James Lane, Jacob Reed, Leven Powell, William Smith, Robert Jamison, Hardage Lane, and John Lewis, gentlemen.

The Committee, taking into consideration the conduct of the Governour relative to the powder which was, by his express orders, taken secretly out of the publick Magazine belonging to this Colony, in the night of the twentieth ult., and carried on board the Magdaline Schooner:

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That his Lordship, by this and other parts of his conduct which have lately transpired, has not only forfeited the confidence of the good people of this Colony, but that he may be justly esteemed an enemy to America; and that as well his excuse published in his Proclamation of the fourth instant, as his verbal answer to the Address presented him on that occasion by the City of Williamsburgh, are unsatisfactory and evasive, and reflect, in our opinion, great dishonour on the General Assembly and inhabitants of this Colony, as from the latter a suspicion may be easily deduced, that the Representatives of the people are not competent judges of the place wherein arms and ammunition, intended for the defence of the Colony, may be safely lodged, and that the inhabitants (unlike other subjects) cannot, in prudence, be trusted with the means necessary for their protection from insurrection, or even invasion; so in the former a very heavy charge is exhibited against the best men among us, of seducing their fellow-subjects from their duty and allegiance; a charge, we are confident, not founded in reality, and which, we believe, is construed out of the discharge of that duty which every good man is under, to point out to his weaker countrymen, in the day of publick trial, the part they should act, and explain, on constitutional principles, the nature of their allegiance, the ground of which we fervently pray may never be removed, whose force we desire may never with reason be relaxed, but yet may be subservient to considerations of superiour regard.

The Committee being informed by some of the officers who commanded the Troops of this County that marched on the above occasion, that the reason of their marching no farther than Frederickburgh was, their having received repeated requests from the Honourable Peyton Randolph, Esq., to return home, assuring them that the peaceable citizens of Williamsburgh were under no apprehensions of danger, either in their persons or properties; that the publick treasury and records were perfectly safe; and that there was no necessity for their proceeding any further; three of the other Delegates appointed to the Continental Congress, the only civil power we know of in this great struggle for liberty, being of the same opinion.

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That under such circumstances we approve the conduct of the said Officers and Troops.

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That we cordially approve the conduct of our countryman, Captain Patrick Henry, and the other volunteers of Hanover County, who marched under him, in making reprisals on the King’s property for the trespass committed as aforesaid, and that we are determined to hazard all the blessings of this life rather than suffer the smallest injury offered to their persons or estates, on this account, to pass unrewarded with its equal punishment.

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That it be recommended to the Representatives of this County, as the opinion of this Committee, that they by no means agree to the reprisals, taken as aforesaid, being returned.

Ordered, That the Clerk transmit immediately a copy of the preceding Resolves to the Printers of the Virginia and Pennsylvania Gazettes, to be published.

By order of the Committee,

GEORGE JOHNSTON, Clerk.

NEW-YORK CONGRESS TO MASSACHUSETTS COMMITTEE OF SAFETY.

BRETHREN: Having received a minute of the Grand Continental Congress, of which we send you a copy herewith, we wrote a letter to the Governour and Company of the Colony of Connecticut, of which we also send you a copy.

We do not doubt of your ready concurrence in the measures recommended by that august body, in which we do entirely acquiesce.

We pray you to act on this occasion with prudence and expedition, especially as we have received intimation from our brethren in Connecticut that they cannot send a sufficient force for the purposes mentioned to them in our letter; and we beg leave to assure you that we are affectionately your friends and brethren in the generous cause of freedom.

We are, gentlemen, your humble servants,

P. V. B. LIVINGSTON, President.

To Joseph Warren, Esq., and others, the Committee of Safety for the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay.

THE SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF ALBANY TO THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF NEW-YORK;
[Read before Congress June 3, 1775.]

GENTLEMEN: We have received a letter from the New-York Committee, of the twentieth inst., enclosing the Resolution of the Continental Congress of the eighteenth instant. We have likewise received some material information from the north and westward, which we shall now lay before you. And first respecting our western intelligence. We are so much crowded with business and despatches from different quarters, that we cannot so copiously enlarge on every different subject as we could wish; we shall therefore only state the necessary facts to you, interspersed with such remarks as we conceive of consequence.

The first of our intelligence from the west was, that the Indians were exceedingly uneasy, and more of them daily coming in to Colonel Johnson’s place at Guy Park, occasioned, as he alleges, by reason of a report in his neighbourhood, that the New-England people, with some others, intended seizing and taking him captive to New-England, and by this means extinguish the Indian council fire. And that this was to be done in consequence of another report that Colonel Johnson was setting up the Indians to destroy the inhabitants, &c.

Next we received a letter wrote by four Mohawks to the Oneidas, whereof we enclose you a copy, translated from the Mohawk into English, No. 2.

Next we received a letter from the Committee of Palatine District, in Tryon County, whereof we enclose you a copy, No. 3; our answer to which you have enclosed, NO. 3, a.

Next, five persons from Tryon County here, who made oath of their being stopped in the road at Colonel Johnson’s on the seventeenth instant; we enclose copy of the affidavit, No. 4.

On the same day we also received from the Committee of Schenectady a copy of Colonel Johnson’s letter to them, dated the eighteenth, which you have enclosed, No. 5, and to which the Schenectady Committee wrote him an answer, whereof we have no copy.

Next we received copy of a letter from Colonel Johnson to the Magistrates and others of Palatine, Canajoharie, and the upper Districts, dated twentieth instant, which you have enclosed, No. 6; and of the answer to which we have no copy.

Next we received copy of another letter from Colonel Johnson, without a date, directed to the Magistrates, &c., of Schenectady, and the Mayor and Corporation, &c., of Albany, which you have enclosed, No. 7; whereupon we wrote him a letter, dated the twenty-third instant, copy whereof you have enclosed, No. 8., and one to the same effect was wrote to him, on the same subject, by the Corporation here.

Next we received copy of the speech of the Mohawks, interpreted by the Reverend Mr. Kirkland, on the twentieth instant, whereof you have a copy enclosed, No. 9; whereto we wrote an answer, dated twenty-third instant, and appointed two persons of our Committee, To wit, Gilbert Marselis and Peter Schuyler, to go to the Mohawks, with Mr. Martin Lydias as an interpreter; enclosed you have a copy thereof, No. 10.

Next we received a reply from the Mohawks to our answer, dated the twenty-fifth; a copy whereof you have enclosed, No. 11, wherein is contained the reply of the Indians, and the Sub-Committee’s answer thereto.