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KEITH, Sir William; and William TRENT. - Manuscript address from the Governing Assembly of Pennsylvania to King George I, on vellum, signed by Lieutenant Governor Keith and Speaker Trent, concerning the necessity of allowing Quakers serving in the Ju...

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Auktionsarchiv: Los-Nr. 44

KEITH, Sir William; and William TRENT. - Manuscript address from the Governing Assembly of Pennsylvania to King George I, on vellum, signed by Lieutenant Governor Keith and Speaker Trent, concerning the necessity of allowing Quakers serving in the Ju...

Schätzpreis
8.000 £ - 12.000 £
ca. 12.269 $ - 18.404 $
Zuschlagspreis:
6.500 £
ca. 9.969 $
Beschreibung:

Manuscript address from the Governing Assembly of Pennsylvania to King George I, on vellum, signed by Lieutenant Governor Keith and Speaker Trent, concerning the necessity of allowing Quakers serving in the Judiciary to make a Solemn Affirmation rather than a Sworn Oath.
Philadelphia: 24 May 1718. 1 vellum membrane (620 x 628 mm). Docketed on verso. Condition : vellum thin in places, light staining (affecting Keith's signature), text somewhat faded overall but still legible. the preservation of pennsylvania’s liberty of conscience: the address sent to king george i asking that the quaker community be allowed to continue to make a solemn affirmation rather than a sworn qualification oath. Following the death of Queen Anne and the revoking of an earlier act, there was an urgent need to get permission for the usual qualification oath to be waived in favour of a solemn affirmation. Without this permission, the judiciary system in the Quaker Province would be unable to function. "[I]n striking contrast with other Lieutenant-Governors, Keith was duly considerate of Quaker feelings and privileges. His predecessor, denying the qualification in capital cases of jurymen who would not take oaths, had allowed two murderers to go unpunished, to continue in lawless conduct, and even to boast that the Province could not try them for a capital crime. Keith had them indicted by a grand inquest, of which seventeen were upon affirmation, and brought them to trial before a jury containing eight Quakers, he himself attending the court, and making a speech, and satisfying himself that the proceedings were fair to the accused, and according to the law. They were convicted and sentenced to death; and although they asked for a reprieve to enable them to appeal to the King, Keith said that the Constitution of the Province must be maintained, and declined to interfere with the execution. Subsequently, he prepared for the Assembly an address to the King setting forth the necessity of allowing the use of an affirmation instead of an oath [the present document]" (Keith, "Sir William Keith" in PMHB vol. 12, no. 1). The address to the King reviews the founding of Pennsylvania and the origins of its religious freedom. Beginning with praise to the King, the letter continues: "May it therefore please your Majesty to know That in the 1681 this Colony was first settled by a considerable Number of English Subjects called Quakers under the Care, Encouragement and Direction of William Penn Esquire our Proprietor and Governour in Chief. That the Prospect which the first Adventurers had of enjoying the Liberty of their Consciences above other Considerations induced them to settle this Country at the hazard of their Lives and Estates…" This copy of the letter to the King was likely a retained one. In 1722, the qualification oath issue would be finally resolved when the British Parliament passed An Act for Granting People Called Quakers, Such Forms of Affirmation or Declaration, as May Remove the Difficulties Which Many of Them Lie Under.

Auktionsarchiv: Los-Nr. 44
Auktion:
Datum:
19.11.2008
Auktionshaus:
Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions
16-17 Pall Mall
St James’s
London, SW1Y 5LU
Großbritannien und Nordirland
info@dreweatts.com
+44 (0)20 78398880
Beschreibung:

Manuscript address from the Governing Assembly of Pennsylvania to King George I, on vellum, signed by Lieutenant Governor Keith and Speaker Trent, concerning the necessity of allowing Quakers serving in the Judiciary to make a Solemn Affirmation rather than a Sworn Oath.
Philadelphia: 24 May 1718. 1 vellum membrane (620 x 628 mm). Docketed on verso. Condition : vellum thin in places, light staining (affecting Keith's signature), text somewhat faded overall but still legible. the preservation of pennsylvania’s liberty of conscience: the address sent to king george i asking that the quaker community be allowed to continue to make a solemn affirmation rather than a sworn qualification oath. Following the death of Queen Anne and the revoking of an earlier act, there was an urgent need to get permission for the usual qualification oath to be waived in favour of a solemn affirmation. Without this permission, the judiciary system in the Quaker Province would be unable to function. "[I]n striking contrast with other Lieutenant-Governors, Keith was duly considerate of Quaker feelings and privileges. His predecessor, denying the qualification in capital cases of jurymen who would not take oaths, had allowed two murderers to go unpunished, to continue in lawless conduct, and even to boast that the Province could not try them for a capital crime. Keith had them indicted by a grand inquest, of which seventeen were upon affirmation, and brought them to trial before a jury containing eight Quakers, he himself attending the court, and making a speech, and satisfying himself that the proceedings were fair to the accused, and according to the law. They were convicted and sentenced to death; and although they asked for a reprieve to enable them to appeal to the King, Keith said that the Constitution of the Province must be maintained, and declined to interfere with the execution. Subsequently, he prepared for the Assembly an address to the King setting forth the necessity of allowing the use of an affirmation instead of an oath [the present document]" (Keith, "Sir William Keith" in PMHB vol. 12, no. 1). The address to the King reviews the founding of Pennsylvania and the origins of its religious freedom. Beginning with praise to the King, the letter continues: "May it therefore please your Majesty to know That in the 1681 this Colony was first settled by a considerable Number of English Subjects called Quakers under the Care, Encouragement and Direction of William Penn Esquire our Proprietor and Governour in Chief. That the Prospect which the first Adventurers had of enjoying the Liberty of their Consciences above other Considerations induced them to settle this Country at the hazard of their Lives and Estates…" This copy of the letter to the King was likely a retained one. In 1722, the qualification oath issue would be finally resolved when the British Parliament passed An Act for Granting People Called Quakers, Such Forms of Affirmation or Declaration, as May Remove the Difficulties Which Many of Them Lie Under.

Auktionsarchiv: Los-Nr. 44
Auktion:
Datum:
19.11.2008
Auktionshaus:
Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions
16-17 Pall Mall
St James’s
London, SW1Y 5LU
Großbritannien und Nordirland
info@dreweatts.com
+44 (0)20 78398880
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