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and from thence proceeded by land toward South-Carolina. Virs ́ginia made great and effectual exertions to expedite their movements; but in North-Carolina little or no preparations were made for supporting the troops or transporting their baggage. The baron was under the necessity of halting on Deep river the 6th of July. He received frequent assurances of support; but found no resources except in making frequent detachments for collecting provisions, which were inadequate to the necessities of the troops, who subsisted principally upon lean cattle collected in the woods. The commissaries and quarter-masters complained, that the want of cash and of credit were insuperable obstacles to the discharge of their duty.

Upon gen. Lincoln's being made prisoner at Charleston, the forces of the southern district devolved on Baron de Kalb. His experience and abilities were allowed to be great; but as he was a foreigner, unacquainted with the country, and unaccustomed to the temper of undisciplined troops, who were to constitute the major part of the army, these and other reasons wrought in favor of gen. Gates, who was considered in common as the best quali fied for the command; and it was unanimously resolved in con gress on the 13th of June, "that major gen. Gates do immedi ately repair to, and take the command of the southern depart ment:" the next day he was empowered to take such measures for the defence of the southern states as he might think most proper. He received the resolves of congress at Traveller's Rest in Virginia, a few miles from Shepherd's-town, on the 20th, and set out on Monday the 26th. He soon felt for himself, finding that he succeeded to the command, of an army without strength, of a military chest without money, of a department apparently deficient in public spirit, and in a climate that increased despondency, instead of animating the soldiers arm. He had before him the most unpromising prospect his eyes ever beheld. He arrived at the camp on the 25th of July; and at a review of the troops the next day, was in every respect received by the baron with marks of the greatest distinction. In return he treat→ ed his predecessor with due consideration, confirmed his standing orders, and requested that he would keep the command of his division, as formerly in the grand army. The baron's division consisted of all the Maryland and Delaware. troops: these with a small legionary corps under col. Armand, consisting of about 60 horse and as many foot soldiers, who arrived a few days be fore, and three companies of artillery, constituted the whole of the army. The baron, with great satisfaction, complied with Gates's request. A considerable body of North-Carolina militia

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had taken the field under gen. Caswell. His appointment and instructions to join and co-operate with the regular forces had been announced to the baron, who daily expected his arrival, and with him a considerable supply of provisions.. Caswell, however, upon the plea of preventing some disaffected inhabitants from taking arms in favor of the enemy, excused his not complying with the instructions; and as to the supply, though promised, no part of it ever arrived. On the morning of July the 27th, gen. Gates marched at the head of the army, to effect a junction of the regular and irregular forces, to assume an appearance of hostile views upon the enemy's advanced posts, and in expectation of sharing with the militia the supplies they received from the state. The troops passed Deep river at the Buffalo ford, and encamped in the afternoon at Spink's farm, on the road to Camden.

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Here we shall leave them till time and fature operations yield us the materials for proceeding in the history of the southern department. However we must not quit North-Carolina without mentioning, that Mr. Justice Pendleton stated to lord Cornwal lis, in a letter dated Newbern, July 20, the reasons that urged lim to leave Charleston without the permission of the commandant, lest the same should be represented as a breach of his parole, and of course infamous and dishonorable. The letter relates, that the morning of the day the justice left the town he was informed that the preceding night a party had assembled together. to take him out of his house, and put him to death; and that it would certainly have been effected, had not a British officer, capt. Constable, prevailed on them to consider further of the matter. To show his utmost reliance on his lordship's honor, he says in it. -“I will immediately return to my parole in Charleston, if I obtain your promise that no farther injury or insult shall be of fered me. I require no other security." He then adds-"There are many English officers, my lord, that have intelligent and generous spirits, that know it is impossible to. fix any immutable, standard of opinion in politics, any more than religion; and there-. fore not impossible that a very upright and virtuous man may be a member of congress, governor, judge, &c. notwithstanding the Common epithet of rebel so freely bestowed on them. Such men (it is no matter which side their principles lead them to embrace) behold human misery in every shape, or from whatever cause derived, with pity and concern, and by compassion and politeness endeavour to soften and mitigate it; but the malignity and virulence of Scotch (with some few exceptions) and American refugee officers (with none at all) whether in a civil or military line, is VOL. III singularly

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singularly conspicuous throughout this war, and cannot be descri bed but in terms offensive to the pen of a gentleman."

The proceedings of congress must now again engage our af tention.

The grand council of the American states called upon each in February for specific supplies of provision and forage. But before these could be brought in, such advantage was taken of the public wants, that the nominal debt of the continent was increa、 sed beyond calculation. Depreciation was rapid. The enemy took courage, and set every engine to work, by counterfeiting and multiplying their base emissions, to decry the credit of the paper currency. Congress to baffle their designs and curb intestine avarice, resolved on the 18th of March, to call in by taxes in the course of one year,, and to burn all the paper bills heretofore emitted to the amount of 200 millions of dollars, and in lieu thereof, to issue ten millions of new money, which was to be issued as fast and no faster than the old was brought in. For every 20 dollars of the old, one dollar of the new emission was to be perfected, and lodged in the continental loan offices in the respective states, These new bills were to be redeemable in specie, within six years after the present, and to bear an interest at the rate of 5 per cent. to be paid also in specie at the redemption of the bills, or at the election of the owner annually, in sterling bills of exchange on the American commissioners in Europe, at four shillings and sixpence per dollar. The new bills were to issue on funds of individual states established for the purpose. As the said bills were completed, the states respectively on whose funds they issued were to receive six-tenths of them, and the remainder was to be subject to the orders of the United States, and credited to the states on whose funds they issued. These bills were to be receivable in the payment of the monthly quotas or taxes of each state, at the same. rate with specie, or of one Spanish milled dollar, in lieu of forty dollars of the old bills still in circulation. By this political con→ trivance of congress, various effects were produced. The value of the new bills was to be really double to that of the old. The last were estimated at forty for a specie dollar, the first at par with specie: thus ten millions of new ware equivalent to 400 millions of the old. The several states had a bait held out to them to induce their adoption of the plan; in that each was to receive sixtenths of the new for its own use, while the remaining four were subject to the orders of congress. Those who had amassed large quantities of the old, were disappointed in their hopes of converting it into specie, dollar for dollar; notwithstanding all the fine and expressive language in the circular letter of congress the last: September,

September, strongly tending to encourage such hopes. The real injustice of subjecting all the inhabitants to the redemption of the old paper in specie at par, when the generality of the holders received it at a considerable depreciation, and when a large quantity of it was not circulated in the first instance but in a depreci ated condition, was so apparent, that the avoidance of it by the resolution of congress produced no convulsion, though there was a violation of public faith. Many suffering individuals complained loudly, but the measure was peaceably adopted. Congress have also fixed the value of certificates given for money loaned from September 1777 to March 1780, so rating the value of the continental paper between those two periods, as that the lender might receive the value of what was lent, and the public not be loaded with a debt for which it had not an equivalent. On the 20th of March, they resolved upon reommending it to the states to revise their laws, making the continental bills a tender for the discharge of debts and contracts, and to amend the same, so as shall be judged most conductive to justice in the present state of the paper currency.

A few pariculars that chiefly respect the Massachusetts and New-Hampshire states remain to be related.

When the Hampshire house of assembly (about sixty representatives being present) debated at Exeter in what way to raise their quota of men, a certain mode was proposed. About a dozen vo

fed for it; however no persons voting against it when called upon, the act of the former was declared to be a vote, and the measure established. But in case of its proving disgustful to their constituents, almost every member of the house could say, that he did not vote for it, which would pass with the inattentive for a sufficient apology.

The towns and districts of the Massachusetts, by the direction" of the general court, made choice of delegates for the sole purpose ofsettling a constitution for the commonwealth, who metin convention at Cambridge on the rst of September 1779, and continued by adjournments to the 2d of last March; when, having agreed upon a form of government, they submitted it to the revision of their constituents, in order to the completing of the same at a session to be held at Boston for that purpose, on the first Wednesday of the following June. Copies were ordered to be sent to the select men of each town, and the committees of each plantation, to be laid before their respective inhabitants. If the major part of them, when legally assembled on the business, disapproved of any particular clause, they were to state their objections distinctly, with the reasons. The same were to be transmitted to the secre

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tary of the convention, together with the number of voters in the said town and plantation meetings, on each side of every ques-e tion; that so the convention, at the adjournment, might collect the general sense of their constituents on the several parts of the proposed constitution. If there did not appear to be two-thirds of their constituents in favor of it, the convention were to alterit so as that it might be agreeable to the sentiments of two-thirds : of the voters through the state. It was also recommended to the Inhabitants to empower their delegates at the next session, to a gree upon a time when the form of government should take place, without returning the same again to the people; provided, that two-thirds of the male inhabitants of the age of twenty-one years. and upward, voting in the several meetings, agreed to the same or the convention conformed it to the sentiments of two-thirds of their constituents. When the convention met on the 7th of June as proposed, they agreed upon the last Wednesday of Oc◄ tober, the 25th, for the commencement of the new form of gons vernment; as it appeared upon examination, that more than two-thirds of the voters approved of it. Directions have been : given for the election of governor, lieut. governor, &c. accord ing to the mode prescribed by it against that memorable day. The constitution consists of two parts-a declaration of rights) and the frame of government. Upon reading it you will probably pronounce it equal, if not superior to any upon the continent.

Notwithstanding all the anxieties and avocations attending the war wherein they were engaged, the Massachusetts general court passed an act [May 4.] to incorporate and establish a society for: the cultivation and promotion of the arts and sciences, by the name ofTHE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. The number of the said academy, who are inha bitants of the state, are not to be at any time more than twở hundred, nor less than forty. A bill to the like purpose was. brought into the house in a former session; but the names of the gentlemen inserted being unintentionally arranged by the per sons draughting it so as seemingly to give pre-eminence to ans other before Mr..Hancock, the last declared in the house against having any concern in it, and it fell to the ground; but an al phabetical arrangement in the new one removing the umbrage, the same passed into an act.

[June 7.]The court agreed upon raising 3934 men for the con tinental army for six months; and on the 22d, 4726 more for three months, and the men were to be paid in gold or silver, or, bills equivalent thereto. The select men of the several towns were ordered to collect shirts, shocs, stockings, &c. and subjected to

penalties

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