From The Second War With England To 1850.

United States had just emerged from war, the long Napoleonic contest which had drained the resources of the Old World's governments to maintain armies in the field and navies on the sea. There, as here, on the cessation of hostilities business enterprises crumbled under the sudden withdrawal of the governments from the markets as purchasers, and failure followed failure as a rule. But in England, as on the Continent and in the United States, an impetus had been imparted to manufacturing industries which could merely be impeded, not arrested, and in the end its importance to mankind far outweighed the defeat of the great captain at Waterloo.

In the general depression of that period all suffered, and no class more severely than owners of real estate. In cases where farms and town-lots were encumbered, in the event of the foreclosure of the mortgages it rarely happened that properties when forced to sale brought more than the charge against them, and, although in Delaware County such sales were not so numerous as in other counties in this State, the rule stated maintained in almost every case.

In manufacturing, the protection offered be the tariff law aided largely in the ultimate success of these enterprises; but of greater importance was the introduction of power-looms, and to that fact more than the tariff should be ascribed the permanent establishment of cotton manufactories as a national industry. In 1826 the find that in Delaware County there were then fourteen woolen-mills, employing 228 hands; twelve cotton factories, employing 415 hands; and one power-loom mill, with 200 looms, employing 120 hands.

Six years afterwards, in 1832, there were eleven cotton-mills, employing 600 hands, and using a total of 19,500 spindles; three cotton-weaving mills, employing 480 hands and 400 power-looms; two cotton-spinning mills, employing 120 hands; and eight woolen-mills, with 350 hands; the entire yearly production being a total of $950,000. In the documents transmitted to Congress from Pennsylvania in that year, John P. Crozer stated that he had established his mill in 1825, that it was run by water-power, and that the capital invested was fifteen thousand dollars. From the year 1829 to 1830 the business had yielded him no profit, but since that time until he made the report it had been paying an average profit of eight per cent. on the capital invested, and that he annually expended two-fifths of that income in improvements. Woolen-mills, he stated, were doing better than that. At his mills the consumption of cotton was three hundred and eighty-three bales a year, and in the article he made there was no competition by foreign goods. At that time his mill gave employment to fifteen men, sixteen women, and twenty children, who worked twelve hours daily all the year round. The production of the mill was sold in Philadelphia to owners of looms on a credit of four months. If the tariff of twelve and a half cents, as provided in the bill pending before Congress at that time, should become a law, he stated he would be compelled to abandon the business; for although at the time no duties were necessary to protect him against foreign competition, yet the then tariff was not sufficient to absolutely protect him from European sacrifices. Finally, as a general conclusion, he declared that cotton-spinning was a "very uninviting" occupation.

It is unnecessary to continue the narrative of manufacturing in this county, as a whole, further at this time. The story of the rise, progress, success, and decay of the various industrial establishments will be given in the histories of the several townships and boroughs wherein such works have been or are located.

Free Public Education. - At the session of the Legislature in 1830-31, the first steps were taken towards a general free education of the children of the commonwealth by providing for the levying of a tax to create a school fund. At that time John Lindsay was the representative from Delaware County in the House, and John Kerlin in the Senate. It will be required here to retrace our steps. That Penn's intention before coming to his province was to provide for public instruction is evident from the twelfth article of his frame of government, which declared "that the Governor and Provincial Council shall erect and order all public schools," which declaration is twice repeated by the General Assembly, the last time in 1696. At the second General Assembly, held at Philadelphia March 10, 1683, when Penn personally presided, the general laws, chapter cxii., provided, -

"And to the End that Poor as well as Rich may be instructed in good and Commendable learning, Which is to be preferred before Wealth, Be it, &c., That all persons in this Province and Territories thereof, having Children, and all the Guardians or Trustees of Orphans, shall cause such to be instructed in Reading and writing; so that they may be able to read the Scriptures, and to write by that time they attain to twelve years of age. And that then they be taught some useful trade or skill, that the poor may work to live, and the rich, if they become poor, may not want. Of which every county court shall take care; And in case such parents, guardians, or overseers, shall be found deficient in this respect, every such parent, guardian, or overseer, shall pay for every such Child, five pounds, Except there should appear an incapacity in body or understanding to hinder it."

This law was abrogated by William and Mary in 1693, but in the laws "made and past" in the same year when Benjamin Fletcher was captain-general of Pennsylvania had superseded Penn's authority the law numbered twenty-five was enacted, entitled "The law about education of youth." It presents the foregoing provisions in the same language, except where it applies to guardians and trustees of orphan children, and in these cases those having the care of such minors were required to have them taught to read and write, provided the wards had "sufficient estate and ability so to do."¹ It nowhere appears in our colonial history, so far as I have learned, that public funds