of the Hon. Peyton Randolph, Esq., deceased, the late worthy President of this Convention, the Salary settled upon him, by act of General Assembly, as Speaker of the House of Burgesses, to the sixth day ofDecember last.

Resolved, That John Harvie, gentleman, be appointed a Commissioner to receive the Money due to the several Claimants in the Counties of Berkeley, Frederick, Dunmore, Hampshire, and West-Augusta, from the publick, on account of the late expedition against the Indians, and to pay the same to them; and the said John Harvie is required to settle and state all the Accounts of the said expedition that remain unsettled, and to revise those already settled in West-Augusta, and make report thereof to the next Convention. And that Joseph Neaville, gentleman, be appointed to revise and adjust the Accounts for the said expedition in the Counties of Berkeley, Frederick, Dunmore, and Hampshire, and report the same to the next Convention.

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

Wednesday, January 17, 1776.

Ordered, That the last Letters received from the Delegates appointed to represent this Colony in General Congress, be referred to the Committee on the state of the Colony.

Ordered, That the Treasurer do pay to Mr. James Wood his expenses incurred in consequence of his embassy to the different Tribes of Indians, exclusive of the sum of money formerly voted him for his services on that occasion.

The Convention then, according to the Order of the Day, resolved itself into a Committee on the Ordinance for continuing and amending an Ordinance appointing a Committee of Safety; 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 gone through the same, and made several amendments thereto, which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same were again twice read, and agreed to.

Ordered, That the said Ordinance, together with the several amendments, be fairly transcribed, and read a third time.

Colonel Howe laid before the Convention a Letter from Captain Bellew to him, and his answer thereto; which were read, and ordered to lie on the table.

The President laid before the Convention a Letter from the Committee of the County of Northampton, informing him they had sent over the several Prisoners taken in that County, agreeably to the direction of the Convention.

Ordered, That the examination of the said Prisoners, be referred to the Committee of Safety; and that they, in the mean time, be confined to their room, under a proper guard.

Mr. Braxton, from the Committee appointed, presented, according to order, an Ordinance for establishing a mode of punishment for the enemies of America; which was read the first time, and ordered to be read a second time.

Ordered, That Mr. Neaville have leave to be absent from the service of the Convention for the remainder of the session.

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 establishing a General Test; to amend an Ordinance, entitled 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 estalishing 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. King, from the Committee appointed to inquire into the several cases of the Prisoners confined in the publick Jail, reported, that the Committee had, according to order, had the same under their consideration; and that it appeared to them, that Henry Crouch was a Sergeant in Captain Sounder's Company. That it further appeared to them, that negro Tom, belonging to the estate of Joseph Selden; and Tawley, belonging to Edward Hack Moselty; Dick, belonging to Edmund Ruffin; Lewis and Bob, belonging to Jacob Keeling; Dick, to James Legate; Harry, to Joel Cornick; George, to Elizabeth Woodhouse; Jemmy, to Thomas Banks; Jasper and Luke, to William Keeling; Tom and Roger, to Mary Jones; Europe, to William Haynes; Romeo, to Lemuel Cornick; Frank, to John Henley; Peter, to William Keeling; Will, to Joel Cornick; Africa, to Charles Sayer; Harry, to Arthur Boush; that George, belonging to Samuel Donaldson; Ishmael, to George Gaskin; Cuff, to Willis Wilkinson; Ned, to William Forsyth; Cato, to Stephen Tankard; Lewis, to Robert Langley; Michael, to Robert Boush; were taken at the Great Bridge. That Derry, belonging to Edward Cooper; and Bob, belonging to John Shedden, have been active, and some of them borne arms under Lord Dunmore. That it appeared to them, that Charles, belonging to John Pooh; Cuffy, to Charles Boush; Davy, to Charles Jenkins; Poole, to Willis Hoflin; Dennis, to the widow Hodges; were also taken at the Great Bridge. That Billy, belonging to Anthony Robinson; Tom, Will, and Jemmy, belonging to Merit Moore; Anthony, to Henry Howard; Ned and Sam, to Bennet Tompkins; in attempting to run away from their several masters, were by them pursued and taken at Point Comfort. That it does not appear that the said Charles, Cuffy, Davy, Poole, Dennis, Billy, Tom, Will, Jemmy, and Anthony, have ever borne arms, or been active in the service of Lord Dunmore. That it also appeared, that Rachel and Amy, belonging to Bennet Tompkins, have been guilty of a robbery in the County of York; and that Neptune, belonging to George Wythe, Esq., was taken up as a runaway. And that they had come to the following Resolutions thereupon; which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same were again twice read, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the said Henry Crouch be detained as a Prisoner.

Resolved, That the said several Slaves who have been active under Lord Dunmore, or have borne arms in his service, be detained in Jail until the Committee of Safety shall procure them to be properly valued, and sent to the foreign West-India Islands, or the Bay of Honduras, there to be sold, and the money arising therefrom, after deducting the charges, be paid to the Treasurer of this Colony, to be repaid to their respective owners, provided they are not unfriendly to American liberty.

Resolved, That such of the said Slaves who have not borne arms, or not been active in the service of Lord Dunmore, be delivered to their respective owners, on their paying the expenses which have accrued, or shall accrue, from the time of their being taken, till the time of their delivery; and that a list of the said negroes, with the names of their several owners, be inserted in the Virginia Gazette. And, if the owners do not apply within two months from the date of the said advertisement, that such thereof as remain may then be sold at publick auction, and the balance, after deducting the expenses aforesaid, be lodged in the hands of the Treasurer of this Colony, to be paid to the owners, when demanded.

Resolved, That the said Rachel and Amy be committed to the Jail of the proper County, there to remain till discharged by due course of law.

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

Thursday, January 18, I776.

Resolved, That each member of the Committee of Safety be allowed the sum of ten Shillings for every day of his attendance in the said Committee, exclusive of the sum formerly allowed for their expenses.

Mr. Parker, from the Committee to whom the Petition of John Goodrich was referred, reported, that they had, according to order, had the same under their consideration, 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, That Robert Shedden and family, mentioned in the said Petition, are sufficiently provided for by a De-