* [Did not attend.]

IN CONVENTION.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15. The Delegates elected to meet in Convention for the purpose of revising the Constitution of this Commonwealth, in pursuance of the act of the 16th of June last, assembled at the State House in the Representatives' Chamber.

At 10 o'clock, his Honor WILLIAM PHILLIPS, the Lieut. Governor, and a delegate for the town of Boston, called the House to order. The Hon. JUDGE JACKSON of Boston, Mr. PICKMAN of Salem, Mr. FAY of Cambridge, Mr. SIBLEY of Sutton, and Mr. FOWLER of Westfield, were appointed a committee to examine the credentials of the members and report whether a quorum was present. The committee having reported that a sufficient number of members were duly elected to proceed to business, it was voted that the House proceed to the choice of a Secretary, and the Hon. Judge STORY of Salem, Mr. GREENLEAF of Quincy, RUSSELL of Mendon, Mr. PRINCE of Boston, and Mr. BLISS of Springfield, were appointed a committee to receive and count the votes. The ballots being taken, the committee reported that the whole number of votes for Secretary was 275, and that there were 191 for Benjamin Pollard, Esq. and that he was chosen. Mr. Pollard was called in, and was sworn to the faithful performance of the duties of the office.

It was voted that the House proceed to the choice of a President, and it was ordered that the same committee receive and count the The ballots being taken and counted, the committee reported that the whole number of votes was 353, necessary for a choice 171, that the Hon. JOHN ADAMS had 335, and was chosen. This vote being declared, the Hon. Chief Justice PARKER of Boston, rose to offer a resolution to the House. After adverting to the advanced age and renowned character of the gentleman who had been chosen to preside over the deliberations of the House, and to the fact that he had been forty years ago a representative in the Convention which formed the Constitution that the House was now called upon to revise, he suggested the propriety of paying him some tribute of respect. He said it would be recollected that from the years 1765 to the Revolution, Mr. Adams was one of the most distinguished assertors of the freedom of his country, and made the boldest stand in defence of its rights. By recurrence to the journals of the day, it would be found that the political research and great talents displayed in the public proceedings, had great in

uous.

fluence in exciting the spirit of the Revolution. He said that it was remarkable that one so ardent in the support of his opinions was able to check his own feelings and those of the public, and to observe a temperate course so honorable to him and to the country. In 1770, when the country was in alarm and under a great excitement in consequence of the killing and wounding of citizens by the British soldiers stationed in Boston, this firm and resolute man, though he had been opposing the encroachments of the British government, had the hardihood to come forward in defence of the soldiers, and show that the laws were to govern. In 1774 he was elected to the Continental Congress and was one of the most distinguished members of that body. Though he did not draft the declaration of independence, he was one of the most able and resolute supporters of it. In 1779, he was chosen one of the Delegates to the Convention for the purpose of forming the Constitution of this Commonwealth. And in that body his labors were conspicHe carried to it a degree of profound knowledge which few men have possessed, and to that we are indebted for many of the excellent provisions of the Constitution. He was soon after appointed by Congress on a mission to Europe for the purpose of conciliating the favor of and obtaining assistance from the nations on the Continent. He had the ability and address to persuade the cautious Dutch that it was for their interest to advance money for carrying on the war of the revolution. He remained in Europe during the war, where he performed great services to his country, and had the courage to obtain a treaty of peace on favorable terms to us, contrary to the wishes of our principal ally. On his return. to this country he was received with unreserved public applause. He was afterwards associated in the government with Washington as Vice President of the United States, and succeeded him as President. He had since lived in honorable retirement and had preserved to a late period the vigor of his mind, of which he had given frequent proofs. He had finally been chosen by the unanimous voice of his townsmen to represent them in this Convention. Under these circumstances, he (the Chief Justice) thought it proper to pay him the testimony of their respect, and he proceeded to read the following resolution :

Whereas the Hon. JOHN ADAMS, a member of this Convention and elected the President thereof, has for more than half a century devoted the great powers of his mind and his profound wisdom and learning to the service of his country and of mankind:

In fearlessly vindicating the rights of the North American provinces against the usurpation and encroachments of the superintendent government:

In diffusing a knowledge of the principles of civil liberty among his fellow subjects, and exciting them to a firm and resolute defence of the privileges of freemen: In early conceiving, asserting and maintaining the justice and practicability of establishing the independence of the United States of America:

In giving the powerful aid of his political knowledge in the formation of the constitution of this his native state, which constitution became in a great measure the model of those which were subsequently formed:

In conciliating the favor of foreign powers-and obtaining their countenance and support in the arduous struggle for independence: