I, James Matthews, Esquire, of Orange County, in the Colony of New-York, do most solemnly declare that the claims of the British Parliament to bind, at their discretion, the people of the United Colonies in America in all cases whatsoever, are, in my opinion, absurd, unjust, and tyrannical; and that the hostile attempts of their fleets and armies to enforce submission to those wicked and ridiculous claims ought to be resisted by arms; and, therefore, I do engage and associate, under all the ties which I hold sacred, to defend by arms these United Colonies against the said hostile attempts, agreeable to such laws and regulations as my Representatives in the Congresses or future General Assemblies of this Colony have, or shall, for that purpose, make and establish.

JAMES MATTHEWS.

New-York, June 26, 1776.

Israel Youngs being sworn, saith: That when he was first put into the Jail of this city, viz: about six weeks ago, he was confined there in the same room with Thomas Vernon, of the city of New-York, hatter; that the said Thomas asked this deponent where he came from; deponent told him he was born and brought up in Queen’s County; he asked this deponent if he knew John Hulet and Richard Hulet; deponent said he did, particularly John, for deponent’s brother had married his daughter; that the said Vernon thereupon spoke very freely to this deponent on the subject of politicks, and said he would be damned if the fleet did not come soon and let them all out; he confessed to this deponent that he had several times been on board the Dutchess-of-Gordon, where he had seen Richard Hulet and Thomas Cornell; that he had also seen Governour Tryon often, and that the Governour would talk very free with them; that they had on board a number of Rivington’s types and one of his printers; that he had written a letter to the Governour the Monday before for money, and that he expected the next day to receive it; that the next day the said Thomas received a letter which he said was from the Governour, and also some water-work money, which he said they counterfeited on board the Dutchess, and he himself had seen them printing it off; that they had a chest of it. This deponent says that the money aforesaid resembled the said water-work money so much that he should have taken it for genuine but that the paper seemed to be rather thicker. The said Vernon further told this deponent that he kept a periagua, and he used to go after sand, and so he got on board the Dutchess.

And this deponent further saith: That the said Vernon told him they were inlisting men in the King’s service, and that a Captain in Colonel McDougall’s Regiment, whose name this deponent cannot recollect, had a commission from Governour Tryon for that purpose; that a man, whom the said Vernon told this deponent was the said Captain, came one day to the door of the room in which this deponent and the said Vernon were confined, and conversed with the said Vernon through the hole of the door, but this deponent did not overhear them; that when he went away, Vernon told this deponent that was the Captain who was inlisting men for Governour Tryon, and that he had got a hundred. The said Vernon also told this deponent that he had, by Governour Tryon’s order, engaged with Dawkins, an engraver, who had been taken up on a charge of counterfeiting money, to go on board the Dutchess and cut money plates for the Governour, and that the Governour was to give the said Dawkins a hundred pounds for his trouble; and that the said Vernon was to have carried him on board had not Dawkins got drunk and told him that he (the said Vernon) was going to carry him on board, which being made known to him, (the said Vernon,) he was afraid to attempt carrying him off at the time appointed, and that Dawkins immediately after disappeared. The said Vernon further told this deponent that he was in Jail with Dawkins before, that Dawkins left his chest open, and that he, (Vernon,) intending to take something out of his chest and make him treat him for giving it to him again, opened the chest and found in it a plate to strike Pennsylvania money, and kept it near a week; that Dawkins, when he missed it, was very uneasy, and he (the said Vernon) again delivered it to him.

This deponent further says: That when Thomas Hickey and Michael Lynch, of the General’s Guards, were apprehended for, money-making, they were confined in the same room with this deponent; that they then cursed and swore a great deal and damned themselves if they would ever fight any more for America; that this deponent talked Tory with them, and by that means they came to confide in him; that Hickey and Lynch said there were near seven hundred men inlisted for the King, and that the night before the fleet arrived they were to have notice of it; that they were to repair towards King’s Bridge and join them; and that some of the fleet were to go up the North River, and another party up the East River, and so surround the Island. Deponent understood from them that they were both inlisted, and their names sent on board the man-of-war. They also said that the Army was very corrupt, and spoke, very slightly of Colonel McDougall’s Regiment. That when the news came to their room that the plot was discovered, and that the Congress had taken up some of them, the said Hickey and Lynch seemed to be a good deal uneasy, but they comforted themselves in this: Lynch said they had not got his name, for it was gone on board the man-of-war, and Hickey said if they had got his name it was not of his writing, and therefore neither of them could be hurt. Lynch further said that if the guards came to be a little thinner he would make his escape through the windows.

ISRAEL YOUNGS.

Sworn the 26th day of June, 1776:

Gilbert Forbes, being again examined, further saith: That he knows one —— Silk; that he was left by Captain Aidey to wait upon his wife, who lives on Long-Island, somewhere near Hempstead; that he is often in town, frequently at Mrs. Oiry’s and Mrs. Brandon’s, has the air of a soldier, wears a short brown hunting coat and a double-breasted jacket of the same colour; that he used to wait on a Mr. Miller, who lives or lodges in Mr. Gouverneur’s house on Rotten Row; that Sergeant Graham (an old soldier, discharged from the Royal Artillery) was employed by Governour Tryon to speak to examinant about inlisting men for the King’s service, and told this examinant, from the Governour, that if this examinant exerted himself in that business and raised a number of men, he should have a company; that the said Sergeant also informed him that, at the request of the Governour, he had surveyed the ground and works about this city and on Long-Island, in consequence of which he had concerted a plan for an attack, which he had given to Governour Tryon, and of which the Governour approved, which was as follows, viz: that the man-of-war should cannonade the battery at Red Hook, and while that was doing a detachment of the Army, with some cannon, &c., should land below or about Red Hook, and march round so as to come upon the back of the batteries near Swedeland House; that a small part of the detachment should make a feint of marching up the road leading directly to the battery, but that the main body were to make a circuitous march so as to reach the battery while our attention was engaged by the feint aforesaid; that if they carried that battery, which they expected to take by storm, they were immediately to attack the battery on the hill near the ferry, which the Sergeant said would be easily done, as no embrasures were made or cannon fixed on the back side of it; that this latter battery, when in their possession, would command the works on Governour’s Island, which they would keep between two fires, viz: the battery last mentioned on the one side, and the shipping on the other; that then the shipping, with the remainder of the Army, were to divide, one division was to run up the North River and land at or near about Clarke’s farm, and march directly to Enclenbergh Hall, and fortify there; the other division was to run up the East River and land in such manner as to gain a footing on Jones’s Hill, from whence they expected to command and silence the battery on Bayard’s Hill; that should they gain possession of the places above-mentioned, their next object would be the grounds adjacent to King’s Bridge, where they intend to erect strong works, so as to cut off the communication between the city and country.

Gilbert Forbes, being further examined, saith: That some time before the man-of-war removed from the town to the Narrows, one Webb, a burr-millstone maker, told examinant that if he had any rifles to sell he might get a good price for them by sending them on board the man-of-war, and that a young man who lived with James Rivington told him the same; that this examinant had then nine rifles which