<P> Little is known of the debates in congress . The official congressional journal, in an apparently deliberate move, only contains the barest details of official actions, and none of the participants kept private journals . As a result, accounts of the congress are based on fragmentary records from contemporary letters and publications . In addition to selecting officers, the first sessions examined the credentials of each of the delegations; despite the unorthodox methods by which some were chosen, no delegates were rejected . They also debated on how voting in the body should take place, eventually agreeing that each delegation would cast a single vote . </P> <P> The early substantive debates centered around issues raised by the Stamp Act and the earlier Sugar Act . The delegates spent a significant amount of time discussing the differences between direct ("internal") taxation and the regulation of trade (or "external taxation"), and seeking formal justification of the idea that only the colonial assemblies had the right to levy internal taxes . Fairly early in the deliberations the delegates agreed to produce a statement of rights which would form the foundation for petitions the congress would submit to Parliament and the king . According to Delaware delegate Caesar Rodney, the drafting of this statement was made difficult by the desire to balance the colonists' rights with the royal prerogative and the acknowledged powers of Parliament . </P> <P> On October 19, the delegates adopted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, a document primarily intended for local political discussion . Over the next few days separate committees drafted three documents: an address to the king, a memorial to the House of Lords, and a petition to the House of Commons . Separate committees worked over the next few days to draft these, which were accepted after debate and revision by the delegates on October 22 and 23 . When the issue of signing these documents was discussed on October 24, matters suddenly became more complicated . The delegations from Connecticut and South Carolina refused to sign the documents, citing their instructions specifically denying such power . New York's delegation also refused, citing the informality with which it had been selected . From the other six delegations, New Jersey's Robert Ogden and Massachusetts' Timothy Ruggles both refused to sign, sparking a heated argument . Ruggles eventually moved that no one sign the documents, and that they instead be sent unsigned to the colonial assemblies . James Otis pointed out that the Massachusetts assembly had authorized its delegation to sign any jointly agreed documents, and that Ruggles' suggestion undermined the purpose of the congress to present a united front . Although the other delegates from the six colonies did sign the petitions, Ruggles and Ogden did not, and both were called before their respective assemblies to justify their actions . Ruggles in his defense admitted that he was opposed to the substance of the documents, and Ogden argued weakly that he thought separate petitions would be more effective than a joint one . (Others noted that Parliament had already ignored such petitions .) Ruggles and Thomas McKean had an angry exchange over the matter, resulting in Ruggles challenging McKean to a duel . The duel did not take place, and Ruggles left New York early the next morning . The congress met again on October 25, at which time the petitions were signed, and arrangements were made for the transmission of some of the documents to England, and the making of copies for the non-participating colonies . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Declaration of Rights and Grievances </Td> </Tr> </Table>

What was this colony reason for not attending the meeting