SOUTHAMPTON (VIRGINIA) COMMITTEE.

Southampton Committee, January 11, 1776.

Present—The Rev. George Gurley, Chairman, and eleven Members.

The honourable Convention, having recommended an inquiry to be made by this Committee, into the conduct of Mr. William Urquhart, merchant, relative to certain goods, mentioned in an account enclosed in a letter from one Hugh Warden, dated Glasgow, September 6, 1775, Mr. Urquhart, having had due notice, appeared before the Committee, and was heard, touching the importation of the said goods. And it appears, from the account, and the examination of his storekeeper, that no goods have been shipped or received by the said Mr. Urquhart contrary to the Association; and that Mr. Urquhart ought to be acquitted of any imputation of having acted contrary to the Association, in that particular.

SAMUEL KELLO, Cleric.

LORD STIRLING TO PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

[Read January 15, 1776, referred to a Committee]

Elizabethtown, January 11, 1776.

SIR: In consequence of the orders I sent to Lieutenant-Colonel Winds, in the night, between the 9th and 10th instant, he sent two officers, attended by a proper guard, to wait upon Governour Franklin, who, at first, refused paying any attention to the message, which kindly invited him to dine with me at this place; but, finding it in vain to act that part, he ordered up his coach, in order to proceed to this place. But Chief Justice Smyth, thinking it was possible to put the matter on an easier footing for the Governour, prevailed on him to give his parole not to depart from his house, on any pretence whatever, not even if a rescue should be offered by Captain Parker, or any other person. This induced Lieutenant-Colonel Winds to suspend the Governour's journey, till he could hear from me, and the Chief Justice came Chargé d'affaires, to negotiate the business here. I have given the Lieutenant-Colonel orders to let the Governour remain at his house, on the conditions stipulated, until I have the orders of Congress to the contrary.

I am, with great regard and esteem, your most obedient, humble servant,

STIRLING.

To the Honourable John Hancock.

GENERAL ARNOLD TO CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.

Camp before Quebeck, January 11, 1776.

GENTLEMEN: I take the liberty, most heartily, to condole with you the loss of great, amiable, and brave General Montgomery, and those brave men who fell with him. By his death, the command of the Army devolves on me; of course, I have carefully examined his instructions from the honourable Continental Congress, and their resolutions respecting this country. I find it strongly recommended to him, to conciliate the affections of the Canadians, and cherish every dawning of liberty which appears among them; and to assure them of the friendship and protection of the Congress; and to endeavour to form, on a lasting basis, a firm union between them and the Colonies, by forming a Provincial Congress, and, from that body, giving them a full representation in the Grand Continental Congress. This, I am confident, the General laboured for with the greatest assiduity, and with as great a degree of success as could be expected, under the present state of affairs.

The disposition of the Canadians is very favourable to your wishes; (the only bar, of consequence, is Quebeck; as this is the key, so, in a great measure, it governs the whole country;) who, having been so long habituated to slavery, and having, as yet, but a faint sense of the value of liberty, are naturally timorous and diffident, and want every possible encouragement to take an active part. This bar removed, I humbly conceive every other obstacle, to a firm and lasting union with Canada, will, of course, be removed. So long as Quebeck remains in the hands of the enemy, it will not be in our power to assist and protect them; of course, we cannot expect their hearty exertions in our favour. Quebeck appears to me an object of the highest importance to the Colonies, and, if proper methods are adopted, must inevitably fall into their hands, before the garrison can be relieved. The whole garrison of Quebeck, including men, women, and children, is supposed, by gentlemen who left town the beginning of December, to be four thousand.

A gentleman of veracity assures me, that Mr. Alsop, the King's Commissary, told him, in confidence, that there was not one thousand barrels of flour in the town; and, it was notorious among the merchants, there was not eight thousand bushels of wheat, and no convenience for flouring it. Provisions of meat were known to be much less than those of bread, though they had some quantity of fish. It is generally agreed, they had short of four months' provision the 1st December. This cannot be exactly ascertained, as the Governour denied the inhabitants liberty of viewing the stores, or giving them any satisfaction, in regard to the quantity. It appears, a blockhead must answer our purpose; it is possible it may not. Will it be prudent to trust an object of such vast importance to the event? With submission, I think it will not. What is to be done? A sufficient force employed to reduce it, by a regular siege, or assault? If the first is attempted, an addition of three thousand men to our present force will, I make no doubt, be thought necessary; if the latter, at least five thousand. The former, with a vast expense and great waste of ammunition, may prove unsuccessful; the latter, from the extensiveness of their works, I think cannot; and five thousand men will hardly be a sufficient garrison, if the place is taken. I beg leave to recommend the sending a body of at least five thousand men, with an experienced General, into Canada, as early as possible; and, in the mean time, that every possible preparation, of mortars, howitzers, and some heavy cannon, should be made, as the season will permit our raising batteries by the middle of March, which may, very possibly, be attended with success, as we can place our mortars under cover, within two hundred yards of the walls, and within one thousand of the centre of the town; and, if supplied with shells, carcases, &c, can set fire to it whenever we please, which, I make no doubt, would reduce the garrison to terms.

I am well assured more than half of the inhabitants of Quebeck would gladly open the gates to us, but are prevented by the strict discipline and watch kept over them, the command of the guards being constantly given to officers of the Crown, known to be firm in their interest. The garrison consists of about fifteen hundred men, great part of whom Governour Carleton can place no confidence in, or he would not suffer a blockade, and every distress of a siege, by seven hundred men, our force consisting of no more, at present, including Colonel Livingston's Regiment of two hundred Canadians. I have arranged my men in such order, as effectually to blockade the city, and to assist each other as early as possible, if attacked. The men are obliged to lay on their arms constantly, and to mount guard every other night. Their duty is exceedingly hard; however, the men appear alert and cheerful, though wanting many necessaries, which cannot be procured here.

I expect General Wooster from Montreal, with a reinforcement, every minute. I have withdrawn our cannon from the battery, and placed them around the magazine, which contains a considerable quantity of powder and ordnance stores, which I am fearful of removing, lest it should make unfavourable impressions on the Canadians, and induce them to withdraw their assistance, and Governour Carleton, presuming on our panick, to sally out. I thought it most prudent to put the best face on matters, and betray no marks of fear. We are in great want of cash; our finances have never afforded any, of consequence, to the troops, who make heavy complaints, not without reason. We have often been reduced to a few johannes, and never able to procure more than ten days' sustenance beforehand. Our whole dependance has been on Mr. Price, who has done every thing in his power, and is the only resource we have at present. I have received two petards from Monsieur Pelissier, at Three-Rivers, who assures me he can supply us with shells, by the 1st of April.

Enclosed is a list of officers killed and wounded in the unfortunate attack on Quebeck. The prisoners and missing amount to about four hundred. Governour Carleton has permitted the baggage of both officers and men to be sent in, and (strange to tell) treats them with humanity.