Afternoon.

A Petition of Captain John Lane, representing that his Company is suffering for want of Money, Coats, and Blankets, and praying relief, was read, and committed to Captain Batchelder, Mr. Starkweather, and Major Johnson.

A Petition of John Riordan, praying a Permit to send his Sloop to the Island of St. Croix, was read, and committed to the Committee on Trade.

A Petition of the Selectmen and Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Hardwick, praying the direction of this Court with respect to the Estate of Timothy Haggles, was read, and committed to Mr. Allen, Mr. Bent, and Captain Brown.

The Committee on the two Orders of Colonel Arnold reported. The Report was recommitted, and the Committee were directed to sit again forthwith.

A Petition from the Committee of Waldoborough, praying the Court to consider the distressed circumstances of said Town, and grant relief to the Inhabitants, was read, and committed to Mr. Woodbridge, Mr. Durfee, and Mr. Wilson.

The Report of the Committee appointed by the late Congress to agree with the Post-Riders, &c., was read, and committed to Mr. Pitts, Deacon Codding, Colonel Bowers, Colonel Thayer, and Mr. Phillips.

A Petition of Jeduthan Baldwin, praying pay for his services as an Engineer in Colonel Gridley’s Regiment of Artillery, was read, and committed to Colonel Thurston, Deacon Gould, and Mr. Ward.

Benjamin White, Esq., brought down the following Resolve, viz;

“In Council, September 22, 1775.

“Whereas, by an act of this Court, entitled ‘An Act for making and emitting of Bills of Publick Credit, ’ passed the 23d day of August, 1775, and by a subsequent resolve of said Court, on the following day, it is therein ordered, that all the Bills of Credit therein mentioned to be emitted., (ten thousand of each denomination, ) should be authenticated by signing and numbering, by any three of the Committee mentioned in said act and resolve; and it appearing to this Court that there is no necessity for three signers to the bills of one Shilling, of two Shillings, of two Shillings and six Pence, of four Shillings, of five Shillings, of six Shillings, of seven Shillings and six Pence, and of eight Shillings, mentioned in said act and resolve, to be authenticated by three signers, and that such authentication will cause an unnecessary delay in said emission; it is therefore Resolved, That one thousand of said mentioned bills of each denomination, from number one to number one thousand, inclusively, shall be signed by only any two of said Committee, and that the remaining nine thousand of each denomination of said mentioned bills, from number one thousand to number ten thousand, including the last number, shall be signed only by any one of said Committee.

“And whereas four thousand of the bills of each of the larger denominations mentioned in said act, viz: of ten Shillings, of eleven Shillings, of twelve Shillings, of seventeen Shillings, of twenty Shillings, of twenty-four Shillings, of thirty Shillings, and of forty Shillings, are already signed by three signers, agreeable to said act and resolve; and whereas six thousand of the said last mention bills of each of the larger denominations yet remain to be signed; it is therefore Resolved, That the said six thousand remaining bills, of each of the larger denominations, shall be signed or authenticated only by any two of said Committee; and that all such signing or authentication in both these resolves shall be, to all intents and purposes, as lawful and valid as if the same bills had been signed and authenticated by any three of said Committee, any thing in said act or said resolve contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.”

Read and concurred.

The Committee on Colonel Arnold’s Order reported. Read and accepted.

Resolved, That there be paid out of the publick Treasury, to the order of Lochlan McIntosh, Esq., the sum of thirty-one Pounds, ten Shillings, and four Pence, in full of his order.

Mr. Gerry, agreeable to order, reported a Resolve directing the Colonels of the Massachusetts Forces to return a list of the names of the men in their respective Regiments.

Read, and not accepted; and Mr. Gerry was directed to bring in a Resolve directing that application should be made to General Washington, for the purpose aforesaid.

Ordered, That the Secretary lay on the table the Petition of Warwick Palfrey.

The Secretary laid the same on the table accordingly.

Ordered, That Mr. Crane, Colonel Orne, and Colonel Cutt, be a Committee to consider a Resolve of the Provincial Congress prohibiting the sale of English Goods after the 10th day of October next, and report what is expedient to be done thereon.

Saturday, September 23, 1775.

A Letter from the Committee of Inspection of the Town of Londonderry, relative to some Goods carried there inadvertently from Charlestown, was read, and committed to Mr. Story, Mr. Mighill, and Colonel Gridley.

The Committee appointed to inquire into the conduct of the Honourable Jerathmeel Bowers, Esq., being called upon to report, reported accordingly; which Report, after debate thereon, was dismissed.*

* The Committee appointed by the House of Representatives to make inquiry of the Committee of Inspection who stigmatized Jerathmeel Bowers, Esq., in the publick papers, and to examine and hear the evidences which they might produce against him, and also to give the said Bowers a fair hearing in his defence, beg leave to report:

That they have attended that service; having first duly notified all persons concerned, who were present, with their evidences, and had a Full and fair hearing.

The charges exhibited by the Committee of Inspection, against Jerathmeel Bowers, Esq., were as follows:

That he opposed the Town’s paying their outstanding Provincial rates to Henry Gardner, Esq.; that he was in favour of dismissing the Committee of Inspection for the Town of Swanzey; that he opposed, from time to time, the raising of a Minute Company, and after they were raised, continued his opposition till he finally procured their dismission, and afterwards he used his influence to prevent the raising of a Minute Company, when moved for by some of the inhabitants, and the urgency of the times demanded it; that he expressed a great dislike to our assuming Government; that he was much displeased at the Courts being put down; that he spoke with contempt of a paper currency; that his conversation and conduct have had a tendency to dispirit the inhabitants of the Town he lives in, and prevent their properly furnishing themselves for defence against an invading enemy—as his saying, that it would never do to fight Old England, that five thousand Regulars would drive our Army, and the expense of maintaining thirteen thousand men could not be supported, and that they would use the sword put into their hands against us, For their pay; that he had advised Captain Gibbs to lie still and not act in our difficult affairs, and blamed some of the Committee of Swanzey for examining a person whoses conduct had been inimical; and that ho was against the Town’s augmenting their stock of powder, &c., and opposed equipping the Militia out of the Town’s stock. In support of these charges the Committee brought the depositions which have appeared in the publick papers, most of the deponents being present, who again made oath to the truth of them.

It appears to your Committee, that at the first meeting the Town had to determine whether their rates should be paid to Henry Gardner, Esq., Colonel Bowers warmly urged that the taxes should be collected, and paid into the hands of some suitable person in Town; but as almost all the inhabitants were against paying them to Henry Gardner, he, with the rest, expressed a disinclination to do it. But at the several adjournments he insisted that they should be paid to Henry Gardner, but could not succeed in obtaining tile approbation of the Town, till after the Lexington battle, when ho was instrumental in procuring a vote of the Town for that purpose. He was even so zealous for collecting the money, that it might be ready for Henry Gardner, when wanted or called for, that he declared, in meeting, that if any one refused to pay, ho himself would aid and assist the Constable in compelling him to do it.

It appears to your Committee, that the Committee of Inspection for the Town of Swanzey were first chosen in consequence of a motion made by Colonel Bowers for that purpose; and that their dismission was owing to those persons who were offended at the Town’s refusing to pay three Shillings a day to every Minute-Man, for exercising, in case a Company should be raised. And if Colonel Bowers seconded the motion for their dismission, (as is suggested by some of the evidences, ) it did not arise from any dislike ho had to so useful an institution. But it remains very uncertain whether the motion was seconded by him; for Simeon Mason, whose evidence has appeared in the papers, observed further to us, that he himself made the motion for their dismission, and that he was not seconded by Colonel Bowers, but by another person. Others declared, that when the motion was made, ho showed a great deal of dislike, and said, “if they would run mad he would have no hand in it;” and after they were dismissed, he observed to them, “just so you do your business; you dance backwards and forwards, do and undo.”

The Captain and Lieutenant of the Minute Company which had been in Swanzey, with others, deposed that Colonel Bowers encouraged them to proceed in raising a Minute Company; and that he was so far from opposing, that ho always expressed his approbation of the scheme. When an Army was established, he supposed their usefulness