Sir, Westfield in Massa: Bay July 8th: 1776

Had it not been for fear of interrupting the important business you are engag’d in, or breakg: in upon your more leisure hours, if such you have, I1 might have acquainted you perhaps with some things that have occurr’d in the Colony during your absence, the most material of wch: however I do suppose may have been transmitted to you.

The occasion of this is to know if you co’d inform me whether there have, or have not been two different impressions of the Continental four 242dollar bills, as from the variation of the words in the body, & the omission of the words FOUR DOLLARS in one corner of some that are passing, there are not wanting those who are willing by this & other ways to discourage the currency, & affirm they have been counterfeited on board the Asia man of war.2

I observ’d by the papers you had the honor of being one of the gentlemen that were appointed to go to Canada some time since; if any cause can be assign’d, why affairs in that quarter have been so unsuccessful, which may be communicated, & can be remov’d, I co’d wish it were in my power to satisfy many in these parts who are apprehensive of our upper towns & Settlemts: being depopulated.

Orders are this week come from Court for raising men in this & Berkshire County. Some from Connecticut are on their march for Crown Point &c.3

My Complimts: if you please to the honble: Jno: Adams Esqr. I sho’d have done myself the honor of writing to him but for reasons as before mention’d, I had the pleasure of seeing his Lady well at Braintree a few weeks past; when I took a journey from hence to see what I had left, & as my friends had inform’d me, most of my houshold furniture & effects have been plunder’d & carried away, which occasions my stay a while longer here: I enclose this to Lt: Colo: Willm: Sheppard4 in the Army at New York, whose home is in this place, & who co’d forward a letter, if you sho’d send by a safe hand free of postage to him, in case you had not a more direct conveyance.

With wishg. the blessing of Heaven may attend your endeavors for the public good, I take the honor to subscribe myself Sir Your friend & hume. Servt:,

Josha: Green

RC ; addressed: “To The Honorable Robt: Treat Paine Esqr: Philadelphia”; endorsed.

1.

Joshua Green (1731–1806), a Harvard classmate of RTP, was a Boston merchant who moved his family to western Massachusetts during the Revolution. His wife, Hannah (Storer), was a friend and correspondent of Abigail Adams ( Sibley’s Harvard Graduates , 12:380–381).

2.

There are known counterfeit four-dollar bills from the issue authorized by congressional resolution of Feb. 17, 1776, but they were “so basely done, that, on the least inspection, no person could be deceived by them” (Pennsylvania Gazette, July 16, 1777; Eric P. Newman, The Early Paper Money of America [Racine, Wisc., 1976], 37, 407). The man-of-war H.M.S. Asia was part of the fleet which transported reinforcement troops from Halifax to New York in the summer of 1776 and at this time was still in New York (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, 5:935, 948).

243 3.

On June 13, 1776, the House of Representatives resolved to raise 5,000 men to serve in New York and Canada. The apportionments by county were for Suffolk, 448; Essex, 457; Middlesex, 1,070; Hampshire, 742 Plymouth, 380; Bristol, 362; York, 105; Worcester, 1,102; Cumberland, 39; and Berkshire, 261 (Journals of the House of Representatives, 52, pt. 1:37).

4.

William Shepard (1737–1817) of Westfield was at this time lieutenant colonel of the Third Continental Infantry. He was wounded at the Battle of Long Island on Aug. 27, 1776. Later Shepard became colonel of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment (Whittemore, Memorials of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, 549).

Wednesday, July 10, 1776

The committee appointed to draw up rules and orders for the government of this house, brought in their report, which was read:

The committee appointed to draw up Rules and Orders for the Government of this House beg Leave to report as their Opinion have agreed to the following report:

III. That No Member shall read any printed Paper in the House during the sitting thereof without Leave of the Congress.

VII. That no Member shall speak more than twice in any one Debate without Leave of the House.

IX. That no Motion shall be made debated until the same be seconded.

X. That when a Motion shall be made and seconded it shall be reduced to writing, if desir’d by the President or any Member; delivered in at the Table, and read by the President before the same shall be allowed to be debated.

XI. When a Motion is made and seconded the Matter of the Motion shall receive a Determination by the Question, or be laid aside by general Consent, or postponed by the previous Question, before any other Motion be received.

XIV. When the Question is put by the Chair every Member in the House colony present shall give his Voice one way be counted on one side or the other, unless it’s delegates be divided.

IV. No Member in coming into the House or in removing from his Place shall pass between the President and the Member then speaking.  

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V. When the House is speaking sitting no Member shall speak or whisper to another, so as to interrupt any Member who may be speaking in the Debate.

III. When two Members rise together the President shall name the Person to speak.

II. No Member shall leave depart from the service of the Place House during the sitting thereof without Permission of the House Congress, or order from his constituents. If by the withdrawing of the said Member he shall break the Representation of the Colony from whence the said Member came.

XVI. No Person shall be appointed to any office of Profit unless he shall have the Consent of Seven Colonies. Nor shall any Ballot be counted unless the Person for whom the Ballot shall be given be first named to the House, before the balloting be gone into.

VI. Every Person shall speak from his Chair seat, and when not speaking shall continue in his seat therein. See the Amendment.

XII. If in a debate there arise more Questions than one, and it be controverted which Question shall be first put, the Question first moved and seconded shall be put first, unless it be laid aside by general Consent.

XIII. If a Question upon in a Debate contain more parts than one, any Member may have the same divided into as many Questions as parts.1

XV. No person shall enter walk in the house while the question is putting, nor shall any one give his vote who was not present when the question was put.

I. The roll of the house shall be called over by the secretary every day within minutes after the hour to which it was adjourned, before any other thing is done in Congress; and all absentees without leave shall be noted on the roll by the Secretary, and a copy of so much of the said roll as relates to any one colony shall be sent to the Convention or assembly of such colony once in every three months. 2

1. That so soon as nine Colonies are present in the House the House the Congress proceed to Business.3

Ordered, To lie on the table.

Printed in Journals of the Continental Congress, 5:532–533.

1.

To this point, the report is in the handwriting of RTP.

2.

These two paragraphs are in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson.

3.

This paragraph is in the handwriting of John Hancock.