with a sufficient guard, to the town of Concord, in the county of Middlesex, and committed to the common jail, there to remain until the further orders of the Congress, or house of representatives of this colony. Resolved, That the keeper of the jail in the county of Middlesex be directed to receive Messrs. Jones and Hicks, who were taken prisoners from the sloop Polly, at Arundel, and keep them in safe custody till further order, and provide them necessaries for their subsistence whilst in jail, and that the committee of correspondence for the town of Watertown, be directed to see that the resolves of Congress, respecting the said Jones and Hicks be forthwith carried into execution, and to take such guards as they think necessary for that purpose.

Ordered, That the Hon. Mr. Sever, Col. Otis and Mr. Davis, be added to the committee, who were appointed to consider the expediency of establishing a number of armed vessels for the protection of the

sea coasts.

Ordered, That Major Hawley, Capt. Stone, of Framingham, Col. Parks, Hon. Mr. Sever, Mr. Johnson, Hon. Mr. Spooner and Deacon Plympton, be a committee to take into consideration the artificers which may be necessary for the army in the pay of this colony, and that they report, as soon as may be, in what way such artificers shall be established, the numbers wanted for the army at Cambridge and Roxbury of each kind, and the sum that is proper to be allowed them per month.

Ordered, That Mr. Whittemore, Capt. Dwight and Mr. Kollock, be a committee to bring in a resolve for the appointment of a number of armorers for the Massachusetts army, and for the establishment of their pay.

The resolve for establishing an allowance of provisions for the soldiers was again read, and accepted: and ordered to be printed in hand bills, and is as follows, viz.:

The committee appointed to make an establishment for the allowance for provisions for the soldiers of the Massachusetts army, beg leave to report the following resolve, viz. :

Resolved, That each soldier in the Massachusetts army shall have the following allowance per day, viz. :

1st. One pound of bread: 2d. Half a pound of beef and half a pound of pork; and if pork cannot be had, one pound and a quarter of beef; and one day in seven they shall have one pound and one quarter of salt fish, instead of one day's allowance of meat: 3d. One pint of milk, or, if milk cannot be had, one gill of rice: 4th. One quart of good spruce or malt beer: 5th. One gill of peas or beans, or

other sauce equivalent : 6th. Six ounces of good butter per week: 7th. One pound of good common soap for six men per week: 8th. Half a pint of vinegar per week per man, if it can be had.

The committee appointed to inquire into the state of the army, reported, that, in order to execute their commission, it is necessary that they should be furnished with a copy of all recommendations for commissions, sent to this Congress by the committee of safety, and a list of all officers commissioned by the Congress, and asked leave to sit again. The report was accepted.

Ordered, That Mr. Sayer, Mr. Edwards and Major Fuller, be a committee to consider the proposal of the Hon. General Ward, respecting furloughs for the soldiers, and report.

Afternoon.

The petition of a number of the freeholders of Williamsburg1 [was] read, and committed to Mr. Hale, Mr. Lyman and Col. Danielson. The petition of Davis & Coverly2 [was] read, and committed to Mr. Fairbanks, Mr. Webster and Col. Sawyer.

Monday next, three o'clock, P. M., was assigned to make choice of three delegates to meet those that may be sent from the other New England colonies.

The choice of two major generals [was] referred to Monday, five o'clock, P. M.

Hon. Col. Warren, Hon. Mr. Spooner, Doct. Taylor, Capt. Stone, Mr. Edwards, Col. Cobb, Col. Thompson, were appointed a committee to consider the expediency of establishing a number of armed vessels.

SUNDAY, June 11, 1775.

[The Congress] met at eight o'clock, and adjourned to half past three, P. M.

Resolved, That the Hon. Major Hawley, Hon. Mr. Spooner, Hon. Col. Warren and Hon. Col. Foster, have leave to offer, for the consideration of this Congress, an address which they have prepared for the Continental Congress. The same being read and amended, was accepted, and ordered to be transcribed, and signed by the Hon. Major Hawley as vice president, and sent immediately, by express, to Philadelphia; and that the committee of supplies be desired to procure some person to carry it. It is as follows, viz. :

(1) Letters from the town clerk and other inhabitants of Williamsburg declare that the meeting held for election of a member of the Congress was illegal, but assign no specific informalities.

(2) The petitioners asked leave to exchange a quantity of goods owned by them in Boston, for similar merchandise in Marlborough, the property of a merchant residing in the former town.

May it please your honors:

The situation of any colony, or people, perhaps was never before such as made it more necessary for fully exercising the powers of civil government, than the present state and situation of the colony of the Massachusetts Bay. The embarrassments, delays, disappointments and obstructions, in executing every undertaking necessary for the preservation of our lives, and much more of our property, are so great and many, as that they cannot be represented, or enumerated: and that is chiefly to be attributed to our want of a settled civil polity or government: besides, every thing necessary for the abovesaid most important purposes, which is in some degree effected, is done in the most expensive manner in short, although the times we are fallen into, and the prospects before us, are such as require the utmost economy, yet, nothing of the kind can be preserved in our present state.

There are, in many parts of this colony, alarming symptoms of the abatement of the sense, in the minds of some people, of the sacredness of private property, which is plainly assignable to the want of civil government; and your honors must be fully sensible, that a community of goods and estate, will soon be followed with the utter waste and destruction of the goods themselves; besides, the necessity of civil government appears more and more apparent from the extreme difficulty of maintaining the public peace without it; although we can truly say, much fewer enormities and breaches of the peace have happened among us, than it was natural to expect, from the contemplation of such a state as we have been cast into.

May it please your honors: The pressing weight of our distresses has necessitated the sending a special post to obtain your immediate advice upon this subject; and we do most earnestly entreat, that you would, as soon as possible, despatch the messenger with such advice.

Our former application to you, of the 16th of May last, has rendered it unnecessary that we should further enlarge upon this subject; and, to prevent repetition, we beg leave to refer you to our letter of that date.

The army under the command of general Gage, we estimate to amount, at least, to 5000 men, well appointed, under the command of generals of character and experience, and prepared with every thing necessary for action, exclusive of the additional strength derived from negroes, which the general has taken into his service, and disaffected Americans. We have great reason to apprehend, that a reenforcement of at least eight regiments of foot and one of horse may be hourly expected. We enclose a copy of an intercepted letter from Major Sher

riff, which exhibits to you one ground of this apprehension. We have had under our consideration, the propriety and necessity of augmenting our army, notwithstanding our great embarrassment, and though we have not yet adopted it, nothing, perhaps, but the more ample provision of the neighboring colonies, will relieve that necessity.

The depredations and piracies frequently committed on our sea coasts, and the little trade which remains to us, whereby, among other capital articles, the importation of ammunition and provisions is almost totally obstructed, and threatens our ruin; have also occasioned our contemplating steps to prevent those inconveniences, by ["fitting] out a number of armed vessels, with sufficient strength to encounter their small though numerous cutters.

We shall only add, that, as the seat of war, with all its attendant distresses, have, for the present, taken their principal residence here, we should consider it as a happy event, if you should think proper to adjourn to some part of the continent not so far distant, that the advice and aid of the ['Continental Congress] may be more expeditiously afforded upon any emergency.

Adjourned to Monday morning, eight o'clock.

MONDAY, June 12, 1775.

Ordered, That Mr. Wheeler, Deacon Baker and Mr. Webster, be a committee to consider some measures for preventing the violation of the sabbath, and to bring in a resolve for this purpose.

Resolved, That five o'clock in the afternoon, be assigned for the consideration of the report of the committee, who were appointed to bring in a resolve for giving a free currency to the bills of credit of this and the other colonies.

Ordered, That the Hon. Mr. Spooner, Hon. Col. Gerrish and Doct. Whiting, be a committee to consider the petition from the committee at Charlestown, and report.

Resolved, That the secretary have liberty to procure such assistance, from time to time, as he shall think necessary.

(1) The letter of Major William Sherriff, deputy quarter master general, was dated at Boston, May 29, 1775, and addressed to Thomas Williams, Esq., keeper of the king's ordnance at Annapolis, in Nova Scotia. The writer speaks of the profits and rewards the people of the eastern province might receive, if they would collect forage and provisions for the royal army in Massachusetts. "On the other hand," he says, " if they give themselves airs, and follow the example of these mad men, they will consider how easily government can chastise them, and they may rely upon it they will, and that immediately too: but I hope they will consider their interest better, and make all the money they can".... "We are in the same situation, as when I wrote you last, except the addition of twelve hundred troops lately arrived from England. The regiment of horse, and eight other regiments are hourly expected, when I hope you will hear better accounts from us.'

Resolved, That two persons be appointed to repair to the fortress of Ticonderoga, to examine into the state of that fortress, and of affairs there, and to act in such a manner as they shall be directed by this Congress, and that four o'clock in the afternoon be assigned for the choice of such persons, by ballot, and that the Hon. Major Hawley, Hon. Col. Warren and Mr. Sullivan, be a committee to prepare in structions for such delegates.

The committee who were appointed to consider the expediency of establishing a number of armed vessels, reported: the consideration of the report was put off to ten o'clock to-morrow morning.

Hon. Mr. Dexter, one of the committee who were appointed to prepare letters to the Continental Congress, New York and the New England governments, being absent, Ordered, that the Hon.. Mr. Spooner be appointed in his room.

Ordered, That Mr. Sayer be directed forthwith to fill up and deliver commissions to the officers of Col. Whitcomb's regiment.

Ordered, [That] Mr. ["Holten], Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Colvill, committee to consider the petition of Mr. Ebenezer Prout.

be a

Ordered, That Doct. Whiting, Doct. Taylor and Mr. Parks, be a committee to consider some method of supplying the several surgeons of the army with medicines.

The committee appointed to prepare a letter to the Continental Congress, &c., reported the following, which was accepted, viz. :

May it please your honors:

The views of administration having been made evident, by their conduct for some years past, and the late regulations of civil and ecclesiastical polity of Quebec having clearly discovered an intention to make use of the Canadians as engines to reduce this continent to slavery, it has been found absolutely necessary for the preservation of the liberties of America, to take possession of the important pass of Ticonderoga, and to send forward a sufficient force to hold the same against any attempt which may be made to retake it, and to prevent general Carlton from sending forces by the way of the lakes to annoy and distress the frontiers; but, as we apprehend, there never has been any intention to give the least disturbance to our brethren of Canada, to whom we most sincerely wish the full and free enjoyment of their civil and religious rights. We humbly request, that your honors would take such steps, to prevent any false impressions, which our enemies may attempt to make on their minds concerning our designs, or to remove any such

a [Folten.]