the twentieth of September next, then and there to deliberate upon the present state of British America, and to take such measures as they may deem prudent, to effect the purpose of describing with certainty the rights of Americans; repairing the breaches made in those rights, and for guarding them for the future from any such violations done under the sanction of publick authority.

Resolved, That William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Caswell, Esquires, and every of them, be Deputies to attend such Congress, and they are hereby invested with such powers as may make any acts done by them, or consent given in behalf of this Province, obligatory in honour upon every inhabitant hereof, who is not an alien to his country's good, and an apostate to the liberties of America.

The above being read and approved, the Deputies took their seats.

Henry Wisner, a Delegate from the County of Orange, in the Colony of New-York, appeared at Congress, and produced a certificate of his election by the said County, which, being read and approved, he took his seat in Congress as a Deputy for the Colony of New-York.

George Ross, Esquire, one of the Delegates for the Province of Pennsylvania, and John Alsop, Esquire, one of the Delegates for the Colony of New-York, appeared and took their seats in Congress.

Ordered, That William Hooper and Joseph Hewes, Esquires, from North Carolina, be added to the Committee appointed to state the rights of the Colonies.

Ordered, That William Hooper, Esquire, be one of the Committee appointed to report the Statutes which affect the Trade, &c, of the Colonies.

The Delegates from the Province of Massachusetts Say, agreeable to a request from the Joint Committees of every Town and District in the County of Middlesex, in the said Province, communicated to the Congress the Proceedings of those Committees at Concord, on the 30th and 31st days of August last, which were read.

Adjourned till to-morrow at nine o'clock.

No business being prepared, the Congress was adjourned from day to day, till Saturday morning at nine o'clock.

Saturday, September 17, 1774, A. M.

The Congress met according to adjournment.

Richard Caswell, Esquire, one of the Deputies from North Carolina, appeared and took his seat in Congress.

The Resolutions entered into by the Delegates from the several Towns and Districts in the County of Suffolk, in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, on Tuesday, the 6th instant, and their Address to his Excellency Governour Gage, dated the 9th instant, were laid before the Congress, and are as follows:

At a Meeting of the Delegates of every Town and District in the County of Suffolk, on Tuesday, the 6th of September, at the house of Mr. Richard Woodward, of Dedham, and, by adjournment, at the house of Mr. Vose. of Milton, on Friday, the 9th instant, Joseph Palmer, Esq., being chosen Moderator, and William Thompson, Esq., Clerk, a. Committee was chosen to bring in a. Report to the Convention, and the following being several times read, and put, paragraph by paragraph, was unanimously voted, viz:

Whereas the power, but not the justice, the vengeance, but not the wisdom of Great Britain, which of old persecuted, scourged, and exiled our fugitive parents from their native shores, now pursues us, their guiltless children, with unrelenting severity: And whereas, this then savage and uncultivated desert, was purchased by the toil and treasure, or acquired by the blood and valour of those our venerable progenitors; to us they bequeathed the dear-bought inheritance; to our care and protection they consigned it, and the most sacred obligations are upon us to transmit the glorious purchase, unfettered by power, un-clogged with shackles, to our innocent and beloved offspring. On the fortitude, on the wisdom, and on the exertions, of this important day, is suspended the fate of this new world, and of unborn millions. If a boundless extent of continent, swarming with millions, will tamely submit to live, move, and have their being, at the arbitrary will of a licentious Minister they basely yield to voluntary slavery, and future generations shall load their memories with incessant execrations. On the other hand, if we arrest the hand which would ransack our pockets; if we disarm the parricide which points the dagger to our bosoms: if we nobly defeat that fatal edict which proclaims a power to frame laws for us in all cases whatsoever, thereby entailing the endless and number less curses of slavery upon us, our heirs, and their heirs forever; if we successfully resist that unparalleled usurpation of unconstitutional power, whereby our capital is robbed of the means of life; whereby the streets of Boston are thronged with military executioners; whereby our coasts are lined and harbours crowded with ships of war; whereby the Charter of the Colony, that sacred barrier against the encroachments of tyranny, is mutilated, and, in effect, annihilated; whereby a murderous law is framed to shelter villains from the hands of justice; whereby that unalienable and inestimable inheritance which we derived from nature, the Constitution of Britain, and the privileges warranted to us in the Charter of the Province, is totally wrecked, annulled, and vacated, posterity will acknowledge that virtue which pre served them free and happy; and while we enjoy the rewards and blessings of the faithful, the torrent of panegyrists will roll our reputations to that latest period when the streams of time shall be absorbed in the abyss of eternity: Therefore, we have resolved, and do resolve,

1. That whereas his Majesty, George the Third, is the rightful successor to the Throne of Great Britain, and justly entitled to the allegiance of the British Realm, and agreeable to compact, of the English Colonies in America; therefore, we, the heirs and successors of the first planters of this Colony, do cheerfully acknowledge the said George the Third to be our rightful Sovereign, and that said Covenant is the tenure and claim on which are founded our allegiance and submission.

2. That it is an indispensable duty which we owe to God, our country, ourselves, and posterity, by all lawful ways and means in our power, to maintain, defend, and preserve, those civil and religious rights and liberties for which many of our fathers fought, bled, and died, and to hand them down entire to future generations.

3. That the late Acts of the British Parliament for blocking up the Harbour of Boston; for altering the established form of Government in this Colony, and for screening the most flagitious violators of the laws of the Province from a legal trial, arc gross infractions of those rights to which we are justly entitled by the laws of nature, the British Constitution, and the Charter of the Province.

4. That no obedience is due from this Province to either or any part of the Acts above mentioned; but that they be rejected as the attempts of a wicked Administration to enslave America.

5. That so long as the Justices of our Superiour Court of Judicature, Court of Assize, &c, and Inferiour Court of Common Pleas in this County, are appointed or hold their places by any other tenure than that which the Charter and the laws of the Province direct, they must be considered as under undue influence, and are therefore unconstitutional officers, and, as such, no regard ought to be paid to them by the people of this County.

6. That if the Justices of the Superiour Court of Judicature, As size, &c., Justices of the Court of Common Pleas, or of the General Sessions of the Peace, shall sit and act during their present disqualified state, this County will support and bear harmless all Sheriffs and their Deputies, Constables, Jurors, and other Officers, who shall refuse to carry into execution the orders of said Courts; and, as far as possible, to prevent the many inconveniences which must be occasioned by a suspension of the Courts of Justice, we do most earnestly recommend it to all creditors that they show all reasonable and even generous forbearance to their debtors; and to all debtors, to pay their just debts with all possible speed; and if any disputes relative to debts or trespasses shall arise, which cannot be settled by the parties, we recommend it to them to submit all such causes to arbitration; and it is our opinion that the contending parties, or either of them, who shall refuse so to do, ought to be considered as co-operating with the enemies of this country.

7. That it be recommended to the Collectors of Taxes, Constables, and all other Officers, who have publick moneys in their hands, to retain the same, and not to make any payment thereof to the Provincial County Treasurer, until the Civil Government of the Province is placed upon a constitutional foundation, or until it shall otherwise be ordered by the proposed Provincial Congress.

8. That the persons who have accepted seats at the Council Board, by virtue of a mandamus from the King, in conformity to the late Act of the British Parliament, entitled "An Act for the regulating the Government of the Massachusetts Bay," have acted in direct violation of the duty they owe to their country, and have thereby given great and just offence to this people; therefore, resolved, that this County do recommend it to all persons who have so highly offended by accepting said departments, and have not already publickly resigned their seats at the Council Board, to make publick resignations of their places at said Board, on or before the twentieth day of this instant, September; and that all persons refusing so to do, shall from and after said day, be considered by this County as obstinate and incorrigible enemies to this country.

9. That the Fortifications begun and now carrying on upon Boston Neck, are justly alarming to this County, and gives us reason to apprehend some hostile intention against that Town, more especially as the Commander-in-chief, has, in a very extraordinary manner, removed the Powder from the Magazine at Charlestawn, and has also forbidden the keeper of the Magazine at Boston to deliver out to the owners the Powder which they had lodged in said Magazine.

10. That the late Act of Parliament for establishing the Roman Catholick religion and the French laws in that extensive country now called Canada, is dangerous in an extreme degree to the Protestant religion, and to the civil rights and liberties of all America; and, therefore, as men and Protestant Christians, we are indispensably obliged to take all proper measures for our security.

11. That whereas, our enemies have flattered themselves that they shall make an easy prey of this numerous, brave, and hardy people, from an apprehension that they are unacquainted with military discipline; we, therefore, for the honour, defence, and security of this County and Province, advise, as it has been recommended to take away all commissions from the Officers of the Militia, that those who now hold commissions, or Such other persons be elected in each Town as Officers in the Militia, as shall be judged of sufficient capacity for that purpose, and who have evidenced themselves the inflexible friends to the rights of the people: and that the inhabitants of those Towns and Districts who are qualified, do use their utmost diligence to acquaint themselves with the art of war as soon as possible, and do, for that purpose, appear under arms at least, once every week.

12. That during the present hostile appearances on the part of Great Britain, notwithstanding the many insults and oppressions which we most sensibly resent; yet, nevertheless, from our affection to his Majesty which we have at all times evidenced, we are determined to act merely upon the defensive, so long as such conduct may be vindicated by reason and the principles of self-preservation, but no longer.

13. That, as we understand it has been in contemplation to appre-