At a Town Meeting of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Jamaica, held in the Court House, on Tuesday, the 6th of December, 1774:

Resolved, 1. That by principle and interest we have been always heartily attached to the Royal House of Hanover, as the guardians of the civil and religious liberties of the whole British Empire; and that we esteem it our duty to render true and faithful allegiance to George the Third, King of Great Britain, as our only rightful sovereign; and to support and maintain the just dependence of the colonies upon the Crown of Great Britain, under the enjoyment of our constitutional rights and privileges.

Resolved, 2. That it is our undoubted right to be taxed only by our own consent, given by ourselves or our Representatives; and that all acts made by the British Parliament, imposing taxes on the Colonies, are unjust, unconstitutional, and a manifest infringement of our dearest and most invaluable privileges.

Resolved, 3. That we have esteemed it our greatest civil happiness and glory to have been born subjects to the Crown, and members of society under the most excellent Constitution of Great Britain; that we regard ourselves as one people with our mother county, connected together by the strongest ties of affection, duty, interest, and religion; and that we lament as the greatest misfortune * * the unhappy disputes that have late years subsisted between us. * * *

Resolved, 5. That we heartily sympathize with our brethren of Boston and the Massachusetts Bay, under their present unexampled sufferings; and that we regard the Acts of Parliament, under which they now groan, as cruel, unjust, unconstitutional, and oppressive in the highest degree, levelled not only at tem in particular, but at the liberties of the other Colonies, and the British Empire in general. * *

Resolved, 6. That we do most gratefully acknowledge the difficult and important services rendered to their country, by the late General Congress, held at Philadelphia, and that we do highly approve of the measures by them concerted for the public good of their constituents, and that we will use all prudent and constitutional endeavors to carry those measures into execution.

Resolved, 7. That we do appoint for our Committee of Correspondence and Observation, the following gentlemen, viz:

Rev. Abm. Keteltas,	Capt. Richard Betts	Mr. Waters Smith
Dr. John Innes,	Capt. Ephraim Bayley	Mr. Joseph Robinson
Capt. Joseph French	Mr. Elias Bayley	Mr. William Ludlum.*

Resolved, 8. That this Committee do, in our names, present an address of sincere and hearty thanks to the worthy Delegates of this Province, for their cheerful acceptance and faithful discharge of the arduous and important trusts committed to them by their countrymen.

Resolved, 9. That this meeting have as heartily approved of, and always been as ready to promote every prudent and constitutional measure for the redress of grievances, and the preservation of those invaluable liberties which have been infringed by the British Ministry and Parliament, as any of their brethren, and that it is not their fault that they were not sooner convened+ for this important purpose; and that they do highly resent and heartily disapprove of the conduct of the supervisor,++ and any other person, by whose backwardness, ignorance, negligence, or remissness, this meeting has been so long delayed.--- Gaine, Dec. 19, �74

* Two of the Committee declined serving; one was absent, and one left them in their mediations.

+ Lieut. Gov. Colden to the Earl of Dartmouth, Oct. 5, 1774;

"A great deal of pains has been taken to persuade the counties to choose delegates for the Congress, or to adopt those sent by the city of New-York. Several counties have refused. In Queens county, where I have a house, and reside in the summer season, six persons have not been got to meet for the purpose, and the inhabitants remain firm in their resolution not to join in the Congress."

++"The supervisor, Capt. Benjamin Whitehead, had received a letter from the New-York Committee, but on consulting with the leading men of the town, he concluded to take no notice of it."

BACK TO REVOLUTION INDEX