1776.] OF THE PROVINCE OF MARYLAND. 111

enemy of any councils or preparations of the congress, or any
convention or assembly, or council or committee of safety of this
or any other province or colony; and that he shall not directly or in-
directly correspond, by letter, message, or otherwise, during the said
contest, with any British minister, secretary of the state, member
of parliament, or any person out of this province, holding an office,
civil or military, immediately under the crown, or with any other per-
son in arms against these colonios, knowing such person to be in
arms, then the above obligation to be void. But if any such non-asso-
ciator shall choose to quit this province and go beyond sea, then the
committee of observation of the county to which he belongs, may
and is hereby empowered to grant him a passport to leave this coun-
try in peace, and go beyond the sea, carrying with him his property,
or any part thereof; and any person refusing to sign the said associa-
tion, and to give bond as aforesaid, and continuing to reside within
this province, may be imprisoned by the committee of observation
of the county in which such non-associator resides or may be
found, until the convention then next after such imprisonment shall
have taken order therein. And in case any non-associators shall
quit this county and leave an estate in this province, such estate
shall be burthened with a proportionate part of the expense incurred
by this province in defence of American liberty; but these resolu-
tions are not to extend to the household of his exellency the gov-
ernor. All which association papers that shall be subscribed as
aforesaid, as well as a list of the names of all those who shall re-
fuse or neglect to subscribe the same, and all original bonds taken
as aforesaid, shall be returned to the next convention. Provided,
that where any person hath not nor shall actually refuse to sub-
scribe the association, but shall only have neglected to subscribe
the same, if he doth afterwards sign the same before the committee
of observation of his county, he shall not be disarmed for his ne-
glect, nor compellable to give any such bond as before mentioned.

On motion, Resolved, That where there are any companies of
militia in the several counties, which are left out of their battalions
already formed, or where there may be any surplus companies in the
several counties, after forming the militia into battalions, as direct-
ed by the last convention, the brigadier-general of the district may,
at his discretion, form the said companies into corps, and return the
same to the council of safety, who may appoint and commission
such field-officers as may by them be judged proper and necessary
to command such corps.

The following report was taken into consideration: