take up the hatchet against this Colony; that, in consequence thereof, many of the said Indians entertained very hostile intentions; that the said Wood was frequently in danger of his life, particularly from one of those hostile tribes who had formed a scheme for killing him, but that he discovered their design, and made his escape; that, at last, by exerting all his abilities, he happily removed their prejudices, and engaged them, with the other tribes, to attend the said Treaty, which engagement they accordingly performed, whereby peace and safety was restored to this Colony; that the said Wood was near two months employed in the progress of this business, and underwent the greatest fatigues, difficulties, and dangers. And that they 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, That the said James Wood ought to be paid By the publick the sum of two hundred and fifty Pounds, for the great service he hath done to this Colony, by his diligent and faithful execution of the Commission with which he was intrusted.

The President laid before the Convention a Letter from the Committee for the County of Northampton; which was lead, and ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Henry Lee, from the Committee appointed, informed, the Convention, that they had waited on the Rev. Mr. Griffiths, and presented to him the Thanks of this Convention for his excellent Sermon, and requested he would permit the same to be printed at the publick expense; and that he returned for answer, that he entertained the most grateful sense of the publick mark of approbation shown his Sermon by this Convention, and would cheerfully comply with their request.

A Petition of sundry Freeholders, of the County of Caroline, was presented to the Convention and read, setting forth that the former Committee for the said County omitted to appoint persons to superintend the election of a Committee in the month of November last, to determine the right of any person to vote who offered a list for that purpose, and who might Have prevented many lists being received from persons whom your Petitioners suspect had no Tight to vote; and that the lists were immediately destroyed, which put it out of the power of your Petitioners To examine them; and praying that the said election may be set aside, and a new one directed, agreeably to the Ordinance of the last Convention.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to Mr. Digges, Mr. Treasurer, Mr. Bland, Mr. Cary, Mr. Jones, Mr. Braxton Mr. Fitzhugh, Mr. Carter of Lancaster, Mr. Carrington, Mr. Bassett, Mr. Dandridge, Mr. Holt, Mr. Henry Lee, Mr. Richard Lee, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Page, and Mr. M'Dowell, and they are to report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the Contention.

The Convention then, according to the Order of the Day, resolved itself into a Committee on the Ordinance for raising an additional number of Forces for the defence and protection of this Colony, and for amending an Ordinance, intituled An Ordinance for raising and embodying a sufficient Force for the defence and protection of this 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 said Ordinance, and had made a further progress therein, but not having time to go through the same, had directed him to move for leave to sit again.

Resolved, That this Convention will to-morrow again resolve itself into a Committee on the said Ordinance.

The Orders of the Day—for the Convention to resolve itself into a Committee on the state of the Colony, and on the Ordinances for continuing and amending an Ordinance appointing a Committee of Safety; For establishing a General Test; to amend an Ordinance, intituled An Ordinance for regulating the election of Delegates, and ascertaining their allowances, and also for regulating the election of Committee-men, in the several Counties and Corporations within this Colony, and for other purposes therein mentioned; and for establishing a mode of making Tobacco Payments during the discontinuance of the Inspection Law;—being read,

Resolved, That the same be put off till to-morrow.

Mr. Parker laid before the Convention the Proceedings of the Committee of the County of Isle-of-Wight, relative to the conduct of John Goodrich; which were read, and ordered to be referred to the Committee appointed to inquire into the conduct of the said John Goodrich, concerning the importation of Gunpowder and other articles, for the use of this Colony.

The President laid before the Convention the Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry held on the Prisoners taken at Norfolk, and in the neighbourhood thereof; which were read, and ordered to be referred to Mr. Cary, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Holt, Mr. Digges, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Langhorne, Mr. Harwood, Mr. King, Mr. Westwood, Mr. Murdaugh, Mr. Meade, Mr. Robert Wormley Carter, Mr. Richard Randolph, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Thomas M. Randolph, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Mason, and they are to report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

Adjourned till to-morrow, half after ten o'clock.

Saturday, January 6, 1776.

Mr. Adams, from the Committee to whom the Petition of Alexander Ross and William Tompson was referred, reported, that they had, according to order, had the same under their consideration, and that it appeared to them that, in the year 1760, His Majesty had a garrisoned fort erected at the place called Fort Pitt, which was kept up until the year 1772, after which a Corporal and a few men only were continued in the said fort; that the Petitioners produced to them a bill of sale from Major Charles Edmonstone, commander of the said fort, to them, bearing date the 10th day of October, 1772, reciting that the said Edmonstone, for and in consideration of the sum of fifty Pounds, New-York currency, to him in hand paid by the said Alexander Ross and William Tompson, did bargain and sell, in behalf of the Crown, unto the said Alexander Ross and William Tompson, all the pickets, bricks, stones, timber, and iron, which are now in the buildings or walls of the said fort, and in the redoubts to be demolished by order of his Excellency General Gage, Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Forces in North-America; and that it also appeared, from the testimony of John Campbell, that he, with many others, signed a Remonstrance, and sent it to General Gage, whereby they complained of a private sale made of the ruins of the fort, by the said Charles Edmonstone, to the Petitioners, and requested that they might be publickly sold; that they received for answer from General Gage, that although the said Charles Edmonstone had proceeded irregularly, yet, as a sale was made, he could not set it aside; that it further appeared, from the deposition of Dorsey Penticost, that he saw a letter from Gen. Gage, dated in the winter of 1772, which seemed to be an answer to a remonstrance of the inhabitants of Fort Pitt, desiring to purchase the ruins of the fort, wherein he informs them that he had received a return from Major Edmonstone of the sale thereof, which was good and by his orders; that there were a corporal and three men left at Fort Pitt, who, he was informed by Edward Hand, surgeon of the said Regiment, were left to take care of the boats, batteaus, &c.; that it also appeared the further sum of fifty Pounds was given as a present, by the Petitioners, to the said Charles Edmonstone, and the sum of twenty-five Pounds to one Bredau, an ensign to the said Regiment, and a witness to the bill of sale; and that the said Edward Hand, another witness to the bill of sale, had empowered him to receive from the said Alexander Ross one-third of the sales of the ruins of the fort, by virtue of a contract subsisting between the said Edward Hand and the Petitioners; that it further appeared that the Petitioners, since the purchase aforesaid, have sold some of the ruins of the said fort, and were in possession of others in the year 1774, when John Connolly, by order of Lord Dunmore, took possession thereof, and had the same appraised and valued by John Gibson and Thomas Smallman, sworn for that purpose, which valuation amounted to 1082l. 7s. 2d., current money of Virginia; that the said Alexander Ross had built without the said fort, several houses and enclosed a garden with pickets and a brick wall, and was possessed of two redoubts and eight stacks of chimnies, as his private pro-