the said Letters patents, are to enjoy all Liberties, privileges and franchises of subjects born in this kingdom, witout any disturbance, Impediment, or molestaon as by the said patent, relaon being thereunto had, may more at Large appear, of all which act being required of mee, the sd notary, I have granted these presents to serve & avail the said francis Bassett, Mary Magdalen his wife, Susanna Magdalen & Susannah, their daughters, ye time & place convenient, y 25th of April, 1693, & in the 5th year of yr matjes reign. In Testimonium veritatis Signo meo manuali Solito Signari, et Tabellionatus mei Sigillium apposui, Roga tus: Nicho Hayward, Nota. pub. Locus Sigilli, Entered in the Clark's office of the Citie of New york, in the book of deeds No 18, pag. 257, yo 23d day of Septr, 1693, p. Will. Sharp as Ck. Indorsed thus: personallie appeared before mee, the within named francis Basset, who made oath upon the Holy Evangells of Almighty God, that hee is the verie self same individual person mentioned in & intended by the within mentioned Lettrs patents, & no other, So Subt. [3d Septr, 1698. WM. MARKHAM, Locus Sigilli in margine. Att a Councill Held att philadelphia die Sabbathi, ye 3d September, 1698. WM. MARKHAM, Esqr, Leivt. Governour. PRESENT: Jno Simcoke, Joseph Growdon, Wm. Biles, David Loyd, The Lt Gor acquainted the Council yt he had received a Lre from ye Justices of the peace of Sussex County, & desired y Secrie to read it, which hee did, viz: may it please yor Honor, This to or Sorrows, but according to our duties, is to inform, That on friday Last, in the afternoon, a small snug-Ship & a Sloop came too wtin our Cape, not wholly undescried, but little dreaded of being an enemy or french, both which they proved, & yesterday morning Landed about 50 men, well armed & came up ye town & plundered almost every house yrin, Committing great spoil, breaking open doors & Chests, and taking away all money or plate to be found, as also, all manner of goods & merdize worth any thing, together with ruggs, blanketting, & all other bedd Covering, Leaving scarce any thing in ye place to Cover or wear. They brought two English prisoners on shore wt ym bound, one of ym known to be Jno Redwood, of philadelphia, His Boy, with whom they wold Sufferr no Converse, but wee suppose ye sd sloop to be said Redwood's taken Coming out Cinnepuxon Inlett; They all went on board Last night; killed several Sheep and Hogs. They Continue still att anchor in yr birth, as neer in the bay opposite to this towne as they well can find water to ride in, & it's doubted they will be on shore again before night for more Cattle, if not to burn ye houses; but we shall endeavor to Scare ym. They Ly ready for all mischief inwards or outwards by land or water, and Have pilots any way. They are now in Chasse Inwards of a Briganteen with their sd sloop. The briganteen outsails ym, & wee Hope in God, will escape. They are begarly Rogues, and will pillage for a trifle, and do think they may tarry Long enough untill ye man of warr att York may have Speedy notice. They took about eleven of ye Chief of or town prisoners, & when they had made ym help on board their plundr, dismist all except one man, Capt. Watson's Carpenter. This place is verie open to danger, & verie naked for defence Mr. Clark's House & goods Hath Sufficiently shared in ye villany. Wee hope wee need not repeat y Calamities aforesaid, nor ye great terror yt must needs here attend all Sexes & Sizes; all which is Submitted to yor Honors most Serious Consideraon, By Sir yor Humble Servants-Luke Watson, John Hill, Tho. Oldman, Jonat Baily. Therafter the Lt. Gor sent for Tho. Simpkins, mariner, who appeared, & aged fourty years, made oath yt ye name of y vessel t took him he knows not, but yt it was a pirate named Canoot, on board Jno Redwood's sloop, & yt ye sloop that took ym was said to belong to one William, in providence, & that the pirate took her about the Bahama Islands, as his men said, & that Hee took ye deponent and said Reedwood's Sloop off Cinnapuxon Inlett, 30 miles below y Cape, & that they wer taken y° 3d Augt, & that ye sd Canoot keept still on board sd sloop, shee being the best Sailor, & yt ye sd Capt. shott one of his owne men for some misdemeanor as they said, formerly committed by him. And further saith not. Edward Gillibrand, aged about 36 years, being sent for, appeared & made oath yt hee was Mr of ye dunmore of Liverpoole, & came from Rapahannock river, out of ye Capes of Virginia, y 17th Augt. Last & was taken by ye sd pirate y 19th, with the sloop yt now Lyes att philadelphia; yt he was taken about 75 Leagues off y Capes of Virginia, about E. N. E. the pirate Lay fair northerlie off y° Cape & Laid him athwart y° Hause & boarded him att once, & yt ye pirate fired but killed none on board him; that hee knows not ye Sloop's name yt took him, and yt at Rapahannock hee was told yt many pirats wer on y coast, & yt hee heerd ye pirats say yt ye sloop qrin they took him belonged to providence, & further saith not. The which Lre & deposition being read, The Lt. Gor ask't y advice of ye Council yrin, Whoise ansr was: That seeing ye king's Lres patent impowers ye proprietarie, His Heirs & assigns, by ymselves or yr Captains, or other their officers, to Levy, muster & train all sorts of men, of what condition or qrsoever born, in ye province of pennsylvania, for ye time being & to make warr, & to psue y° enemies & robbers aforesaid, as well by sea as by land, even wtout y Limitts of ye sd province, & ym, by Gods assistance, to vanquish & take, & being taken to putt to death by ye Law of war, or to save ym, att yr pleasure; And to do all & everie other thing which to the charge & office of a Capt. general of an army belongeth, or Hath accustomed to belong, as fullie and freelie as any Capt. General of an army ever had ye same And seeing the Lt. Gor. is vested with the above sd powers of a Capt. General, & is not scrupulous to putt y° same in execuon; Therefore, ye sd members of Council do referr y managmt of ye whole affair upon this & ye like emergencie, to his conduct & prudence. And It is ye Opinion of this board, that what charge shall accrew yrby, ought to be speedily raised by a provincial tax. The petition of David Evans being read, Setting forth His Long Imprisonment, & yt notwtstanding ye great charge Hee has been att in procuring evidences of his being cleared in England, by his Country. on a fair trial of the Crimes alledged agt him, yett is still detained Close prisonr, to His ruine; and therfore requests enlargmt & y° enjoymt of his Liberty. Resolved yt ye petitionr make His applicaon to y Judge of y° Court of admirality, for his enlargment Or Speedy trial. [24th Septr, 1698. Att a Councill Held att philadelphia die Sabbathi, y 24th day of Septembr, 1698. The Lt. Gor said: Gentl, There Has Hapened here in this town. an action that hath verie much troubled me, & I think in it self verie Irregular, viz: There wer some goods & merdizes Seized by ye king's Collectors for goods imported Contrary to Law, The wch goods Coll. Robt. Quarry, Judge of the Court of admiraltie for this pvince & territories, by his warrt to Robt. Webb, marshall of ye sd Court, took from ye said Collectors, & Comitted ym to ye custodie of ye sd marshall, and ye sd Coll. Quarry being upon going to Maryland, I was petitioned by Jno Adams, ye owner of ye said goods, for a replevin, in these words, viz: "To y Honble Wm. Markham, esqr, Gor of "the province of pennsilvania. The Humble petion of Jno Adams "most humbly Sheweth, That yor petitioner did, in y mo. of June "Last past, ship a Considerable Quantitie of goods on board y sloop "Jacob, Francis Basset Mr., bound for this place from New york "wch sd goods, for want of a Certificate, wer seized att New-castle; "whereupon I, as in duty bound, made my applicaon to yor Honr, "&yor Honr was pleased to promise mee all ye favour you Could in "such a Case grant mee, And by yor Honor's advice, I went down "to Newcastle to treat with the Collector concerning that, who not "willing to take any advantage to Ruine mee, was verie willing to "observe yor Honor's Comands & directions, so yt I hoped (as I "thought on good ground) to Have my goods returned mee upon an "appraismt, till ye Court wold be. A smal time after my certificate "Came from Newyork, which I showed to the Judge of the admiral"tie, & to Esqr Randolph, & requested I might have my goods. The "Judge told me if I had 1000 Certificates I could not have my goods "but in a Legal way, Becaus hee said yt Mr was not Qualified ac "cording to Law. I submitted to it, and pray'd I might have my "goods prized, & wold give in good securitie to ansr it att Court, "which was promis't mee (as soon as y provost marshall had his "Comission, which yet hath not been granted ;) Tho' hee who was "the author of all my trouble, & an alien, had his goods & vessel de"livered to Him; & I was still putt off with fair promises that I "should have ym; when ye advocate (yt is to be) had been att New"york & come back again, I should have ym delivered to me instantly. “I ye meantime, understanding I had a Cargo of goods arrived there "for mee, I went to Newyork to dispose of ye same, And meeting "wt y Advocate on my journey, Hee told mee I might have my "goods if I wold give bail according to my prime Invoice, wch I was "willing to do, rather than to Consume so much of my precious time "waiting for I know not what, and so made all possible Haist to New"york & putt my goods Into a merts. Hands there to sell for mee, "allowing Him Usuall Commissions, in regard I was Unwilling to "neglect my troublesome bussines here, in hopes of a Speedy dis"patch, according to the manie Reiterated promises made mee. "I made post from Newyork back again, & Have since made my ap"plicaon to y Judge of ye admiraltie, and delivered him my Invoice "to puse, & offered him my oath to it. He told me he wold Con"sider of it, & since tells mee hee can do nothing in it, and gave "mee some Hints as though it Stuck wt yor Honr, & am still putt "off wt fair words, but no such actions. So yt I have assumed the "boldness once more to address to yor Honr, Hoping & Humbly re"questing yt yor Honr will please to Consider the great Charge I "have been att in having my goods seized, & paying ten shills p. "week storige, almost these 2 mo's., & in having ym detained from "mee; my several chargeable and uncomfortable voyages to New"castle (by yor Honors advice) to treat with the Collector; my "great charge, pains, & trouble in Coming back from Newyork, to"gether with my great Charge & Inconveniencie in Leaving my "goods there on Comissions; my intolerable Charge in y Loss of “ my precious time, & extraordinary expenses I am dayly att; the "Loss of my market & damnifying of my goods, wch, for aught I "know, may be roten before ye Court of Admiralty be Constituted, "the Judge being bound to Maryland for y advocat's Comission; "the great detriment it hath been to my health, being fallen away "since I came almost to skin & bones, by Continual Concernedness "for my hard, Unheard of Usage; the great destruction of my "bussines att home & abroad; the impairing my Creditt, the best "Jewell I have; the utter, unavoidable Ruine of my dear wife & "children; y smal, or no advantage that can redound to his matie "or yor Honr by with-holding ym from mee; all which tends to the "dishonor of his matie in having his subjects wronged in pson & es"tate, by Hard hearted, unreasonable officers, & ye discouragmt of y "growing trade of this province. Yor petitionr Humbly prays yor "Honr to Consider y° premises, and grant Hee may Have his goods "on an appraismt, by sworn appraisers or anie other ways, as yor "Honrs great wisdom may think fitt, being willing to give in Secu "ritie to ansr what may be alledged agt my goods, and abide ye Ordr "of ye Court. And yor petitionr, as in duty bound, shall ever pray "for yor Honrs Happiness & prosperity. JOHN ADAMS, phila"delphia, August 19th, 1698." I made ansr that I wold not medle with any thing that Lay before the Court of admiralty; But the day after, as I take it, the sd Coll. Quarry went out of this Town, The sd Jno Adams, Owner of the goods seized, obtained from Anthony Morris, one of the Justices of ye peace for this County, a warrt, by y name of a warrt of Replevin, which was executed by y under Sheriff, and the goods taken from y marshall & delivered to the sd Jno Adams, y owner yrof. Upon the Complaint of y° marshall, I wrote to the Sheriff y 27th Augt, 1698, in these words, viz: "Mr. Claypoole, I wonder such "an action of replevying ye goods in ye hands of y marshall of y "admiralty should be done without my knowledge: It was but yes"terday that I was petitioned for a Replevin, which I refused; & I "think I have as much power as any man in this governmt. What "complaints & damages may arise from this Let the actors ansr for; "since I cannot undo what's done, I will declare agt ye proceedings "of all who were concerned in it: my advice to you is, & I expect "that every thing you have taken by virtue of the warrt of Replevin, "be forth coming in its proper specie." To which the sd Sheriff made answer in these wrds, viz: "Sir, I perceive by yors, yt Adams "of Boston has been with you to request the grant of a Replevin, "& yt hee had yor denial. Hee came to mee about foure in the "afternoone yesterday, & desired to have a Replevin of certain goods "that was taken from him by Robt. Webb, not naming him to mee "by any office, & the writt named him Robt. Webb, gentl; I knew "not that it any way interferred with the Court of admiralty, neither "did I either hear or know any ways that hee had been with you. "Replevins have been always here granted by the Justices, and 66 never questioned by the Sheriff, no more than writts of arrest. I "took of him bond wt Securitie in 300lb. for y goods to be forth "coming, being several sorts of English goods, five bolts of Canvass, "& five barrels of East India goods, and that hee shall make resti"tuon of y° sd goods, if it shall be so ordered by ye Court. Had I "known you had been interceded about it, wold not have any wayes "medled in it wtout yor approbaon; So hope my ignorance yrof may "plead my excuse, being ever willing to obey yor Comands to yo "best of my power and ability, so subt. JOHN CLAYPOOLE, 7th "Augt, 1698." And Seeing the sd Robt. Webb, marshall of the admiralty, came no more near mee, I sent the Sheriff the following warrant, viz: "province of pennsilvania; By the Lt. Gor. Whereas, "several goods & merchandizes wer seized by Mr Jno Bewley & Mr "Mathew Birch, Collectors of his Maties Customs wtin this governmt; "which goods wer delivered by ym Into y hands or possession of "Mr Robt. Webb, marshall of y Court of Admiralty, in ordr to "have ym tryed in y same Court, as goods illegallie imported, "Which goods wer by the Sheriff of y Countie of Philadelphia, |