to the said Agents; and that they prepare and bring in the same with all convenient speed.

The Congress then adjourned till nine o’clock to-morrow morning.

Thursday, 9 ho. A. M., May 25, 1775.

The Congress met pursuant to adjournment. Present:

For the City and County of New-York.—Peter V. B. Livingston, Esq., President; Isaac Low, Alexander McDougall, Leonard Lispenard, Abraham Walton, Abraham Brasher, Isaac Roosevelt, John De Lancey, James Beekman, Samuel Verplanck, David Clarkson, Thomas Smith, Benjamin Kissam, John Morin Scott, James Van Cortlandt, Jacobus Van Zandt, John Marston, and Walter Franklin.

For the City and County of Albany.—Volkert P. Douw, Esq., Vice-President; Robert Yates, Abraham Yates, Jacob Cuyler, Peter Silvester, Walter Livingston, Robert Van Rensselaer, Henry Glenn, Abraham Ten Broeck, and Francis Nicoll.

For Dutchess County.—Anthony Hoffman, Zephaniah Platt, Richard Montgomerie, Gilbert Livingston, Jonathan Landon, Melancton Smith, and Nathaniel Sackett.

For Ulster County.—Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, Col. James Clinton, Egbert Dumond, Christopher Tappen, John Nicholson, and Jacob Hornbeck.

For Suffolk County.—Colonel Nathaniel Woodhull, John Sloss Hobart, Thomas Tredwell, John Foster, Ezra L’Hommedieu, Thomas Wickham, and Selah Strong.

For Orange County.—John Coe, David Pye, Peter Clowes, William Allison, Colonel Abraham Lent, and John Herring.

For Westchester County.—Gouverneur Morris, Lewis Graham, Colonel James Van Cortlandt, Stephen Ward, Joseph Drake, Philip Van Cortlandt, James Holmes, David Dayton, John Thomas, Junior, and William Paulding.

For King’s County.—Johannes E. Lott, Henry Williams, Jeremiah Remsen, Richard Stillwell, Theodorus Polhemus, John Leffertse, Esquire, Nicholas Covenhoven, and John Vanderbilt.

For Richmond County.—Paul Micheau, John Journey, Aaron Cortelyou, and Richard Conner.

For Queen’s County.—Colonel Jacob Blackwell, Jonathan Lawrence, Samuel Townshend, Joseph Robinson, and Nathaniel Tom.

For Charlotte County.—John Williams, William Marsh.

The draught of a Postscript to the Letter to be sent to the Governour and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut, was read, and is in the words following, to wit:

“We pray you to use every effort to preserve and improve the present peaceable dispositions of the Canadians and Indians, for which purpose we think it will be necessary to keep up the strictest vigilance to prevent any incursions from being made into the Province of Quebeck.”

And the same being approved of and agreed to,

Ordered, That the said Postscript be added to the said Letter.

The Committee appointed yesterday for that purpose, brought in and reported a draught of a Letter, and also a draught of Instructions to the Agents for superintending the removal of the Cannon and Stores from Ticonderoga.

Mr. Low informed the Congress that he had been informed that some of the inhabitants of the Northern Counties in this Colony have designs of making incursions into the Province of Quebeck; and that therefore he moved, (and was seconded by Abraham Yates, Esq.,) that a Letter be wrote to the inhabitants of the Northern Counties, to the same purport as the Postscript to the Letter to the Governour and Company of Connecticut; and the same being unanimously agreed to,

Ordered, That Mr. Low, Mr. John Williams, Mr. Marsh, Mr. Robert Yates, and Mr. Morris, be a Committee to prepare and report to the Congress a draught of such Letter.

The Deputies for King’s County produced a Certificate subscribed by Abraham E. Loti, Clerk of a meeting of the Deputies of the several Townships in King’s County, assembled at Flatbush, on the 22d day of May instant, whereby it appears that Richard Stillwell Theodorus Polhemus, John Leffertse, Nicholas Covenhoven, Johannes E. Lott, John Vanderbilt, Henry Williams, and Jeremiah Remsen, Esquires, or any three of them, are appointed Deputies fully to represent and act in behalf of that County. The same was read, and filed.

Ordered, That those gentlemen take their seats.

A written Request from the gentlemen who are a Committee from the House of Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut, requesting a conference with Mr. Scott and Colonel Ten Broeck, was read.

Ordered, That Mr. Scott and Colonel Ten Broeck have leave to wait on the said Committee immediately.

Mr. Nathaniel Tom, from Queen’s County, one of the Deputies named in the Credentials from that County, filed with the Secretaries, appeared in Congress.

Ordered, That Mr. Tom take his seat.

The Reverend Doctor Auchmuty and the Reverend Doctor Rodgers, attending at the door, were called in; and they delivered to the President an arrangement of the Clergy, who, in compliance with the request of this Congress, have agreed in the following order alternately to attend at nine o’clock every morning, to open this Congress with Prayer, viz: Doctor Auchmuty, Doctor Rodgers, Mr. Gano, Mr. Inglis, Dr. Laidly, Mr. Mason, Mr. Treat, Dr. Livingston, Mr. Bowden, Mr. Moore.

Messrs. Ten Broeck and Scott, who, with leave, went to confer with Messrs. Wales, Burr, and Edwards, the Committee of the House of Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut, returned, and reported from their memory to this Congress, that they had conferred with those gentlemen, who informed them that they had detained Mr. President’s Letter to their Governour and Company, relating to Ticonderoga, till this Congress could be informed of the following facts, to wit:

That their Assembly is not now sitting; that their recess was supplied by a Council of War, with limited powers; that the said Council have only authority to direct the movements of their Troops, but not to appoint any command; that their Assembly had destined three hundred men to be quartered at Salisbury, who probably would be allotted to assist in maintaining the fortress at Ticonderoga, if necessary; that the persons who had taken that post were not any part of their regular troops, but adventurers; that among these, Colonel Arnold, form Massachusetts, and Captain Douglass, who lives on the line between that Colony and this, were present at the capture; that Captain Douglass was a principal, and had great merit in the success of the enterprise; that almost all the rest of the adventurers were inhabitants of this Colony; that they were confident their Council of War would not take upon them to appoint any person to take the command of that post; that besides, they were apprehensive that the people now there probably would dispute the delivering up that Fortress to any person appointed by their Council of War; that it was impossible for the said Council of War to grant us any other assistance than the three hundred men above mentioned, which they judged insufficient to maintain that post; that Captain Douglass is guardian of the Stockbridge Indians, and has great influence dyer, and almost the entire direction of them; that he is a person of great influence in that quarter; that he had raised for the enterprise two hundred men, at his own expense, and could, in ten or twelve days, augment them to seven hundred, all of which, except about one hundred, would be inhabitants of this Colony; that they recommended Captain Douglass as meriting the attention of this Congress; that they thought it necessary for this Congress to appoint to the command of the above-mentioned post; and that in that case their Council of War would have it in their power to supply the above-mentioned assistance for that service.

Which Report being made, Mr. Scott moved that the Letter to the Governour and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut, be withheld, and the subject-matter thereof reconsidered.

This motion being seconded, a debate thereon arose; after which the question was put, Whether the said Letter should be withheld, and the subject-matter thereof reconsidered?