Ordered, That the Committees of Observation for Frederick County be requested to collect all the publick Arms in their respective Districts; and where any of them have been delivered into the hands of individuals out of repair, and have been put into good order and made fit for service by them at their own expense, that the said Committees respectively transmit an account of the same to the Council of Safety, with the necessary expenses incurred, that such individuals may be reimbursed out of the publick Treasury, unless otherwise agreed at the time of such delivery; also to attend particularly to those Arms which are still out of repair, and to have them put into good order as soon as possible; and, as early as they conveniently can, to furnish the Council with a state of the whole.

Ordered, That copies of the above Order be sent to the Committees of Observation for the several Districts of Frederick County respectively.

Resolved, That the Rations for the Marines in the service of this Province be according as is expressed in the following table, to wit:

Sunday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Beef, 1 lb. Turnips, 1 lb. Potatoes, 1 lb. Onions per week.

Monday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Pork, ½ pint Peas, 4 oz. Cheese.

Tuesday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Beef, and Pudding.

Wednesday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Pork, ½ pint Rice, 2 oz. Butter, 4 oz. Cheese.

Thursday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Pork, ½ pint Peas.

Friday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Beef, and Pudding.

Saturday: 1 lb. Bread, 1 lb. Pork, ½ pint Peas, 4 oz. Cheese.

Half a pint of Rum per man per day, and discretionary allowance for particular occasions—such as action, extra duty, and the like. Three pints of Vinegar for six men per week.

Council adjourned till next day, ten o’clock.

Friday, February 2, 1776.

Council met. Present the same Members as yesterday.

A Letter was received from Robert Alexander, Esquire, enclosing the following Resolves of Congress, viz:

“In Congress, January 20, 1776.

“ It being necessary to procure a large quantity of Specie for the operations in Canada, which cannot be successfully carried on without that article,

“Resolved, That it be recommended to the General Assemblies, Conventions, and Councils or Committees of Safety, upon the Continent, to employ proper persons within their respective Colonies, to collect all the Gold and Silver they can, and inform the Congress of the sum collected.

“Extract from the Minutes:

“CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.”

“IN CONGRESS, January 27th, 1776.—Resolved, That Monsieur Juge be permitted to export the produce or manufactures of the Province of Maryland, (horned Cattle, Hogs, Sheep and Poultry excepted,) to any port or place whatsoever, (except to Great Britain, Ireland, the British Isles, and the British West-Indies, and for the supply of the British Navy or Army in America,) to the amount of the Canvass imported by him into the said Province; the said value to be ascertained by the Committee of Inspection and Observation for Baltimore County.

“ Resolved, nevertheless, That the indulgence in this instance ought not to be drawn into example, the same being granted to Mr. Juge on account of the peculiar circumstances of his case, and that the said Mr. Juge be enjoined by the aforesaid Committee of Baltimore to avoid, if possible, all British Ships-of-War and Armed Cutters on his voyage.

“Extracted from the Minutes:

“CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.”

Which were read, and thereupon

Resolved, That Messieurs John Moale, Samuel Purviance, and William Lux, and each of them, be appointed to collect all the Gold and Silver Coin that can be procured in Baltimore County, to comply with the Resolve of Congress;

Messieurs Aquila Hall, Richard Dallam, and Aquila Paca, in Harford County;

Messieurs Henry Griffith, William Baird, John Hanson, Jun., and Michael Rayner, in Frederick County;

Messieurs Charles Carroll (of Carrollton,) Thomas Dorsey, and John Weems, in Anne Arundel County;

Messieurs Thomas Contee, Stephen West, and William Turner Wootion, in Prince George’s County;

Messieurs Robert Townscnd Hooe, John Dent, and Samuel Love, in Charles County;

Messieurs Benjamin Mackall 4th, Alexander Somerville, and Patrick Sim Smith, in Calvert County;

Colonel George Plater, Richard Barnes, and Hanson, Briscoe, in St. Mary’s County;

Messieurs Peter Chaille, Samuel Handy, and John Done, in Worcester County;

Messieurs George Dashiell, Samuel Willson, and William Adams, in Somerset County;

Messieurs Henry Dickinson, William Richardson, and Benjamin Stainton, in Caroline County;

Messieurs William Ennals, James Murray, and Henry Steele, in Dorchester County;

Messieurs James Lloyd Chamberlaine, Edward Lloyd, and Greenhury G oldsborough, in Talbot County;

Messieurs Turbutt Wright, William Hemsley, and Samuel Thompson, Jun., in Queen Anne’s County;

Messieurs Thomas Ringgold, Joseph Earle, and William Ringgold, in Kent County;

Messieurs Joseph Gilpin, William Rumsey, and Henry Ward Pearce, in Cecil County.

Ordered, That a copy of the said Resolve of Congress, together with a copy of the Resolve of this Council, notifying the appointments aforesaid, be enclosed to the several persons appointed in each County respectively, in the following Letter, to wit:

Baltimore Town, February 2, 1776.

GENTLEMEN: Enclosed you have a resolve of Congress, for collecting gold and silver in this Province, as also a resolve of the Council of Safety of your appointment to collect the same in  .  .  .  .  .  .  . County.

You are to inform the Council of Safety what sum you have been able to collect with all convenient speed, that they may transmit the gross amount of the whole to the Congress. We take it for granted that Continental money will be ordered us in exchange. In the mean time, by way of forwarding the business, you may have Provincial money from our Treasurer for any sum in gold or silver you may lodge with him.

The Council went to Whetstone-Point, to inform themselves of the situation thereof, and consider of the practicability of fortifying the same.

Council adjourns till to-morrow morning, ten o’clock.

Saturday, February 3, 1776.

Council met. Present the same Members as yesterday.

Resolved, That the gentlemen of the Committee of Observation for Baltimore County, who reside in Baltimore Town, or any three of them, be, and they are hereby requested to examine the Cannon lying at Fell’s Point, and elsewhere in and near Baltimore Town, and cause such of them as may be found fit for service, not intended for the Ship Defence, to be lodged in some place of security, mounted on proper carriages as soon” as they conveniently can, and make report of the stale of the Cannon, and the expense of the Carriages, to the Council of Safety.

Ordered, That a copy of the Resolution of Congress relative to Monsieur Juge be immediately transmitted to the Committee of Observation for Baltimore County.

Ordered, That the Treasurer of the Western-Shore pay to Captain Nathaniel Smith one hundred Pounds, for subsist money for his Recruits.

Whereas Samuel Purviance, Jun., John Moale, Jeremiah Townley Chase, James Calhoun, Andrew Buchanan, Thomas Harrison, Benjamin Griffith, Isaac Guest, John Smith, John Boyd, William Aisqnith, and William Buchanan, acting Members of the Committee of Observation of Baltimore County, residing in and near Baltimore Town, have delivered into the Council of Safety proposals for fortifying the Town of Baltimore, and placing obstructions in the