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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journals of the Continental Congress --FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1776
The Delegates for ∥Mr. Elbridge Gerry, from the∥ Massachusetts bay, ∥attended, and∥ produced the credentials of their appointment; which were read, as follows:
In Council,January 18, 1776.
Whereas John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, and Elbridge Gerry, Esqrs. have been chosen, by joint ballot of the two houses of assembly, to represent the colony of Massachusetts-Bay in New-England, in the American Congress, until the first day of January, A. D. 1777.
Resolved, That they, or any one or more of them, are hereby fully empowered with the delegates from the other American colonies, to concert, direct, and order such farther measures, as shall to them appear best calculated for the establishment of right and liberty to the American colonies, upon a basis permanent and secure, against the power and arts of the British administration, and guarded against any future encroachments of their enemies, with power to adjourn to such times and places, as shall appear most conducive to the public safety and advantage.
Read and accepted. Sent down for concurrence.
John Lowell,Dep. Sec. pro tem.
In the House of Representatives,January 18, 1776.
Read and concurred. And the secretary is hereby directed, as soon as may be, to signify to each of those gentlemen their appointment, with an attested copy of this order. Sent up for concurrence.
James Warren,Speaker.
In Council,January 18, 1776.
Read and concurred.
John Lowell,Dep. Secretary pro tem.
A true copy.
Attest,Perez Morton,Deputy Secretary.
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A number of letters being received, were laid before Congress, and read, viz.
From General Washington, 24 and 30 January, with a copy of one to General Schuyler, 27 January, with a number of intercepted letters:1
[Note 1: 1 The letters of Washington are in thePapers of the Continental Congress, No. 152, I, folios 435 and 447. They are printed in theWritings of Washington (Ford), III, 371, 383. The letters of Schuyler are in thePapers of the Continental Congress, No. 153, I, folios 478, 490, 494. Those of Arnold are in No. 162, folios 42, 50. That of Governor Trumbull is in No. 66, I, folio 71.]
From General Schuyler, 29, 31 January, and 1 February, 1776, enclosing ∥copies of∥ two letters from General Arnold, 11 and 12 January, and sundry other papers from Governor Trumbull, 3d February, with sundry enclosed papers:
Resolved, That the above letters be referred to a committee of five.
The members chosen, Mr. [Samuel] Chase, Mr. J[ohn] Adams, Mr. [John] Penn, Mr. [George] Wythe, and Mr. [Edward] Rutledge.
Two letters from the Convention of New Jersey, dated February 6, 1776; the one respecting tea referred for consideration to Monday next; the other, recommending proper persons for field officers of the third batallion, ordered to be raised in that colony:2 Whereupon the Congress proceeded to an election, and
[Note 2: 2 These letters are in thePapers of the Continental Congress, No. 68, folios 71, 73.
"We did not hesitate to determine, that common report, often deceitful and always uncertain, ought not to be sufficient to contravene a known and established regulation; but, on a resolve being proposed for the purpose of putting a stop to this growing evil, one of the members informed us that he heard several of the Continental Delegates publickly declare, it was agreed in Congress that no notice should be taken of the sale or use of East India Teas in the Eastern Colonies."Samuel Tucker to John Hancock, 6 February, 1776. Force,American Archives, Fourth Series, IV, 948.]
Elias Dayton was elected Colonel.
Anthony Walton White, lieutenant Colonel.
Francis Barber, Major.
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A Memorial from Mr. Kirkland was presented to Congress and read.
Ordered, To lie on the table.
The Congress took into consideration the report of the Committee on the second memorial of Sansom, Murray, & Co. &c. Whereupon,
Resolved, That the memorialists be permitted to make sale of their cargo of wheat in Connecticut, or else to proceed on their original voyage to Falmouth, in England, and a market under the office papers, and clearances, which the said vessel sailed with from New York in September last: and also subject to the former restrictions of Congress, respecting the appointment of a commander.1
[Note 1: 1 SeeJournals, III, 354.]
Information being given to Congress that a quantity of powder, arms and salt petre was arrived,
Resolved, That the committee appointed on the 13th of last month, to purchase the salt petre then arrived, and have it manufactured, be directed and empowered to take every necessary measure to have the salt petre, now arrived, manufactured into gun powder with all possible expedition.
Resolved, That a copy of the paper relating to signals found among the intercepted letters, be sent to the commander of the fleet, and that the delegates of the several colonies be permitted to send to their respective conventions or committees of safety a copy of the said paper under a strong injunction to keep it secret.
Resolved, That two tons of the powder now arrived, ∥belonging to the United Colonies,∥ be returned to the committee of safety for Pensylvania, in part, of that borrowed of them:
That the former order of Congress to grant one ton of
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gun powder to the colony of North Carolina, be answered out of the powder belonging to the continent now arrived.
Ordered, That the committee appointed to manufacture the salt petre into gun powder, be directed to enquire and report, to Congress a state of the powder, arms and salt petre arrived.
A memorial from Stacey Hepburn was presented to Congress and read:
Referred to a committee of three:
The members chosen, Mr. [Thomas] M'Kean, Mr. [Thomas] Nelson, and Mr. [John] Penn.
Adjourned to 10 o'Clock on Monday next.
The following incident is described by John Adams, in his Autobiography (Writings, III, p. 25.):
"I soon found there was a whispering among the partisans in opposition to independence, that I was interested; that I held an office under the new government of Massachusetts; that I was afraid of losing it, if we did not declare independence; and that I consequently ought not to be attended to. This they circulated so successfully, that they got it insinuated among the members of the legislature in Maryland, where their friends were powerful enough to give an instruction to their delegates in Congress, warning them against listening to the advice of interested persons, and manifestly pointing me out to the understanding of every one. This instruction was read in Congress. It produced no other effect upon me than a laughing letter to my friend, Mr. Chase, who regarded it no more than I did. These chuckles I was informed of, and witnessed for many weeks, and at length they broke out in a very extraordinary manner. When I had been speaking one day on the subject of independence, or the institution of governments, which i always considered as the sente thing, a gentleman of great fortune and high rank arose and said, he should move, that no person who held an office under a new government should be admitted to vote on any such question, as they were interested persons. I wondered at the simplicity of this motion, but knew very well what to do with it. I rose from my seat with great coolness and deliberation; so far from expressing or feeling any resentment, I really felt gay, though as it happened, I preserved an unusual gravity in my countenance and air, and said, 'Mr. President, I will second the gentleman's motion, and I recommend it to the honorable gentleman to second another which I should make, namely, that no gentleman who holds any office under the old or present government should be admitted to vote on any such question, as they were interestedpersons.' The moment when this was pronounced, it flew like an electric stroke through every countenance in the room, for the gentleman who made the motion held as high an office under the old government as I did under the new, and many other members present held offices under the royal government. My friends accordingly were delighted with my retaliation, and the friends of my antagonist
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were mortified at his indiscretion in exposing himself to such a retort. Finding the house in a good disposition to hear me, I added, I would go further, and cheerfully consent to a self-denying ordinance, that every member of Congress, before we proceeded to any question respecting independence, should take a solemn oath never to accept or hold any office of any kind in America after the revolution. Mr. Wythe, of Virginia, rose here, and said Congress had no right to exclude any of their members from voting on these questions; their constituents only had a right to restrain them; and that no member had a right to take, nor Congress to prescribe any engagement not to hold offices after the revolution or before. Again I replied, that whether the gentleman's opinion was well or ill founded, I had only said that I was willing to consent to such an arrangement. That I knew very well what these things meant. They were personal attacks upon me, and I was glad that at length they had been made publicly where I could defend myself. That I knew very well that they had been made secretly and circulated in whispers, not only in the city of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, but in the neighboring States, particularly Maryland, and very probably in private letters throughout the Union. I now took the opportunity to declare in public, that it was very true, the unmerited and unsolicited, though unanimous good will of the Council of Massachusetts, had appointed me to an important office, that of Chief Justice; that as this office was a very conspicuous station, and consequently a dangerous one, I had not dared to refuse it, because it was a post of danger, though by the acceptance of it, I was obliged to relinquish another office,--meaning my barrister's office--which was more than four times as profitable.1 That it was a sense of duty, and a full conviction of an honest cause, and not any motives of ambition, or hopes of honor, or profit, which had drawn me into my present course. That, I had seen enough already in the course of my own experience to know that the American cause was not the most promising road to profits, honors, power, or pleasure. That on the contrary, a man must renounce all these and devote himself to labor, danger and death, and very possibly to disgrace and infamy, before he was fit in my judgment, in the present state and future prospects of the country, for a seat in that Congress. This whole scene was a comedy to Charles Thomson, whose countenance was in raptures all the time. When all was over, he told me he had been highly delighted with it, because he had been witness to many of their conversations, in which they had endeavored to excite and propagate prejudices against me, on account of my office of Chief Justice. But he saint I had cleared and explained the thing in such a manner that he would be bound I should never hear any more reflections on that head. No more, indeed, were made in my presence, but the party did not cease to abuse me in their secret circles on this account, as I was well informed. Not long afterwards, hearing that the Supreme Court in Massachusetts was organized and proceeding very well on the business of their circuits, I wrote my resignation of the office of Chief Justice, to the Council."
[Note 1: 1 "I told the gentlemen that I should be much obliged, if they would find me a man who would accept of my office, or by passing the resolution furnish me with a justification for refusing it. In either case, I would subscribe my renunciation of that office before I left the room."John Adams to Samuel Chase, 14 June, 1776.Writings, IX, 396.]
Adams was appointed Justice in October, 1775; he was absent from Philadelphia from December 6, 1775 to February 9, 1776, when he again took his seat in Congress.
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On February 10, he wrote his resignation. He describes the discussion as occurring after his return to Congress, but also says that "not long afterwards" he resigned. The instructions of the Maryland Convention were dated January 11, 1776; so that the incident must have occurred on February 9, as no session of Congress was held on the 10th. The paragraph of the instructions referred to was as follows:
"And we further instruct you to move for, and endeavour to obtain, a resolve of Congress, that no person who holds any military command in the Continental, or any Provincial regular forces, or marine service, nor any person who holds or enjoys any office of profit under the Continental Congress, or any Government assumed since the present controversy with Great Britain began, or which shall hereafter be assumed, or who directly or indirectly receives the profits of such command or office, shall, during the time of his holding or receiving the same, be eligible to sit in Congress".
Of the Maryland delegates to the Continental Congress all, except Robert Goldsborough and William Paca, were also members of the Maryland Convention, which sat from December 7, 1775 to January 18, 1776. Pace was at Philadelphia, but returning to Maryland some time in December, the colony was for a time unrepresented in the Congress. On December 9, 1775, the Convention acted, and after unsuccessfully requesting John Hall and Robert Goldsborough to attend, chose Robert Alexander and John Rogers, then members of its own body. The Journals of the Continental Congress show that Rogers received committee appointments on January 19 and 27; that Alexander was named on a committee on January 24; Paca, on January 30, and Chase on February 7 and 9. Chase did not raise the point of the instructions, and it is hardly probable that so important a matter would have rested with Alexander or Rogers. Circumstances thus point to Paca.
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