A letter, of the 10th, from major-general Lee, at Williamsburg, with three papers enclosed, was laid before Congress, and read:

Resolved, That the same be referred to a committee of five:

The members chosen, Mr. R. H. Lee, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Middleton, Mr. Paine, and Mr. Wolcott.

Certain resolutions of the convention of South-Carolina, respecting the battalions raised in that colony; also, certain resolutions passed by the general assembly of the said colony, respecting the manner in which commissioners, coming from England, are to be received and treated in that colony, were laid before Congress, and read.

Resolved, That the resolutions respecting the battalions, be referred to a committee of five:

The members chosen, Mr. John Adams, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Floyd. Mr. W. Livingston, and Mr Morton.

The proceedings of the committee of secret correspondence were read. Congress then resolved itself into a committee of the whole, to take into their farther consideration the state of the United Colonies; and, after some time, the president resumed the chair, and Mr. Harrison reported, that the committee had taken into their farther consideration the matter referred to them; but, not having come to a conclusion, desired him to move for leave to sit again.

Resolved, That Congress will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a committee of the whole, to take into their farther consideration the state of the United Colonies.

Resolved, That Mr. Rutledge, at his request, be discharged from serving on the marine committee, and that Mr. Middleton be a member of the said committee in his stead.

Adjourned to ten o'clock to-morrow.

TUESDAY, May 21, 1776.

Sundry letters and papers were laid before Congress, and read, viz.

Three letters from general Washington, of the 18th, 19th and 20th, enclosing sundry letters and papers of intelligence from England, and a copy of the treaties made by his Britannic majesty with the duke of Brunswick, for 4,084 of his troops; with the landgrave of Hesse Cassel, for 12,000 of his troops; and with the count of Hanau for 668 of his troops:

A letter from William Palfrey, with a copy of his weekly account:

A letter from John Langdon to general Washington:

A petition from Samuel Austin, John Rowe, S. Pattridge, Samuel Dashwood, and John Scolly, of Boston :

Resolved, That the said letters, and papers and petition, be referred to a committee of five; that the said committee be directed to extract and publish the treaties, and such parts of the intelligences as they think proper; also, to consider of an adequate reward for the person who brought the intelligence; and that they prepare an address to the foreign mercenaries who are coming to invade America :

The members chosen, Mr. J. Adams, Mr. W. Livingston, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. R. H. Lee, and Mr. Sherman.

Congress took into consideration the report respecting prisoners, which was agreed to as follows:

Resolved, That all persons taken in arms on board any prize, be deemed prisoners, to be taken care of by the supreme executive power in each colony to which they are brought, whether the prize be taken by vessels fitted out by the continent, or by others:

That such as are taken, be treated as prisoners of war, but with humanity, and be allowed the same rations as the troops in the service of the United Co

lonies; but that such as are officers supply themselves, and be allowed to draw bills to pay for their subsistence and clothing:

That officers made prisoners in the land service, be allowed the same indul

gence:

That the officers be not permitted to reside in or near any seaport town, nor public post-road; and that the officers and privates be not suffered to reside in the same places :

That in case the officers cannot draw or sell their bills, the Congress will allow for each of them, two dollars a week for board and lodgings, to be repaid by said officers before they are released from their captivity:

That no tavern-keepers supply any officers, who are prisoners, on the credit of the continent:

That the capitulations entered into with prisoners, at the time of their surrender, be punctually observed:

That such officers as surrender prisoners of war, be put on their parole, unless Congress shall otherwise direct:

That the form of the parole be as follows:

I

being made a prisoner of war by the army of the thirteen United Colonies, in North-America, do promise and engage, on my word and honor, and on the faith of a gentleman, to depart from hence to in the province of being the place of my destination and residence, and there, or within six miles thereof, to remain during the present war between GreatBritain and the said United Colonies, or until the Congress of the said United Colonies, or the assembly, convention, or committee, or council of safety of the said colony, shall order otherwise; and that I will not, directly or indirectly, give any intelligence whatsoever to the enemies of the United Colonies, or do or say any thing in opposition to, or in prejudice of the measures and proceedings of any Congress for the said colonies, during the present troubles, or until I am duly exchanged or discharged. Given under my hand, this · day

That the said parole be signed by the officers:

That such as refuse to subscribe the parole, be committed to prison :

That David Franks, esq. agent to the contractors for victualling the troops of the king of Great-Britain, be permitted to supply the prisoners with provisions and other necessaries, and to sell his bills for such sums of money as are necessary for that purpose:

And, to enable him to do this to the satisfaction of his employers, that a commissioned officer be permitted, once a month, to visit the prisoners so victualled and supplied, in order to count their numbers and certify the rolls:

That such of the prisoners as are not supplied by Mr. Franks, be furnished with provisions not exceeding the rations allowed to privates in the service of the continent.

That the women and children belonging to prisoners, be furnished with subsistence, and supplied with firing and other things absolutely necessary for their support:

That no prisoners be inlisted in the continental army:

That the prisoners be permitted to exercise their trades, and to labor, in order to support themselves and families :

That the committees of inspection and observation, for the counties, districts, or towns, assigned for the residence of prisoners, be empowered to superintend their conduct, and, in cases of gross misbehavior, to confine them, and report to their respective assemblies, conventions, or committees, or councils of safety, the proceedings had on such occasions :

That a list of the prisoners in each colony be made out by the committees of the counties, towns, or districts where they reside, and transmitted to the assembly, convention, or council or committee of safety of such colony, respective. ly, who shall send a copy thereof to Congress.

That the said assemblies, conventions, and committees or councils of safety, be empowered to contract, with proper persons, for the most reasonable terms for supplying such of the prisoners, their wives and children, in their respective colony, as are not supplied by Mr. Franks:

That the said assemblies, conventions, and committees or councils of safety, be authorized and requested, to take the paroles of the officers, and to cause a strict observance of the terms on which they are enlarged, and also to take especial care, that none of those confined by order of the Congress, be suffered to escape; also, to advance the allowance of two dollars a week to each of the officers who cannot draw or sell their bills, and to draw for the same on the president of the Congress:

That the said assemblies, conventions, committees or councils of safety of the colonies, respectively, in which prisoners are or shall choose or be appointed to reside, be empowered to remove such prisoners from place to place, within the same colonies, as often as to such assemblies, conventions, committees or councils of safety, it shall seem proper, having-regard to the former resolutions of Congress concerning prisoners.

The committee, to whom the letter, of the 10th, from general Lee, was referred, brought in their report, which was read, and after some debate,

Resolved, That the farther consideration thereof be postponed till the arrival of general Washington.

A letter from Allan M'Donald, a prisoner at Reading, to John Nixon, esq. president of the committee of safety of Pennsylvania, was laid before Congress, and read.

The committee to whom the letters from general Washington, major-general Schuyler, and the commissioners in Canada, were referred, brought in their report, which was read.

Resolved, That the consideration thereof be postponed till to-morrow.

The committee for superintending the treasury, to whom it was referred to consider and report a plan for carrying into effect the resolution of Congress for emitting five millions of dollars, brought in their report, which was read: Resolved, That the consideration thereof be postponed till to-morrow. The several matters to this day referred, being postponed,

Adjourned to ten o'clock to-morrow.

WEDNESDAY, May 22, 1776.

A petition from James M'Knight was presented to Congress, and read. A report being made on the petition of P. Simons, the same was taken into consideration: Whereupon,

Resolved, That it appears James M'Knight hath proceeded in the sale of the sloop Sally and her cargo, contrary to the mode prescribed, and without any authority from Congress:

That the resolution passed the 4th of April, "empowering the committee of inspection and observation of the county of Burlington, to make sale of the sloop Sally and the cargo on board, and to pay one-half of the net proceeds to James McKnight for salvage, and retain the other half for the owner or owners,"

be set aside.

Resolved, That it be an instruction to the marine committee, to procure an exact account of the number and weight of the cannon lately taken at Providence. Congress resumed the consideration of the report on the letters from general Washington, &c. received the 16th and 18th; Whereupon,

Resolved, That the instructions given to Mr. Price by major-general Schuyler be approved: That general Schuyler be directed to take any farther measures for supplying the army in Canada with provisions, which his prudence may suggest, in which Congress place the highest confidence:

That general Schuyler be informed of the difficulty of procuring specie, and directed, as far as possible, to remedy that inconvenience, by purchasing such

necessaries as can be obtained in these colonies, and to appoint store-keepers, and other officers, for the sale and distribution thereof:

That general Schuyler be informed, that Congress have in view these two great objects, the protection and assistance of our Canadian friends, and the securing so much of that country as may prevent any communication between our enemies and the Indians: The means of effecting these purposes by fortifying proper posts, building armed vessels where most expedient, opening roads of communication or otherwise, are left to the determination of a council or councils of war, governing themselves by events and their knowledge of the country:

That general Washington, or the commanding officer at New-York, be directed to send from thence to Ticonderoga, so many light cannon as will be sufficient to arm the vessels now in lake Champlain :

That the attention of the commissioners in Canada to the restoration of order and discipline, and to the punishment of those by whom they are violated, deserves the approbation of Congress:

That the specie now in the treasury, and as much more as can be procured, not exceeding the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, to be immediately remitted to the commissioners for the payment of debts due from these colonies in Canada, and for the preservation of public credit:

That the commissioners in Canada be directed, if necessary, to appoint 'proper persons to collect and audit the public accounts in that province:

That the commissioners in Canada, and general Schuyler, be informed, that we cannot give them any assurance of maintaining our army there by hard money; but, that this ought not to discourage our operations, Congress being determined to send, from these colonies, supplies of provisions and all other necessaries, if hard money cannot be obtained; and that, in the mean time, the best endeavors shall be used to procure the sum of one hundred thousand dollars:

That some person or persons be employed by the president in New-England, as an agent or agents, to procure, if possible, hard money, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, and as soon as a considerable sum is obtained, the said agents be directed to transmit the same to the commissioners of Congress in Canada, for the use of the army, there, and in case of the absence of the commissioners, the same to be delivered to the deputy pay-master general: That such presents be made to the Indians on the delivery of the hatchet, as the commissioners in Canada think prudent:

That 500,000 dollars be sent as soon as possible to general Schuyler.
The committee of claims reported, that there is due,

On sundry certificates exhibited by Joseph Donaldson, the sum of 467.6 dollars, and that the same ought to be paid to Robert M'Pherson, esq. and

Captain Dowdle's company, charged with

Captain Nelson's company, charged with
Captain James Grier, for a rifle, with

Captain Cressop's company, for rifles, with

Captain Stevenson's company with

The remainder to the continent:

13 1-3 dollars.

26.8

91-3

24.5

8 2-3

To Robert Erwin, wagon-master, for transporting salt-petre from Egg-Harbor, the sum of 117.4 dollars:

To Robert Patton, for 163 days attendance as a messenger, the sum of 108.7 dollars :

1

To Hugh Hodge, for medicines for the third Pennsylvania battalion, the sum of 27.4 dollars:

To Samuel Kennedy, surgeon to the fourth Pennsylvania. battalion, the sum of 14.1 dollars:

To Michael Whitman, for provision furnished 'prisoners from St. John's, the sum of £ 1 15 6, Pennsylvania currency, and that the same ought to be

}

paid to Adam Kimmel, together with two-thirds of a dollar omitted to be charged in a former account rendered by him, the whole amounting to 5.5 dollars.

On several accounts rendered by major Nicholas Hausegger, for necessaries for the fourth Pennsylvania battalion, the sum of 203.7 dollars, and that the same ought to be paid to him:

To Christian Levy, for a rifle, the sum of 8 dollars, which ought to be charged to captain Nelson:

To major Nicholas Hausegger, for divers expenses paid by him, the sum of

34.4 dollars:

To John Barnes for boarding officers, prisoners at Trenton, the sum of 77.3 dollars; of which sum,

Dr. Nuddleston to be charged with

Lieutenant Namar,

Major Regonville,

Lieutenant Symes,

24 dollars.

24 do.

16, do.

13.3 do.

On several accounts exhibited by Lewis Gordon, esq. for sundry necessaries furnished by Northampton committee to captain Nelson's and captain Craig's companies, the sum of 1310.1 dollars; of which there ought to be charged,

To captain Craig's company,

And to captain Nelson's company,
The remainder to the continent:

Ordered, That the said accounts be paid.

1205.7 dollars.

7.2 do.

Resolved, That general Washington be empowered to appoint an assistantclerk to his secretary, with the pay of 40 dollars per month.

Resolved, That an order for 10,500 dollars be drawn on the treasurers, in favor of the delegates of Connecticut, to be by them transmitted to the governor and council of the said colony, for the use of the battalion ordered to be raised there by a resolution of the 16th instant, the said governor and council to be accountable.

That an order for 21,000 dollars be drawn on the treasurers in favor of the delegates of Massachusetts-Bay, to be by them transmitted to the assembly of the said colony, for the use of the two battalions ordered to be raised there by the resolution above mentioned, the said assembly to be accountable.

That the pay of the said three battalions commence from the time they are armed and mustered:

That an order for 10,500 dollars be drawn on the treasurers, in favor of the delegates of New-Hampshire, to be then transmitted to the council of the said colony, for the use of the battalion ordered to be raised there, by a resolution of the 14th instant, the said council to be accountable.

The Congress took into consideration the report of the committee for superintending the treasury: Whereupon,

Resolved, That the five millions of dollars, directed to be emitted in continental bills of credit, shall consist of the following denominations:

That the inspectors of the press for the last emission, be directed and authorized, to perform that service for the present emission, being first qualified agreeable to the resolution of Congress, passed the 21st of February last:

That the gentlemen appointed to sign and number the bills of credit of the last emission, be authorized to sign and number the bills of credit of five millions of dollars now agreed to be emitted, taking, before they shall enter upon their office, the oath or affirmation prescribed by the resolution of Congress of the 9th of March last:

VOL. I.

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