In Council, February 16, 1776: Read, and Ordered, That Walter Spooner and Thomas Cushing, Esquires, with such as the honourable House shall join, be a Committee to take the foregoing Letter into consideration, and report.

Read, and concurred, and Colonel Orne, Brigadier Thompson, and Mr. Brown, of Boston, are joined.

Whereas, this Colony cannot be supplied with a sufficient quantity of Paper for its own consumption, without the particular care of its Inhabitants in saving Rags for the Paper-Mills:

Therefore, Resolved, That the Committees of Correspondence and Inspection (A) in the several Towns in this Colony be, and they hereby are required immediately, to appoint some suitable person in their respective towns, (where it is not already done,) to receive in Rags for the Paper-Mills; and the Inhabitants of this Colony are hereby desired to be very careful in saving even the smallest quantities of Rags proper for making Paper, which will be a further evidence of their disposition to promote the publick good.

Ordered, That Mr. Cushing, Mr. Story, and Captain Goodman, be a Committee to consider at large the expediency of stopping the proceedings of the Courts in respect to Civil Actions, and report.

Ordered, That Mr. Phillips, Colonel Orne, and Colonel Howe, be a Committee to bring in a Resolve for encouraging the manufacture of Sulphur.

Afternoon.

The Committee appointed to prepare, a blank form of Lists for the Committees who are appointed to take the number of Inhabitants of this Colony, reported as follows, viz:

A List, or Return on oath, of the names of the Householders in the Town of in the County of in the Colony of the Massachusetts-Bay, and of the number of souls in each family, including inmates and boarders.

Resolved, That the List to contain the Return of the number of the Inhabitants of each Town in the Colony of the Massachusetts-Bay to be made by the Selectmen of the respective Towns pursuant to a late Act intituled "An Act for the carrying into execution a Resolve of the American Congress for ascertaining the number of Inhabitants in this Colony," shall be of the foregoing form, and that two hundred and sixty Lists, of the form aforesaid, and the like number of said Acts, be printed, and sent to the Selectmen of the several Towns in this Colony as soon as may be; and that Captain Jonathan Brown be a Committee to procure the printing the said Lists and Acts, and that the said Committee take effectual care that such Lists be transmitted to such Selectmen.

A List, or Return on oath, of the Householders dwelling in the unincorporated places called in the County of in the Colony of tho Massachusetts-Bay, and of tho number of souls of each family, including inmates and boarders,

Resolved, That the List to contain the Return of the number of the Inhabitants of the unincorporated places in the Colony of the Massachusetts-Bay, to be returned by the several Committees appointed by this Court, pursuant to a late Act, intituled "An Act for carrying into execution a Resolve of the American Congress for ascertaining the number of Inhabitants in this Colony," shall be of the preceding form. And that sixty Lists of the form aforesaid, and the like number of said Acts, be printed, and delivered or sent to the several Committees named in the said Act, as soon as may be; and that Captain Jonathan Brown be a Committee to procure the printing of the said Lists, and that he take effectual care that such Lists and Acts be delivered or sent to the several Committees named in the said Act.

The Committee appointed to bring in a Resolve to suspend the building one-half of the ten Aimed Sloops voted by this Court to be built, reported. Read, and accepted.

Resolved, That the Committee lately appointed to build, rig, and fix ten Armed Sloops be, and they hereby are empowered to suspend contracting for more than five of that number, until upon making full inquiry, they shall have a probable prospect of obtaining necessary materials for rigging and equipping the same, and instead thereof, said Committee are hereby also authorized to purchase, rig, and fix, five suitable Vessels, already built, for the purpose of defence, of any other denomination and dimensions than those specified in a former Resolve, according to their best discretion. And said Committee are further empowered to import at the risk and expense of this Colony, any materials they shall find necessary for rigging, and fixing any of the aforesaid vessels, as they shall judge best, not infringing upon any Resolve of the Continental Congress.

Ordered, That Mr. Rice bring in a Resolve for supplying the people at the Eastward part of this Colony with the sum of four hundred Pounds.

Thomas Cushing, Esquire, brought down the Resolve of this House to encourage the saving of Rags, with the following Vote of Council thereon, viz:

In Council, February 10, 1776: Read, and concurred, with amendment at A, viz: At A add "and Safety." Read, and concurred.

The Committee appointed to bring in a Resolve to encourage the manufacture of Sulphur, reported. Read, and accepted.

Whereas, it is of the utmost consequence that there be procured a sufficient quantity of Sulphur for manufacturing into Gunpowder the Saltpetre that may be obtained:

Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the Treasury of this Colony, for every pound of good and merchantable Sulphur that shall be refined from mines and ores within this Colony, and delivered to the Commissary-General of this Colony before the first day of July next, a bounty of nine Pence per pound, in addition to the like sum which the Committee of this Court, for procuring that article, are already directed to give, the venders of such Sulphur producing a certificate from the major part of the Se lectmen of any town where such Sulphur is refined, certifying in what Town and County within this Colony the same was produced and refined; and that Captain Brown get this Resolve printed in the several Newspapers.

An engrossed Bill, intituled, "An Act for carrying into execution a Resolve of the American Congress, for ascer-' taining the number of Inhabitants of this Colony."

Read, and Resolved, That it pass to be enacted.

On a motion, Ordered, That Colonel Orne, Mr. Phillips, Major Hawley, Colonel Bliss, and Mr. Pitts, be a Committee to consider what supplies are necessary to be procured for the use of this Colony, besides what the Commissary-General is directed to procure, and report to the House.

Whereas, this Colony, for several months past, has been made by Great Britain the seat of an unnatural war, by reason of which this Court has not, as yet, had opportunity to make suitable provision for opening all the Executive Courts for hearing and finally determining upon civil actions as usual:

It is, therefore, Resolved, That no action, suit, or process, of a civil nature, be commenced or carried on before any Justice of the Peace in any Inferior Court of Common Pleas within this Colony, until the further order of this Court, and that the further consideration of this matter be taken up on the second Wednesday of the next sitting of this Court.

Also, Resolved, That all actions commenced before the 18th of this month, the Justices of the Court where such actions are brought, are hereby directed to continue the same until the further order of this Court.

This Resolve to be printed in the Cambridge, Water-town, and Worcester Newspapers.

Benjamin Lincoln, Esquire, brought down the Report of the Committee of both Houses on the Letter of the Council of Safety in Charlestown, South-Carolina