. The Pennsylvania-German Society : [Publications]. usly driven a very profit-able trade in Redemptioners, andwho saw in the passage of the pro-posed act an end to their iniquitousbut profitable traffic; but it was en-acted into a law despite their pro-tests. Governor John Penn, how-ever, refused to sign the act becauseit was presented to him on the lastday of the session. It has been sus-pected that his principal reason was that he was unwillingto give offense to his many influential English friendswhose revenues it was certain would be interfered with. But the German Society meant business a
. The Pennsylvania-German Society : [Publications]. usly driven a very profit-able trade in Redemptioners, andwho saw in the passage of the pro-posed act an end to their iniquitousbut profitable traffic; but it was en-acted into a law despite their pro-tests. Governor John Penn, how-ever, refused to sign the act becauseit was presented to him on the lastday of the session. It has been sus-pected that his principal reason was that he was unwillingto give offense to his many influential English friendswhose revenues it was certain would be interfered with. But the German Society meant business and was not tobe turned down by a single rebuff, from whatever the following summer another bill was broughtforward, modifying the former one in some one was also passed and this time the Governors sig-nature was added, May 18, 1765. All immigrants whohad complaints to make were invited to present them to theSociety, which in turn became the champion of these op-pressed people. In 1785 it succeeded in procuring legis-. SEAL OF THE GERMANSOCIETY OF PENN-SYLVANIA. 2 64 Th e Pen nsylvan ia- German So ciety. lation providing for the establishment of a Bureau of Reg-istration, and the appointment of an official who couldspeak both the German and English languages. Previ-ously the newcomers had been haled before the Mayorsof the city, to take the necessary oaths ; yet Seidenstickertells us that from 1700 to 1S00 there were only two Mayorsof Philadelphia who could speak the German a time, this active and unceasing energy put an end tothe most serious complaints, but later they again came tothe front, and in 1S18 still another act, and a more strictand exacting one, was passed, after which these long-con-tinued wrongs finally disappeared. The Society was of much assistance in a financial wayto the needy immigrants, aiding thousands to better theircondition, and on the whole did an untold amount of solicited outside contributions but mo
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Keywords: ., bookauthorpe, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectgermans
