Resolved, That the several Acts of Parliament for raising a revenue upon the people of America without their consent; the erecting new and dangerous jurisdictions here [the "special commissions">[; the taking away our trials by jury; the ordering persons, on criminal accusations, to be tried in another country than that in which the fact is charged to have been committed; the Act inflicting Ministerial vengeance upon the town of Boston; the two Bills lately brought into Parliament for abrogating the charter of Massachusetts Bay, and for the protection and encouragement of murderers in the said Province,[123] are part of the above-mentioned iniquitous system....
Resolved, That nothing will so much contribute to defeat the pernicious designs of the common enemies of Great Britain and her Colonies, as a firm union of the latter, who ought to regard every act of violence or oppression inflicted upon any one of them, as aimed at all; and to effect this desirable purpose, that a Congress should be appointed, to consist of Deputies from all the Colonies, to concert a general and uniform plan for the defence and preservation of our common rights, and continuing the connection and dependence of the said Colonies upon Great Britain, under a just, lenient, permanent, and constitutional form of Government.
Resolved, That ... all manner of luxury and extravagance ought immediately to be laid aside, as totally inconsistent with the threatening and gloomy prospect before us; that it is the indispensable duty of all the gentlemen and men of fortune to set examples of temperance, fortitude, frugality, and industry ... [and] that great care and attention should be had to the cultivation of flax, cotton, and other materials for manufactures; and we recommend it to such of the inhabitants as have large stocks of sheep, to sell to their neighbors at a moderate price, as the most certain means of speedily increasing our breed of sheep and quantity of wool.[124]
[Some pages of resolves as to non-importation with much of the detail afterward copied by the Continental Congress—especially the following provisions:—
"That the merchants and vendors of goods ought not to take advantage of our present distress, but continue to sell the goods and merchandise which they now have, or which may be shipped to them before the 1st of September next [when non-importation was recommended to begin], at the same rates and prices they have been accustomed to do within one year past; and that if any person shall sell such goods on any other terms ... that no inhabitant of this colony should, at any time forever thereafter, deal with him, his agent, factor, or storekeeper, for any commodity whatsoever"; with provisions for depositing goods of later shippings with the committees of their counties, i.e., as adopted by the Continental Congress; resolutions against importing slaves, and against exporting lumber to the West Indies, and, after November 1, 1775 (unless redress of grievances should come), against all exports to Great Britain. "And ... as the people will thereby be disabled from paying their debts, that no judgments should be rendered by the Courts ... for any debt, after imformation of the said measures being determined upon.">[
Resolved, That George Washington, Esquire, and Charles Broadwater, Gentleman, lately elected our Representatives to serve in the General Assembly, attend the Convention at Williamsburg, on the first day of August next, and present these Resolves as the sense of the people of this county upon measures proper to be taken in the present alarming and dangerous situation of America.