York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and referred for approbation to the consideration of the several legislatures of the said states, be approved and ratified on the part of this commonwealth; and that our delegates in Congress be accordingly authorized and instructed to ratify the same, in the name and on the behalf of this commonwealth; and that they attend for that purpose on or before the tenth day of March next.

ARCHIBALD CARY, Speaker of the Senate.

G. WYTHE, Speaker of the House of Delegates.

NORTH CAROLINA.

State of North Carolina. In Senate, April 25, 1778. To His Excellency Richard Caswell, Esquire, Captain General, Governour and Commander in Chief, &c. &c.

SIR,

THE two houses of the general assembly have taken into consideration the confederacy proposed to the United States by the continental Congress; and have unanimously acceded thereto; and request your excellency will be pleased to inform the President of the

continental Congress thereof by the earliest oppor

tunity.

WHITMILL HILL, S. S.

JOHN WILLIAMS, S. C.

By order.

J. SITGREAVES, C. S.

SOUTH CAROLINA.

In the General Assembly, the fourth day of
February, 1778.

Resolved, nemine contradicente, That the delegates of this state in the continental Congress, or any three of them, be and they are hereby authorized, on the part of this state, to agree to, and ratify articles of confederation between the United States of America.

Ordered, That the foregoing resolution be sent to the honourable the legislative council, for their concurrence, and to his excellency the president for his

assent.

By order of the House.

THOMAS BEE, Speaker.

In the Legislative Council, the fifth day of
February, 1778.

Read the foregoing resolution of the general assembly. Resolved, That this house do concur with the general assembly in the said resolution.

Ordered, That it be sent to his excellency the president for his assent.

Attended to, February 5, 1778.

J. RUTLEDGE.

By order of the House.

HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker.

GEORGIA.

House of Assembly, Thursday, February 26, 1778. The house resolved itself into a committee of the whole house to take into consideration the articles of confederation and perpetual union; and after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Whitefield from the committee of the whole reported, they had taken the said articles into consideration, and gone through the same, and made several amendments thereto, which were read and agreed to.

Extract from the minutes.

GEORGE CUTHBERT, Clerk.

Report of the Amendments to the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union.

ARTICLE IV. 4th page, 4th line, add the words "white inhabitants." 6th line, between the words "vagabonds and," add "all persons who refuse to-"bear arms in defence of the state to which they be

long, and all persons who have been, or shall be at

"tainted and judged guilty of high treason in any of "the United States."

ARTICLE IX. 20th page, 20th line, between the words "emitted to," add, "and the expenditure of "the same."

ARTICLE XI. 25th page, between the words "Cana"da acceding" add, "and the colonies of East and "West Florida."

A true copy from the original, taken the 24th May, and examined by

GEORGE CUTHBERT, C. H. A.

House of Assembly, Thursday, February 26, 1778. Resolved, That the delegates for this state be authorized and required to lay before the general Congress of the United States, the several alterations proposed and agreed upon by this house this day in the articles of confederation, and that they do use their exertions to have such alterations agreed to and confirmed in Congress.

Resolved, That in case all or none of such alterations shall be agreed to and confirmed in Congress, that then, and notwithstanding, they be empowered and required in behalf of this state, to sign, ratify and confirm the several articles of the confederation recommended to the respective legislatures of the United States by Congress, or any other plan of a general confederation which shall be agreed upon by nine of the United States.

GEORGE CUTHBERT, Clerk.

VOL. I.

53

THURSDAY, JULY, 9, 1778.

Resolved, That in the ratification of the articles of confederation to be signed by the delegates, the following words to be omitted, to wit: "Which articles "were by Congress proposed to the legislatures of all "the United States, to be considered; and if approved "of by them, they are advised to authorize their dele"gates to ratify the same in the Congress of the "United States."

The ratification of the articles of confederation, engrossed on a roll of parchment, being laid before Congress, was examined; and the blanks in the third line from the bottom being filled up at the table with the words "ninth" and "July," and the blank in the last line, with the word "third," the same was signed, on the part and in behalf of their respective states, by the delegates of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina, agreeably to the powers vested in them.

The delegates of the state of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, informed Congress that they have not yet received powers to ratify and sign.

North Carolina, whose legislature has ratified the articles of confederation, and the state of Georgia, were not at this time represented in Congress.

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to prepare a circular letter to the states in this union that have not hitherto authorized their delegates in Congress to ratify the confederation, informing such