"for every man to take his arms into the field with him when he went to his plough..."

"There was a vast difference between the right of the citizen to bear arms, and dragging them through streets, or across fields, some with and some without arms, merely to render themselves ridiculous. The man is no better fitted to use his arms after he has performed service in the militia trainings, than he was before he attended them; and if there had been no others at Plattsburg and Baltimore, than those who had received these militia trainings, the enemy had less to apprehend from the use of those arms, than those who held them. There was a great difference between the present time, and the period when the Constitution of the United States and of this State were adopted. It may be well enough for the citizens of the southern and western States to keep and bear arms. It was necessary in this State at one time for every man to take his arms into the field with him when he went to his plough, but what citizen would think of doing this now?"--Mr. Charles Brown, delegate from Philadelphia county, PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONVENTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, COMMENCED AT HARRISBURG MAY 2 1837 VOL. IV. Reported by JOHN AGG, Stenographer: Assisted By Messrs. Wheeler, Kingman, Draks, and McKinley. HARRISBURG: PRINTED BY PACKER, BARRETT, And PARKE. 1838. Pg. 131]