52 



CIVIL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part II. 



PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. 



CONVENTION TO FORM A CONSTITUTION 



Alarmed at the suggestions in the fore- 

 croinor coinmunication of Thomas Young, 

 the council of safety of New York pro- 

 ceeded, on the 28th of May, to make a 

 further effort to arrest the progress of 

 Vermont. With this view they address- 

 ed a letter to the president of Congress, 

 in which they say that, " as a report pre- 

 vails and daily gains credit, that the re- 

 volters are privately countenanced in their 

 designs by certain members of Congress, 

 we esteem it our duty to give this infor- 

 mation, that by a proper resolution on the 

 subject, the reputation of Congress may 

 cease to be injured by imputations so dis- 

 graceful and dishonorable. However un- 

 willing we may be to entertain suspicions 

 so disreputable to any member of Con- 

 gress, j'et the truth is, that no inconsid- 

 erable numbers of the people of this state 

 do believe the report to be well founded." 



With a view of bringing Congress to a 

 decision on tlie subject of this controver- 

 sy, on the 23d of June, one of the New 

 York delegates laid before that body the 

 communication of Tiiomas Young to the 

 inhabitants of \'ermont. Congress now 

 took up tlie matter, and the jtotitions and 

 communications from New York and the 

 New Hampsliire grants, were referred to 

 a committee of the wliole. This commit- 

 tee, on tlie 30th day of June, among other 

 things resolved, that Congress would not 

 recommend or countenance any thing in- 

 jurious to the rights and jurisdiction of 

 the several communities heroin repre- 

 sented, — that the injiabitants of tlie New 

 Hampshire grants cannot be justified in 

 tlieir declaration of independence, by tlie 

 example of the United Colonies, nor by 

 any act or resolution of Congress, — that 

 the petition of Vermont, to be recognized 

 as an independent state, and to have her 

 delegates admitted to seats in Congress, 

 be dismissed. They fartlier resolved that 

 the communication of Thomas Young was 

 derogatory to the honor of Congress, and 

 contained a gross misrepresentation of tiie 

 resolution of tliat body therein referred 

 to, and was calculated to mislead the peo- 

 ple to whom it was addressed. 



While Congress were thus resolving to 

 dismiss the petition of the inhabitants of 

 Vermont, and utterly to discountenance 

 their proceedings, tlie people of Vermont 

 were engaged in forming a constitution 

 for the regulation of their civil govern- 

 ment, being fully persuaded that their in- 

 dependence must now be supported with 

 the same firmness and sjiirit with which 

 it had been declared. The same conven- 

 tion which had declared the independence 

 of Vermont, met, by adjournment, at 

 Windsor on the first Wednesday of June, 



and appointed a committee to make a draft 

 of a constitution for the state. They also 

 adopted a resolution, recommendintr that 

 the several towns appoint delegates to 

 meet in convention at Windsor, on the 

 2d day of July following, for the purpose 

 of discussing and adopting said constitu- 

 tion. 



In compliance with the foregoing reso- 

 lution, the convention assembled at Wind- 

 sor, on the 2d day of July, and a draft of 

 a constitution was presented and read. 

 While the convention were deliberating 

 upon, and adopting the several articles of 

 this important instrument, they received 

 the news of the evacuation, on the 6th of 

 July, of Ticonderoga by the American 

 troops. This event left the whole west 

 em border of Vermont exposed to the ene- 

 my, and spread alarm and consternation 

 through this and the neighboring states. 

 " In this awful crisis," says Allen, in his 

 History of Vermont, "the convention 

 was for leaving Windsor; but a severe 

 thunder storm came on and gave them 

 time to reflect; while some members, less« 

 alarmed at tiie news, called the attention 

 of the convention to finish the constitu- 

 tion, which was then reading, paragraph 

 by paragrapli, for the last time. This was 

 done, and the convention appointed a 

 council of safety to act during their re- 

 cess, and adjourned." 



Immediately after the adjournment of 

 the convention, the council of safety of 

 Vermont wrote to the councils of satiety 

 of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 

 setting forth their exposed condition since 

 the abandonment of Ticonderoga, and 

 calling upon tliem in the most pressing 

 terms for assistance. These communica- 

 tions were dated at Manchester, July ]5th, 

 l/TT.'^ Upon this application, the coun- 

 cil of safety of New Hampshire immedi- 

 ately convened the assembly of that state, 

 who without delay placed a large body of 

 their militia under the command of Gen. 

 Stark, and ordered him to repair to 

 Charlestown on Connecticut river ; con- 

 sult with the council of Vermont with 

 regard to supplies and future operations; 

 and act in conjunction with the troops of 

 that or any other state, or of the United 

 States, as in his opinion would tend most 

 effectually to stop the progress of the ene- 

 my on tlie western frontier. These or- 

 ders were promptly obeyed, and these 

 troops, in conjunction with tliose of Ver- 

 mont, at Bennington, gave the enemy the 

 first effectual check, as related in the pre- 

 ceding chapter. 



* For the (:orre?r>ondence with New Hampshire 

 see Slide's Slate Papers, page 79. 



