and guide your councils, and enable you so to determine, that you may not only establish your own temporal peace and happiness, but those of your posterity. Forgive this passionate language, I am unable to restrain it, it is the language of the heart.

I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient and very humble servant,

JOHN HANCOCK, President.

To the Convention of New-Hampshire.

(Same to the Assembly of Massachusetts-Bay, and the Assembly of Connecticut. )

ELBRIDGE GERRY TO JAMES WARREN.

Philadelphia, June 25, 1776.

MY DEAR SIR: I am favoured with your very agreeable letter of the 10th of June, and am in hopes Congress will soon render it unnecessary to take further measures preparatory to the Declaration of Independence. New-Jersey has appointed five new Delegates, and instructed them to vote in favour of the question; and it appears to me there is not even a doubt of any Colony on the continent, except New-York and Maryland. These will not impede us a moment. 1 do not affirm that either of these are of the neuter gender; but on the other hand am persuaded the people are in favour of a total and final separation, and will support the measure, even if the Conventions and Delegates of those Colonies vote against it.

Since my first arrival in this city, the New-England Delegates have been in a continual war with the advocates of Proprietary interests in Congress and this Colony. These are they who are most in the way of the measures we have proposed; but I think the contest is pretty nearly at an end, and am persuaded that the people of this and the middle Colonies have a clearer view of their interests, and will use their endeavours to eradicate the Ministerial influence of Governours, Proprietors, and Jacobites, and that they now more confide in the politicks of the New-England Colonies than they ever did in those of their hitherto unequal Governments. Yours, as ever,

ELBRIDGE GERRY.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM PHILADELPHIA, DATED JUNE 25, 1776.

Captain Speake, of Virginia, is arrived at Chincoteague with six thousand pounds of powder, and twelve thousand pounds of brimstone, some fire-arms, &c. The Kingfisher brought a schooner into the road, where she burnt her. By last accounts from the Capes, the enemy’s ships were all on a cruise along the coast. Captain Walker, of Wilmington, who was taken in a brig, is sent in the same brig to Halifax. Colonel Miles writes that he imagines he shall have to disarm the Tories in Sussex. The Deputies in Conference, on Sunday last, took the sense of the Members present on Independence, when every man rose to show his assent to the same, and they have since drawn up a declaration of their sentiments in favour of Independence, which they will deliver to Congress. I am just told the schooner which was burnt belonged to Egg-Harbour.

GENERAL WASHINGTON TO HENRY BROOMFIELD.

New-York, June 25, 1776.

SIR: The honourable Congress having determined a valuation shall be made of the ordnance stores taken last fall by Captain Manly, and directed me to appoint a person on behalf of the continent to do it in conjunction with one to be chosen by Captain Manly, as you will perceive by the enclosed resolve, I must request the favour of you to undertake the business. I have transmitted the original invoice to Major-General Ward, upon which you are to act. It will be necessary to qualify, as the resolve directs, and after the estimate is made, to annex it to the invoice under your hand. General Ward will forward it to me when it is finished. And praying your excuse for this trouble and liberty, I am, &c.,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

To Mr. Henry Broomfield.

(A similar letter sent to Commodore Manly. )

GENERAL WASHINGTON TO COLONEL JAMES CLINTON.

New-York, June 25, 1776.

SIR: I received yours of the 20th instant, and in answer thereto request you to draw out of your regiment all the armourers in it, and set them immediately to work. They will receive the same pay as the armourers here do under the like circumstances. You must endeavour to engage the one you mention upon the same terms that are given here; but if you cannot do better, you must continue him on those contained in your letter.

In respect to keeping two of the Commissioners, if they are absolutely necessary, it must be done, till you are provided with an Engineer, or so long as they may be wanted. Will not one be sufficient? If it will, two need not be retained.

It being impossible to procure a sufficient number of tents for the whole Army, it will be necessary for you to procure a quantity of thin boards, which you must have put up in a close manner, to answer the purpose. This is now doing for General Scott’s Militia brigade, and will do exceedingly well.

I cannot but consider the pay of the carpenters enormous and extravagant; nor can I suggest any good reason why they should receive more than those employed here; some of which (for instance, Captain Bruen’s Company, from the Jerseys) are complete workmen, and can execute almost any kind of work in the best manner. I desire you will endeavour to lessen their pay, and to prevail on them to receive no more than what is given here.

The pay-rolls will be settled by the Provincial Congress up to the last of April inclusive, as has been done with the other troops raised in this Colony. The abstracts after that time will be taken in and paid by me as others are.

I observe by the returns, that your regiment is still greatly deficient in arms, which is a circumstance highly distressing at this time. As I have no prospect of getting any that I know of, I request you to place no dependance on me for a supply, and that you will use every possible method you can to procure what you want from the country people, or wheresoever they can be had by purchasing.

I am, &c.,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

To Colonel James Clinton, Fort Constitution.

P. S. The powder of the Province in your hands, and which is made up in cartridges, you must not spare by any means; but repay the quantity of it out of the Continental Army.

GENERAL WASHINGTON TO COLONEL BAYLEY.

New-York, June 25, 1776.

SIR: I this morning received yours of the 28th ultimo, and approve the measures you had adopted for opening the road to St. Johns, which may be still proper to pursue; but as our Army in Canada, since their retreat from Quebeck, has met with further misfortunes, and there is the strongest reason to believe they will be obliged to abandon the possession of that country, if they have not already done it, I would advise you to consider well the advantages and disadvantages that will result from completing the work. If the enemy will be thereby afforded an easy pass to make incursions into our Colonies, and to commit depredations, and the advantages we shall derive from it will not greatly overbalance these inconveniences, it will be improper to carry it on.

The change which has taken place in our affairs in that quarter may render what was extremely right to be done some time ago, very inexpedient and inadvisable now. As you are well acquainted with the country through which the communication was designed to be made, and I am not, I shall submit the propriety of completing it to you, under the circumstances I have mentioned, not meaning to direct you to one thing or another.

I presume you received my letter of the 29th of April, and the two hundred and fifty pounds I sent by Mr. Wallace. You have not mentioned it.

I am, sir, your most obedient servant,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

To Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob Bayley, Bulls-Head.