provision or other merchandise (that may be shipped on board such vessel in said voyage) within some part of the United Colonies, without the Towns of Boston, Roxbury, Charlestown, and Nantucket; which bond shall be executed before, and lodged with the person filling said certificate.

Michael Farley, Esquire, brought down from the Board a Letter relative to the supply of the Island of Nantucket, with the following Vote of Council thereon, viz:

In Council, December 6, 1775: Read, and Ordered, That John Winthrop and Charles Chimney, Esquires, with such as the honourable House shall join, be a Committee to take the foregoing Letter and enclosed papers under consideration, and report.

Read, and concurred, and Mr. Gerry, Captain Foster, and Mr. Sullivan, are joined.

Moses Gill, Esquire, brought down from the Board two Letters, from his Excellency General Washington, on the critical situation of the Army, with the Vote of Council thereon, viz:

In Council, December 6, 1775: Read, and Ordered, That Walter Spooner, John Winthrop, and Joseph Palmer, Esq., with such as the honourable House shall join, be a Committee to wait on his Excellency General Washington, immediately, and confer with him on the subjectmatter of the foregoing Letters, and devise some ways and means of easing the difficulties therein suggested.

Read, and concurred, and Mr. Sullivan, Captain Batchelder, Mr. Cushing, and Colonel Orne, are joined.

Adjourned to three o'clock, P. M.

Afternoon.

A Letter from Joseph Greenleaf, Esquire, relative to the Post-Office and Post-Riders, committed to Captain Brown, Mr. Kingsbury, and Mr. Jewet.

The Committee appointed to take into consideration the Report of the Committee from Point-Shirley, &c., reported. Read, and accepted.

Whereas, a Committee has been appointed by this Court to provide for, and remove such of the Inhabitants of Boston, as may be sent from thence to Point-Shirley, or other places, as also to make use of every precaution necessary to prevent a communication of the Small-Pox to other parts of this Colony, which appears to be the intention of our enemies.

Resolved, That the said Committee be, and hereby are directed and empowered to impress (if it should be found necessary) a sufficient number of Carriages for the removal of such of said inhabitants, and their effects, as shall have been sufficiently smoked and cleansed, to such towns as the Committee shall judge proper, giving them certificates that they are of the poor of Boston, and quite free from infection; and it is recommended to the Committee that they retain at Point-Shirley such of said inhabitants as they shall apprehend may have been in the way of receiving the Small-Pox, for such a space of time as may be necessary to determine whether they had the infection, taking care that they are supplied with such quantities of Provisions, Wood, &c., as they judge will be sufficient to keep them from suffering.

It is further recommended to said Committee to provide, if they see occasion, suitable houses as Hospitals for the reception of those persons who may be taken with the Small-Pox, or shall appear to have the symptoms of the distemper, as, also, to engage a Physician or Physicians to attend the sick, if required, and to place sufficient guards at the infected houses to prevent a promiscuous passing or repassing to and from said houses.

On a motion, Ordered, That the Town of Bedford be excused from furnishing their proportion of Men, and that Mr. Stickney be appointed to bring in a Resolve for that purpose.

On a motion, Ordered, That the Town of Marblehead have leave to remove two pieces of Cannon at Concord, for their use, until the further order of this Court; and that Mr. Gerry be appointed to bring in a Resolve for that purpose.

Colonel Lincoln brought down from the honourable Board the following Vote of Council, viz:

In Council, December 6, 1775: Ordered, That Walter Spooner, Charles Chauncy, and Joseph Palmer, Esquires, with such as the honourable House shall join, be a Committee to wait on his Excellency General Washington, and represent to him the circumstances of the four Companies now doing duty at Braintree, Weymouth, and Ilingham, as, when they were inlisted, and by whose order; from whom they have received their orders from time to lime, and in what service they have been employed; that they were considered by this Colony, when raised, as part of the thirteen thousand six hundred men voted by us, and have always been so considered; and desire that his Excellency would order them to be paid by the Continent, as they were not inlisted, neither have they been employed, for the special purpose of defending the sea-coasts, as a number since have been.

Mr. Gerry, agreeable to order, brought in the following Resolve, which was read and accepted, viz:

Resolved, That the Town of Marblehead be, and it hereby is empowered to cause two pieces of Ordnance, twenty-four-pounders, now at Concord, which were damaged, on the 19th of April last, by the Ministerial troops, and have since been repaired, to be removed to said town at their own expense, and there improved for their defence, until the further orders of this Court touching the same.

The Committee appointed to consider what is proper to be done with the Records of the Committee on Accounts, reported. Read, and accepted, viz:

Whereas, by a Resolve of this Court, of the 8th of November last past, it is provided that the Committee of the House therefor appointed should keep, in a book, a true record of all accounts which shall have been passed by them, with an alphabet thereto, and it now appears that the business will be conducted with greater despatch by the records being made after such accounts shall have been concurred, and paid by a Committee of Council provided for that purpose:

Therefore, Resolved, That the said Committee of the House be, and they hereby are directed to send to the said Committee of the honourable Board all Accounts which they shall have passed without recording the same; and the honourable Board are desired to direct their Committee to cause such Accounts, when concurred in and discharged, to be fairly recorded, agreeable to the method proposed by the Resolve aforesaid, and to employ a suitable person for that purpose.

The Committee appointed to bring in a Resolve for excusing the Town of Bedford from furnishing their proportion of men, reported. The Report was read, and accepted, and is as follows, viz:

Whereas, by a Resolve of this Court of the 1st instant, the Town of Bedford was ordered to furnish thirteen Men to join the American Army on the 10th instant, and the Commanding-Officer of said town was ordered to inlist that number of men accordingly; and, whereas, by another Resolve of this Court, the same town was ordered to furnish the Army with four cords of Wood, daily; and it would be quite impracticable for said town to comply with both said Resolves:

Therefore, Resolved, That the Commanding-Officer of said Town of Bedford be, and he hereby is excused from assembling the Militia, and inlisting any men to join the American Army, the aforesaid Resolve, first mentioned, notwithstanding.

The Committee appointed to take into consideration the Petition of Francis Brown, who was wounded in the battle of Lexington, on the 19th April last, reported. Read, and accepted.

The House then adjourned to nine o'clock, to-morrow morning.

Thursday, December 7, 1775

Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., brought down from the honourable Board the following Vote of Council, viz:

In Council, December 7, 1775: Ordered, That Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., with such as the honourable House shall join, be a Committee to consider of, and report what may be necessary to be done relative to the expense arising by the Prisoners taken by private adventurers, and make report.