THURSDAY, June 1, 1775.

The committee appointed to consider Gen. Thomas's letter, brought in the following report, which was accepted, and a copy of it ordered to be sent to the muster master at Cambridge, and another to the muster master at Roxbury, viz.:

The committee appointed to consider a letter from Gen. Thomas, relative to immediately paying the army the advance pay, have attended that service, and beg leave to report, that they have waited on the receiver general, to know of him how soon he can furnish the muster masters with the notes proposed for the army; and were informed by the receiver general, he now had several hundred notes ready to deliver; and that he had provided all necessary helps, and would make the greatest despatch possible; and that he should be able, at least, to pay off one regiment every day, and perhaps more; and that he would, from day to day, deliver one half of said notes to the muster master at Cambridge, and the other half to the muster master at Roxbury.

Ordered, That a copy of the above be sent to the muster masters. Ordered, That Col. Jones and Mr. Orne, be added to the committee who were appointed to consider the returns of members from Eastham.

Resolved, That the following members be, and hereby are appointed, monitors in this Congress, viz.: 1st. Col. Gerrish: 2d. Mr. Durfee 3d. Col. Farley: 4th. Doct. Taylor: And that the division of the house be as follows, viz. :

First Division: the pews at the right hand of the pulpit, and all the pews on the west and south part of the meeting-house, from the aisle that bounds the seats and the body pews:

Second Division: the pews on the left hand of the pulpit, and all the pews on the north and east part of the house, from the aisle that bounds the seats and the body pews:

Third Division: all the body pews and seats on the left hand of the broad aisle :

Fourth Division: all the body pews and seats on the right hand of the broad aisle.

Resolved, That this Congress will adopt and observe the rules and orders established by the last Congress.

cumstance, and sending an express this night with it, is, because we have just heard that you have an armed vessel in your port."

"We have ordered two small vessels to cruize off and on, and, if possible, give this intelligence to all vessels bound to this or any other port, and trust you will do the same.

By order of the Committee.

Your most humble servant,

H. WENTWORTH, Chairman.”

To the Committee of Correspondence, Newbury.

Ordered, That Col. Prescott, Mr. Slead, Col. Barrett, Mr. Thatcher, and Mr. Partridge, be a committee to consider what number of the poor of the town of Boston should be sent to the town of Ashby, or other towns, not mentioned in the schedule annexed to a resolve passed in the last Congress.

[The committee presented the following report, which was read and accepted :]

Whereas, the poor of the town of Boston, by a resolve of Congress passed the first day of May last, are confined to a certain number of towns and districts in this colony, as appears by a schedule annexed to said resolve, and some of said poor having relations and connections in other towns and districts than are mentioned in said schedule, and being desirous to go and reside in such places, it is, therefore, Resolved, that the poor of Boston may be removed into any other town or district in this colony, where the selectmen of such town or district shall see fit to receive them, all such towns and districts observing the rules, regulations and directions given in the resolve aforesaid, and shall be entitled to the same rewards and privileges as mentioned in said resolve.

Ordered, That Deacon Fisher, Mr. Spaulding, Mr. Stickney, Mr. Partridge and Major Perley, be a committee to consider the proposal of the reverend gentlemen of the clergy, now in convention at Watertown, [which is as follows:]

To the Hon. Joseph Warren, Esq., President of the Provincial Congress of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, &c.:

SIR-We, the pastors of the congregational churches of the colony of the Massachusetts Bay, in our present annual convention, gratefully beg leave to express the sense we have of the regard shewn by the honorable Provincial Congress to us, and the encouragement they have been pleased to afford to our assembling as a body this day. Deeply impressed with sympathy for the distresses of our much injured and oppressed country, we are not a little relieved, in beholding the representatives of this people, chosen by their free and unbiassed suffrages, now met to concert measures for their relief and defence, in whose wisdom and integrity, under the smiles of Divine Providence, we cannot but express our entire confidence.

As it has been found necessary to raise an army for the common safety, and our brave countrymen have so willingly offered themselves to this hazardous service, we are not insensible of the vast burden that their necessary maintenance must [devolve] upon the people. We,

therefore, cannot forbear, upon this occasion, to offer our services to the public, and to signify our readiness, with the consent of our several congregations, to officiate, by rotation, as chaplains to the army.

We devoutly commend the Congress, and our brethren in arms, t the guidance and protection of that Providence, which, from the first settlement of this country, has so remarkably appeared for the preser vation of its civil and religious rights.

SAMUEL LANGDON, Moderator.

At the Convention of the Ministers of the Massachusetts Bay, June 1, 1775:

"The convention, taking into consideration the method of furnishing the army with chaplains, agreeably to the offer they have made to the honorable Congress, think it most expedient, that a sufficient number of persons should be chosen out of their number, by the officers of the army, to officiate statedly, rather than by quick rotation, in that character; and the convention depend, that the parochial duties of those ministers who shall serve in the army, will be performed by their brethren in the vicinity.

A true copy. Test:

AMOS ADAMS, Scribe."

Ordered, That Major Fuller, Col. Cushing and Major Whittemore, be a committee to inquire how many armourers are already appointed in the Massachusetts army, and how many more are necessary.

Ordered, That Major Brooks, Capt. Stone and Mr. Crane, be a committee to consider the letter from the selectmen of the town of Hopkinton, and that they sit forthwith.1

The committee appointed to consider the letter from the committee of correspondence for the colony of New Hampshire, reported, verbally, that it was their opinion, that it would be expedient to forward, forthwith, a copy of said letter to the committee of correspondence for the colony of Rhode Island, and another to the colony of Connecticut, and that the several members of the sea port towns, or of the towns adjacent, should write to the committee of such sea port towns, informing them of the subject of said letter.

(1) This letter states, that a false alarm having been spread in the town of Hopkinton and the country adjoining, the people were called from their labors, and much and useless loss of time and expense incurred; to prevent a repetition of such alarms, a meeting of the inhabitants was held, and a committee of safety, consisting of Gilbert Dench, Samuel Park, Ebenezer Claflin, Samuel Hayden and Jonathan Hale, appointed, to determine when it should be necessary for the people of the town to march on any alarm; and desired the Congress to establish some signal, by which authentic intelligence might be distinguished from false reports.

Ordered, That Col. Thompson, Col. Freeman and Mr. Jewett, be a committee to consider a letter from the committee of safety for the town of Salem, and report.1

The committee on the Eastham returns, reported, that in their opinion neither of the members were legally chosen; the report, after debate, was not accepted.

Resolved, That this last vote be reconsidered, and that a recommendation be sent to the town of Eastham, to choose one or more members, as to them shall seem meet, to represent them in this Congress.

Afternoon.

The committee appointed to consider the letter from the committee of safety of the town of Salem, reported; which report was accepted, and is as follows, viz. :

The committee appointed by the honorable Provincial Congress, to take into consideration the letter from the committee of safety, and town clerk, for the town of Salem, respecting the answers of Mr. Stephen Higginson to questions asked him before the House of Commons of Great Britain, &c., beg leave to report: that they have critically examined that matter, and are of opinion that the intentions of said Higginson, in those answers, were friendly to the inhabitants of Salem and Marblehead, and to the colonies in general, and that he ought to be honorably acquitted by this Congress, and recommended to the favor of the public.

(1) A petition against the fishery bill, having been presented in the House of Commons of Great Britain, in the spring of 1775, setting forth that a great number of innocent persons, particularly in the island of Nantucket, would be reduced by it to extreme distress," Mr. Stephen Higginson, a native of Salem, in New England," says a London paper, "was called to the bar, to prove the allegations in the petition. He stated that the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island, did not collectively produce sufficient for the subsistence of their inhabitants, and that they received considerable from the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York; that there were then employed in the cod fisheries about 700 vessels, from 15 to 70 tons, which carried about 4200 men, and that about one half of that number were employed on shore in curing the fish; that about 350 vessels from 50 to 180 tons, were employed in conveying the fish to market, which carried about 3000 men; that if the cod fisheries should be prohibited, about 10,000 men must be under the necessity of seeking employment; and that as the major part of them would not settle at Halifax, on account of its being a military government, they must either stay at home and want bread, emigrate to the southward, or go to the French at Miquelon and St. Pierre ; and as many of the inhabitants at and near Marblehead were Portuguese, Dutch, and other foreigners, it was not unlikely but they might easily be induced thereto." The above statements of Mr. Higginson were printed in the Essex Gazette, vol. vii, number 353, and gave offence to many of the inhabitants of Salem and Marblehead, as being designed to injure the province. Upon the return of Mr. Higginson from London, he immediately presented himself before the committee of safety of Salem, who, after an examination, were entirely satisfied of his innocence and good intention in the matters complained of, and recommended that he wait on the Provincial Congress, and obtain the decision of that body to quiet the minds of the people. The communications of Richard Derby, Esq., chairman of the committee of safety, and of Timothy Pickering, Jr., Esq., clerk of the town of Salem, presented these facts for the consideration of Congress.

Ordered, That the Hon. Mr. Dexter, be directed to inquire of the receiver general, if he has received the money from the Hon. Mr. Russell, agreeably to the resolve of the last Congress.

Ordered, That Deacon Bayley, Capt. Holmes and Col. Thompson, be a committee to draw up a resolve, recommending to the town of Eastham to choose a new member or members to represent them in this Congress.

Ordered, That three hundred passes, of the following form, be printed, viz.:

TO THE GUARDS OF THE COLONY ARMY:

Pursuant to a resolve of the Provincial Congress, you are hereby ordered to permit a member of said Congress, to pass and repass, with such as may accompany him, at all times.

June

1775.

President.

Hon. Mr. Dexter reported to the Congress, that he had made inquiry of Mr. Gardner, the receiver general, as directed, and that the receiver general informed him he had not seen Mr. Russell since the order of Congress, respecting his paying the public moneys he has in his hands to Mr. Gardner.

The committee appointed to consider the letter from the selectmen of Hopkinton, reported: the report was recommitted, and Mr. Phillips, Mr. Partridge, Col. Richmond and Mr. Sawyer added to the committee.

Ordered, That Doct. Taylor, Hon. Mr. Dexter and the Hon. Col. Bowers, be a committee to consider the application made to this Congress by Col. Barrett, in behalf of the Rev. Mr. Emerson, for the use of one of the horses taken from the regulars, during the absence of the Hon. Thomas Cushing, Esq., who has Mr. Emerson's horse now in the public service.

The committee appointed to consider the request of Mr. Emerson, reported. The report was accepted, and is as follows, viz.:

The committee appointed to consider the request of the Rev. William Emerson of Concord, respecting the use of a horse taken upon the 19th of April last, from one of the regulars, by Mr. Isaac Kittridge of Tewksbury, Capt. Nathan Barrett, and Henry Flint of Concord, beg leave to report, by way of resolve, that said horse be delivered to said Emerson, by the person or persons in whosesoever possession he may be found, he, the said Emerson, paying a reasonable price for