BARNSTABLE, Daniel Davis, Esquire; BRISTOL, Major Keith; YORK, Mr. Sullivan; WORCESTER, Captain Bigelow; CUMBERLAND, Mr. March; BERKSHIRE, Doctor Whiting; LINCOLN, Captain Thompson; DUKES County, Joseph Mayhew, Esquire.

The Committee on the State of the Province reported: which 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 of each Town and District in the Province; and that the same order be observed relative to the Address to the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay, and that the Members of the Town of Boston, and the Secretary disperse the same. And is as followeth, 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 publick rights and liberties, and this Congress having 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 consideration of the present exigencies of the publick 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 farther adjournment of this Congress; therefore Resolved, That at after the business necessary to be immediately despatched shall be finished, the Congress be dissolved.

And this Congress being deeply impressed with a sense of the increasing danger which threatens the Rights and Liberties of the People of this Province with total ruin; our adversaries being still indefatigable 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 consult and devise means for their common safety; therefore Resolved, That it be, and it is hereby earnestly recommended to the several Towns and Districts in this Province, that they each of them do forthwith elect and depute as many Members as to them shall seem necessary 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 Representative in the General Assembly, and 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 posterity.

And considering the great uncertainty of the present times, and that unexpected important events may take place, from whence it may absolutely be necessary the Delegates who may be elected as above proposed should meet sooner than the day before mentioned, it is recommended 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 Delegates 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 Committee 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 Military Exercise, proposed by Captain 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 Canadians be paid by this Government.

The business necessary to be immediately transacted, being finished, and the Congress having returned their Thanks to the Honourable John Hancock, Esq., for his constant attendance and faithful services as President during their session, dissolved the same, to convene again the first day of February next, conformably to the preceding Resolve.

Chesterfield Court House, Virginia, November 25, 1774.

Proper notice having been given, requesting the Freeholders of the County to meet here on this day, in order to choose a Committee for the said County, a great number assembled and made choice of the following gentlemen, viz: Archibald Gary, Benjamin Watkins, Bernard Markham, Robert Goode, Francis Goode, Daniel M'Callum, Thomas Randolph, Robert Donald, James Donald, Robert Kennon, George Robinson, John Archer, Abraham Sally, Joseph Bass, Benjamin Branch, Thomas Boiling, Neil Buchanan, Thomas Worsham, Field Trent, Alexander Trent, John Bott.

A majority of the Committee being present, appointed Archibald Cary, Esquire, their Chairman.

The Committee then ordered that notice should be given in the publick Papers, requesting that any matters relating to the Association, and which came before the said Committee, might be directed to Archibald Cary, Esq., or, in his absence, to Mr. Thomas Randolph.

Ordered, That the Chairman, or, in his absence, Mr. Thomas Randolph, do appoint a time and place for the Committee to convene themselves, as occasion may require.

Ordered, That Jerman Baker be wrote to by Mr. Chairman, requesting the favour of him to act as Clerk to the said Committee, and then the Committee adjourned.

ARCHIBALD CARY, Chairman.

JAMES CITY COUNTY (VIRGINIA) COMMITTEE.

At a General Meeting of the Freeholders of James City County, convened on Friday, the 25th of November, at the house of Mr. Isham Allen, in order to elect a Committee pursuant to a Resolution of the American Continental Congress:—

The Association entered into by the Congress, being publickly read, the freeholders and other inhabitants of the County, that they might testify to the world their concurrence and hearty approbation of the measures adopted by that respectable body, very cordially acceded thereto, and did bind and oblige themselves, by the sacred ties of virtue, honour, and love to their country, strictly and inviolably to observe and keep the same in every particular.

The better to secure a due observance of the Association, the freeholders then proceeded to the choice of a Committee, and elected into that office the following gentlemen, viz: Robert Carter Nicholas, Esq., Mr. William Norvill, Colonel Philip Johnson, Major Dudley Richardson, Mr. William Spratley, Colonel Richard Taliaferro, Mr. John Cooper, Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, Mr. Lewis Burwell, Jun., Mr. Champion Travis, Mr. Joseph Eggleston, Major Thurston James, Mr. John Stringer, Captain Charles Barham, Captain Richardson Henley, Mr. Thomas Cowles, Captain John Walker, Mr. Hudson Allen, Mr. Cary Wilkinson, Mr. Edward Harris, Mr. John Harris, Mr. William Barret, Mr. John Warburton, Mr. Sylvanus Prince, Mr. Robert Higginson, Mr. William Haukin, Captain John Lightfoot, and Mr. Thomas Doncastle.

Robert Carter Nicholas, Esq., was unanimously chosen Chairman, and Mr. John Nicholas, Jun., Clerk of the Committee.

It was agreed that the Resolutions of the General Congress should be resorted to on every occasion of difficulty, and that those Resolutions ought to be considered by the Committee and the whole country, as the sole rule of their conduct, in all matters respecting their present political engagements.

Published by order of the General Meeting,

JOHN NICHOLAS, Jun., Clerk Com. J. C. C.