act I was appointed one of the
commissioners for disposing of the money, sixty thousand pound