On a motion made, Ordered, That Mr. Starke, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Henry, Mr. Blair, Mr. Gilmer, Mr. Randolph, and Mr. Travis, be a Committee to inquire for a proper Hospital for the reception and accommodation of the sick and wounded Soldiers.

Ordered, That all Petitions and Propositions, referred from the last to the present Convention, be referred to the Committee of Propositions and Grievances, and that they are to report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

Mr. Richard Lee, from the Committee of Publick Claims, reported that the Committee had, according to order, had under their consideration several Petitions to them referred, and had come to the following Resolutions thereupon; which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk’s table, where the same were again twice read, and agreed to.

Resolved, That the Petition of George Wray, John Jones, Alexander and George Graham, and Henry Sinclair, praying to be allowed for several Vessels furnished by them to stop the Channel of Hampton River, in order to prevent the attacks of the enemy, is reasonable, and that the value of the said Vessels ought to be paid the Petitioners by the publick.

Resolved, That the said George Wray, one of the said Petitioners, ought to be allowed the sum of £240 5s., the value of the Vessel furnished by him.

Resolved, That the Petition of William Chapman and George Slaughter, who, as Captains, commanded two Companies of Militia which were drafted and ordered out upon the Indian expedition, praying to be allowed further pay, other than was allowed them by the Commissioners appointed to settle the accounts relative to that expedition, be rejected.

Resolved, That the Petition of Matthew Wilson, an Ensign of Militia in the late Indian expedition, praying a further allowance of pay, be rejected.

A Petition of Edward Hansford, in behalf of his daughter Elizabeth Hansford, was presented to the Convention, and read; setting forth, that the said Elizabeth, at the time of burning the remains of Norfolk Town, was seized in fee simple of a good dwelling-house and about four lots of land, in Duke Street, in the said Town of Norfolk, which house was valued at £150; that she had also the misfortune, to have sundry goods, to the amount of £32 5s., destroyed therewith, and hath only received the sum of £ 10 in part of the said valuation, paid by order of the Committee of Safety; that he also was assisted by two wagons employed in the service of this Colony, three days and a half, at 15s. per day, and one wagon two days and a half, at the same rate, which, together with three days’ provision for nine in family, amounts, in the whole, including the £10 aforesaid, to £17 19s. 4½d., leaving a balance of £132 0s. 7½ d. due to the said Elizabeth; that being about to remove to the interior parts of the country, she prays the said balance may, by direction of this Convention, be paid to her.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the Committee of Propositions and Grievances, and they are to report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

Two Petitions of the Inhabitants of Pendleton District, situate to the westward of Fincastle County, together with the Proceedings of the Committee of the said County thereupon, were presented to the Convention, and read; setting forth that, being deeply impressed with a sense of the tyrannical and oppressive measures carried on by the British Ministry, and also of the necessity of a noble and spirited resistance, they think it unnatural that they, though few, should remain inactive while their brethren are bleeding in the field; that their local situation hath hitherto deprived them of the blessing of being under the immediate direction of any regular judicature, by means whereof they could contribute their mite in support of the glorious cause; that they have now formed themselves into a Society, and chosen a Committee to superintend their publick affairs; that John Carter and Robert Lucas, two gentlemen of the neighbouring settlement, called Washington District, taking advantage of the present disorders, pretend they have purchased the lands of the Petitioners, and have exercised many unwarrantable oppressions, in seizing their improved possessions without allowing them any reward, or giving them the least notice, and publickly declaring that all others who will not accede to their terms, and receive titles of them, at such exorbitant prices as they shall think proper to exact, shall be turned out of possession; that, though settled in a remote part of the country, they beg they may not be considered as alienated from their American brethren, but be incorporated into, and deemed part of the Colony of Virginia, whose protection they claim, and whose direction and jurisdiction they acknowledge in the fullest extent.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the Committee on the state of the Colony.

Resolved, That this Convention will to-morrow again resolve itself into a Committee, to take into their further consideration the state of the Colony.

Ordered, That Mr. Lockhart, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Field, Mr. Gee, and Mr. Fulgham, be added to the Committee of Publick Claims; Mr. William Digges and Mr. Campbell to the Committee of Propositions and Grievances; and Mr. Bowyer to the Committee appointed to prepare a Declaration of Rights, and such a plan of Government as will be most likely to maintain peace and order in this Colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the people.

Adjourned till to-morrow, ten o’clock.

Wednesday, May 22, 1776.

Ordered, That the Letter from the Delegates appointed to represent this Colony in General Congress to the Committee of Safety, and formerly laid before the Convention, advising them that the Indians had complained to the Agent for Indian Affairs that their lands had been encroached upon, and that Mr. John Harvie and Mr. Charles Sims had made surveys, and taken possession of Montour’s Island, in the Ohio, a few miles below Pittsburgh, together with sundry Depositions and Papers relative thereto, now laid before the Convention, be referred to Mr. Mercer, Mr. Wood, Mr. Richard Lee, Mr. Clapham, Mr. Peyton, Mr. Henry Lee, Mr. George Mason, Mr. Thomas Lewis, Mr. Hite, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Drew, Mr. Bird, Mr. Tipton, Mr. McDowell, Mr. Bowyer, Mr. Lockhart, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Henry, and they are to inquire into the truth of the said complaint, and report the same, together with their opinion thereupon, to the Convention.

Mr. Henry, from the Committee of Propositions and Grievances, reported that the Committee had, according to order, had under their consideration the Petition of John Ballendine and John Reveley, to them referred, and that it appeared the casting of proper cannon is only to be effected by a Foundry, for which pit coal is absolutely necessary; but as the security of this Colony greatly depends on an immediate supply of cannon, they are of opinion that a Foundry should be erected and carried on upon the publick account; that the erecting a blast furnace on Fhelps’s Creek, near James River, will not only furnish the Foundry with pig iron, but at a much cheaper rate than can be furnished from any other blast furnace in this Colony, the Petitioners having offered to supply this Colony with any quantity they can make, delivered at the Foundry, at £ 7 10s., currency, per ton, and have engaged to set about such work immediately, upon receiving the sum of £5,000 in advance, to be lodged in the hands of trustees, and paid to them at such times as the said trustees shall judge necessary for carrying on such works, for the repayment of which, in five equal payments, they propose to give security on the lands they shall purchase and the works thereon; and that the Committee had come to the following Resolutions there-upon; which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk’s table, where the same were again twice read, and agreed to:

Resolved, That so much of the said Petition as prays the assistance of the publick in advancing money to enable the Petitioners to erect a Blast Furnace, is reasonable; and that a sum of money, not exceeding £5,000, be advanced by the publick for that purpose, in the manner and on the terms mentioned in the foregoing Report.

Resolved, That such other part of the said Petition as relates to the Foundry, be rejected; for that the same ought to be erected on the publick account.

Mr. Cary, from the Committee of Privileges and Elections, reported that the Committee had inquired into the