osed to erect in Georgia. Franklin was not in full sympathy with
the plan, because he thought it should be erected in Pennsylvania, and
the orphans brought there. Still, he listened to the eminent preacher
unprejudiced, and when the collection was taken, at the close of the
meeting, he emptied his pockets of all the money he had, which
consisted of "a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars,
and five pistoles in gold."

He sympathized deeply with the poor and needy, and espoused the cause
of the oppressed in every land. He was the first President of the
Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, and both his hand and heart were
pledged to the cause of freedom. One of his biographers, summing up
his character in these particulars, says: "He was bold, consistent,
active, and greatly in advance of his age. From his Quaker brethren in
Philadelphia he contracted all their zeal in behalf of humanity,
although in his mind it put on the aspect of plain, practical
beneficence. He was ever foremost in all humane enterprises. He was
never misled, through sympathy with a majority, into the support of
measures which, though popular, were inconsistent with a high-toned
Christian morality. He was the champion of the Indians when to
advocate their cause was to displease many. He was one of the earliest
opponents of the slave-trade and slavery. He omitted no opportunity to
protest against war and its iniquity, and he branded as piracy the
custom of privateering, however sanctioned by international usages. As
a statesman and philosopher his name is imperishable. As an active
benefactor of his race, he is entitled to its lasting gratitude. As
one of the founders of the American Union, he must ever be held in
honourable remembrance by all who prize American institutions. As the
zealous foe to oppression in all its forms, he merits the thankful
regard of good men of all ages and climes."

He carried his reverence for God and his regard for Christianity into
the high places of authority. He proposed the first Day of Fasting and
Prayer ever observed in Pennsylvania, and wrote the proclamation for
the Secretary of State. When the convention to frame the Constitution
of the United States met in Philadelphia, in 1787, he introduced a
motion into that body for daily prayers, which, strange to say, was
rejected. In support of his motion, he made the following memorable
address, which fairly illustrates his usual disposition to recognize
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