Ordered, That the secret committee report in what manner the s ought, in their opinion, to be disposed of.

Resolved, That Mr. S. Collins be requested to order the tents fit i which belonged to William Barrel, lately deceased, to be delivered to. for the army, and that the amount thereof be paid by Mr. Mease. tion of Mr. Collins, or other person properly authorized for that purpose Ordered, That the marine committee deliver over to the direction of 22 mittee of secret correspondence two of the continental cruisers now sea, to perform such voyages as they shall think necessary for the servizz

states:

That the marine committee give orders to the remainder of the cut cruisers, now in the port of Philadelphia, and ready for sea, to procee voyages, or perform such immediate services, as the secret committe rect, in writing, addressed to the commanders thereof.

Resolved, That three members be added to the committee of sect pondence.

The members chosen, Mr. R. H. Lee, Mr. Witherspoon, and Mr. Br The marine committee to whom was referred the account of captam. dale, brought in a report, which was taken into consideration; Where Resolved, That there be paid to capt. Sion Martindale the sum of 1 dollars, in full of expenses and disbursements on the brig Washing other expenses from Halifax to Casco-Bay.

The committee of treasury reported, that Edward Snikers, of Virgi duced an account of rifles and other articles, furnished for the use of Stevenson's battalion, amounting to £347 4, Virginia currency, of whi tain Abraham Sheppard is to account for £67 15, and the remainder. £279 9, to be charged to the said battalion; that the said Snikers ge for £64 16, money aforesaid, received from colonel Stevenson, the due to the said Snikers being £282 8, equal to 941 30-90 dollars, to to Thomas Rutherford :

That William Brady, of colonel Stevenson's battalion, drew an order lonel Valentine Crawford, one of the executors of the late colonel St for the use of the said battalion, for the sum of 150 dollars, which re paid by the said V. Crawford, and that he ought to be reimbursed the which is to be charged to the said Brady:

That they have had under consideration the accounts of captain Dur gan, amounting, with his own and three lieutenants' pay, the loss of he was taken at the storm of Quebec, expenses of recruiting his co pairing guns which he is charged with, and ought to be allowed, in to 1389 80-90 dollars:

That the said Morgan credits the several charges against him in th nental books, amounting to 1614 84-90 dollars; by which there appear a balance due to the public of 224 184-90 dollars:

Ordered, That the said accounts be paid and credited, agreeable to

report.

A petition from William Jenkins was read, and referred to the bur Resolved, That general Washington be empowered to appoint a deputy

treasury.

missary of stores for the army near New-York.

officers of the army and navy, brought in the same, which was read: Ordered, To lie on the table.

The committee appointed to prepare the form of an oath, to be taken t

Resolved, That a member be added to the marine committee, in the roo

Mr. Hopkins.

The member chosen, Mr. Ellery.

The several matters to this day referred, being postponed,
Adjourned to ten o'clock on Monday.

MONDAY, October 14, 1776.

515

tter of the 12th, from general Lee; one of the 10th, from general Merie, of the 30th September, from general Gates; one, of the 1st instant, oseph Trumbull, advising that he has drawn on the president in favor of is Lowry, for 60,000 dollars; and one, of the 7th, from general Wash, enclosing a letter from Dr. Morgan, were read.

ered, That the letters from generals Lee and Mercer be referred to the F of war:

it the letter from Dr. Morgan be referred to the medical committee. etition from Francis Mentges was read and referred to the board of war. eboard of war, to whom were referred the letters from general Washingf the 7th and 8th instant, brought in a report, which was taken into contion: Whereupon,

solved, That general Washington be informed the Congress approve of pointing P. Penett his aid-de-camp by brevet, and that a commission of e-camp be accordingly transmitted to him:

at the several states in which prisoners have been lodged, be desired to sh Congress with an account of such expenses as have been incurred by the states, respectively, on account of the said prisoners:

at the sum of 500,000 dollars be immediately sent to the pay-master ge1, that he may be enabled to pay the bounty to such of the troops as shall ret, to serve during the war.

esolved, That the farther consideration of the report be postponed.

he committee appointed to hear and determine upon the appeal brought nst the sentence passed on the libel, Joshua Wentworth vs. the ship Eliza1, reports as follows:

Joshua Wentworth esq. for and in behalf as well of the United States of erica, as of John Manly, Daniel Waters and John Ayres, commanders; the officers, marines and mariners, of the three armed vessels Hancock, e and Lynch, in the service of the said states, having exhibited a libel bee Joshua Brackett, esq. judge of the court maritime of the state of Newmpshire, against the brigantine Elizabeth, commanded by Peter Ramsay, her cargo, and Richard Hart, of Portsmouth, in New-Hampshire, owner of said brigantine, and William Jackson and others, of Boston, in the state Massachusetts-Bay, owners of sundry goods and merchandise on board of , having put in their several claims thereto, and the said judge of the court resaid, having, on the 21st day of August, in the year of our Lord 1776, creed and ordered the said brigantine, and so much of her cargo as was aimed to be restored to the respective claimants, and that the claimants rever their legal costs of court, from which decree and sentence the said shua Wentworth appealed to Congress.

-99

The committee of Congress, to whom it was referred to hear and determine e said appeal, have diligently inspected the proceedings, and heard the parties their counsels, and it appearing that on the 1st day of October, in the year our Lord 1775, general Gage, commander in chief of the British forces, men in Boston, in the state of Massachusetts-Bay, by his commission to Crean rush, esq. directed him to receive into his care, all such goods, chattels, and ffects of the inhabitants of that town, some of whom had departed from it, as ight be voluntarily delivered into his charge by the owners, or by other perons with whom they were left, giving his receipt for them and to deliver them o the owners, when he should be required; that, on the 10th day of March Then following, general Howe, who had succeeded general Gage in the command of the British forces, by his commission to the said Crean Brush, recitng, that as he was informed there were large quantities of goods in Boston, which, if in the possession of the rebels (as he termed the Americans) might en

able them to carry on war, and that he had given notice to all loyal inhabitants to remove such goods from thence, and that those who would not remove them, or deliver them to the care of the said Crean Brush, would be considered as abettors of rebels, required him to take into his possession all such goods as answered that description, and give certificates to the owners that he had received them for their use, and would deliver them to the owners, unavoidable accidents excepted, and to seize any such goods, as, upon enquiry, should be found secreted, or left in stores, and put them on board of the Minerva ship, or brigantine Elizabeth. That, thereupon, the said Crean Brush, assisted by other persons, took into his possession the goods of the claimants, amongst others, and put them into the said brigantine Elizabeth, and other vessels in the harbour of Boston, without the knowledge of some of the owners, and without the consent of all the others, unless it be William Jackson and James Jackson, of whose consent, however, there are no other proofs, than that one of them went with his goods, and watched there on the wharf from whence they were shipped, and that the other was a passenger in the said brigantine Elizabeth, in her voyage towards Halifax. That the said Crean Brush, by certificates under his hands, acknowledged several parcels of the goods to be in his custody, and engaged to preserve them safely, to make up exact invoices thereof, and, with the approbation of the commander in chief, to return them to the owners. That, on the 29th day of March afterwards, the said Peter Ramsay, by orders from admiral Shuldham, of the British fleet, given about eight days before, went on board the said brigantine Elizabeth, into which some of the claimants' goods had been shifted from the other vessels; and the same day, between the hours of three and four in the afternoon, sailed with her, under convoy of the British ship of war Niger, for Halifax, in NovaScotia, and that, on the Tuesday following, the said John Manly, in the Hancock, coming up with the said brigantine Elizabeth, which had, in the mean time, parted from her convoy, fired a broadside at her, which was returned by a volley of small arms; when the said Daniel Waters, in the Lee, and the said John Ayres, in the Lynch, joining the said John Manly, the said Peter Ramsay struck, it being about four or five of the clock in the afternoon, and the said brigantine was seized and carried into Piscataqua river in New-Hampshire; whereupon, the committee, after mature deliberation, are of opinion, that the said brigantine Elizabeth is not comprehended in the description of vessels, which, with their cargoes, by the resolutions of Congress of the 25th day of November last, may be forfeited, not being an armed or a transport vessel employed in the present war against the United States, nor carrying provisions, or other necessaries, to the British army or navy, within any of the United Colonies and that the cases of re-captures, mentioned in the resolution of Congress of the 5th day of December last, adjusting the proportions of sal vage, those cases only were intended, in which the vessels and their cargoes remaining in possession of the enemy, might, by the law of nations, be condemned as prize, which is conceived not to be the case with the said brigantine Elizabeth and her cargo; but, that notwithstanding it was the duty of the recaptors to recover the said brigantine and her cargo, and that the owners, who otherwise might, and probably would, have lost their whole property, ought to make a reasonable satisfaction; and that, therefore, the said sentence is erroneous, and ought to be reversed and annulled: That the said brigantine Elizabeth, and such parts of her cargo as were claimed in the said court-maritime, be restored to the respective claimants, upon their paying, to the United States, and the re-captors, 1-12th part of the value thereof, to be determined by the appraisement of appraisers on oath, appointed by the judge of the said court: That the residue of the cargo be sold, and the proceeds, after deducting the like proportion and for the same uses, retained for the shall hereafter prove their right to the same; that William Burk, commander,

persons

who

L

and the marines and mariners of the Warren, an armed vessel in the service of the United States, who claimed a part of the said brigantine Elizabeth and her cargo, as being joint captors, are not entitled to a share of the salvage, it not appearing that they were present, or in sight, at the time of the re-capture: And that the appellants recover against the claimants their costs as well in the Nsaid court-maritime, as in the prosecution of their appeal here; and that the cause be sent back to the said court-maritime, for that court to proceed in carrying this sentence into execution."

And the said report being read, was agreed to.

Resolved, That such part of the twelfth, adjudged in the foregoing report to be paid in lieu of salvage, as belongs to the United States, be released, and given up to the owners of the goods.

The committee on the state of the prisoners, brought in a report, which was a read:

The board of treasury, for the more regular settlement of accounts, proposed sundry queries to Congress: Whereupon,

Resolved, That no allowance be made to officers for any arms lost or taken from them by the enemy:

That no officer, holding two appointments in the continental army, be paid for more than one, after notice was given to the commanders of the respective armies, of the resolution of Congress against officers holding double commissions.

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways and means for supplying the treasury with a farther sum of money:

The members chosen, Mr. R. H. Lee, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Hall. Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed, to consider what is to be done with negroes taken by vessels of war, in the service of the United States : The members chosen, Mr. Wilson, Mr. R. H. Lee, and Mr. Huntington. Resolved, That 600 dollars be advanced to Mr. R. Erwin, wagon-master; he to be accountable.

Resolved, That the board of war be directed to order the Virginia troops, on their march to New-York, to halt at Trenton, till farther orders.

Resolved, That the colonels of the New-Jersey militia, make out regular pay-rolls of such of the troops as have been under their command, when called into the continental service, and have not been paid by the convention of the said state:

That such rolls be attested by the oaths of the commanding officer and captains of the respective regiments, and paid by warrants on the pay-master there, by general Mercer, or the commanding officer in that department; he paying due attention to the resolutions of Congress transmitted herewith:

That one penny a mile be allowed, in lieu of rations, to such men as have paid their expenses while on their march to and from the camp, from and to their respective homes.

The several matters to this day referred, being postponed,
Adjourned to ten o'clock to-morrow.

TUESDAY, October 15, 1776.

A letter of the 11th, 12th, and 13th, from general Washington; one, of the 10th, from general Lee; one, of the 10th, from general Schuyler; one, of the same date, from general Green; one, of the 9th, from Joseph Trumbull; one, of the 4th, from Seth Warner; and, one of the same date, from brigadier-general Lewis, were read:

Ordered, That the letters from general Washington and general Lee, and Mr. Trumbull, be referred to the board of war:

That the letter from general Green be referred to the medical committee, and the letter from general Lewis to the board of treasury.

Application being made to Congress by John Foxcroft, esq. for leave to go to New-York, to remove his family from the horrors of war, and relieve them from the distress in which they are at present involved:

Resolved, That leave be granted him, upon giving his parole to the board of war; but he is not to set out on his journey before next week.

The board of war brought in a report, which was taken into consideration: Whereupon,

Resolved, That general Gates be informed, that Congress have it not in their power at present to supply him with the artillery he desires, but will procure such as soon as possible:

That two independent companies, consisting of 50 men each, be immediate ly raised, to be commanded by lieutenant Whitecombe, who should be ap pointed captain-commandant; that he nominate the officers of the said two companies, who are to be appointed when approved of by the commanding officer in the northern department.

Resolved, That the further consideration of the report be postponed. William Davies, who was appointed deputy muster-master general of the flying-camp, having requested leave to resign that commission,

Resolved, That leave be granted, and that to-morrow be assigned for ap pointing a deputy muster-master general for the flying-camp.

Resolved, That 27 dollars be advanced to the captain of the guard appointed to attend the wagons carrying goods to Ticonderoga.

The committee of treasury reported, that there is due to the following per sons, the sum of 913 43-90 dollars; for which an order is to be drawn in favor of Thomas Armour, viz.

To Peter Schlemmer, for victualling the militia on their march to NewJersey,

To Frederick Rummel, for ditto,

To William Thompson, victualling gen. Lee's guard,

Dollars, 43 42-90ths.

65 49

To George Stahe, for ditto,

To Elizabeth Kuntz, victualling militia, &c.

50 71

64 51

To Adam Gartner, ditto, and sick soldiers,

86 54

To Elizabeth Robinson, for ditto,

To sundries for supplying the militia, and general Lee's guard, 47 49

260 86

To Andrew Nebbenger, for ditto,

12 48

To Godlup Zegel, for ditto, to gen. Lee's guard,

3986

9 19

8 67

40

72 53

58 27

To And. Horzeg, for repairing arms of ditto,

The whole amounting to

29 66

23 15

Dollars, 913 48-90ths

To Baltzar Spangler, and to be paid to Thomas Armour, for victualling a part of gen. Lee's guard, nursing in the small-pox, &c. at York-town, and for provisions to militia, 158 dollars and 12-90ths:

To lieut. Francis Nichols, of the late capt. Hendrick's company, months' pay extraordinary to the following officers, viz.

for two

To the late captain Hendricks, killed at the assault of Quebec, $ 53 50-90ths.
To lieutenant John M'Cleland, who died on the march to ditto, 56
To the said lieutenant Nichols,

$6

For the use of the executors of capt. Hendrick's inlisting money, when the company was raised, 85, at 1 dollar and 1-Sd each, 113 50