History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

426 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [1779.
lature submitted the question of calling sucli a convention
to the towns. It came up at the May meeting in this form :
"Whether the Town will impower their Representatives
for the next year to vote for the Calling of a State Convention,"
if a majority of the people should so decide. This
was a matter of no slight importance, and elicited not a
little discussion. The debate upon it was continued
throughout an entire day, when the final vote stood sixty
in the affirmative to ten in the negative ; a small meeting
compared with that at which the question of calling a new
minister was decided. The vote instructed the representatives
to favor the calling of such a convention, "provided
it shall appear to them on examination that a major part
of the people present & Voting at the meetings called in
the manner and for the purposes afores'd shall have
answered the first Question in the affirmative." The first
question evidently was whether "a new constitution and
form of Government should be made," at this time.
The Convention The result was that the majority of the
'^oted. towns favored the proposition, though
nearly one third of them neglected to make
any return. The General Court issued precepts for the
choice of delegates, and a meeting was held on the 9*'' of
August, to elect them. Each town was authorized to send
one or more delegates, "but the meeting being thin the
town voted to suspend further action until the people
should be more generally collected." When the seats were
better filled, the decision was reached to send two delegates,
and Mr. Ephraim Wright and Caleb Strong Esq. were
chosen.
Its First Session. The couventiou assembled at Cambridge,
Sept. V\ A committee was chosen to draft
a constitution, and after a session of about a week the convention
adjourned till October. When it reconvened, the
committee was not ready to report, and after two weeks a
further adjournment was had till January of the succeeding
year. Both of the Northampton delegates were present
at the September session. Caleb Strong received £106.10.8
and Mr. Wright £139.13 from the town for their expenses.