CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS

       1735 - 1753

      CVII. TO WILLIAM SMITH

      Philadelphia, 27 November, 1753.

      Dear Sir:—

      Having written to you fully, via Bristol, I have now little to add. Matters relating to the Academy remain in statu quo. The trustees would be glad to see a rector established there, but they dread entering into new engagements till they are got out of debt; and I have not yet got them wholly over to my opinion, that a good professor or teacher of the higher branches of learning would draw so many scholars as to pay great part, if not the whole, of his salary. Thus, unless the Proprietors of the province shall think fit to put the finishing hand to our institution, it must, I fear, wait some few years longer before it can arrive at that state of perfection which to me it seems now capable of; and all the pleasure I promised myself in seeing you settled among us vanishes into smoke. But good Mr. Collinson writes me word that no endeavours of his shall be wanting; and he hopes, with the Archbishop’s assistance, to be able to prevail with our Proprietors. ^{Ref. 002} I pray God grant them success. My son presents his affectionate regards, with, dear Sir, yours, &c.,

       B. Franklin.

      CVIII. TO CADWALLADER COLDEN

      Philadelphia, 6 December, 1753.

      Dear Sir:—

      I received your favor of the 19th past, with some remarks on my meteorological paper, for which I thank you and return some observations on those remarks, hoping by this friendly intercourse of sentiments and objections some advantage will arise, to the increase of true knowledge.

      I sent you our treaty some time since. You will find very little in it; but I have hopes it will introduce a regulation of our Indian trade, by the government taking it in hand and furnishing the Indians with goods at the cheapest rate without aiming at profit, as is done by Massachusetts; by which means I think we must vastly undersell the French, and thereby attach the Indians more firmly to the British interest.

      Mr. Collinson certainly received your answer to Kastner. I think one of his letters to me mentions it.

      I send you herewith a copy of my paper on the Increase of Mankind; the only one I have, so must request you to return it. That on the Air, &c., is what you have already seen. The third mentioned to you by Mr. Collinson concerning the Germans, is scarcely worth sending. It will contain nothing new to you.

      I congratulate you on Lord Halifax’s approbation of your conduct in public affairs. From such a man the honor is great, and the satisfaction; but the approbation of your own mind is something more valuable in itself, and it is what I doubt not you will always enjoy.

      I should like to see Pike’s book some time or other, when you can conveniently send it. With great respect and esteem, I am, Sir, &c.,

       B. Franklin.

      CIX. TO JAMES BOWDOIN

      Philadelphia, 13 December, 1753.

      Dear Sir:—

      I received your favor of the 12th ultimo, with the law of your province for regulating the Indian trade, for which I thank you, and for the remarks that accompany it, which clearly evince the usefulness of the law, and I hope will be sufficient to induce our Assembly to follow your example.

      I have yet received no particulars of the unhappy gentleman’s death at Petersburg, (whose fate I lament). One of the papers says that all the letters from thence confirm the account, and mentions his name (Professor Richmann), but nothing farther. No doubt we shall have a minute account of the accident with all its circumstances, in some of the magazines or the Transactions of the Royal Society. ^{Ref. 003}

      The observation you made of the sea water emitting more and less light in different tracts passed through by your boat is new, and your