examinant afterwards saw Corby, and that he made the like promise to examinant, but Corby afterwards told him he could not; and that he had been able to send only one on board, by a mulatto fellow. That this examinant knows John Clarke; and that he told this examinant that he had fifty or sixty men to go in the King’s service, and that he had prevailed upon his brother, Anthony Clarke, to consent to go with them; that John Clarke was to be a Captain, and that one Seely, of Chester, in Orange County, was also to be one of the officers.

WILLIAM FORBES.

Examined the 23d day of June, 1776, before us:

City of NEW-YORK, ss :

James Savage, being examined, saith, That he hath not, during the present troubles, inlisted or engaged any men in the service of the King, or kept up or held any correspondence with any persons on board the Dutchess-of-Gorden, or the ships or vessels of war at the Narrows.

New-York, June 23, 1776.

John Clarke, of Blooming-Grove, in Orange County, Painter and Glazier, saith, That he never hath inlisted any men for the King, nor engaged any; nor hath he ever said so. That he hath seen Gilbert Forbes at his shop; went there with William Forbes to see if said Gilbert would subscribe for a perspective view of Quebeck; that he did not tell William Forbes that he was concerned in inlisting men, nor that he was employed by Governour Tryon; that he did not tell said William Forbes, or any other person, that he had inlisted any men, that he did not desire Gilbert Forbes to get him a passage on board the Governour’s ship, and that he never hath been on board the Governour’s ship, nor attempted to go there.

JOHN CLARKE.

Examination taken the 23d June, 1776, before us:

John Kearl, of the City of New- York, Shoemaker, being sworn, saith, That he has for some time past worked as a journeyman with Peter McLean, near the Exchange; that the said McLean has worked, and both made and mended shoes for people on board the Asia since she has been down at the Narrows, as the said McLean informed this deponent; but this deponent knows not in what manner the said shoes were conveyed on board, or by whom. That this deponent has seen a countryman, of the name of Forbes, frequently at McLean’s, also one Houlding, an Inn-keeper near the Barracks, and Edward Nicolls, confectioner; and further saith not.

JOHN KEARL.

Examined and sworn 23d June, 1776, by and before

City of NEW-YORK, ss :

Abraham Ackerman, commonly called Abraham Jones, of Clarkestown, Orange County, being sworn, saith, That about a fortnight or three weeks ago this deponent came to this city in order to get a birth on board some vessel; that he lodged at the house of Peter McLean, a shoemaker, near the Exchange; that he has seen one Mr. Edward Nicolls and one Peter Lenge, a confectioner, often at McLean’s, and heard them talk very much like Tories; that he has often seen a man there whose name he has since heard to be Forbes, a countryman; that McLean used to go fishing often; that this deponent believes that McLean is now at Bull’s Ferry —his wife has gone there (as he says) once or twice a week ever since McLean left this city, which was at the time when some Tories were carried about on rails; and further saith not.

ABRAHAM ACKERMAN.

Sworn and examined the 23d June, 1776, before us:

John Craig, late a soldier of the Eighteenth Regiment, being duly sworn upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth and saith, That being now a prisoner in the common jail of the City and County of New-York, he hath frequently observed that Captain Savage, a prisoner now in the said jail, hath received sundry letters from persons on board the King’s ship and the Dutchess-of-Gordon, as he believes, by means of one James, a tall man, with lightish coloured clothes, marked with the small-pox, light hair, about forty years of age; and another of the. name of Matthews, a person about five feet six inches high, well set and a dark complexion; that the last of the two on Wednesday last was in the jail, and this deponent heard Captain Savage say, ‘Matthews, stay a few minutes and I will have them all ready, ’ meaning certain letters which he was then writing, to go on board the said ships. And this deponent further saith, that the said Captain Savage hath inveigled a number of the Continental troops to inlist in his Majesty’s service, among whom are one Irwin, belonging to Captain Hardenbergh’s Company, and late of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment of Foot; Peter McCloskey, of the same company, a fifer, and late of the same regiment; Richard Smith, of the same company, late of the Seventh Regiment of Foot; and James Johnson, a fifer of the General’s Guards. And this deponent further saith, that Gilbert Forbes, who is, as he is informed, committed by order of a Committee of the Congress, is confined in the room opposite to him; that a sentry was placed on the outside of the door of the room in which said Forbes is confined; that the outer and inner doors were shut; and, about ten o’clock at night, Peter Chiles, at the request of said Forbes, and of the Tories in the jail, opened the inner door, that said Forbes might, as he said, have air; that Chiles opened the inner door by pushing the bolts back with the rammingrod of the sentry, who was placed at the door. That, after the door was opened, the said Forbes, by means of a hole in the outer door, conversed freely with the Tories in the passage; that Harris, the midshipman taken by the Riflemen from on board the Savage, and Mr. Medcalf spoke to him; and the said Forbes gave two half pints of liquor to the women to sing Tory songs. And further this deponent saith, that Mr. Harris hath written sundry letters, as well as the said Captain Savage, to go on board the said ships; and that Mr. Harris and Mr. Elder are, as this deponent believes, concerned with the said Captain Savage in inlisting the men; and further this deponent saith not.

JOHN CRAIG.

Sworn the 23d of June, 1776, before us:

City of NEW-YORK, ss :

John Andrews, a Corporal of Captain Dewit’s Minute Company at Rhinebeck, and now a prisoner in the same room with the above-named John Craig, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, That the several matters and facts in the above deposition contained are, to the best of his knowledge and belief, true, the said John Andrew, from being confined in the same room with the said John Craig, being in the like manner with the said John Craig privy to the several matters and things contained in the said affidavit.

Sworn the 23d day of June, 1776, before us:

Monday, ten o’clock A. M., June 24, 1776.

The Committee met in the Council-Chamber in the City-Hall of the City of New-York, pursuant to the agreement of yesterday, the Court-Room being occupied by prisoners and guard.

Present: John Jay, Esq., Chairman, Mr. Philip Livingston, Mr. Hobart, Mr. Randall, Colonel Graham, Mr. Morris, Mr. Gansevoort.

Mr. Axtell attended in pursuance of the summons from this Committee, and returnable this day.

The Chairman informed Mr. Axtell of the Resolutions of the Congress relative to persons of equivocal character,