The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

CHARLES-TOWN, (South-Carolina). July 27.

The Form of a GENERAL ASSOCIATION effectually to discontinue the Importation of European and East-India GOODS & NEGROES into this Province, until the late Acts for raising a Revenue in America, and for extending the Power of Admiralty-Courts there, shall be repealed, was framed the beginning of last Week, by a joint Committee, in Pursuance of an Invitation, by Advertisement, from Gentlemen in Trade, that were desirous of laying aside Distinctions, & seeing one Form only adopted, & circulated throughout the whole Province the chief Object of which Committee was, to comprise all the essential Matters contained in the two Forms before extant, into one, and to remove, as far as possible, every Obstacle to any Man's subscribing thereto; which Business was completed Yesterday Se'nnight. In Consequence thereof, a General Meeting of the Body of Merchants was called last Thursday, at Mr. Dillon's, when to their Honour we must record, they unanimously agreed to what had been done by the Committee. On Saturday there was a General Meeting also, at Liberty-Tree, of all the Inhabitants of, & Country Gentlemen, then in Charles-Town, when Christopher Gadsden, Esq, being desired to read the new Form, did accordingly read it, first for Information, to the numerous Body of People there assembled, and a second Time Paragraph by Paragraph, that Objections (if there were any) might be offered; but the whole was immediately approved of and assented to, with an Unanimity scarce to be paralleled. Several fair Copies being there produced, they were instantly signed, and with great Eagerness, first by every Member of our House of Representatives that were in Town, then by other Inhabitants promiscuously, amongst whom were no less than forty-seven Merchants and Importers.----The Body of Merchants having at their Thursday's Meeting appointed a Committee of thirteen Gentlemen, for the particular Purpose of concerting and doing whatever might be farther necessary to give Force, to the new Association; it was proposed, & also unanimously agreed to that a Committee of thirteen Planters, & as many Mechanics, &c. should be nominated and joined thereto, forming one GENERAL COMMITTEE. Twenty-Six Gentlemen were accordingly nominated, and none objected to, but by Capt. Gadsden, by whose particular Desire, himself and such others as HAD BEEN Merchants, were struck out of the Planters List; so that the General Committee consists of the following Gentlemen, viz.

The Names are divided into three Columns, Planters, Merchants, and Mechanics, which are needless to insert here.

Which Committee met on Monday last, for the first Time and are to meet again on Wednesday the 2d of August.

What the Effect, of our being compelled to take such Measures, and of so remarkable an Unanimity, may be, Time will discover.

The Number of Merchants and Importers, that have signed the new Resolutions, this Day amount to 142.