APPENDIX CONTAINING ARTICLES OF UNITED STATES CONFEDERATION, FORMER CONSTITUTIONS OF THE STATE, DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES, TOWNS AND CITIES, AND REVISERS' NOTES. ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, PASSED AT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE, HELD AT POUGHKEEPSIE, IN DUTCHESS COUNTY. CHAPTER III. AN ACT of Accession to, and Approbation of Certain proposed Articles of Confederation aud perpetual Union between the United States of America, and to authorize the Delegates of the State of New York to ratify the same on the part and behalf of this State, in the Congress of the said United States. PASSED 6th February, 1778. WHEREAS the Freedom, Sovereignty and Independence of the said States which, with a Magnanimity, Fortitude, Constancy and Love of Liberty, hitherto unparalleled, they have asserted and maintained against their cruel and unrelenting Enemies, the King and Parliament of the Realm of Great Britain will for their lasting and unshaken Security, in a great measure depend, under God, on a wise, well concerted, intimate and equal Confederation of the said United States. And whereas the Honorable the Congress of the said United States, have transmitted, for the Consideration of the Legislature of this State, and for their Ratification in case they shall approve of the same, the following Articles of Confederation, to wit: Articles of confederation. Style of the confedeгасу. Rights re tained by ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, &c. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, We, the undersigned, delegates of the states affixed to our names, send greeting: Whereas, the Delegates of the United States of America in congress assembled did, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, and in the second year of the independence of America, agree to certain articles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode-Island, and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, in the words following, viz.: Articles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of New ART. 2. Each state retains its soveerignty, freedom, and the states. independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States in congress assembled. Objects of the confederacy. Mutual privileges inhabitants of the several states. ART. 3. The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other for their common defence, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare; binding themselves to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. ART. 4. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendof the free ship and intercourse among the people of the different states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several states; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state to any other state, of which the owner is an inhabitant; provided also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction, shall be laid by any state on the property of the United States or either of them. If any person guilty of or charged with treason, felony, or crimes to be other high misdemeanor, in any state, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon Persons guilty of given up. |