bring in the draught of an Address to his Excellency, in answer to his Speech.

Ordered, That Mr. Hinchman, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shepperd, Mr. Demarest, and Mr. Sykes, be a Committee to prepare and bring in a Bill for support of Government.

The House adjourned till three, P. M.

The House met.

Ordered, That Mr. Elmer, Mr. Mehelm, and Mr. Ford, be a Committee to bring in a Bill to authorize the Justices and Freeholders of the several Counties to pay all persons heretofore appointed to number the Inhabitants of the Colony.

The House adjourned till nine o’clock, to-morrow morning.

Wednesday, November 29, 1775.

The House met.

The House took into consideration the request of James Kinsey and John De Hart, Esqs., two of the Delegates appointed by this House to attend the Continental Congress, for leave to resign their said appointments.

Resolved, That the reasons given by those gentlemen for their resignation appear to the House to be satisfactory, and that their resignation be therefore accepted; thereupon,

Resolved, That the three remaining Delegates, or any two of them, represent the Colony during the present Continental Congress.

On the question, whether the House agrees to this last Resolve or not, it passed in the affirmative, as follows, viz:

Resolved, That it is the opinion of, and this House do advise, that the present Committee of Correspondence may draw any part of the sum of one thousand Pounds, made subject to their order by an Act passed in 1773, not exceeding two hundred Pounds, to pay the further expenses of the Delegates appointed by this House to attend the Continental Congress, and that this House will allow thereof.

On motion made, Ordered, That Mr. Taylor, Mr. Lawrence, and Mr. Combs, be a Committee to prepare and bring in a Bill to enable the Justices and Freeholders of Monmouth to elect Loan Officers.

A Message from his Excellency, by Mr. Deputy Secretary Pettit.

A Message to the Assembly.

GENTLEMEN: AS I understand that there is now a sufficient number of members met to proceed on business of every kind proper for your consideration, I am to lay before you a requisition from His Majesty. It is contained in a letter which I lately had the honour of receiving from the Right Honourable the Earl of Dartmouth, one of His Majesty’s principal Secretaries of State. His Lordship writes thus:

“1 enclose an order of His Majesty in Council, approving an act for striking one hundred thousand Pounds in bills of credit, and directing the modes for sinking the same.”

“The very great attention which has been shown to the wishes of the Province, in the allowance of the loan act, is an evidence of His Majesty’s gracious inclination to grant them every indulgence that can consist with the true principles of commerce and the Constitution; and I beg leave to assure you that no part of my duty is more agreeable to me than carrying into execution these gracious intentions of my royal master.”

“At the same time, I am commanded by the King to say to you that it would have been more agreeable to His Majesty, if the Assembly, instead of a general appropriation of the interest of the loan to the support of Government, in such manlier as shall be directed by future acts, had thought fit to make a settlement, during the existence of that loan, upon the civil officers of Government, of salaries more suitable to their respective offices than what they now receive; and to appropriate a specifick portion of the said interest to building houses for the residence of the Governour and the meeting of the Legislature, of which you say there is a shameful want. Such an appropriation is no more than what they owe to the dignity of their own Government and His Majesty’s just expectations; and therefore it is His Majesty’s pleasure, that you do require the Assembly, in His Majesty’s name, to make such provision accordingly, trusting that they will not make such an ill return to His Majesty’s grace and favour, in the confirmation of this law, as not to comply with so just and reasonable a requisition.”

I shall not, gentlemen, so far hazard the giving you offence as to suppose that any arguments can be requisite to persuade you to a compliance with His Majesty’s desire and expectations in this respect; more especially as the mode for raising the money does not require any tax to be laid on the inhabitants of the Province, and will, if adopted, most probably be the means of establishing a precedent that may render all taxes for the future support of Government unnecessary. You must likewise be fully sensible, that as the King has manifested such confidence in the legal representatives of the people, it cannot but be their interest as well as duty, particularly at this time, to convince him that that confidence is not misplaced. Besides, such repeated declarations have been made to His Majesty, that he might always have the firmest reliance on the compliance of his subjects in this Colony with every reasonable requisition in their power; and this being so evidently of that nature, I cannot entertain a doubt of your being happy in having so good an opportunity of demonstrating that you mean your actions should ever correspond with your professions.

WM. FRANKLIN.

Burlington, November 21, 1775.

Which was read, and ordered a second reading.

The House adjourned till three, P. M.

The House met.

The House adjourned till nine o’clock, to-morrow morning.

Thursday, November 23, 1775.

The House met.

A Petition was presented to the House, from thirty-two Freeholders of the County of Burlington, praying the House to enter into such Resolves as may discourage an Independency on Great Britain; and that they will also support the civil Government, as heretofore; which was read, and ordered a second reading.

Mr. Ford, from the Committee on that service, brought in a Bill entitled “An Act to authorize the Board of Justices and Freeholders of the several Counties in the Colony of New-Jersey to defray the expense of taking Lists of the Inhabitants;” which was read the second time.

Ordered, That Mr. Kinsey, Mr. Crane, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Paxson, be a Committee to prepare and bring in the draught of Answer to the said Message.

On a motion made, that the several Barracks in this Colony are in such decay that unless repaired they will be in ruins, and that a Resolve may pass, that this House will make provision, during this session, for repairing the same; the question was taken, whether the House will enter into such resolution or not. It passed in the negative, viz:

The House took into consideration the several Petitions referred from last session, for and against a Bill for the more easy manumission of Slaves; the Bill being read, after some time spent in debate thereon, the question was put, whether the Bill shall be committed or not. It passed in the negative, as follows, viz: