after some time spent therein, deferred the further consideration thereof till the afternoon.

Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Congress, the Militia of Monmouth County ought, for the present, to remain in their own County, excepting such part thereof as by the late Ordinance of this Congress were required to form their proportion of the New-Jersey Brigade of three thousand three hundred men.

Adjourned to three o’clock, afternoon.

Met according to adjournment.

Henry Waddell, Esq., Captain of a Grenadier Company in the Militia of Monmouth, having, by Petition, prayed that this Congress would accept a resignation of his Commission, assigning for reason that he was so frequently afflicted with the gout that he was rendered incapable of doing the duty of an officer,

Ordered, That his resignation be accepted.

Ordered, That Colonel Isaac Smith be directed to take charge of Christopher Vaught, John Vaught, Joseph Lee, Frederick Frittz, Thomas Buskirk, Jonathan Hunt, Jacob Hunt, Bartholomew Thatcher, John Brady, John Horpence, Philip Cool, Philip Fanker, James Greames, and William Thatcher, disaffected persons, apprehended by order of Congress, and to confine them in the common Jail of Trenton, and there to keep them under guard until the further order of this Congress or the Committee of Safety.

The Congress resumed the consideration of the Report of the Committee of the Whole; which, after sundry amendments, was agreed to.

On the question, Whether the draft of the Constitution,* formed on the Report of the Committee of the Whole, be now confirmed, or be deferred for further consideration, it was carried for confirming now, as follows:

FOR NOW.

FOR DEFERRING.

Adjourned till to-morrow morning, eight o’clock.

Wednesday, July 3, 1776.

Met according to adjournment.

Ordered, That Joseph Pancoast be commissioned as Captain, Henry Delatush First Lieutenant, John Kerlin Ensign, of a Company of Foot Militia in the Township of Mansfield, in Burlington County.

Ordered, That Captain Kinney be cited to appear before this Congress, and answer for his conduct in delaying the removal of William Franklin, Esq., to Connecticut.

Whereas authentick information has been received by this Congress that a number of disaffected persons have assembled in the County of Monmouth, preparing, by force of arms, to oppose the cause of American freedom, and to join the British Troops for the destruction of this country; and it being highly necessary that immediate measures be taken to subdue these dangerous Insurgents:

* Constitution of NEW-JERSEY, passed July2, 1776.

Whereas all the constituteonal authority ever possessed by the Kings of Great Britain over these Colonies or their other dominions was, by compact, derived from the People, and held of them for the common interest of the whole society:—allegiance and protection are, in the nature of things, reciprocal ties, each equally depending upon the other, and liable to be dissolved by the others being refused or withdrawn: And whereas George the Third, King of Great Britain, has refused protection to the good people of these Colonies, and, by assenting to sundry acts of the British Parliament, attempted to subject them to the absolute dominion of that body, and has also made war upon them in the most cruel and unnatural manner, for no other cause than asserting their just rights; all civil authority under him is necessarily at an end, and a dissolution of Government in each Colony has consequently taken place:

And whereas, in the present deplorable situation of these Colonies, exposed to the fury of a cruel and relentless enemy, some form of Government is absolutely necessary, not only for the preservation of good order, but also the more effectually to unite the people, and enable them to exert their whole force in their own necessary defence; and as the honourable the Continental Congress, the supreme council of the American Colonies, has advised such of the Colonies as have not yet gone into the measure to adopt for themselves respectively such Government as shall best conduce to their own happiness and safety, and the well-being of America in general: We, the Representatives of the Colony of New-Jersey, having been elected by all the Counties in the freest manner, and in Congress assembled, have, after mature deliberation, agreed upon a set of Charter Rights and the form of a Constitution, in manner following, viz:

I. That the Government of this Province shall be vested in a Governour, Legislative Council, and General Assembly.

II. That the said Legislative Council and Assembly shall be chosen for the first time on the second Tuesday of August next, the Members whereof shall be the same in number and qualifications as is hereinafter mentioned, and shall be and remain vested with all the powers and authority to be held by any future Legislative Council and Assembly of this Colony until the second Tuesday in October, which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven.

III. That on the said second Tuesday in October, yearly and every year forever, (with the privilege of adjourning from day to day, as occasion may require.) the Counties shall severally choose one person to be a Member of the Legislative Council of this Colony, who shall be, and have been for one whole year next before the election, an inhabitant and freeholder in the County in which he is chosen, and worth at least £1,000, Proclamation money, of real and personal estate within the same County; that, at the same time, each County shall also choose three Members of Assembly, provided that no person shall be entitled to a seat in the said Assembly, unless he be, and have been for one whole year next before the election, an inhabitant of the County he is to represent, and worth £500, Proclamation money, in real and personal estate in the same County; that on the second Tuesday next after the day of election the Council and Assembly shall separately meet, and that the consent of both Houses shall be necessary to every law, provided that seven shall be a quorum of the Council for doing business, and that no law shall pass unless there be a majority of all the Representatives of each body personally present and agreeing thereto: Provided, always, That if a majority of the Representatives of this Province, in Council and General Assembly convened, shall at any time or times hereafter judge it equitable and proper to add to or diminish the number or proportion of the Members of the Assembly for any County or Counties in this Colony, then and in such case the same may, on the principles of more equal representation, be lawfully done, anything in this Charter to the contrary notwithstanding, so that the whole number of Representatives in Assembly shall not at. any time be less than thirty-nine.

IV. That all the inhabitants of this Colony of full age who are worth £50, Proclamation money, clear estate in the same, and have resided within the County in which they claim a vote for twelve months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled to vote for Representatives in Council and Assembly, and also for all other publick officers that shall be elected by the people of the County at large.

V. That the Assembly, when met, shall have power to choose a Speaker, and other their officers, to be judges of the qualifications and election of their own Members, sit upon their own adjournments, prepare bills to be passed into laws, and to empower their Speaker to convene them whenever any extraordinary occurrence shall render it necessary.

VI. That the Council shall also have power to prepare bills to pass into laws, and have other like powers as the Assembly, and in all respects be a free and independent branch of the Legislature of this Colony, save only that they shall not prepare or alter any money bill, which shall be the privilege of the Assembly; that the Council shall from time to time be convened by the Govemour or Vice-President, but must be convened at all times when the Assembly sits, for which purpose the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall always, immediately after an adjournment, give notice to the Govemour or Vice-President of the time and place to which the House is adjourned.

VII. That the Council and Assembly jointly, at their first meeting after each annual election, shall, by a majority of votes, elect some fit person within the Colony to be a Govemour for one year, who shall be constant President of the Council, and having a casting vote in their proceedings; and that the Council themselves shall choose a Vice-President, who shall act as such in the absence of the Govemour.

VIII. That the Govemour, or, in his absence, the Vice-President of the Council, shall have the supreme executive power, be Chancellor of the Colony, and act as Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of all the Militia and other military force in this Colony; and that any three or more of the Council, shall at all times be a Privy Council, to advise the Govemour in all cases where he may find it necessary to consult them, and that the Govemour be Ordinary or Surrogate General.

IX. That the Governour and Council (seven whereof shall be a quorum) be the Court of Appeals in the last resort in all causes of law as heretofore; and that they possess the power of granting pardons to criminals after condemnation in all cases of treason, felony, or other offences.

X. That Captains and all other inferior officers of the Militia shall be chosen by the Companies in the respective Counties, but Field and General Officers by the Council and Assembly.

XI. That the Council and Assembly shall have power to make the Great Seal of this Colony, which shall be kept by the Governour, or, in his absence, by the Vice-President of the Council, to be used by them as occasion may require, and it shall be called the Great Seal of the Colony of New-Jersey.

XII. That the Judges of the Supreme Court shall continue in office for seven years, the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in the several Counties, Justices of the Peace, Clerks of the Supreme Court, Clerks of the Inferior Courts of Common Pleas and Quarter-Sessions, the Attorney-General and Provincial Secretary, shall continue in office for five years, and the Provincial Treasurer shall continue in office for one year, and that they shall be severally appointed by the Council and Assembly in manner aforesaid, and commissioned by the Governour, or, in his absence, by the Vice-President of the Council: Provided, always, That the said officers severally shall be capable of being reappointed at