USA > Massachusetts > The journals of each Provincial congress of Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775, and of the Committee of safety, with an appendix, containing the proceedings of the county conventions-narratives of the events of the nineteenth of April, 1775 > Part 14
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The committee on the state of the province reported : which report was read and accepted; and Ordered, That printed copies be sent to the several committees of correspondence, and where there is no such committee, to the selectmen in each town and district in the province; and that the same order be observed relative to the address to the in- habitants of Massachusetts Bay, and that the members of the town of
73
FIRST PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
1774.]
Boston, and the secretary, disperse the same. The report is as follow- eth, viz :
Inasmuch as many states have been taught by fatal experience, that powers delegated by the people for long periods have been abused to the endangering the public rights and liberties, and this Congress hav- ing just reason to suppose that their constituents, the good people of this province, when they appointed their present delegates, were not apprehensive that the business necessary to be done would require their attendance for any long time,
Resolved, That the adjournment of this Congress on the twenty- ninth day of October last, was ordered and made from a due consider- ation of the present exigencies of the public affairs, and the evident necessity of farther deliberation thereon. And, whereas, for the reason first mentioned, it is not expedient that there should be a further ad- journment of this Congress; therefore, Resolved, that after the busi- ness necessary to be immediately despatched shall be finished, the Con- gress be dissolved.
And this Congress being deeply impressed with a sense of the in- creasing dangers which threaten the rights and liberties of the people of this province with total ruin ; our adversaries being still indefatiga- ble in their attempts to carry into execution their deep laid plans for that wicked purpose : and considering the indispensable necessity that an assembly of the province should be very frequently sitting to con- sult and devise || measures|| for their common safety ; therefore Resolv- ed, That it be, and it is hereby earnestly recommended to the several towns and districts in this province, that they each of them do forth- with, elect and depute as many members as to them shall seem necessa- ry and expedient, to represent them in a Provincial Congress, to be held at Cambridge, on the first day of February next ensuing ; to be chosen by such only as are qualified by law to vote for representatives in the general assembly, and to be continued by adjournment, as they shall see cause, until the Tuesday next preceding the last Wednesday of May next, and no longer ; to consult, deliberate and resolve upon such farther measures as, under God, shall be effectual to save this people from impending ruin, and to secure those inestimable liberties derived to us from our ancestors, and which it is our duty to preserve for pos- terity.
And considering the great uncertainty of the present times, and that unexpected important events may take place, from whence it may be ab- solutely necessary that the delegates who may be elected as above propos-
a |means.|
10 .
74
FIRST PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. [Dec. 8, 1774,
ed should meet sooner than the day before mentioned, it is recommend- ed to the several towns and districts, that they instruct and authorize their said delegates, to assemble at Cambridge aforesaid, or any other place, upon notice given them of the necessity thereof, by the dele- gates that may be chosen by the towns of Charlestown, Cambridge, Brookline, Roxbury and Dorchester, or the majority of them, in such way as they shall judge proper.
· And it is further recommended to the delegates to be elected, that they conform themselves to such instructions.
Ordered, That the further consideration of the report of the com- mittee appointed to take into consideration what allowance should be made the delegates who attend the Continental Congress from this province, be referred to the sitting of the next Provincial Congress. -
- The committee appointed to take into consideration a plan of milita- ry exercise, proposed by Capt. Pickering, and also the petition of the . officers of the northwest part of the county of Worcester, reported ; the report was read and accepted.
Ordered, That the expense of transmitting the address to the Cana- dians be paid by this government.
The business necessary to be immediately transacted, being finished, and the Congress having returned their thanks to the Hon. John Han- cock, Esq., for his constant attendance and faithful services as presi- dent during their session, dissolved. ||a||
a ||the same to convene again the first day of February next, conformably to the preceding re- solve.||
JOURNAL
OF THE
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS
OF
Massachusetts,
Convened at Cambridge, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 1775 .- Adjourned Thursday, Feb. 16. Convened at Concord, Tuesday, March 22 .- Adjourned Saturday, April 15. Convened at Concord, Saturday, April 22 .- Adjourned to Watertown. Convened at Watertown, Saturday, April 22 .- Dissolved May 29, 1775.
JOURNAL.
RECORD of the proceedings of a Provincial Congress of deputies of the several towns and districts in the province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, convened at Cambridge, on Wednesday, the first day of February, A. D. 1775; with a list of the persons chosen to represent them in the same.
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK.
Boston .- Hon. Thomas Cushing, Esq., Mr. Samuel Adams, Hon. John Hancock, Esq., Doct. Joseph Warren, Doct. Benjamin Church, Mr. Oliver Wendall, Mr. John Pitts.
Roxbury .- Col. William Heath, Capt. Aaron Davis.
Dorchester .- Capt. Ebenezer Withington.
Milton .- Capt. David Rawson.
Braintree .- Col. Joseph Palmer.
Weymouth .- Mr. Nathaniel Bailey.
Hingham and Cohasset .- Benjamin Lincoln, Esq.
Dedham .- Hon. Samuel Dexter, Esq., Mr. Abner Ellis.
Medfield .- Mr. Moses Bullen.
Wrentham .- Mr. Jabez Fisher, [Mr. Lemuel Kollock, Mr. Samuel Lethbridge.]
Brookline .- Capt. Benjamin White.
Needham .- Capt. Eleazer Kingsbury.
Stoughton .- Mr. Thomas Crane.
Stoughtonham .- Mr. Job Swift.
Medway .- Capt. Jonathan Adams.
Bellingham .- [Mr. Stephen Metcalf.]
Hull .- [None.]
Walpole .- Mr. Enoch Ellis.
Chelsea .- Mr. Samuel Watts.
COUNTY OF ESSEX.
Salem .- Mr. John Pickering, Mr. Richard Manning, [Mr. Jonathan Ropes, Jun.]
Danvers .- Doct. Samuel Holten.
78
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. [Feb. 1,
Ipswich .- Col. Michael Farley.
Newburyport .- Capt. Jonathan Greenleaf, Mr. Stephen Cross, Tris- tram Dalton, Esq.
Newbury .- Joseph Gerrish, Esq.
Marblehead .- Jeremiah Lee, Esq., Col. Azor Orne, Mr. Elbridge Gerry.
Lynn .- Col. John Mansfield.
Andover .- Mr. Samuel Osgood, Jun.
Beverly .- Capt. Josiah Batchelder.
Rowley .- Mr. Nathaniel Mighill.
Salisbury .- Mr. Samuel Smith.
Gloucester .- Capt. Peter Coffin, Mr. Samuel Whittemore.
Topsfield .- Capt. Samuel Smith.
Boxford .- Major Asa Perley.
Amesbury .- Isaac Merrill, Esq.
Bradford .- Col. Daniel Thurston.
Haverhill .- Nathaniel Peaslee Sargent, Esq., Mr. Jonathan Web- ster, Jun.
Wenham .- Mr. Benjamin Fairfield.
Middleton .- Capt. Archelaus Fuller.
Manchester .- [None.]
Methuen .- Mr. John Bodwell.
COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX.
Cambridge .- Col. Thomas Gardner, Mr. Abraham Watson, Jun.
Charlestown .- Mr. Nathaniel Gorham, Mr. Richard Devens, David Cheever, Esq.
Watertown .- Capt. Jonathan Browne.
Woburn .- Mr. Samuel Wyman.
Concord .- Col. James Barrett.
Newton .- Abraham Fuller, Esq , Mr. Edward Durant.
Reading .- Mr. John Temple.
Malborough .- Mr. Peter Bent.
Billerica .- William Stickney, Esq.
Framingham .- Capt. Josiah Stone. Lexington .- Mr. Jonas Stone. Chelmsford .- Mr. Simeon Spaulding.
Sherburne .- Mr. Benjamin Fasset, Mr. Richard Sanger. Sudbury .- Mr. Thomas Plympton. Malden .- Capt. Ebenezer Harnden, Capt. John Dexter. Weston .- Col. Braddyl Smith.
79
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
1775.]
Medford .- Mr. Benjamin Hall, Mr. Stephen Hall, 3d. Littleton .- Mr. Abel Jewett.
Hopkinton .- [None.] Westford .- Capt. Joseph Reed. Waltham .- Jonas Dix, Esq.
Stow .- Henry Gardner, Esq. Groton .- Col. James Prescot.
Shirley .- Capt. Francis Harris.
Pepperel .- Capt. Edmund Bancroft.
Townshend .- Mr. Israel Hobart.
Ashby .- [None.]
Stoneham .- Capt. Samuel Sprague.
Wilmington .- Mr. Timothy Walker.
Natick .- [None.] Dracut .- Mr. Peter Coburn.
Bedford .- John Reed, Esq.
Holliston .- Col. Abner Perry.
Tewkesbury .- Mr. Jonathan Browne.
Dunstable .- John Tyng, Esq., James Tyng, Esq.
Acton .- Mr. Josiah Hayward.
Lincoln .- Major Eleazer Brooks.
COUNTY OF HAMPSHIRE.
Springfield .- Mr. William Pynchon, Jun., [Mr. John Hale, Mr. Moses Field.]
Wilbraham .- Major John Bliss.
West Springfield .- Mr. Jonathan White, Doct. Chauncy Brewer. Northampton .- Hon. Joseph Hawley, Esq., Col. Seth Pomeroy. Southampton .- Major Elias Lyman.
Hadley .- [None.] South Hadley .- Mr. Noah Goodman.
Amherst .- Mr. Nathaniel Dickerson, Jun.
Williamsburgh .- Mr. Russell Kellogg.
Granby .- [None.]
Hatfield .- Mr. John Dickerson, Mr. Perez Graves. Westfield .- Col. John Moseley, Col. Elisha Parks. Deerfield .- [Mr. David Field, Mr. David Welles.] Greenfield .- Mr. Samuel Hinsdale. Shelburne .- [None.]
Conway .- [Mr. Daniel Denham.] Sunderland .- [None.]
80
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. [Feb. 1,
Montague .- [None.]
Northfield .- Mr. Ebenezer Jones.
Brimfield, [South Brimfield and Monson .- Col. Timothy Danielson.] Pelham .- [None.] Greenwich .- [None.] Blanford .- [None.]
Palmer .- [None.] Granville .- [None.]
New Salem .- Mr. William Page, Jun.
Belchertown .- Col. Samuel Howe.
Colrain .- Mr. Thomas Bell.
Ware .- [None.] Warwick .- Capt. Samuel Williams.
Bernardston .- [None.]
Murraysfield .- Capt. Malcom Henry.
Charlemont .- Mr. Samuel Taylor.
Shutesbury .- [None.] Chesterfield .- Mr. Benjamin Mills, Major Ezra May.
Ashfield .- [None.]
Worthington .- [None.]
Ludlow .- Capt. Joseph Miller.
[ Whately .- Mr. Elisha Tracy.]
COUNTY OF PLYMOUTH.
Plymouth .- Hon. James Warren, Esq., Mr. Isaac Lothrop. Scituate .- Nathan Cushing, Esq., Mr. Barnabas Little.
Duxbury .- Mr. George Partridge.
Marshfield .- [Mr. Benjamin White.]
Bridgewater .- Col. Edward Mitchell, Major Richard Perkins.
Middleborough .- Mr. Joshua White.
Rochester .- [None.]
Plympton .- [Deac. Samuel Lucas.]
Pembroke .- Major Jeremiah Hall.
Kingston .- John Thomas, Esq.
Hanover .- Col. Joseph Cushing.
Abington .- Capt. Woodbridge Browne.
Halifax .- Mr. Ebenezer Tomson.
COUNTY OF BARNSTABLE.
Barnstable .- Daniel Davis, Esq.
1775.] SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. 81
Sandwich .- [None.]
Yarmouth .- Capt. Elijah Basset.
Eastham .- Mr. Naaman Holbrook.
Wellfleet .- [None.]
Harwich .- Mr. Benjamin Freeman.
Falmouth .- [None.]
Chatham .- [None.]
Truro .- Mr. Benjamin Atkins.
Provincetown .- [None.]
COUNTY OF BRISTOL.
Taunton .- Robert Treat Paine, Esq.
Rehoboth .- Major Timothy Walker, Capt. Thomas Carpenter.
Swansey .- Jerathmiel Bowers, Esq.
Dighton .- Elnathan Walker, Esq., Doct. William Baylies.
Dartmouth .- Benjamin Aiken, Esq.
Norton and Mansfield .- Capt. William Holmes.
Attleborough .- Col. John Daggett.
Freetown .- Mr. Thomas Durfee.
Raynham .- Mr. Benjamin King. Easton .- Capt. Eliphalet Leonard. Berkley .- [None.]
COUNTY OF YORK.
York .- Capt. Daniel Bragdon.
Kittery .- Edward Cutt, Esq., Charles Chauncy, Esq.
Wells .- Mr. Ebenezer Sayer. Berwick .- Mr. Ichabod Goodwin, Jun. Arundel .- Mr. John Hovey.
Biddeford .- James Sullivan, Esq.
Pepperrellborough .- [None.]
DUKES COUNTY.
Edgarton .- [None.] Chilmark .- [None.] Tisbury .- [None.]
[COUNTY OF] NANTUCKET.
Sherburne .- [None.]
11
82
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. [Feb. 1,
COUNTY OF WORCESTER.
Worcester .- Capt. Timothy Bigelow.
Lancaster .- Col. Asa Whitcomb, Doct. William Dunsmore.
Mendon .- Doct. William Jennison, Mr. Edward Rawson.
Woodstock .- [None.] Brookfield .- Jedediah Foster, Esq.
Oxford .- Col. Ebenezer Learned.
Charlton .- Capt. Jonathan Tucker.
Sutton .- Capt. Henry King, Mr. Amos Singletary. .
Leicester and Spencer .- Col. Joseph Henshaw.
Paxton .- [None.] Rutland .- Mr. Jonas Howe.
Hutchinson .- Mr. John Mason.
Oakham .- Capt. Isaac Stone.
Hubbardston .- Capt. John Clark.
New Braintree .- Capt. James Wood.
Southborough .- Capt. Josiah Fay.
Westborough .- Capt. Stephen Maynard, Doct. James Hawse.
Northborough .- Mr. Levi Brigham.
Shrewsbury .- Hon. Artemas Ward, Esq.
Lunenburgh .- Doct. John Taylor.
Fitchburgh .- Capt. David Goodridge.
Uxbridge .- Mr. Benjamin Green.
Harvard .- Mr. Oliver Whitney.
Dudley .- [None.]
Bolton .- Capt. Samuel Baker.
Upton .- Mr. Abiel Sadler.
Sturbridge .- Capt. Timothy Parker.
Leominster .- Mr. Israel Nichols.
Hardwick .- Col. Paul Mandel.
Holden .- Mr. John Child.
Douglas .- Mr. Samuel Jennison.
Grafton .- Mr. John Sherman.
Petersham .- Col. Jonathan Grout.
Royalston .- Mr. Nahum Green. Westminster .- Mr. Nathan Wood.
Athol .- Mr. William Bigelow.
Templeton .- Mr. Jonathan Baldwin. Princeton .--- Mr. Moses Gill. Ashburnham .- [None.]
Winchendon .- [None.]
Western .- Simeon Dwight, Esq.
83
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
1775.]
COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND.
Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth .- Mr. Samuel Freeman.
North Yarmouth .- [None.]
Scarborough .- Mr. Samuel March.
Brunswick and Harpswell .- Col. Samuel Thompson.
Gorham .- Capt. Bryant Morton.
Windham-[None.]
Persontown .- [None.]
COUNTY OF LINCOLN.
Pownalsborough .- [None.]
Georgetown .- Capt. Samuel McCobb.
Newcastle .- [None.]
Topsham .- Mr. John Merril.
Bowdoinham .- Capt. Samuel Harnden.
Woolwich .- [None.]
Gardnerston .- Mr. Joseph North.
Vassalborough .- Mr. Remington Hobby.
Hallowell .- [None.]
Winslow .- [None.]
Winthrop .- Mr. Ichabod How.
COUNTY OF BERKSHIRE.
Sheffield and Great Barrington .- Col. John Fellows.
Egremont and Alford .- Doct. William Whiting.
Stockbridge .- Mr. Samuel Browne.
New Malborough .- Doct. Ephraim Guiteau.
Richmond .- Capt. Elijah Browne.
Lenox .- John Paterson, Esq.
Pittsfield and Partridgefield .- John Browne, Esq.
Tyringham .- [None.]
Lanesborough .- [None.]
Sandisfield .- Mr. David Deming.
Williamstown .- Mr. Samuel Kellog.
Becket .- [None.]
Gageborough .- Capt. William Clark.
Moved, That a president be appointed.
Ordered, That Doct. Holten, Mr. Cushing, and Doct. Baylies be a committee to count and sort the votes for a president. The Congress then proceeded to bring in their votes for a president; and the com-
84
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
[Feb. 2,
mittee having counted the same, reported that the Hon. John Hancock, Esq. was unanimously chosen.
Benjamin Lincoln was appointed secretary.
Ordered, That Hon. John Hancock, Esq., Major Hawley, Hon. Mr. Cushing, [of Boston,] Mr. Adams, Col. Warren, Mr. Paine, Mr. Pitts, Doct. Holten, Col. Heath, Col. Gerrish, Mr. Cushing of Scituate, Hon. Col. Ward, and Col. Gardner, be a committee to take into con- sideration the state and circumstances of the province.
Adjourned till ten o'clock to-morrow morning. -
THURSDAY, February 2, 1775, A. M.
Ordered, That Col. Lee, Col. Orne, Col. Palmer, Mr. Gerry, Col. Foster, and Col. Bowers, be joined to the committee on the state of the province.
Ordered, That Col. Gardner, Col. Palmer, and Mr. Watson, be a committee to wait on the Rev. Doct. Appleton, and desire his attend- ance on this Congress, and [that he would] officiate as |their|| chaplain during the session thereof.
The committee appointed to wait on the Rev. Doct. Appleton and desire that he would officiate as chaplain to this Congress, reported that they had attended that service, and that the Doctor would officiate as chaplain agreeably to the desire of this Congress.
Ordered, That Mr. Aiken, Col. Gerrish, Major Fuller, and Doct. Holten, be monitors to this Congress.
Ordered, That, in returning the Congress, the monitors observe the following divisions, viz : That the pews on the right of the desk be one division ; on the left, another ; the men's body seats, and the pews adjoining, a third ; the women's body seats, and the pews adjoining, the other.
Then adjourned to three o'clock in the afternoon.
Afternoon.
Met and adjourned till to-morrow morning, ten o'clock.
FRIDAY, [a] February 3, 1775, A. M.
Ordered, That Mr. Pickering, Capt. Greenleaf, and Mr. Lothrop, be a committee to inspect the journals of the last Congress, and ||bextract|| therefrom what relates to the public taxes and the militia, and cause the same to be printed in a pamphlet, and a copy thereof to be sent to each town and district in the province.
a [morning.]
b ||abstract.{|
85
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
1775.]
A || vote|| from the committee of correspondence for the town of Boston and other committees from a large number of towns in the vi- cinity thereof, setting forth that several inhabitants of the town of Bos- ton and several other towns in this province, are constantly employed in diverse kinds of works for the army now in Boston, and in supply- ing them with lumber, &c., and every other article of field equipage, to qualify them to take the field in the spring, &c .;
Read, and Ordered, that Col. Prescot, Capt. Carpenter, Col. Cushing, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Partridge, Col. Thomas, and Doct. Taylor, be a com- mittee to take the said vote into consideration and report thereon.
Then Congress adjourned till to-morrow morning ten o'clock.
SATURDAY, February 4, 1775, A. M.
Resolved, That all the debates and resolutions of this Congress be kept as an entire secret, unless ||their|| special leave be first |'had | for disclosing the same.
Resolved, That the vote of yesterday, relative to publishing in a pamplılet some of the doings of the late Provincial Congress, be re- considered, so far as it relates to publishing the resolve respecting the militia,
Ordered, That Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Partridge, Daniel Davis, Esq., and Mr. Sayer, be added to the committee appointed to publish in a pamph- let some of the doings of the late Congress, and that the same com- mittee prepare an address to the inhabitants of this province, recom- mending to them immediately to pay all their province tax to Henry Gardner, Esq., and to carry the resolves of the late Congress relative to the militia into execution.
Upon a motion Ordered, that the secretary be directed to write to Col. Roberson, desiring him to deliver the four brass field pieces, and the two brass mortars now in his hands, the property of the province, to the order of the committee of safety.
The committee appointed to take into consideration the vote from the committee of correspondence of the town of Boston and others in the vicinity, &c., reported; the consideration of the report referred till to-morrow morning, ten o'clock.
||Then the Congress|| adjourned till next Monday morning, ten o'clock.
MONDAY, February 6, 1775, A. M.
Order of the day moved for.
The report of the committee on the vote from the committee of a ||resolve.||
b flobtained. ||
86
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
[Feb. 7,
correspondence of the town of Boston, &c., read ; after some debate thereon, Ordered, that it be recommitted for amendments.
Resolved, That the Hon. John Hancock, and Thomas Cushing, Esq., Mr. Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Esq., appoint- ed by the late Provincial Congress, to represent this colony, on the 10th of May next, or sooner if necessary, at the American Congress to be held at Philadelphia, be, and they hereby are authorized and em- powered, with the delegates from the other American Colonies, to ad- journ from time to time, and place to place, as they shall judge neces- sary ; and to continue in being as delegates for this colony, until the thirty-first day of December next ensuing, and no longer.
A petition of Abijah Browne and others, setting forth the irregular- ity of the choice of Jonas Dix, Esq., to represent the town of Wal- tham in this Congress, with a counter petition signed by Leonard Wil- liams and others, were read : whereupon, it was Resolved, that in case the averments in Browne's petition mentioned [ªwere] true, [they] are not sufficient to disqualify Jonas Dix, Esq., member from Waltham, from having a seat in this Congress.
A petition of John Sawyer and others of Rowley, in the county of Essex, setting forth that they have raised a troop of horse, praying the aid of this Congress that they may be established, &c., [was] read and committed to Mr. Sullivan, Col. Grout, and Major Fuller, to consider of and report thereon.
Afternoon.
Resolved, That the secretary have power to adjourn this Congress in the absence of the president.
||Then the Congress|| was adjourned till to-morrow morning, ten o'clock.
TUESDAY, February 7, 1775, A. M.
The committee on the vote of the committee of correspondence of the town of Boston and others, having amended their report, again re- ported, which was considered and accepted, and is as followeth :
Whereas, it appears to this Congress, that certain persons are em- ployed in diverse kinds of works for the army now stationed in Boston, for the purpose of carrying into execution the late acts of parliament, and in supplying them with iron for waggons, canvas, tent poles, and other articles of field equipage, whereby said army may be enabled to take the field and distress the inhabitants of this country,
Therefore, Resolved, as the opinion of this Congress, and it is ac- cordingly strongly recommended to the inhabitants of the several towns
a [if. ]
87
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.
1775.]
and districts of this province, that, should any person or persons pre- sume to supply the troops now stationed at Boston or elsewhere in said province, with timber, boards, spars, pickets, tentpoles, canvas, bricks, iron, waggons, carts, carriages, entrenching tools, or any materials for making any of the carriages or implements aforesaid ; with horses or oxen for draught ; or any other materials whatever, which may enable them to annoy, or in any manner distress said inhabitants, he or they ||so offending|| shall be held in the highest detestation, and deemed in- veterate enemies to America, and ought to be prevented and opposed by all reasonable means whatever.
And whereas, it appears to this Congress, that large quantities of straw will be wanted by the inhabitants of this province, in case we should be driven to the hard necessity of taking up arms in our own defence, therefore, Resolved, That no person or persons ought to sell or dispose of any straw, which he or they may have on hand, except to the inhabitants of this province for their own private use, or the use of said province.
And it is strongly recommended by this Congress, to the committees of correspondence and inspection in the several towns and districts in this province to see that the above resolves be strictly and faithfully adhered to, till otherwise ordered by this or some other Provincial Con- gress, or house of representatives.
Ordered, That the above resolves be published in all the newspapers in this province, and that [ªthey] be attested by the secretary.
Ordered, That Mr. Fisher, Doct. Church, Mr. Bailey, Doct. War- ren, and Col. Thomas, be a committee to take into consideration the . account of the late delegates from this province who attended the Con- tinental Congress, and report what they be allowed for their expenses, and for their time while absent on the business of the province ; and also [to] devise some method how the money shall be procured to dis- charge the same ; and also how the money shall be procured to enable our present delegates appointed to attend the American Congress to re- fund their expenses.
The committee appointed to draught an address to the inhabitants of this province, accompanying the resolve which is ordered to be pub- lished relative to the province taxes being paid to Henry Gardner, Esq., reported ; read and considered in paragraphs; Ordered to be re- committed for amendments, and that Doct. Church, and Doct. Warren, be added to the committee.
||Then the Congress|| adjourned till three o'clock, P. M.
a [it.]
88
SECOND PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. [Feb. S,
Afternoon.
In consideration of the coldness of the season, and that the Con- gress sit in a house without fire, Resolved, That all those members who incline thereto may sit with their hats on while in Congress.
The committee on the state of the province reported an addition to the report of the late Provincial Congress, relative to the power of the committee of safety, and general officers ; after some debate thereon it was referred for farther consideration till to-morrow morning, ten o'clock.
Resolved, That at ten o'clock to-morrow morning, the Congress will come to the choice of some person to serve on the committee of safe- ty, instead of Norton Quincy, Esq., who declined accepting that trust.
||Then the Congress|| adjourned till to-morrow morning, nine o'clock.
WEDNESDAY, February 8, 1775, A. M.
The committee appointed to prepare an address to the inhabitants . of this province, having amended, again reported the same ; after some consideration thereon, it was ordered to be recommitted for further amendments.
Upon a motion made by Mr. Hall, that he might be excused from serving any longer on the committee of supplies, in consideration of his ill state of health, the question was put whether he be excused for the reason mentioned, and passed in the affirmative.
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