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At a meeting of the Standing Committee forBerksCounty, the 15th ofJune, 1776, ordered, that the following Resolve of this Committee, and the Acknowledgments ofJohn Ebeling, Matthias Rhodes, Jonathan Rhodes, andHenry Kettner, be published in theEnglishandGermanPapers.
COLLINSON READ,Secretary.
Whereas the honourable the Continental Congress have recommended it to the several Assemblies, Conventions, Councils, and Committees of Safety of the several United Colonies, to cause all persons to be disarmed within their respective Colonies who are notoriously disaffected to the cause of America, or who have not associated and refuse to associate for the defence of these Colonies by arms against the hostile attempts of theBritishfleets and armies, and that such of the said Arms as are fit for use, or which can be made so, be appraised, as by the said recommendation of the Congress is directed; in pursuance whereof the Assembly of this Province have resolved that three freemen shall be chosen by the inhabitants of every Township in the Province, who shall meet those chosen by the
Whereas it hath been proved before the Committee ofBerksCounty that we, the subscribers, have been guilty of spreading a report that the Officers of the Milita Company ofColebrookdaleTownship, in the said County, had sold their men to the Colonel of the battalion to which they belong: We do hereby acknowledge our misconduct, and beg pardon of the Officers of the said company for spreading the said report, and do promise for the future to conduct ourselves so as to give no offence to the said company or any other of the Associators of this County.
Witness our hands:
June 15, 1776.
Whereas I, the subscriber, have greatly abused the persons appointed to collect the Arms of the non-Associators in the Township ofBern, inBerksCounty, for which I was justly confined by the Committee of the said County; I do therefore beg pardon of the publick for my misconduct, and promise to behave myself for the future so as to give no offence to the publick, or opposition to the measures of the Congress, Assemblies, or Committees, acting by their authority.
Witness my hand:
June 15, 1776.
Whereas I, the subscriber, have declared that no person who hath taken the oaths of allegiance to the King ought to be permitted to hold any office in the Militia, and thatHenry ChreistandBaltzer Geehr, Esquires, were unfit persons to be Colonels for that reason; and whereas I am now convinced that if such an opinion should prevail it would occasion the removal of many worthy officers who have taken the said oaths before the same were dispensed with by the honourable Congress, and promote great disturbances among the Associators: I do therefore hereby declare that I look upon the said opinion as unjustifiable and wrong, and beg pardon of ColonelGeehrfor the disturbance my declaring the same hath produced in his battalion; and I do engage for the future not to mention the same, or any other matter which may tend to the disturbance of the Associators, or other persons engaged in the support of the publick measures necessary at this time.
Witness my hand:
June 15, 1776.
Acknowledgments of Mathias Roth, Jonathan Roth, Henry Ketner, and John Ebeling, published by the Berks County (Pennsylvania) Committee
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two adjoining Townships, to collect the Arms from the disaffected persons and non-Associators aforesaid; and have further directed that the Committees of Inspection and Observation in each County shall take care that the said recommendation of Congress be effectually put in execution: And whereas some people inBerksCounty, in contempt of the said authority, have refused to deliver up their Arms to the said collectors, and put the Committee to the disagreeable necessity of taking proper notice of their conduct; — this publick notice is given, as well to the said disaffected persons and non-Associators as to the said collectors in this County, that the Committee will afford all the assistance in their power to the said collectors in procuring the Arms aforesaid; and in case of their neglect or refusal to do their duty, will take such notice of them, and such further measures as will answer the intention of the said resolves.
MATTHIAS ROTH,
JONATHAN ROTH.
HENRY KETTNER.
JOHN EBELING.