Impressed with these sentiments, we warmly recommend to you, to keep constantly in your view the avowed end and purpose for which these colonies originally associated,—the redress of American grievances and [the] securing the rights of the colonists.
We further instruct you, that you do not without the previous knowledge and approbation of the convention of this province, assent to any proposition to declare these colonies independent of the crown of Great Britain, nor to any proposition for making or entering into alliance with any foreign power, nor to any union or confederation of these colonies, which may necessarily lead to a separation from the mother country, unless in your judgments of any four of you, or of a majority of the whole of you, if all shall be then attending in congress, it shall be thought absolutely necessary for the preservation of the liberties of the united colonies; and should a majority of the colonies in congress, against such your judgment, resolve to declare these colonies independent of the crown of Great Britain, or to make or enter into alliance with any foreign power, or into any union or confederation of these colonies, which may necessarily lead to a separation from the mother country, then we instruct you immediately to call the convention of this province, and repair thereto with such proposition and resolve, and lay the same before the said convention, for their consideration, and this convention will not hold this province bound by such majority in congress, until the representative body of the province in convention assent thereto.
Desirous as we are of peace with Great Britain upon safe and honourable terms, we wish you nevertheless, and instruct you to join with the other colonies in such military operations as may be judged proper and necessary for the common defence, until such a peace can be happily obtained.
[May 15, came the recommendation of Congress for extinguishing all authority under the British crown and the setting up of state governments (No. 138a above), and also the instructions of the Virginia Convention for Independence and Confederation. The response in Maryland was merely a repetition of her previous instructions, in the passage given below. Note the jealous disposition to deny authority to Congress and to resent the wording of its recommendations.]
(2) Tuesday, May 21, 1776
The convention took into their consideration the report from the committee appointed to report on the resolution of congress of the 15th instant, and thereupon came to the following resolutions.
Resolved unanimously, That the people of this province have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police of this province.