to agree with the Postmasters and Post-Riders for their service, and to give directions for the setting off and return of the Post-Riders; and that the Postmasters account to the said Committee for what they shall receive.

It is further Voted and Resolved, That all Letters which the Post-Rider, for the time being, may receive, directed for the Town of Boston, shall be first post-paid, and submitted to the examination of the Commander-in-Chief of the American Forces at Cambridge, or of a Committee that may be appointed by the Provincial Congress of the Massachusetts-Bay, before they are permitted to go into Boston, and that all Letters coming out of Boston, be submitted to the like examination.

And it is further Voted and Resolved, That this Act shall continue in force until this Assembly shall make some further order relative to the same.

It is Voted and Resolved, That the Letter written by his Honour the Deputy-Governour, to James Wallace, Esq., Commander of His Majesty’s Ship Rose, and Captain Wallace’s answer, be published in the next Newport Mercury, and Providence Gazette.

It is Voted and Resolved, That Ten Thousand Pounds, in lawful money Bills of Credit, be struck off for the use of the Colony; that the same proportion of the different Bills be printed; that they be signed by the same persons who signed the former emission, and in the same manner; that they be completed and lodged in the General Treasury, as soon as may be; and that the Committee for signing the Bills procure the paper.

The Return of the Officers chosen to command the Company of Light-Infantry, in the County of Providence, was read in Council, and is as follows, to wit:

John Mathewson, Captain; Jonathan Ellis, First Lieutenant; Thomas Truman, Second Lieutenant; Asa Franklin, Ensign.

Which being duly considered by the Council,

It is Voted and Resolved, That the said Officers be, and hereby are approved.

The Return of the Officers chosen to command the Company of Light-Infantry in the Town of Gloucester, was read in Council, and is as follows, to wit:

Timothy Wilmarth, Jun., Captain; David Richmond, First Lieutenant; Enos Smith, Second Lieutenant; Abraham Tourtellot, Ensign.

Which being duly considered by the Council,

It is Voted and Resolved, That the said Officers be, and hereby are approved.

The Return of the Officers chosen to command the Company of Scituate Hunters, in the Town of Scituate, was read in Council, and is as follows, to wit:

Josheph Kimball, Jun., Captain; Gideon Cornell, First Lieutenant; Jonathan Smith, Second Lieutenant; Bertram Rounds, Ensign.

Which being duly considered by the Council,

It is Voted and Resolved, That the said Officers be, and hereby are approved.

An Act to prevent Desertion from the Army of Observation.

Whereas, some of the Soldiers of the Army of Observation raised by this Colony have shamefully deserted from the encampment upon Jamaica Plains, in the Colony of the Massachusetts-Bay: For the prevention whereof for the future,

Be it enacted by this General Assembly, and by the authority thereof it is enacted, That a reward of thirty Shillings, lawful money, be given and paid for the apprehending and securing any Soldier in the pay of this Colony, who shall desert from his place of encampment, detachment, or other post he may be stationed at; and that every Soldier so apprehended be sent back to his post or place of encampment, and delivered up to the Commanding Officer, to be punished as the law for regulating the said Army directs.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in case any person shall barbour or secure any deserter or deserters from the said Army, or shall know of his or their haunt or place of abode, and shall not give information thereof to some one of the Committee of Safety, or to the Sheriff, his Deputy, or some other executive officer, the person “SO” offending, upon due proof thereof being made, shall forfeit and pay, as a fine, the sum of five Pounds, lawful money, and costs of prosecution, for harbouring or concealing, and the sum of three Pounds, lawful money, and costs of prosecution, for not giving information, to be recovered by bill, plaint, or information; and that one third part of the said fines shall be paid to the informers, and the other two third parts be lodged in the Town Treasury where such deserter is an inhabitant, to be paid out for the support of the soldiers, or their families, who may be disabled in the service.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the Committee of Safety, upon information being given them by any Officer of the said Army, of a deserter or deserters, with proper descriptions by which they may be known, shall forthwith furnish the Sheriff, his Deputy, or some other executive officer, with the name or names of such deserter or deserters, with his or their marks or descriptions, who is hereby commanded to make diligent search after the person or persons so deserting, and to apprehend and secure him or them, until he or they can be conveyed back to his or their quarters.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the Sheriff, his Deputy, or any other officer, who shall go in search of any deserter or deserters, may take what aid and assistance they shall think necessary; that all the costs and charges of apprehending, securing, and returning to his or their post, any deserter or deserters, shall be paid by such deserter or deserters; and that the wages of every deserter shall stop from the day of desertion until his return to duty.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a copy of this Act be inserted in the Newport Mercury, and Providence Gazette.

The Return of the Officers chosen to command the Company of North-Providence Rangers, in the County of Providence, was read in Council, and is as follows, to wit:

Joseph Olney, Captain; Joseph Randall, Lieutenant; Thomas Olney, Junior, Ensign.

Which being duly considered by the Council,

It is Voted and Resolved, That the said Officers be, and they are hereby approved.

Whereas, Thursday, the 20th day of July next, is recommended by the honourable the Continental Congress to be observed as a day of Publick Fasting and Prayer throughout the Colonies: It is, therefore,

Voted and Resolved, That his Honour the Deputy Governour be, and he is hereby requested to issue a Proclamation, to be published in the Newport Mercury, and Providence Gazette, earnestly recommending the same to be religiously observed by the inhabitants of this Colony.

It is Voted and Resolved, That his Honour the Deputy-Goveraour be, and he is hereby requested to write an answer to the Letter from the Delegates of this Colony at the Continental Congress, and to transmit to them a copy of the proceedings of this Assembly.

It is Voted and Resolved, That the Secretary “publish the Acts and Orders now made and passed, by beat of drum, in the Town of Providence, within ten days after the rising of this Assembly; and in thirty, send copies thereof to the several Sheriffs in this Colony, by them to be transmitted to the Town Clerks of the Towns in their respective Counties; and that this Assembly be, and hereby is adjourned to the third Monday in August next, then to meet in the Town of Providence.

GOD save the KING.

Published according to order, on Tuesday, the 27th day of June, A. D., 1775, by

HENRY WARD, Secretary.

At the General Assembly of the Governour and Company of the English Colony of Rhode–Island and Providence Plantations, in New-England, America, begun and holden (in consequence of Warrants issued by his Honour the Deputy-Governour) at Providence, within and for the Colony aforesaid, on Wednesday, the twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and fifteenth of the reign of His Most Sacred Majesty George the Third, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, and so forth: