His Excellency acquainted the Board that he had received His Majesty's commands to use his utmost endeavours to prevent the appointment of Deputies from this Colony to attend another Congress intended to be held at Philadelphia in the month of May, next, and as a Convention is appointed by Advertisement to meet tomorrow in New Bern for the choice of such delegates His Excellency desires the advice of the Council what measures were proper to be taken to prevent the meeting of such unlawful Assembly. The Board were unanimously of the opinion that His Excellency had no other means than to issue a Proclamation to forbid the holding of the proposed Convention, and to declare that such proceedings would be highly offensive to His Majesty, upon which His Excellency issued the following
Proclamation.Whereas I have received information that in consequence of an Advertisement signed John Harvey Moderator, some time since published and dispersed through the Province, sundry persons have been elected by a small number of Freeholders in the several Counties to meet in Convention in the Town of New Berne on this day for the choice of Deputies to represent this Colony in a Congress intended to be held at the City of Philadelphia in the month of May, next; And Whereas, the meeting of such Convention and the declared purpose thereof will be highly offensive to the King and dishonourable to the General Assembly of this Province, which is appointed to sit at this time for the dispatch of public business; I have therefore thought fit, with the advice of His Majesty's Council to issue this Proclamation hereby in the King's name to forbid the
holding of the said Convention, and I do exhort all His Majesty's subjects on their allegiance and on pain of incurring His Majesty's High displeasure, to withdraw themselves from the same, and to desist from all such illegal, unwarrantable and dangerous proceedings.Given &c, the 3d of April 1775.
JO. MARTIN.
God save the King.