are in private cabinets, but much the greatest part have been long since used for wrappers; and several important letters to, and from the late Governour Saltonstall, have been sent me by the family round garden-seeds and the like; letters that would not only do honour to him, but prove of service to the Colony, were they preserved; and surely we as well as our posterity have a right to these letters and journals. We have, as I may say, a property in them, being written by persons in our employ, and on our account. I leave the thought with your Honour to be improved or thrown by, as you shall judge proper. The post waiting, I have no time to write Colonel Williams, must therefore ask the favour of you to procure of him the Resolutions of the House of Representatives attested, enclosed in the packet you send me.

I am with the highest esteem and respect, your Honour's much obliged, and most humble servant,

SILAS DEANE.

The Honourable Jonathan Trumbull, Esquire, Governour, &c., Lebanon.

P. S. Messrs. Cushing, Adams, Paine, and Adams called on me yesterday in their way to Philadelphia. I purpose setting out next Monday, and have ordered the bearer of this is to wait your commands.

REV. SAMUEL PETERS, OF HEBRON, CONNECTICUT.

Two gentlemen, one from Cumberland County, and the other from Gloucester County, arrived here, inform, that on their journey hither, on Sunday night the 14th of August, they lodged at the Reverend Samuel Peters's house, in Hebron, in Connecticut; and that about sunrise the next morning they were surprised by about three hundred men, who came to the house on horseback, about ten of whom came into the house, and informed Mr. Peters that they were a Committee chosen by the body of the people that waited without, to inquire whether he (Mr. Peters) had not wrote to England in a manner unfriendly to the rights and privileges of this Colony? Mr. Peters declared to them that he had not wrote in such manner; whereupon they informed him that they expected he would show them the copies of such letters as he had wrote to the Society for propagating the gospel in foreign parts, and copies of such pieces as he had sent and procured to be printed in any of the common newspapers, or had prepared for the press; Mr. Peters perceiving the vengeance that seemed to sit on the brows of the formidable multitude that surrounded the house, thought it prudent to show them all such papers as they requested, and did do it; first reading them to the Committee, then permitting; the Committee, to peruse them themselves; after which Our intelligencers were examined, whether some other letters from Mr. Peters, not shown to the Committee, were not in their hands to carry to New-York? And they answered in the negative; the said Committee declared themselves satisfied that Mr. Peters was innocent of the crimes he was suspected to be guilty of, and went to their brethren, the mob, that surrounded the house, and reported that Mr. Peters was innocent; this was satisfactory to most of them. To the honour of the Committee it may justly be said, that they treated Mr. Peters with as much civility as might any way be expected from men who had forgot that it was as indecent, unjust, and cruel to terrify a British subject to such a degree, as to force him to lay open to publick view his private letters, &c., as it is by force and terrour to extort from a man all the secrets of his family.

Satisfied as this tumultuous people at first seemed to be with the report of their Committee, yet they soon after wards made a fresh demand, that Mr. Peters should read to them a certain piece he had prepared for the press, which he did; the whole people now seemed satisfied; but soon after informed Mr. Peters that he must sign with his name at large, the same piece, and deliver it to them, for them to print or suppress, as they should think best on further consideration; and further, that he must give them under his hand, that he had not wrote, nor did not intend to write to Great Britain, relating to the controversy between her and the Colonies; all which Mr. Peters complied with. The mob now seemed quite satisfied, and a great majority of them mounted their horses to retire, thanking Mr. Peters for his civility, &c., But about the number of twenty of the mob, headed by one Hatch and one White, tarried and insisted on Mr. Peters asking forgiveness, acknowledging his fault, &c., but as neither he nor a great majority of the people assembled could see that he had done any thing worthy of tar and feathers, he refused to do it; and after suffering much scurrility and abuse from Hatch, White, and their party, a considerable number of Mr. Peters's friends assembled, the appearance of whom struck such terrour into Hatch, White, and the other creatures that attended them, that they soon followed their more sensible friends, without administering on Mr. Peters tar and feathers, or any other violence, though it had been, for more than an hour, every moment expected that he would feel the rage and fury of these twenty more than brutish people. O how dreadful is it for innocence to be arraigned at the bar of infernal furies!

What is very remarkable, this large body of people called themselves the Sons of Liberty. O poor degenerate children! Such destroyers of liberty itself are a disgrace to their mother, if she is the Goddess of Liberty. For doth not Liberty herself allow every man to enjoy his own sentiments? Doth she not allow him to enjoy his leisure hours in contemplation? Does she forbid him committing by ink to paper his thoughts? Does she deny him the privilege of looking back on his former thoughts committed to writing only for his own use? Does she justify others, when they break the cabinet of her sons, and peep into their secrets? Are these burglarians her dutiful sons; or are they the destroyers of her family, the disgrace of their mother? Surely they are cursed children, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

JOHN GROU, Cumberland County.
JOHN PETERS, Gloucester County.

STATEMENT OF THE BOLTON COMMITTEE.

Bolton, August 18, 1774.

Mr. GREEN: SIR, Please to insert what follows in your paper, and next to this Mr. Peters's Resolves, and then his Declaration, both signed Samuel Peters, and herein enclosed.

At a time when the liberties of the Colonies are so much threatened by an arbitrary Parliament, and when the loyal inhabitants of the Colonies are so universally awaken ed to concert such measures as may happily prove successful to the redressing of their grievances, and re-establishing the enjoyment of all their civil, natural, and religious privileges, as well as a proper harmony between Great Britain and her Colonies, to hear of any one from among ourselves, that from time to time makes, it his business to write home, and by so doing, to make false representations of the measures the Colonies are taking to retrieve the difficulties they labour under, is justly alarming, and must excite every one, properly jealous of his rights, to put a speedy stop unto; as such representations retard the measures for redress, which the Colonies are so generally and loyally taking, and doubtless will be improved by a mercenary and arbitrary Parliament to our disadvantage. A report of this kind of misrepresentations, lately taking place on the Reverend Samuel Peters of Hebron, occasioned him a visit from near three hundred people last Monday morning, about half an hour before sunrise, civilly to inquire into the truth of said report; said report being, that said Peters was about sending a packet home that same morning, by the way of New York, expressive of the above false representations, which he had many times before done in like manner; but on said inquiry, it was found by all that could be discovered, together with his own declaration, that he never had before done, or was be then about doing such a thing; but, instead thereof, the writing which the reporter mistook for such a thing, was a number of resolves said Peters had been fitting for the Printer, which he gave up to us, signed with his own hand, before us, with his liberty for the press. As said Resolves are inserted immediately below this apology, together with his Declaration and intent for the future, next below them, signed with his own hand, we think it not needful to remark on said resolves, &c., &c.,—only, we think of Mr. Peters's prefatory part of his resolves, they savour too much of arrogancy, when made by himself and two or