blishing martial law; and praying the protection of this Convention in behalf of the Inhabitants of the said Borough; and that if any inquiry into his conduct should be thought necessary, a Committee might be appointed for that purpose.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to Mr. Holt, Mr. Newton, Mr. Meade, Mr. Murdaugh, Mr. Wills, Mr. Adams, Mr. Andrew Lewis, Mr. Meredith, Mr. Rootes, and Mr. Mercer; and they are to report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

Ordered, That the said Archibald Campbell be confined to his room in the City of Williamsburgh, under a proper Guard, till the further order of the Convention, or Committee of Safety.

The Convention then, according to the Order of the Day, proceeded, by ballot, to the appointment of the Committee of Safety; and the Members having prepared tickets, with the names of eleven persons to be of the said Committee and put the same into the ballot box, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Gray, Mr. Syne, and Mr. Drew, were appointed a Committee to examine the same, and report on whom the majority fell; who retired, and after some time returned into Convention, and reported that the numbers stood as follows:

Resolved therefore, That the said Dudley Digges, John Page, Paul Carrington, Edmund Pendleton, James Mercer, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Wm. Cabell, Richard Bland, Joseph Jones, John Tabb, and Thomas Walker, Esquires, be appointed Members of the said Committee of Safety.

The Order of the Day, for the Convention to resolve itself into a Committee on the state of the Colony, being read,

Resolved, That the Convention will, on Monday next, resolve itself into the said Committee.

Adjourned till Monday, half after ten o'clock.

Monday, December 18, 1775.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in an Ordinance for continuing and amending an Ordinance appointing a Committee of Safety; and that Mr. Richard Lee and Mr. Henry Lee do prepare and bring in the same.

A Petition of John Chew, John Hews, and Ambrose Rains, was presented to the Convention, and read; setting forth, that they had served under Captain John Herndon as volunteers to Williamsburgh in August last, and were, on their return home, taken ill and obliged to employ a Doctor, at an expense too heavy for them to bear; that as this expense was incurred whilst they were employed in the service of their country, they hope this Convention will order the same to be repaid them.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to Mr. Norvell, Mr. Travis, Mr. King, and Mr. Langhorne; and that they report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

A Letter from the Committee of the County of Fairfax, containing instructions to their Delegates in Convention, was presented, and read.

Ordered, That the said Instructions be referred to the Committee on the state of the Colony.

Resolved, That the Treasurer of this Colony be empowered to employ such persons as he shall think proper to fill up and sign the Treasury Notes emitted pursuant to an Ordinance of the last Session of the Convention.

Ordered, That Colonel Woodford's Letter of the 4th instant, together with the enclosures, be referred to the Committee on the state of the Colony.

A Letter from the Committee for the County of Isle-of-Wight, enclosing a Resolution of the said Committee, was presented to the Convention, and read; setting forth, that Cæsar, a negro man slave, belonging to Walter Gwynn, of the County of Gloucester, and pilot to a tender, was placed by the Captain of the said tender on board the Molly, Captain Conyard, with orders to carry her to Norfolk, but that Captain Conyard, had prevailed with him, by offering him a reward, to run the said vessel into Pagan Creek, in the said County of Isle-of-Wight, where she now lies; that they had sent the said negro Cæsar to the Committee of Safety, to be dealt with, as they shall think proper.

Ordered, That the said Letter and Resolution be referred to Mr. Richard Randolph, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Bassett, Mr. Terry, Mr. Brooke, Mr. Berkeley, and Mr. Rootes; and they are to report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

The Convention being informed that a Vessel, belonging to Messrs. Gibson & Co., was about to sail for Great Britain with Naval Stores,

Resolved, That it be recommended to the Committee for the County of Nansemond not to permit the said Vessel to proceed to sea, till the further order of this Convention.

A Petition of Joseph Simpson, and John Campbell, was presented to the Convention, and read; setting forth, that they had supplied the Soldiery under the command of Lord Dunmore, in the late expedition against the Indians, with sundry articles, which were appraised agreeably to law, the amount of which appraisement, the Commissioners appointed to settle the Accounts of the Militia lately drawn out into actual service, refused to allow them; that they had advanced to Major John Connolly sums of Money, and other things to a considerable amount, depending wholly upon his pay as an officer, which he had assigned to them before he had attempted to perpetrate his diabolical plot, which the said Commissioners also refused to allow them; that they have claims against the publick, for assignments from sundry officers and men who were in service at Fort Pitt before the 26th of May, 1774, and from sundry artificers for their pay whilst employed in repairing Fort Pitt and building Fort Fincastle, and for sundry materials used in those works, for all which they pray such allowance as shall be found to be just.

Also a Petition of Alexander Ross, setting forth that William Thompson, together with your Petitioner, purchased of the Crown the buildings and materials belonging to Fort Pitt when they were evacuated, and occupied the same till some time in the year 1774, when Major John Connolly, by command of Lord Dunmore, took possession thereof for the use of this Colony, and had the same appraised by proper judges, upon oath, to the sum of 1482l. 17s. 2d., besides sundry articles, the sole property of your Petitioner, appraised to 314l. 1s. 9d., and retained the same till the month of August last, when Captain John Neavill, by direction of this Convention, took possession thereof for the defence of this Colony; and praying the premises may be taken into consideration, and such relief granted them as their case shall be found to deserve.

Ordered, That the said Petitions be referred to Mr. Mercer, Mr. Neavill, Mr. Rootes, Mr. Harvie, Mr. Muhlenburg, Mr. Richard Lee, Mr. Henry Lee, Mr. Carrington, Mr. Peyton, Mr. William Cabell, Mr. Thos. Walker, Mr. Andrew Lewis, Mr. Adams, Mr. Cary, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Taylor, and they are to report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

The Convention then, according to the Order of the Day, resolved itself into a Committee on the state of the Colony; and after some time spent therein, Mr. President resumed the chair, and Mr. Cary reported, that the Committee had, according to order, had under their consideration the state of the Colony, and had come to the following Resolution thereupon, which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was again twice read, and agreed to:

Resolved, (as the opinion of this Committee,) That some mode ought to be established for the payment of the Minister's salary, and other Tobacco Debts, throughout this Colony.

Ordered, That Mr. Cary, Mr. Adams, Mr. Dandridge,