: ^^ ^^ '^wjw*^ <$^ ' « o ■' .V 'oK v-o^ 'oK ^^-n^. 4 o *-^,.^* .-ij^;'. \/ '''^^'- ^ o V • -^ ^^ ^V ^ '^ / ^^% '^A ^ v-0^ ^"-V, - 1 - A- ^ •^'. V fe^^ WILLIAM HOOPER, Sir.xKR OF THE Declaration of Independence. y. y=-^ _• d '"' o X -(-■3 to o 13 W --• *4-t o 73 ^«-H u O G .O ..^^ 03 s 1 G W 3 >> c3 73 •J3 +i g g ni I — i? p -^ ! S ~ a., 33 -ri ?5r: W, .S 5 ^ 1 Ts o X '^ ^ 'P'-^ o 2 55^-"" bc_ 5i 33 +5 p ^ ;r:; 5 .l-T "^ &"! 3i HM 5 3 i^ T3 O ll X " 3j I'ao H -- o; ,-" -as§ ce^ :^ ^ PQ s ^ e< X OC be O G -,-l V. ^'^ .2 _-«- ^ 1^ 1^ ^ i (U • o > o^ -z* ci o^ % ^ kU -r-l "'^Sffi K m "S g ^ >i 1^ c X 'J \J M 'A •? r-; kH ffi t; 1 ADDEESS EDWIN A. ALDERMAN, Pr«ifes.H(ir in the Univeri>'Hy of Xorth Cfirolhin. ON THE LIFE OF WILLIAM LIOOPER, 'The Prophet of American Independence.' GUILFORD BATTLE GROUJSTD, JULY 4, 1894. Published by Die Guilford Battle Groioid Co7tif>a7iy, ISSUED FROM THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, Chapel Hill, N. C. ^ti7^ ti ^^0(^3 My Countrymen : There is no hig-her duty devolving- upon faithful States than to preserve freshly the memory of their g'reat events and their noble men. And it is not simply a duty. It is a condition of national g-reataess and the sublimest evidence of the moral energy latent in demo- cratic communities. The most splendid manif-estation of the awakening- of historical self-respect in North Carolina, and of new-born pride in her heroic past is this scene before our eyes — these upturned faces with the unspoken music of liberty on their lips ; this lovely landscape filled with the glory of midsummer; these votive stones crowning- hill-top and valley, marking- the rescue of a great American battle-lield from the silent forest; this transformation, by patriotic energ-3', of an unkempt wilderness into a g-rand Pantheon for our hon- ored dead more impressive than the marble memorials of Greece and Rome because its roof is the arch of the sky, and its pillars these stately oaks that sweep the upper air. It is no slig-lit thing to have such a spot as this in the borders of a State. Here our fathers dared to die that we, their children, mig-htbe free. Here amid the uproar of battle, the course of human history received moulding and direction. The lofty, majestic charm which invests the Thermopyla^s, the Watt-rioos, the Yorktowns and Bunker Hills — all spots where human freedom has made a stand — is beg-inning^ to settle over this lovely plain where our embattled farmers stood. Let us be glad that our people are coming- hither more and more, from far and near, to spend their hours of rest and freedom from care and work. Let them come, the old man in his weakness, the youth in his strength, and the young- child standing- upon the lintels of life, and be lifted up by the memories, the associations, the sig-hts of this sacred g-round into nobler ambition, purer zeal and more unselfish consecration to that g-oodly heritag'e g-iven us by the Lord God, and pledged to civilization by the lives, the fortunes and the sacred honor of an heroic ancestry! For seven years tiie anniversary of our g"reat National Ffstival has been celebrated liere with much display of patriotic enthusiasm and martial pomp. Heretofore, the learned and distinguished men who have preceded me in the g-racious duties of this hour have had for a theme some brave North Carolinian who illustrated her valor and devotion in arms. To-day, for the first time, we meet to tell tlie story of a civic hero, to witness the inaug'uration of a monument to him and his colleag'ues, and to recount faithfully the life and character of one whose clear, bold signature to the Declaration of American Independence enrolls the name of William Hooper forever among- the founders of this republic. The Hi^oper family is an ancient and honorable one in English and Scotch annals. In Fox's Book of Martyrs one mav read how on the 9th of February, 1555, John Hooper, Lord Bishopof Worcester and Gloucester, suf- fered martyrdom iwdv the doors of his own catliedral. The brave old ir!art}r was one of a numerous family of Hoopers who had been settled in Somersetshire since the reign of Kdv/ard, the First. They were in many instances tenants of the Priory of Montacute and priests oi that loundation. In tlio troublesome days that followed the accession ol' Mary and the Martyr- dom of Bishop Hooper, the Hoopers of Wiltshire, a shire contiguius to Somerset, migrated to the bor- ders of Scotland Tlie name until the time of William Hooper of Boston, was spelled Hoper, Hopper, Hou- per. The martvr-hishop sig^ned his name "John Hoper" in the dedication of his works to the DLd\e of Somerset. The Hoopers were lon,fjf settled at Stitchell, a town in Berwick, Scotland, and seem to have mi<»Tated from that point to different places in the neigfhborhood. There lies before me a pho- to^Taph of a quaint old monument outside the chan- cel of Stitchell"' church, known as the "Hooper Stone." The inscription is incomplete, but one may still decipher on the upper slab some names and lig*- ures and this triumphant sentiment: Vita mihi mortis mors Vitae janiia facta est. The first one f)f the name whom we can find is Rob- ert Hooper, A. M., of Nether Stitchell, who died in 159f), leaving" seven children. There is a record of his son and heir, Robert, and then the reiLfisters are lost until there appears a^^ain the name of Robert Hooper. The Rev. William Hooper of Boston, the founder of the American branch of the family, was the third and young-est child of this Robertus Hopperus, as his name is written when he taices his deg^ree of A. M. at Kdinburg-h, and Mary Jaffra3^ his wife, who were married August 2, 1692. He was born in the villag^e of Edenmouth — a farm at the junction of the Eden with the Twt-ed — Par- ish of F/dnam near Kelso, Scotland, in the year 1704; took his Master ot Arts degree at Edinburgh in 1723; became a Presbyterian minister in Scotland; See Appendix for g-enealogical chart of Hooper family; came to America, settled in Boston and was the first pastor of the Vv^est Congregationalist Church from 1737 to 1747, and of Trinity Church from 1747 to 1767, the 3'ear of his death. His sudden secession from the Cono-regational Church after nine years of ser- vice, and entrance into the Episcopal Church, surprised and grieved his con^'reg'atiou, and no doubt produced some asperities in those days of dog-matic severity. The truth seerns to be that Hooper outgfrew the stern puritanic creed of the day, and wished to preach a more liberal conception of the divine attributes. Dr. Bartol, one of his successors in the West Church, from which he seceded, speaks with g-reat feeling- of Hooper and his character:* "I claim not Hooper as one of the g"reat reformers who are voices in the wilderness of the ag-es, but I do rank him in the class of intellectual and relig"ious pioneers. He had a nature whose first necessity, like that of all g"reat natures, was confor- mity between its thoug'ht and actions." The late Bishop Phillips Brooks, before his elevation to the episcopate, one of Hooper's successors in the rectorship of Trinity Church, wrote of him as follows: "The Rev. Willam Hooper had been pastor of the West Cong-regational Church since it was formed in 1737. Suddenly in 1847 he became an Episcopalian. He had been beloved and honored, and everybod}'^ was taken by surprise. At once the proprietors of Trinity Church chose him to be their Rector and he went to England for orders. He retained his parish twentv years, and then died suddenly while walking- in Lis g-arden. He chang-ed partly because of the arg-ument for Episcopacy, but mainly because of the more liberal "West Church and Jts ministers," p. 67. Boston, 1856. theolog-y. It does not seem strang-e to us that our second Rector was father of one of the sig-ners of the Declaration." The Episcopal Orders of the Rev. Wm. Hooper still exist, much mutilated, as may be seen, but leg^ible. The orig-inal document is now in the possession of Mr. James Hooper, of Wilming-ton, N. C, is dated June, 1747, and reads as follows : By or of these presents. We Martin, by Divine po Glocester do make it known unto all tnen that on f June (being- Tuesday in Whitsun-Week) in the year of Ou and seven hundred and fortj'-seven, We the Bishop before in administring- Holy Orders under the protection of the Aim f Chapel of St. James in Westminster did awarding- eremonies of the Church of Eng-land admit Our beloved m Hooper. M. A., of Boston in New Bng-land to the H ests he being- well recommended to Us by our Rig-ht Rev Edmund Lord Bishop of Loudon who certified to us his exam probation of the said William Hooper in regard to his ag-e ng and Title and having first before us taken the Oaths the Articles which are in this case by Laws required to b and subscribed and that We did then and there dulj' and nominally ordain him Priest. In Testimony whereof We have used Our Episcopal Seal to be hereunto affixed. Dated the Day and Year aforesaid, and in the Thirteenth Year of our Consecration. M. [SEAiv] GLOCESTER. The Rev. William Hooper married Mary Den- nie, daug-hter of John Dennie, an eminent Boston mer- chant. His will mentions five children, William, John, Georg-e, Mary, and Thomas as the result of this union, three of whom, William, the eldest, Georg-e and Thom- as came South. Georg-e settled in Wilming-ton, mar- ried Catherine Maclaine, daug-hter of Archibald Mac- laine, an eminent lawyer and patroit of his day, and be- came the father of Archibald Maclaine Hooper, and s grandfather of the late John DeBerniere Hooper of the University of North Carolina, an eminent and accom- plished scholar/'^ Mrs. Ralph H. Graves of Chapel Hill, owns a hand- some oil painting- of this stout-hearted old man, who did not hesitate in an ag-e of gfreat polemic rig-or, to de- clare for independence of opinion and freedom of con- science as his son did later for freedom in forms of gfov- ernment. It is a strong-, beautiful face, marked by lines of power and benig-nity. William Hooper, whose life and services it is our pur- pose to investigfate, was born in Boston, Massachusetts June 17, 1742. There was then no foreboding: of the coming- storm. The thirteen colonies were the most loyal dependencies of the Engflish Crown, and the col- onists read Kng-lish books, talked Engdish g-ossip, flush- ed with pride at the achievements of Engdish prowess and proudly recounted the muniments of Eng-lish free- dom. The ties of a common ancestry, a common re- ligfion, a common pride of race, a common lang^uagfe, common political traditions, and a common share in the memories of the past and the hopes of the future bound the infant colonies to the fatherland. Boston, at his birth, was a thriving- little town of fifteen thousand in- habitants. Samuel Adams had just passed from the Harvard rostrum to the larg-er rostrum of the town meeting-; a few miles away at Braintree, John Ad- ams, a seven year old child, played in the fields, while in far off Virg-inia, Washing-ton and Patrick Henrv, the one the arm, the other the tongue of the Revo- lution, had not passed out of childhood. It may be imag-ined that a Scotch minister would not negflect the education of his -on. William Hooper *See Appendix. 9 passed the flrst fourteen years of his life .in assiduous devotion to study, seven years under his father and seven years at the Boston Latin School, presided over by John Lovel, the most celebrated school master of his day. In 1757 at the ag^e of fifteen he entered the Soph- omore class at Harvard Colleg-e, a delicate, nervous, beautiful youth, spurred on to academic honors by his father's pitiless Scotch enthusiasm for learning-. The Harvard records of that day are quite frag^mentary and chiefly concerned with questions of punishment and dis- cipline. The infrequent appearance of Hooper's name on this criminal docket is, at least, /r/;«»y«67^ evidence of the blamelessness of his coUegre life. There are only two records concerning* him upon the books of Har- vard Colleg^e, viz: "July 13th, 1757. Voted to examine Rev. Mr. Hooper's son to be admitted to the second year." "Oct, 7th. 1757, Ho1 under the tuition of James Otis, and in the atmos- phere of Boston, electric with thoug-ht of hum.an free- dom. The elder Hooper was a loyalist and a man oi gfreat force of character. William alone, of all his family, em- braced the patriot cause. In the council chamber of the Old Town House in Boston, in February, 1761, James Otis made his wonderful five-hour speech — one 11 of the greatest speeches of modern times — against the abominable tyranny of the Writs of Assistance. Then and there was the first scene of the first act of oppo- sition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain in the northern colonies. "Then and there the child Inde- pendence was born.""'^ Then and there William Hoop- er became a patriot. John Adams and William Hooper, the one a young lavv3^er, the other : law student, stood in the chamber and listened with beating hearts to the the thrilling words of the g^reat orator, as a few years later Jefferson was to stand tip- toe in the old court room at Williamsburg vind hear Patrick Henry echo Otis with tongue of flame. It is worthy of note that the preliminary scenes of the Revolution occurred in court rooms and the first voices lifted for liberty were the voices of lawyers, despising fees, heedless of the whispers of ambition, and pleading madlv for ab- stract human right. In the fall of 1767 when liberty was flaming' like a beacon over the land, William Hooper came into our state to make his permanent home. He was in his twenty-iifth year, a son of Harvard, thrilling- w^ith the eloquence of Otis and Samuel Adams, familiar with the methods of the town meeting, happy in the choice of his home, blessed with youth and vig-or in the bril- liant dawn of a revolutionary era. Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive But to be young- was Heaven. North Carolina had k'nown one hundred 3'^ears of stormy political existence at the hour of his coming. It cannot be said that the State had been founded by any- *John Adams. • 12 body. It had founded itself, and ha.d grown into the sisterhood of colonies from a few scattered families on the Albemarle, sternly fig-iitin^^ the cruel savag"es on the one hand and as sternly resisting*- on the other, the ra- pacity and cupidity of proprietary j Five times before the storm of revolution swept over the state, in the Rent trouble, the Legislative Repre- sentation trouble, the Granville District trouble, or the Enfield riots as they were called, the Stamp Act trouble and the War of the Regulation, the self-willed ■•'Colonial Records Vol, IX. p. II. Prefatory Note.s. f L,essons from Colonial Records. Wai. h. Saunders, p. 7. |Ibid §Ibid. • 15 and power-hating" lawyers and farmers of North Caro- lina had anticipated Bunker Hill, Lexington and their own Mecklenburgf in their willingfiiess to die in behalf of the abstract idea of local self-g-overnnient. Their motives were not commercial. No ships rotted in their harbors, they had no manufactures to lang^uish, no carrying- trade to be ruined. Their conduct was simply a pure and priceless demonstration of the polit- ical gfenius and self-governinfjf passion of the Ang-lo- Saxon race. There was no room then for missionary work on the Cape Fear when William Hooper cast in his fortunes with her defiant sons. They were already rebels by habit and descent, and had already made bonfires of stamped paper, intimidated stamp masters and g^overn- ors and oifered armed resistance to British force.* Cor- nelius Harnett and Samuel Adams were kindred spirits and John Ashe and James Otis had both thundered the doctrine of "resistance to blood and death." In the six 3'ears intervening between his permanent settlement in Wilmington and his entrance into public life. Hooper endeared himself by his natural grace of manner and easy wit to the unusual group of strong, bright hospitable lawyers and planters seated about Wilmington and Brunswick. Wilmington was a vil- lage to be proud of in the youth of a new civilization, when men have sterner things to do than to cultivate art and letters. Its commerce with the West Indies in naval stores, rice and indigo was considerable. Along the eastern and western branches of the Cape Fear lived men of fortune and education connected by blood, owning slaves and living the semi-feudal life of the time. And they were not mere jovial, unlettered planters * "A Colonial Officer," pp. 87-89. Waddell. Wilmington. 16 engrossed in the pleasures of the chase and the field. They had established a small library in the little vil- lag-e, and in their own homes, broug-ht over from Eng- land, were the works of Dryden and Pope and Johnson and Addison — side by side with those of Fielding-, Rich- ardson and Smollett. We may not doubt that Hooper both extended and partook of the somewhat excessive hospitality of the region, for it was a fun-loving- ag-e. A lawyer, especially a married law^yer away from home, would ride ten miles out of his way and swim a stream to reach a dance, and court weeks in Wilming-ton were sometimes sig-nalized by ten consecutive balls, and by much consumption of Jamaica rum. But amidst all this g-allantry and ceremonious merry-making-, the young- Boston lawyer did not foreg-o the serious side of life. He laid well and thoroug-hly the foundations of his professional reputation. We find him early in his career riding- one hundred and eig-hty miles on horse back " to attend the courts in the interior, measuring- swords with Maurice Moore in New Hanover, t and fig-hting- Abner Nash and a number of strongf lawyers in Halifax in the celebrated cause of the heirs of Governor Dobbs ag-ainst Nash, who had married the widow of that amorous old g-entleman.t It is no discredit to William Hooper — as it is none to Maurice Moore and to the knig-htliest soldier of the col- ony, Hug-h Waddell, — to record that in 1770 he warm- ly aided the g-overnment in suppressing- the insurg-ents who were known by the name of the Reg-ulators. The * Wm. H. Hill owned the first four horse coach in New Hanover county. Iredell's Life and Letters. f State V. McGaflford. A master had murdered his slave. Hooper appeared for defendant. X In Halifax Court. A. M. Hooper. 17 isolation, the difference in the condition of the sections, and the g-ame of diplomacy between Tr3'on and the eastern leaders prevented those men from seeing that the men of Orange and Guilford were pioneers in the hoh' war for freedom, toward which they themselves were snrely tending-."' The}' saw only the frenzy and passion of maddened men defying established law, and heard only the blatant voice of the demagogue and ex- tremist who play about every great movement. That such men rode to war with Tryon, or gave advice in council against the harried farmers of the middle coun- ties, is the best evidence we could have of the absence of those cohesive elements in our colonial life, by which diverse peoples and interests are welded into unity and homogeneity. William Hooper, after six 3'ears' residence in the colony, entered public life in 1773 as a member from Cambellton of the General Assendily which met at Newbern January 25, 1773. and continued in session forty-two days. I" For the first time he was thrown into close official connection with Samuel Jolm- ston, John Harvey, Richard Caswell, ^Mlen Jones, John Ashe, Francis Nash and those who were destined to be our revolutionary leaders. Josiah Martin, the last royal g"overnor of this province, was at the head of affairs. The general acts of British aggression all over the continent were, for the moment, lost sight of, and North Carolina was engaged in a furious strug'gle over the enactment of a new court law to succeed the Tryon Act, just expired. The issue, briefly, was this: the governor of North Carolina, the authorities * Colonial Records, Vol. VIII. p. III. I Mr. Hooper received 20 1. 5 s. and 8 d. for his services. Col. Rec. V. 9, p. 587. 18 in E^n^land and the Kng-lish merchants wished to do business and own property here without beiu.cj- subject to our laws. The North Carolina Assembly, represent- ing the creditors of British merchants, were iig'hting' to secure the right to proceed by attachment against the property of debtors who had never been in the province, or who had fled from their debts. It is not within the scope of this address to narrate the details of the struggle. It was the last irritating act of Eng- lish economic cupidity, directed against her iniant colony, and around it raged the fire of debate for the three sessions of the Assembly which met in Newberu January 25, 1873, December 4, 1873 and March 2, 1874, consuming in its discussion eighty-seven legisla- tive days. The Assembly was unyielding, Martin obeyed his instructions like a martinet, all compromise failed, and the result was that there were no courts in North Carolina from March 30, 1774 until after North Carolina had become a sovereign State, in 1777. William Hooper took a foremost part in the deliber- ations of all of these sessions, ^ — being a member of the last two with John Ashe, from the County of New Hanover. He was placed on the fourteen most impor- tant committees of these Assemblies, " formed, prepared and read the address in repU^ to the Governor's speech in both Assemblies, and in addition to much local effort, procured the passage of the bill to prevent the willful and malicious killing of slaves, i" and the bill to relieve insolvent debtors with respect to imprisonment of their persons. Hooper was the writer of these bodies. Harvey and Harnet were readier with their tongues * See Appendix for list of Committees. f He always exhibited considerable interest in the condition of the slave* 19 than with their pens, and we may be sure the fluent 3"Oung" scholar g'ladly seiz.ed the opportunity to formu- late their swift thouo-hts. Hooper also carried his literary activity outside of legislative halls, and though the failure of the court bills deprived him of his only source of income, justified their defeat in the once cele- brated Hampden essays, which profoundly impressed his contemporaries but have not come down to us. Amid the noisy tumult over the court bill, the Assem- bly of December, 1774 stepped aside on December 8,_^ J^ and did its most far-reaching" act, in the appointment of nine persons to constitute a standing committee of Cor- respondence and Inqviiry, whose duty it should be to obtain the earliest and most authentic intelligence of all acts and resolutions of the British Parliament re- lating to the colonies, and to maintain and keep up a correspondence with our sister colonies respecting all important considerations. William Hooper was the fourth name on this committee, preceded by John Har- vey, Robert Howe and Cornelius Harnett. " This was by far the most important step that preceded indepen- dence. It was the corner-stone of the Revolution, an "^-^ — invisible legislature that was alwa3's in session!" and could not be dissolved. Through its silent agencies the mystic chain of sympathy uniting the colonies was completed, and every pulse-beat of Massachusetts throbbed throughout America. It is from Josiah Quinc}^ that we get our only ^•limpse of thcvse men outside of meagre legislative pro- ceedings. His Journal reveals them jauntily dining and wining and plotting. * John Harve3% Robert Howe, Cornelius Harnett, William Hooper, Richard Caswell, Edward Vail, John Ashe. Joseph Hewes, Samuei Johnston. "Jones's Defence," p. 98. f John Fiske, "War for Independence," p- 79. 20 "March 29th, (1773). Dined at Dr. Thomas Cob- ham's in company with Harnett, Hooper and others. March 30th: Dined with about twenty at Mr. Wil- liam Hooper's— find him apparently in the Whig" inter- est — has taken their side in the House etc. Spent the nig-ht at Mr. Harnett's— the Samuel Ad- ams of North Carolina. The plan of Continental Correspondence hio-hly rel- ished, much wished for, and resolved upon as proper to be pursued."'' In the Summer of 1774, as a result of a conference between five!" pioneer patriots who did not intend that Martin should imitate Try on, hand bills flew over North Carolina invitino- the people to elect deleg-ates to a convention for the purpose of denouncing' the retalia- tion acts of Great Britain, and electing delegcites to a Continental Cong-ress. In midsummer, July 21 1774, we find William Hooper presiding- over the meeting- of the delegates from the six counties which formed the district of Wilming-ton., g-athered tog-ether to demand the calling- of this convention, to educate pidilic senti- ment, and to pronounce the cause of Boston the cause of British America.:',: And they were not content with mere words of sympathy. Georgfe William Curtis de- clared that the people of Pittsfield, Mass., a poor town of nine hundred inhabitants were afire with patriotism because they sent their suffering- brothers in Boston six potmds, twelve sliilling-s. How ma}' we gfauge the patriotic fervor of the little villag-e of Wilmingfton, six hundred miles away, containing- only six hundred in- ^Meinoirs of Josiah Quincj', Col. Rec. V. 9, p. 611. f Harvey, Johnston, Hooper. Iredell, Willie Jones. Johnston to Hooper. "Jones's Defence," p 124. :t:Goodloe,s "Birth of the Republic" p. 299. 21 habitants, seiidiiio- two ship-loads of provisions and 2,000 pounds in currency?* In one month's notice seventy members were elected and assembled in Newbern i)i the first representative asseml)ly, indepe)nie)it cuid dejiant of royal aiitJioritv, thai ever assembled in North America:\ Bold John Harvey, with the hectic flush of approaching- death on his cheek, ofuided the proceeding's. For three days, in higdi debate, these seventy men censured, denounced and resolved after the stately fashion of the times; elected their continental deleg^ates;! entrusted the exe- cution of their resolves to county committees; and ended with these noble and notable resolutions: ''Resolved, That we view the attempts made b}^ the Ministers upon the town of Boston as a prelude to a gen- eral attack upon the rights of the other Colonies, and that upon the success of this depends, in a gxeat meas- ure, the happiness of America in its present race and in posterity; and that therefore it becomes our duty to contribute, in proportion to our abilities, to ease the burden imposed upon that Town, for their virtuous op- position to the Revenue Acts, that the}^ may be enabled to persist in a prudent and manly opposition to the schemes of Parliament, and render its dang-erous de- sigMis abortive. ''Resolved, That Liberty is the spirit of the British Constitution, and that it is the duty, and will be the endeavor of us all, to transmit this happy Constitution to our posterit}' in a state, if possible, better than we ••//*/«', p. 293. ■jNewbern, Aug- 25, 1774. :}:The three delegates were to be paid 700 lbs. "proc."' money to be divided equally among- them — each county raising 20 lbs — not as a salary but as a "recompense" for trouble and expense. Col. Rec. V. 9, p. 1047. 22 found it; and that to suffer it to undergo a diange which may impair that invaluable blessin/,<^s. Shoes a?:d Shirts as maj- teiid to relieve their ur- g-ent wants & prepare them to meet the Weather when it becomes less favorable to their present destitute Situation. It will take some time to collect the materials & have them m.-ide up lor use. but be assured nothinif shall be wanting- to urge to completion this neces- sary business, «fe to forward the articles as soon as they are in readi- ness.) We shall not omit to send Hats, if besides these 3'ou should think proper to order Canteens, Cartouch boxes or an3' other niili- itary appendag-es, (Arms excepted). We shall pa3' a punctual Obe- dience to such orders. Arms not 1.»eirig- to be procured. The 4 Tons of Gunpowder mentioned in the resolve inclosed will be forwarded as soon as Wag-g-ons and Horses can be purchased. ■* 35 * * The field pieces cannot be had. * * « * Battering'- camion cannot for some time be sent to YOU. * * * * With plenty of iron in our province, and the j^round work of a foundarv at Deep river, could we possibly procure an able operator to carry on the manufac- ture of Guns, it would be an Object well worthy' publick attention, & merit almost any expense that nii^-ht attend the carryinif so use- ful a desig-n into execution. •■■ * * '•■ We have constilted Doctor Franklin and others upon the subject of Salt pans. He has promised us his Assistance in preparing- the plans, and directini,'' the mode '»f luakin;; tJie pans. As soon as an operator can be found wlio will undertake them. We shall set him at work. " * * "' We shall find j^reat dilhculty to hire men to drive our Waj^yons. - * * We beg" leave to press up(jn yt>u as a nuitter of the most serious concern the manufactures of Saltpetre, common salt and Gunpowder. Should Britain spread her immense Navy along- our coasts our sux)- plie.s from abroad are at an end. Upon ourselves must we rely, and should we fall short in our attempts, the consequences are too alarm- ing to predict & must be obvious to every one. * * * * With great respect Sir Your most obedt Servts WII^Iv HOOPER JOSEPH HEWES JOHN PENN Penn to Thos. Person. Feb. 14. 177i): "My first wish is that America be free : tlie second that we may 1)e restored to Great Britain in peace and harmony upon just and proper terms. I send you a pamphlet called "Common Sense." pul)Hshed atuotith ago." Letter from Penn, June 28, I77(y. "The first of July will bean era of great importance, as that is the day for debating- the g^reat and important question of independence, aixl from what I have seen there is no doubt but a total separation will take place as all the colonies except Maryland are for it, and the inhabitants there are ct)ming- over fast." Durin- the o"reat debate and vote on the question of in- dependence, but happily for his fame, did arrive before the Declaration had been slg-ned. Clad in tijose gar- ments which TrumbuH's g-enius has immortalized, he was one of the fifty-four g-entlemen who g-atliered to- g-jth-n- on Anofust 2, 177o, to afrix; their names to the o-reat document. While notliing" is so dillicidt as the a!)Hity to transport one's self into the actual moo«l of rnind in which g-reat historic acts are performed, we mav be sure the least serious among* these men must have realized that he was sig-ning- a death-warrant, or a title deed to immortality. Yet with firm, clear hanils, witli hig'h purpose and undaunted resolution, the trans- action v^as accomplished. American tradition has lit up the deathless scene with Hashes of g'rim wit nr.d rough mockery of fear and death -investing*- it wiih a touch oi humanity to which v%-e all lovingdy cling-. "We must hang- together or we will hang- separately," e.v- clainieo the slender IClbridgfe (lerry. "It will be all over with me in a n:oment. but you will be kicking- in the air a half-liour after I am gone," responded the p(*r{)v Iiarri;-on with l)older humor. It is not easy to give expression to the transcendent importance of this latest ivlagua Charta in human affair >. A rhetorician may readily see in it a note of loudness, a scream of dehance. a rather dazzling; array of g-litlcrir.g- g-eneralities, l)ut it is almost as absurd to cavil at it as it woidd i)e tc; criticize the Ten Ccnnmand- mcnts. It seized all the ho]^es and visions and beliefs of humanity alxiut freedom, and with dynamic energfy com- pressed them into one shini;\<^- tablet and flashed them be- f()r<,' the ]or,gi!]g- eves of men. It was the last cli:^7-:C*r in llic scriptures of ICnglish liberty, the cuhnination of 37 the working- out tlirouo-h man^/ centuries of the pro])lem of self-gfovernment. Basing- j^^overnment on popular soverei.^-nty and personal equality, it shall stand for- ever, a house of refuife to the hunted and fleeing- sub- jects of injustice, and a rebuke and a stumbling- l)lock to the tyrant and the oppressor. The men who in- dorsed it with their names on that summer day achieved immortality at a bound, and wrote their names where all nations shall behold them, and all time cannot eiface them In the first decades of this ccntur}- our g-randfathers were filled with indig-nation and astonishment at Mr. Jefferson's remarkable letter to John Adams in which he declared that "there was no g-reater Tory in Con- gress than AVilliam Hooper."' Jo. Seawell Jones, cliok- ing- with rag-e, rushed to the rescue in his celebrated Defence of North Carolina and with an uncommon mingding- of invective, passion, partisanship, critical power and insight, effectually disposes'.s Defence p. 2., Intro- duction. 38 private and confidential correspondence reveals this atti- tude in a most complete and perfect wavr "Before April 19, 1775" said Thomas Jefferson himself, "I had never heard a whisper of a disposition to separate from the mother country." "When I first took command of the army (Juh^ 3d, 1775) I abhorred the idea of independ- ence, " said George Washing-ton. Over one year before these words were uttered, April 2(), 1774, Hooper wrote a letter to James Iredell in which occurred the follow- ing" prophetic words: "'They (J he eo/o^nes) are stridiuit- fast to i}idepe}idenee, (Did ere long'zi'ill build aii empire npo)i the rni)is of Great Britain; zvi/I adopt its Consti- tntion puri^ed of its impurities, a)id froyyi a)i experie)tee of its defeets ifitt (^-/lard ai^miust those ez'i/s zchieh have 'Jdsted its vi§r)r.'\ This is the most noteworth}^ personal letter of the Revolution. It antedates all known expressions on the subject of separation, and confers upon William Hoop- er the proud title of the'Pro[)het of American Inde- pendence. And this is not the only evidence : HOOPER T(^ IREDELL. Wii^MiNGTON, June 21, 1774. M}' de;irSir: — I was favored with yours bj' the express. Since iiiy arrival in town I have been so occupied in Boston affairs tliat I have had scarce time to run over Cato. I have had just taste enough of it, to g'ive me hig'her "g-out"' for a more particular attention to it hereafter, when I shall g;ive 3'ou my sentiments ver^' candidly upon it. I am absorbed in the distress of mv native country . The inhu- *From April 1774 to Feb. 1776 there are nine letters of Hooper's to Jas. Ii^edell and Samuel Johnson — his clcsest friends — on this subject. fLife and Correspondence of James Iredell Vol. I. p. 196. For en- tire letter see Jones's Defence p. .-<14. manity of Britaiti can be equalled b\' notliiii}:,'- but ils niistakon policy. The only apoloj^y I can fiud for them, is to char^-e the depravity' of their hearts upon the weakness of their heads. Infatuated peoplel Do they imag-ine that Ave will make a tame surrender of all that au honest man ouyht to liold dear Avithout a strug-gle to preserve; and that our pretentions to freedom are chim- erical — without being- founded in Right and living only in empty pro- fession? * * "' " ■•■ * * * * * * Adieu, my dear sir. I have only time to assure 3'ou that, atnidst the distresses of this country, nothing can tend more to lessen the melancholy share I take in them — than to hear frequently from you. I am Yours, with sincere esteem, WIIvTv. HOOPER. HOOPER TO SAMUEI^ JOHNSTON. Phii.adki.phia. May 23 1775 "This city ha,vS taken a deep share in the insurrection which is so g'enerallj'- diffused through the continent. Men, women and childreiT feel the patriotic glow, and think every man in a state of reproba- tion bej'ond the ]iower uf liea venlj' mercy to forgive, who is not willing- to meet death rather than concede a tittle of the Congress creed.'' HOOPER TO JOHNSTON. Phii.a. June 5. 1775 "I wrote you lately by Mr. Hewes' vessel. I have notliing- to add but to request of you to exert yovir utmost intluence to prevail upon the people to enroll tliemselves in companies; sacred]3' to attend to the preservation of what little gninpowder remains ^imong- them, and to rest assured that no terms will be obtained from Lord North but what are purchased at the point of the sword." HOOPER TO JOHNSTON. Phil. Feb. 6. 177G. •'Do v>^e not play a game where slavery or liberty is at stake? * * * * Were I to advise, the whole force of the colony should be collected read3' for immediate action when called for: and l)id adieu to ploug-h shares and pruning'- hooks till the sword could find its scab- 40 bard with safet3^ and honor to its owner. M3' first wish is to be free; m^' second to be reconciled to Great Britain . God t;-rant that both may soon take place. Measures must be taken immediately. Ere this tile troops of the enem^' are in 3^our country: ma^- _vou stand forth like men, and fii^-ht the cause of liberty, the cause of the living- God." HOOPER TO JOHNSTON. Piiii.A. Sept. 27, 177(1. "Do not mistaks me, — m_v spirits have not failed uie. I do not look upon present ills as incurable; I never considered the patii to libert3' ;is strewn with roses; — She keeps her temple upon the hii,'!!- e.st pinnacle on earth. They who would enter with sincerity and pure devotion must climb over rocks and fri.uiitful ]n-ecipices, cov- ered with thorns and weeds; thousands must perish in the pursuit! But the prize is worthy of the fati.ij-ue and hazard: and the adven- turer will count with triumph the f;-lorious wounds that have pur- chased to him and to posterity the invaluable blessini,'-." Mr. Elooper, as may be seen from these letters, did not welcome bloodshed and war nor deli7, Miss Anne Clark, of Wilmingfton, daug-hter of Tliomas Clark, Senior, and Barbara Murray, his wife. Barbara Murray was a sister of James Murray, a g'entlemen of fortune and position and a member of the Pro^'incial Council under (lovernors Johnson and Dobbs,i" Thomas Clark, the elder, was Hig'h Sheriff of New Hanover county at a time when that office was hlled by the first g-entlemen of the province, and accumulated a larg-e fortune. Mrs. Hooper's brother. Colonel and Brig-a- dier General-by-Brevet, Thomas Clark was a brave officer in the revolutionary army — First Regiment North Carolina Continental Line. He entered the ser- vice with the rank of Major, Sept., 1775, and was twice promoted April 10, 177(), and Feb. 5, 1777. His resi- *Mr. Hooper owned about a do/.eii negroes in 1781. Iredell Vol. 2. ]). 5. Dec. 20. 1776, the Con^Tess at Halifax fixed the salaries of the continental deleg-ates at $2000 proc. nionej* — a ver_v nieaj^re sum. jThe celebrated Robert Hare and Judye John Clark Innes Hare of Phil, were descendants of Mrs. Hooper's brother — John Innes Clark. 42 dencc was at Point Repose, in Brunswick county, and he was a man of lar^^^e wealth and g-reat inHuencc. The letters of the day abound in references to the beauty and streng^th of his character/'' His will dated Decem- ber 1792 lies before me, wherein he bequeaths thirty- seven neg"roes to the children and g"randchildren of William Hooper, besides thirty-three nei>"roes to his step daug'hter, Sarah Nash. Mrs. Hooper was a woman of plain features, g"ieat charm of manner and uncommon streng-th of character, James Iredell met her for the lirst time in June, 1778 at her own home, and thus writes of her : Mas<»; Bi^Korcn, Tt!i June. 177r some time if 3H)U were with juel You would be delighted too. They seem so happy in each other, and their children; their deportment to me is so obliging and friendly, the situation is so agreeable (upon the Sound in sight of the sea), that I want nothing at present to make me perfectly happy but your company. The children are very fine ones, though none promise to be so handsome as Mr. Hooper; but they appear to bo sensible, are extremely well behaved, and his little girl (about Peggy's age). I believe, will be prettA-. Mrs. Hooper seems ti) have continued to impress Mr. Iredell most ajj-reeably, as the followinj^- quaint and naive excerpts from his letters to his wife show: " Mrs. Ho()i)er is not here (in Halifax, 1779.) so my heart is quite safe, and I believe will remain very secure in your possession unless any accident to Hooper should tempt me to wish that you had less health." "Indeed, my dear Hannah, whatever you may think of it. and however I may chat of other women, I can see none where 1 cannot make discrimination to your advantage — such sincerely is my opin- ion. Mrs. Hooper comes nearest — but she is not .so j^oung." The home of the Hoopers, called Finian, was beau- tifuUv situated on Masonboro Sound, eight miles from Wilmin|u-ton.'' In this lovely home of his own building, within sight and sound of the sea, surrounded by his books and his three young children, whom he tenderly *jLidge Iredell married Miss Hannah Johnston, of Edenton, sister of Samuel Johnston — our first senator. -I The place now belongs to Mv. Wiilter Parsley, of Wilmington. No vestige of Finian renuiins. It was meanly fired by the British in I77ri, and the last remains were destroyed by fire a few years ago The first Masonic lodge of the Province was organised at Finian. Mr. Hooper's lav>- office was situated al of tlic Wilson Collegiate SoTiiinury. Tn 1 ST.", Dr. Hooper returneil to Chapel Hill in company with his son-in-law, Professor J. DeB. Hooper, who had l>een chosen to the chair of the Greek and French languag'es. He died at the scene of his early labors, August 19, 1876 and was buried, at his request, by the side of his mother and President Caldwell in the University Campus. Dr. Hooper became distinguished throug-hout the South for schol- arship, eloquence and literary ability. Unfortunately he published no larg-e book, contenting; himself with numerous sermons, addresses and newspaper articles. His address, "Fifty Years Since," delivered before a brilliant au- dience at the University in 1859, has power to charm and delight the reader after a lapse of forty years. It gives evidence of rare liter- ary taste and touch, is overilowing- with delicious huinor and gives forth on every page the fine flavor of genuine learning- and power.* LIST OF ASSEMBLIES TO WHIOH WILLIAM HOOPER WAS ELECTED, FKOM 1773 TO 178(3. COLONIAL ASSEMBLIES. Newborn, .January 25, 1773, March 9, member from Campbelltown. Dec. 1, 1773, Doc. 21, " " New Hanover. March 2, 1774, March 30, " .. *. April 4, 177.">, April 8, " " " rROVlMCIAL CONGKESSES. Newborn. Aug-ust 25, 1771, August 27. member from New Hanover. April 3. 1775. April. 7. •" " Hillsboro, August 20, Sept. 10, Halifax, April 3, 177«, May 14. " '• Wake. : — JJo:. Jl. 117o. 1. Cluiirmuu of committee to i)etition King to repeal acts preventing our money from being a legal tender. *Elcclcd uiisolicitocl by ;i lie voti'. 13 out of 25. over Ma.i. U'ltUier. of Wilmiiiyloii. 69 2. Committee to prepai-e answei- 1o Ciovci'nor's juldress. 3. .Tiitliciary committee. 4. Committee to establish Supei-ioi- Courts. ."). Committee of correspondenee. Snviul Si'ssioii (if III is ^[ssi'iiihli/, JLdrh „■' — xl/anii ■!'/. r,',.). 1. CIiHinuaii of committee to pi-epare answer to Covenior"s address.* ■'X'ol. Roc. N'dl. '). II. .ST'). A very fiiif docuir.c'iil . 2. Committee on court bill. .'!. Committee to petition Kin;/ to aiuiul act preveutiny' oui- paper money fi-o)n beinti- a ]e;.ial tender. PROVINCIAL C"ON« KESSES. Svrond I'rorliiciKl ('omjrtss, Xiirlxrii. AjirilJ-}, IJ'/o. 1. CtmuTiittee o!i ])ul)!ic claims. 2. Committee to answei* Governor's address. This paper was a line document. See Col. Rec. V. 9. p. 120.'). yiiird I'rcrlncial Cniiijirss. lllllslxirc. J;'.-/. •2a-Srj,l. JO, 17ir,. 1. Chairman of committee to prepare test oath to l)e sij;;ned by members. 2. To pre])are address to inhabitants of the British Empire. Nota- l)le paper of the time.* ."5. To prepare an address to the jieople of North ( 'arolinu asci'ibiii'r the silence of legislative jiower to (jovernor's tlig-ht.t 4. To prepare a plan for the temporary government of the I-*rovincc. This was the most important (committee yet appointed by poiJular autlioi'ity in our annals. Fourth, Pi-nriiividl ('nmnrss. Ualifd.r. Aiir'd Ji, 1:^6. 1. ('liairman of Committee to pre[)ai-c Province for wai-. 2. Committee on war, secrecy and intelligence. .■{. Committee to prepare temi'orary civil constitution. 4. Committee to i)roi)ose a tempoi-ary form of government foi- this jjrovince. 5. Committee to considei' and r('[i(>r( Imsiness to be carried thi-ougli ( 'ongress. *C(.1. Roc. V(,l. Kt. 1.. >0]. \Co\, Kec. V. 10. ,.. 174. 70 COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS OF HOOPER IN CONTINENTAL CONGRESSES. Journals of Congress, 1774. VoluniL! I. September 14, 1774, Williaai Hooper uud -loscpli Hewes. esquires, two of the deputies from North Carolina, iittended the Congress, u,u<.l procluced their credentials, p. !). Sept. 14, 1774. Ordered. That William Hcjoper and .Joseph Hewes, esqrs. from North Carolina, be addeil tu the conauittee appoioted to state the rights of the colonies, i*. !>. Sept. 14, 1774, Ordered, That William Hooper, esq. be one of the committee appointed to report the statutes, which affect the trade, &c. of the colonies, p. !*. June 7, 1775, The Congress met. On motion, Kesolved. That Thurs- day the 20th of July next. 177.":>. l>o observed throughout the twelve United Colonies, as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer and that Mr. Hooper, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. i'aine. be a roi::nnittee to bring in a resolve for that purpose, p. 7S). November, 3, 1775, The Congress then, taking into consideration the State of South Carolina, and sundry paiiers. relative thereto, being read and considered. Resolved, That a committee of live be appointed to take thv) same into consideration, and repoit what, in their opinion, is necessary to be done. The members chosen, Mr. Harrison. Mr. Bullock, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Chase and Mr. S. Adams, p. 1(1:!. November, 16, 1775, Sundry papers from the general assembly of the colony of Massachusetts-Bay, being laid before Congress and read. Resolved, That these be referred to a committee of seven. The members chosen, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Sherman, Mr. W. Living- ston, ]Mr. Ward, Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Hooper and Mr. Harrison, p. 17(i. November, 27, 1775, Resolved, That three members be elected on committee to settle disputes between Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The members chosen, :\lr. Wythe, Mr. Jay and Mr. Hooper, p, 185. December 13, 1775, Kesolved, That when this Congress sliall ad- journ, it will be necessary to appoint a committee to sit during the ad- journment for the purpose of superintending the treasury, carrying on necessai-y correspondence, and such other services as shall be di- rected by Congress. Kesolved, that a committee of live be appointed to consider and pre- pare instructions for the committee above-mentioned. The mem- bers chosen. Mr. Jett'erson. ]Nir. Hooper. Dr. Eranklin. Mr. Jay, and Mr. Deane. p. 206, 207. December 16, 1775. A petition from sundry merchants of IHiiladel- phia, was presented and read; 71 Resolved, that the same be i-eferred to a committee of three. The members chosen, Mr. Morris. Mv. .Tetl'erson, and ^Ir. Hooper. ]>. 209. December 22, ITTo, Resolved, That Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Hooper, Dr. Franklin, Mr. Jay, and Mr. Deane, be a committee to examine the journals and laj^ before Congress a list of the matters therein that are ixnfinished, and which are jn-oper to be acted upon, pp 21,3-214. December 2 general, and the intercepted letters be referred to a committee of the. The members chosen, Mr. Duaiic Mr. T^'uch. Mr. Hooper, Mr. Wythe, and Mr. S. Adams, p. 211). January 10, 1776, Resolved, That a committee of live be appointed to take into consideration the state of these colonies, and report as soon as possible what number of f(jrces. in their opinion, will be nec- essary for the defence of the same. The members chosen, Mr. Duane. Mr. Lynch. ^Ir. Hooper, Mr. E. Rutledge, and Mr. Wilson, p. 2:13. January 17, 177(5. A petition from Dr. Benjamui Church was pre- sented to Congress, and said: Resolved, That the same be referred to a committee of three. The members chosen, Mr. Harrison Mr. Paca, and Mr. Hooper, p. 2;i.S. Jan. 22, 177(5, Resolved, that sundry letters from Gen. Washington, Lord Sterling, etc., be referred to a committee of three. The mem- bers chosen, Mr. W. Livingston, Mr. Hooper, and Mr. Adams, p, 244. Januai-y 22, 177(5, Resolved, that a committee of three be appointed to consider a proper method of paying a just tribute of gratitude to the memory of general Mongtomery. The members chosen, Mr. Livingston, Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Hooper, p. 244 January 24, 177(5, Resolved, That a committee of five l)e appointed to prei^are an address to the inhabitants of the United Colonies. The members chosen, :\Ir. Dickinson, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Duane, i nd Mr. Alexander, p. 14(5. August 20, 177(), A letter of the 18th from general Washingtcm, with su7idry papers enclosed, was laid belore Congress and read: Resolved that the same be i-ef erred to a committee of five: The 72 members chosen, Mr. J.efferson. Mr. Franklin. Mr. Rutledop. Mr. .T. Adams, and Mr. Hooper, p. 449. August 23rd. ITTd. A letter from Mr. Temple, of Charlestown. in Massachusetts Bay. was laid before Congress and x'ead: Resolved. That it be referred to a committee of three. The mem- bers chosen. Mr. Hooper. Mr. Heyvvard. and ]Mr. Stone.. ]). 453. August 27. 177(i, Resolved, That four membei-s be added to revise the journals, that any tv^^o Ije a quorum. The members chosen. Mr. Heyward. Mr. Hooper, Mr. Williams, and Mr. Walton, p. 4.57. Septembc!- 3. 1776. The Board of War brought in a report, which was read: Resolved. That two m.embers be added to the committee for regula- ting the post office. The members chosen. Mr. Hooper, and Mr. Huntington, p. 464. September 11. 1776. A letter, of the 7th. from .Joseph Trumbull. esq., commissai'y-general, with simdry papers enclosed, was read. Resolved. That it be referred to a committee of three and that they be directed and empowered to enquire into the conduct of Mr. I.ivingston. deputy commissary-general, in the northern de])ai-t- ment. The members chosen. Mr. Lee. Mi-. Hooper, and Mr. Sherman. ]). 471. September 23, 177(). Resolved. That two members be added to the committee on the treasury: The ])allots being taken. Mr. Hoo]ier. and Mr. Ellery were elected, p. 44U. September 27. 1776. Certain resolutions of the convention of New York, passed the 20th of this month, being laid befoi-e Congress. Ordered that they be referred to a committee of three. The mem- bers chosen. Mr. M'Kean, Mr. Rutledge and Mr. Hooper, p. oOl. October 1. 1776. Resolved. That a committee of five be appointed to prepare and bi-ing in a xJlan of a military academy at the ainny. The members chosen, Mr. Hooper. Mr. Lynch, Mr. Wythe. Mr. Williams and Mr. .T. Adams, p. r)03. October, 11. 1776. Resolved. That three members be added to the committee of Secret Correspondence. The members chosen. Mr. Iv. H. Lee. Mr. Witherspoon and Mr. Hooper, p. 514. November 4. 1776. Resolved. That Mr. Hooper be added to the com- mittee to whom Mr. Bache's letter was referred, and that the said committee be directed to meet on that business this evening at this place. (A special committee of three appointed for this i>\n-pose.) p. 536. November 7. 1776. An appeal having been lodged with the secretary against the sentence passed in the court of admiralty, for the jiort of Rhiladelphia. in the State of Pennsylvania, on the. libel •• .John Barry. etc. vs. the sloop Betsy. &c," VS 152 Vo Ordered. That the hearing and determining upon the said appeal be referred to a committee of five. The members chosen, Mr. Wythe. M. Paine, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hooper, and Mr. Rutledge. p. 541. Nov. 18, ITTO, A letter from Juliana Zedwitz was read and referred to the coiumittee on the state of prisoners. Resolved, That a member be added to the said committee, and that they be directed to take into consideration the case of Lieutenant M'Lean who was sent to Philadelphia by General Wooster. The member chosen, Mr. Hooper, p. 551. November 27, An appeal having been lodged against the sentence l)assed in the court of admiralty for the State of Virginia, on the libel, ''Levin Jones, &c., vs. the sloop Vulcan," Resolved, That the hearing and determining the said ai)peal be re- ferred to 2\h-. \Vythe. Mr. Paine, Mr. vVilson, Mr. Hooper and Mr. Chase, p. 562. November 27, 177(i, Resolved, That tai-ee members be added to the committee ajjpointed to revise the resolutions relative to captures. The members chosen. Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hooper and ]!'.Ir. Chase, p. 5H2. Decemljer 21, 177)), Resolved, That Mr. Hooper be empowered to examine into the state of the North Carolina prisoners, and have such of thein as are sick removed to a private house and kept under guard, and that he provide a physician to attend them. p. 581. December 31, 1776. A letter from William Kennon, of North Caro- lina to Gen. Lee was read. Ordered that it be referred to a committee of three. The members chosen, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Heyward, Mr. Harrison, p. 588. February 4, 1777, Resolved, That Dr. Burke be added to the medi- eval committee, and th»,t he be appointed a member of tiie marine committee, in the room of Mr. Hooper. Ordered, Mr. Hooper have leave to return home. p. 31, Vol. II. June 2, 1777, Note received from Nortii C'arolina stating that on July 4, 1777, T. Burke, John Penn and C. Harnett had been api)oint- ed delegates, p. 147. December 23, 1776. Agreeable to the order of the day, Congress elected the Rev. Mr. P. Allison, and the Rev. Mr. W. White, chap- lains. Ordered, That Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. S. Adams and ]\ir. Hooper in- form the said gentlemen of their appoijitment. and desire their at- tendance. ryr?! . P?^ ^'- > \> s ^ • • ' . / .-:^c^-. %^/ /^k-. "-„ .-^^ f^^-, Vo^ ' .-;