The Online Library of Liberty

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• Correspondence and Miscellaneous Writings 1760–1774 Continued
• 1771 - to Thomas Adams 1
• To James Ogilvie 1
• “ Inscription For an African Slave ” 1
• Agreement With John Randolph 2
• To Inglis and Long, Merchants At Portsmouth 1
• To Thomas Adams 1
• To Robert Skipwith
• Argument In Godwin Et Al. Vs. Lunan 1
• 1772 - to Messrs. Inglis and Long, Merchants At Portsmouth 1
• 1773 - to Chas. Mcpherson 1
• To William Fleming 1
• Advertisement In “virginia Gazette”
• Advertisement In “virginia Gazette”
• Advertisement In “virginia Gazette”
• 1774 - Notice of Fast 1
• Resolution of Albemarle County 2
• Proposed Arms For the United States 1
• A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Set Forth In Some Resolutions
• “ Defects In the Association ” 1
• To Archibald Cary and Benjamin Harrison
• 1775 - Motion In Convention of Virginia 1
• Draft of a Resolution of the Virginia Convention 1
• To Dr. William Small 1
• Address to Governor Dunmore From the House of Burgesses 1
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To Francis Eppes 1
• Drafts of Declaration On Taking Up Arms 1
• First Draft
• Second Draft
• Draft of Report On Lord North’s Motion 2
• To John Randolph 1
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To John Page 1
• To Francis Eppes 2
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To John Randolph 2
• Declaration Concerning Ethan Allen 1
• To John Page 1
• Report to Congress On Congress Committee 1
• 1776 - to Thomas Nelson 1
• Report of Committee On Canadian Affairs 1
• Proposed Constitution For Virginia 1
• First Draft
• Fair Copy
• Report On Cedars Cartel 1
• Report On Canadian Affairs 1
• To William Fleming 1
• Declaration of Independence 1
• First Draft
• Reported Draft
• Engrossed Copy
• To Richard Henry Lee 1
• To George Wythe 1
• Notes of Rules For Continental Congress. 1
• To Edmund Pendleton 2
• Resolution For Rotation of Members of Continental Congress 1
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To the Pennsylvania Convention 1
• Notes On Virginia-pennsylvania Boundary
• To the Governor of Virginia 1 (patrick Henry)
• To Col. Fielding Lewis
• To John Page 2
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To John Page 1
• To Francis Eppes 1
• To — 1
• To John Page 1
• Resolution to Encourage Desertions of Hessian Officers 1
• Resolutions On Peace Propositions 1
• To the President of the Continental Congress 1 (john Hancock)
• Notes On Religion 1
• Draft of Bill to Abolish Entails. 1
• Amendments to Bill to Abolish Entails 1
• Draft of a Bill to Remove Seat of Government 1
• Draft of a Bill For Raising Six Additional Battalions of Infantry On the Continental Establishment 1
• Draft of a Bill Establishing County Courts 1
• Draft of a Bill For Altering Rates of Copper Coin 1
• Report On Upshur 2
• A Bill For the Trial of Offences Committed Out of This Commonwealth.
• Draft of a Bill For Suspending Executions For Debt 1
• 1777 - Draft of a Bill For Providing Against Invasions and Insurrections 1
• Draft of a Bill For Regulating the Appointment of Delegates to General Congress 1
• To John Adams 1
• To Benjamin Franklin 1
• To John Adams
• First Report of Conference Committee 1
• 1778 - Second Report of Conference Committee
• Draft of a Bill Giving Certain Powers to the Executive 1
• Draft of Bill Designating Places For Holding Courts of Chancery and General Court 1
• A Bill Granting Free Pardon to Certain Offenders 1
• A Bill For the Speedy Recovery of Debts Due the United States 1
• Draft of a Bill For Providing a Supply For the Public Exigencies 1
• A Bill to Amend an Act Intitled “an Act For Raising a Supply of Money For Public Exigencies” 1
• Draft of Bill of Attainder Against Josiah Philips 1
• To Richard Henry Lee 1
• To —
• Resolutions Concerning Peace With England 1
• To Rev. Samuel Henley 1
• To David Rittenhouse 1
• A Bill For Giving the Members of the Assembly an Adequate Allowance 1
• 1779 - to George Wythe
• To the Governor of Virginia. (patrick Henry)
• To Richard Henry Lee 1
• To Gabriel Jones 1
• A Bill Concerning Escheats and Forfeitures From British Subjects 2
• Speech to General Assembly 1
• To John Page 1
• To William Fleming 1
• To Theodorick Bland, Jr. 1
• To Richard Henry Lee 1
• To Theodorick Bland, Jr. 1
• Report of the Revisors
• A Bill For Withholding British Property (chapter Xxxvi 1 )
• A Bill Concerning Slaves (chapter Li 1 )
• A Bill For Proportioning Crimes and Punishments (chapter Lxiv 1 )
• A Bill For the More General Diffusion of Knowledge (chapter Lxxix)
• A Bill For the Amending the Constitution of the College of William and Mary (chapter Lxxx)
• A Bill For Establishing a Public Library (chapter Lxxxi)
• A Bill For Establishing Religious Freedom 1 (chapter Lxxxii)
• To General Washington
• To the President of Congress (john Jay)
• Proclamation Concerning Escheats
• To General Baron De Riedesel 1
• To General Washington
• To the Governor of Canada (sir Guy Carleton)
• To Col. William Fleming 1
• To the County Lieutenant of Hampshire 1
• To the President of Congress (john Jay)
• To General Washington
• To General Washington
• To General Washington
• To Colonel George Mathews 1
• To the Speaker of the House of Delegates (benjamin Harrison)
• To the Speaker of the House of Delegates (benjamin Harrison)
• To the Speaker of the House of Delegates (benjamin Harrison)
• To the French Minister 1 ( Chevalier De La Luzerne )
• To the Governor of North Carolina 1 ( Richard Caswell )
• To the President of Congress (samuel Huntington)
• To General Washington
• Proclamation Laying Embargo
• To the President of Congress (samuel Huntington)
• To General Washington
• To the Speaker of the House of Delegates (benjamin Harrison)
• To the President of Congress (samuel Huntington)

to archibald cary and benjamin harrison

j. mss.

[Dec. 9th, 1774.]

Dear Sir,

—As I mean to be a conscientious observer of the measures generally thought requisite for the preservation of our independent rights, so I think myself bound to account to my country for any act of mine which might wear an appearance of contravening them. I therefore take the liberty of stating to you the following matter that thro your friendly intervention it may be communicated to the committee of your country. You may remember it was about the last of May that the house of Burgesses after it’s dissolution met in the Raleigh and formed our first association1 against the future use of tea only, tho’ the proceedings of the ministry against the town of Boston were then well known to us. I believe nobody thought at that time of extending our association further to the total interruption of our commerce with Britain; or if it was proposed by any (which I do not recollect) it was condemned by the general sense of the members who formed that association. Two or three days therefore after this I wrote to Cary & co. of London for 14 pr of sash Windows, to be sent me ready made & glazed with a small parcel of spare glass to mend with. This letter went by a ship which sailed abt the 3d. of June just before Power arrived here, & I did not suppose they would send them till Power should come in again in the spring of 1775. About the middle of June as nearly as I can recollect, a few of the late members were again convened (in consequence of fresh advices from Boston) and then it was suggested a more extensive association might be necessary. A convention met for that purpose the first of August and formed a new association: of which I received a copy about the 11th of the month. But as a General congress was appointed to be held within four weeks of that time to reconsider the same matters and it was agreed that our Association should be subject to any alterations that they might recommend I did not write to countermand my order, thinking I should have sufficient time after the final determinations of the congress should be known, to countermand it before Power should sail in the spring. Accordly within a few days after receiving a copy of the general association I wrote to Cary & co. not to send the sashes, glass &c. which I had ordered & gave my letter to the care of a gentleman (Mr. Evans) just then going downward who promised to send it out speedily, but three or four days after I received a letter from those gentl. dated Aug. 29 in which they informed me my window frames and glass are ready but that it being necessary to detain them about a month to harden the puttying, they were not sent by that but might be expected by the first ship afterwards. From this I conclude they may be near arriving at this time, in which case they will come under the 1st & 10th articles of the Association. In order therefore that no proceeding of mine might give a handle for traducing our measures I thought it better previously to lay before your committee, (within whose ward they will probably be landed) a full state of the matter by which it might be seen under what expectations I had failed to give an earlier countermand and to shew that as they come under the prohibitions of the Continental association (which without the spirit of prophecy could not have been foretold when I ordered them) so I mean they shall be subject to it’s condemnation. To your committee therefore if landed within their county I submit the disposal of them which shall be obeyed as soon as made known to their and your most humble servt.

Dec. 9. 1774. A copy of this sent by Mr. Mazzei to Col. A. Cary, & another to Col. B. Harrison.

motion in convention of virginia1

v. s. a.

[Mar. 24, 1775.]

Ordered that certain paragraphs in the public papers, said to have been the votes of the house of representatives of New York be read.2

The house of Convention taking into their consideration that the said province of New York did by their delegates in General Congress solemnly accede to the compact of Association there formed for the preservation of American rights, that a defection from such their compact would be a perfidy too atrocious to be charged on a sister colony but on the most authentic information, and also doubting whether from some radical defect in the constitution of that government the sense of their house of representatives on questions of this nature should be considered as the sense of the people in general, come to the following resolution:

Resolved that it be an instruction to the committee of correspondence for this colony that they procure authentic information from the committee of correspondence for the province of New York or otherwise; Whether their house of representatives by any vote or votes whatsoever have deserted the Union with the other American Colonies formed in General congress for the preservation of their just rights; Whether the other Colonies are to consider such vote or votes as declaring truly the sense of the people of their province in general, and as forming a rule for their future conduct; And if they are not so to be considered that then they inform us by their names and other sufficient descriptions, of the individuals who may have concurred in such vote, or votes: and that the said committee lay such their information before the next convention or assembly.

[1 ]See Autobiography, ante, vol. i., p. 9.

[1 ]Printed from the original in Jefferson’s handwriting. It was somewhat altered and lengthened before adoption by the Convention.

[2 ]This was evidently the vote declining to consider the proceedings of the Congress of 1774.