Captain Kennedy, attending at the door, was admitted. He informed the Committee that the Ships-of-War in the Harbour had despatched three boats up the East-River or Sound, with both sails and oars.

Thereupon a Letter was wrote to Colonel Joseph Drake, informing him thereof, and that the Committee are anxious for the safety of the Powder for Suffolk County, sent to his care, and requesting him to take means for its preservation, and to forward it, with aboat, to the Chairman of the Committee at Huntington.

Ordered, That the said Letter be sent to Colonel Joseph Drake, by Sampson Dyckman, as a Messenger, And it was delivered to the said Sampson Dyckman accordingly.

Captain John Hodge, who arrived last night from Lisbon, by request attending this Committee. Notes of his information were taken, and read to him, and filed.*

Die Solis, 9 ho. A. M., January 7, 1776.

The Committee met pursuant to adjournment, and spent one hour in the Chamber. No business appearing so urgent as to require the attendance of the Committee during this day, they adjourned till 10 o'clock to morrow morning.

Die LunÆ, 10 ho. A. M., January 8, 1776.

The Committee met pursuant to adjournment.

Present: Pierre Van Cortlandt, Esquire, Chairman, Mr. Scott, Colonel McDougall, Mr. Brewster, Mr. Clarke., Mr. Sands, Mr. Tredwell, Mr. Spooner.

Colonel McDougall delivered in three receipts for Gun powder; which were read and filed, the substance of which are as follows, to wit:

A Receipt from Colonel Joseph Drake, dated at New Rochelle, on the 5th instant, for forty quarter casks, received of this Committee by the hands of Joseph Crane. Also a receipt of the same date, from Jonathan G. Tompkins, of Searsdale, Chairman of the Committee of Westchester County, for forty quarter casks of powder, containing one thousand weight, delivered to him by Thomas hers; and also a receipt from Robert Ogden, Chairman of the Committee of Elizabethtown, for eighteen quarter casks of powder, received of this Committee of Safety by the hands of Christopher Duyckinck, to replace the powder due to Elizabethtown, Woodbridge, and New-Brunswick, by them lent to the Congress of this Colony for the use of the Continental Army.

Mr. Sands, with leave, went to the City Committee as a member.

A draft of a Letter to the absent Members of the Provincial Congress of this Colony, and to the Chairman of such Committees as may be thought necessary, was read and approved of, and is in the words following, to wit:

GENTLEMEN: Although a certain day is fixed for the session of Congress, which we beg leave to remind you is the first of February, and although we have no prospect of a necessity of calling the Congress sooner, yet we have abundant reason to request that the meeting may be as full as possible on that day.

We have already notified you of the dissolution of the late Assembly, and of the issue of writs for an election, returnable the 14th day of February next.

From what you could not but have observed, the design of Government in calling an Assembly must be extremely obvious to you; its evident intention is, to take the sense of the good people of this Colony (in what the Governour calls" a constitutional way") on Lord North's motion, and the Parliamentary resolution thereon of the 20th of February last. You will remember our late resolves on that head. Should they have escaped your memory, we beg leave to remind you, that on the 14th December, 1775, it was resolved, as the opinion of the Congress, that nothing of a salutary nature can be expected from a separate declaration of the sense of this Colony on the aforesaid Parliamentary resolution, and that, as the motion whereon the same was grounded was confessedly framed to disunite the Colonies, it would be highly dangerous to, and totally inconsistent with the glorious plan of American Union, should this Colony express their separate sense on the supposed conciliatory proposal on the part of Great Britain, contained in the above mentioned motion and resolution in Parliament.... and that on the same day it was resolved in Congress, that this Colony is fully and effectually represented in the Continental Congress, for the purpose of expressing the sense of its inhabitants on any over tures for a reconciliation, and that the Continental Congress has fully and dispassionately expressed the sense of the inhabitants of this Colony on the above mentioned resolutions of the 26th February last.

The above resolves we cannot suffer to be rescinded by any body of men in this Colony, without betraying the high trust reposed in us. What members we shall have return ed in Assembly we know not, nor, consequently, bow successful the machinations of the enemies of American liberty may be in procuring such measures in Assembly as may destroy that Union of the Colonies, on the support of which our common safety entirely depends. That the session of a full Congress will effectually awe a corrupt Assembly (should we be so unfortunate in that representation) from interfering with political subjects, must be extremely evident, and we think it of the utmost importance to the pub lick safety that the Congress should meet punctually on the day to which (hey are adjourned, to the end that if Government should, by any steps on their part, compel our Assembly into those subjects, the Representatives of the people in that body should take their complexion from the Provincial Congress, so as to go into a similarity of sentiments with those expressed in the above mentioned resolution of our body. And for this purpose, you must easily perceive that a full session of all the Deputies of every County in Congress, at the meeting of the Assembly, will be absolutely necessary, for these reasons—as you value the inestimable blessings of liberty—as you esteem the perfect Union of the Colonies under the Continental

* Captain John Hodge, of New-York, arrived in the last night from Lisbon, and left that place seven weeks ago to morrow.

He says that on the 8th of October last, about southwest from Cape Clear about one hundred and twenty-five leagues, ho met two East. India men and a Cat, or North Country Collier, very full of troops. The first division of seven sail, with five full regiments, bound from Cork to Boston, which first division had then been nine days from Cork. That in Bordeaux he afterwards met with sundry masters of vessels, who sailed from Cork with the last division of the said seven sail. That the three transports he met had not a convoy, and that he did not dis. Coyer that they had any guns. That the said masters of vessels, at Bordeaux, informed him that officers were recruiting in Ireland, and had raised six regiments, all Roman Catholicks. That the Protestants would not inlist. That the said musters of vessels informed him that after the said First Division of transports had sailed from Cork, a vessel had boen despatched after them, to order them to go to Halifax to winter.

That he was informed by Captain Calder, of this port, and Captain Cassels, of Philadelphia, and by Captain Amory, that two thousand fishermen were gone from Newfoundland to Boston, to cut down the Woods before the Army, as was pretended.

That in Lisbon he understood that every English vessel would be seized, as soon as the consent of the King of Portugal could be obtained, who was then absent up the river Otagus. That Captain Sandwick (son of Lord Sandwich) arrived at Lisbon, in an armed ship rigged yatch, on the day before the examinant left Lisbon, that his merchant waited on Mr. Sandwich, who informed him that if he (Sandwich) had met any of the American Rebels at sea, he would have seized them. That, to avoid a seizure, he came out of Lisbon the next morning, in ballast, together with Captain Alexander Guy, of Philadelphia, in a topsail schooner, also with ballast only. That no powder, or arms can be obtained in the ports of France or Portugal, and that they cannot be obtained from the ports in the Mediterranean, as he was informed, on account of the English ships of war and cruisers.

That he did not hear of any French troops being in the West-Indies, or about to go there, until he arrived in New-York.

That five sail of fishermen were taken in and about the Western-Islands. That three of them, at least, were whalers. That the said five whalers, or fishing vessels, were taken by Commodore Banks, in a seventy-four gun ship, and with two frigates in company.

That when the Captain of the man of war, or yatch, at Lisbon, ex. amined Guy, to whom the vessel belonged, he concealed his register, and said she belonged to Topar & Bulkley; and that he, this examinant, said his vessel was his own property.

That by a packet boat from England, which arrived at Lisbon the day before he sailed from thence, he obtained His Majesty's Speech to Parliament, and newspapers of the 28th of October.

That there has been great crops all over Europe. That Lisbon is the best market. Wheat and flour so low in France, that it will not bring the first cost.

That Captain Cassels had a letter, which he received at Newfoundland, from a gentleman there, informing him that he would be seized if he did not depart, upon which he fled from thence in ballast. That, he (Hodge) left Captain Jones in Lisbon.

That by masters of vessels, both in France and Lisbon, he was in formed that twenty-five thousand men were intended for the American service, but whether besides the troops now in America, or not, he did not understand, and that transports were arrived at Gibraltar, to take the British troops from thence.

A true copy pf notes by me taken, of the information given, by Cap tail] John Hodge to the Committee of Safety.

JOHN MCKESSON, Secretary.