above mentioned; and that there was presented to the general assembly, held in September, 1757, a report dated May 27, 1757, in which the committee who made that report say they had received and burnt £11,053 18. Crown Point money; but as we believe that sum was included in the receipt dated June 2d, 1757, we have not placed it in the account.

In the year 1756, there was emitted in bills called lawful money the sum of £14,000, whereof £8,000 was in bills dated in February, 1756, and £6,000 in bills dated in August, 1756. There was burnt of these lawful money bills the sum of £4,000, as appears by a report made to the general assembly, held the 14th of February, 1758, and the sum of £3,764 19s. 8d. in bills emitted in February, 1756, as appears by a receipt, a copy of which we herewith present, given to the beforementioned general treasurer: there was also burnt the sum of £235 0s. 4d., lawful money, emitted in February, 1756, as appears by a report made to the general assembly, held in June, 1759, which the committee that burnt it say is in full for the said money. It is in full for £8,000, but through inadvertence. the committee burnt some of the bills dated in August, instead of those dated in February some of the latter being still extant. By the last mentioned report it appears that the committee had burnt £5,605 19s. August, lawful money, and by a receipt dated February 9, 1761, given to the aforesaid late general treasurer, it appears that the committee had received of him and burnt £312 0s. 3d. August, lawful money; and by another receipt dated May 29, 1761, given to Mr. William Richardson, (a copy of

both which receipts we herewith present,) it appears they had received of him and burnt £5 5s. 6d. of said lawful money. The three sums of money last mentioned, together with £76 15s. 44d. lawful money in gold delivered by the said William Richardson to the present general treasurer, Joseph Clark, Esq., amount to £6,000 0s. 1d., and will, when the said gold is exchanged, complete the sinking of the whole £14,000 above mentioned.

In May, 1758, there was emitted £10,000 lawful money in bills carrying an interest of 5 per cent. per annum, and in pursuance of acts of assembly there have been several emissions since of the like sort of bills at the times noted on the debt side of the account, amounting, with the aforesaid emission in May, to the sum of £76,909 5s. 3d. lawful money; of which there hath been burnt £3,686 10s. in bills dated June 23, 1759, and £6,819 10s. 9d. in bills dated May 8, 1758, both sums exclusive of interest on the bills, as appears by a report made to the general assembly in May last past. The general treasurer hath informed us that he hath in his hands the sum of £62 4s. 6d. in May bills 1758, and the sum of £101 in June bills, 1759, and gold sufficient to redeem the remainder of the said June bills still outstanding. We submit this report to the hon. general assembly, and are their most humble servants.

JOHN GARDNER,
EDWARD SCOTT,

GEORGE HAZARD,

WALTER CRANSTON,

WM. RICHARDSON.

And the foregoing report being duly considered, it is

voted and resolved, that the same be and hereby is accepted.

From a report made August, 1762, it appears there was then due from the colony £43,749 16s. old tenor, upon bonds given for old tenor bills hired at 10 per cent; also, £5061 lawful money, hired at 7 per cent; also, $7,191. 50. The interest on the bonds is not included. There was then

in the treasury £896 12s. lawful money, £1,953 0s. 3d. New York currency, £354 10s. in gold, £424 11s. 6d. in silver milled dollars, amounting to $1,061, and £1,173 188. 9d. in New York paper bills. Part of the last tax had not then been paid in.

Report of Committee, October Session, 1764. Whereas the committee, appointed to prepare a state of the paper currency of this colony, in answer to the requisition of the lords, commissioners for trade and the plantations, presented unto this assembly the following state of the same, viz:

A state of the paper bills of credit issued since the year 1749, by the colony of Rhode Island, drawn up in obedience to an order of the lords, commissioners of trade and plantations, dated at Whitehall the 11th of May, 1764.

In the month of March, 1750, there were issued by said colony £25,000 in bills, equal in value to about £18,750 sterling. These bills were let out upon loan for ten years at 5 per cent. interest, and then to be paid in at five equal annual payments, the whole of which sums is near expiring. These bills having depreciated are now of two fifths

of the value they were at when emitted. All the outstanding bills emitted before the year 1750, called old tenor, are drawing near their periods and will terminate in a short time.

In the year 1755, for paying the expense incurred by the colony in carrying on the expedition against Crown Point, there were issued bills equal to £13,500 sterling, to circulate two years without interest and then to be called in and sunk, which was preformed punctually within the time limited.

In the year 1756, for paying the expenses incurred by the colony in the second expedition against Crown Point, there were issued bills equal in value to £10,500 sterling, like those of the last year, to circulate two years without interest, and then to be called in and sunk, which was fully done within the time limited.

The war still continuing and the colony being called upon for larger quotas of men than it had hitherto raised, perceived that bills must of necessity be issued for a longer period than two years, otherwise it would be unable to preserve their credit by a punctual payment at the time promised. Accordingly, in the year 1758, the colony issued bills, agreeably as it supposed, to one of the provisos contained in the act of parliament, passed in the 24th year of the reign of his late majesty George 2d, entitled "An act to regulate and restrain paper bills of credit in his majesty's colonies or plantations, of Rhode Island and and Providence plantations, Connecticut, the Massachusetts Bay, and New Hampshire, in America, and to prevent the same being legal tenders in payment of money."

years and carry an in£20,909 was this year

Which bills were to circulate five terest of 5 per cent. per annum. issued agreeing in value to the proclamation of the tenth of queen Anne, and to £15,681 15s, sterling. These bills were wholly called in and burnt within the time. But as all the paper bills that have been emitted by the colony since the year 1758, have been in exact conformity in every respect to those emitted at that time, we here subjoin a copy of the act of assembly by which part of the said bills were created and issued, as a specimen of all the emitting acts since that time.

An Act for emitting, in Bills of Credit, a Sum not exceeding ten thousand Pounds Lawful Money.

Whereas the General Assembly of this colony, at their session in South Kingstown, on Monday, the 13th of March last, in obedience to his Majesty's commands, signified by one of his principal secretaries of state, passed "An act for raising and paying 1000 able-bodied, effective men, for the ensuing campaign against his Majesty's enemies in North America." And in order to supply the general treasury for carrying the intentions of the act aforesaid into execution, the assembly then directed the treasurer to hire as much money as would be needful for that purpose, but the treasurer having found it altogether impracticable to hire sufficient sums of money for the ends aforesaid, and it being of the utmost necessity and importance that the treasury should be sufficiently supplied on this extraordinary occasion:

Therefore, be it enacted by this general assembly, and by the authority of the same it is enacted, That bills of