From the beginning, Quakers especially had
been looked upon with an intolerance, strange
in view of the peacefulness of the doctrines of
the sect. In early Virginia history we find it
set down as a crime against a citizen that he
had shown himself "very loveing" to Quakers;
and again we read of a court of life and death
consisting of the Governor of the Province and
any three of the sixteen councillors, "whereat
are tried Quakers and non-conformists."

All this actual persecution was a thing of the
past long before John Payne came to the reso-
lution of quitting Virginia. In 1717 the King
repealed the law prohibiting the assemblage of
Quakers, and the famous Bill of Rights which
Madison helped to frame, distinctly declared
that "religion, or the duty we owe to our Crea-
tor, and the manner of discharging it, can be
directed only by reason and conviction: not by
force or violence; and, therefore, all men are
equally entitled to the free exercise of religion
according to the dictates of conscience."

There is a wide gulf between toleration and
sympathy, however, and it was quite natural that
John Payne should look longingly to the com-
panionship of his spiritual kindred who dwelt
on the banks of the Schuylkill and the Delaware.
He desired, moreover, educational advantages
for his children greater than the plantation life

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