ing 1049 acres, for the sum of £40,800, on the 16th Inst. which is a very great Bargain; the Lands on a average is worth three pounds in Species; your part will be 349 acres 2 roods & 26 perches for £13,600; for the Particulars, I refer you to Holt's paper of the 24th July, 1780; the Lotts was struck off to Colo. Lewis & Maj'r Reed. I have their promise for the 3 part. With great respect, I am your Excellency's most Obedient & Humb: Serv't His Excellency Governor Clinton. P. Van Rensselaer. Pokeepsie 29th Sep'r 1780. Dear Sir, Your Favor of the 10th Ultimo did not reach me before this Day. It came inclosed in one from Jno. F. Pruyn informing me that he had received it from Mrs. Van Wye, whose Husband had left it at Home thro' neglect. I am extreamly oblidged to you for the attention you have paid to my Business, & am well sattisfied with the Purchase you have made. As a much greater Sum is due to me from the State than my Proportion of the Consideration Money had I been happy enough to have received your Letter before the Treasurer left this I would have passed my Receipt to him for the Ammount, which I presume would have answered the Purpose & saved the Trouble & Risque of Conveying it to Albany. But as this was not the Case, I will endeavour to negotiate this Part of the Business through Mr. Tayler on his Return, which will be the most convenient Opportunity & put you in a Situation to receive a Title for the aditional Trouble I must ask you to take upon yourself. I am &c. [G. C.] Mr. Tayler will return the first of next Week; if the Money should be wanted at an Earlier Day I will forward it immediately on hearing from you. [To P. Van Rensselaer.] Poukeepsie, 26th Sep'r 1780. Dear Sir, As Genl. Schuyler by whom I wrote you yesterday does not set out for Albany as early this Morning as he expected I have found a Moment's Leisure to inclose an Order in your Favour on the Treasurer for £340 of the New Emission Coin,, equal to £13,600 my Proportion of the Purchase Money which I doubt not on being presented to him will be duely Honored. I am, with great Regard Your Most Obed't Serv't Philip Van Renselaer, Esqr. Geo. Clinton. Poukeepsie 26th Sep'r 1780. D'r Sir, As I have occassion to pay to Mr. Philip VanRenselaer thirteen thousand Six hundred Pounds equal to £340 of the new Emission, I take the Liberty of requesting you to advance him that Sum & charge it towards my last year's Salary, for which on being advised I will transmit you my Receipt. As this Sum is wanted to make a Payment to the Treasury by Mr. Van Renselaer, my Receipt for the Money due to me I presume will be equal to Cash & it will save me the Trouble & Risque of transmitting it to Albany. I am, D'r Sir, Your Most Obed't Serv't [To State Treasurer.] [G. C.] [No. 3240.] John Morin Scott Writes of the Vermont Controversy and the Hard Times. Philadelphia, 26th Sep'r 1780. Sir, I sit down not to give you any agreable Information, but meerly to give you my Opinion concerning the Event of the Controversy about the Grants if we push it to a determination. It is in short this: I believe we may carry it by the Majority of a single State. New Hampshire now represented by General Sullivan alone seems too favorable to the people of the Grants; and countenances an Idea too prevalent in Congress, that the dispute between New Hampshire and New York should be first setled by a Court of Commissioners constituted agreably to the Articles of Confederation. The End in View is evident. It is to create delay & thereby to discourage the Subjects or our State & strengthen the Vermonteers. We have, however, gone thro' the Evidence on our part, a portion of which from Mr. McKesson came just at the nick of Time. In short I am at a Loss what is best to be done. If we push for a determination we may gain it by a bare Majority; and even this depends upon the prospects we have of New-Jersey. Mr. Duane is of opinion that Maryland will be with us. I differ with him. In short it seems to be the System of the smaller States to compel the larger (the western Bounds of which are undefined) to large Cessions. This they expect to effect by embarrassing us with respect to the setled parts of the Country. General Sullivan is sick, which has suspended the Business for a few days; & I have been so much indisposed myself by a small fever hanging about me that I have not attended Congress for three or four days past. I am of Opinion the sooner we press the Matter to its Crisis the better; For I fear the Interest ag't us is growing. Not that I imagine a Majority will expressly decide ag't us, but that it may eventually be done by procrastination. Every account we receive from the Southward convinces us that our Troops, notwithstand'g their General defeat are [*]ing the Enemy in detail; as to News from the Eastward you are so much nearer the Source of Intellingence that you must be better informed than we are. Yesterday a Report came from Camp that the second division of the French fleet was arrived at Rhode Island, & that our army was in Motion. I am sorry to be obliged, Sir, to tell you that the want of money will soon Occasion the State of New York to be unrepresented. Its delegates can bear their disgraceful Situation but a few days longer. To be absolutely without Money in a place so expensive as this, is intollerable. Mr. Livingston has been obliged to borrow £2000 on his private Credit to discharge his Board & defray his Expences home; and would have set off this day, had I not disuaded him from it. I owe about £4000 for Board & have not a farthing to pay it with. Mr. Duane talks of returning home in a few days & so must I, if we do not get immediate Relief; & to get away I must endeavor to procure a Loan on my private Credit. How mortifying this will be to us & disgraceful to the State, as the Cause cannot be concealed. You, Sir, can easily judge. I am, Sir, with the greatest Respect Your Excellency's most obedient Serv't Jno. Morin Scott. P. S. Should it be asked as to the 30,000 dollars ex pended I can answer that of the whole my hands. Indecipherable. 營 fell into Mr. Livingston had 12,000; at that Time I owed near 15,000 for Board which I paid, 900 for Major Hunt & sundry advances for General Schuyler on a warr't for 10,000 dollars of which I have not yet been able to get more than one half. From this my poverty may be judged of. To shew that a large nominal Sum is of little real value here, our Board of £4 hard per week and only water to drink. Exchange 75 for one. Add to this, Barber, washerwoman & a little necessary Liquor, in a very sickly place and then judge of the Expence. In Short I am very sorry for my Reappointment; For I would not wish to incur the Suspicion of extravagance. ARNOLD'S TREASON DISCOVERED. Washington Conveys the Intelligence to Governor Clinton. Dear Sir, I arrived here yesterday on my return from an interview with the French General and Admiral and have been From Dawson's Historical Magazine. To the president of Congress, Washington reported Arnold's treason in these words: "Robinson's House, in the Highlands, 26 September, 1780. Sir, I have the honor to inform Congress, that I arrived here yesterday, about twelve o'clock, on my return from Hartford. Some hours previous to my arrival, MajorGeneral Arnold went from his quarters, which were at this place; and, as it was supposed over the river to the garrison at West Point; whither I proceeded myself in order to visit the post. I found General Arnold had not been there during the day, and on my return to his quarters he was still absent. In the mean time a packet had arrived from Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, announcing the capture of a John Anderson, who was endeavoring to go to New York, with the several interesting and important papers, mentioned below, all in the handwriting of General Arnold. This was also accompanied with a letter from the prisoner, avowing himself to be Major John André, adjutant-general of the British army, relating the manner of his capture, and endeavoring to show that he did not come under the description of a spy. From these several circumstances, and information that the General seemed to be thrown into some degree of agitation on receiving a letter, a little time before he went down from his quarters, I was led to conclude immediately, that he had heard of Major André's captivity, and that he would if possible escape to the enemy; and accordingly took such measures, as appeared the most probable, to apprehend him. But he had embarked in a barge, and proceeded down the river under a flag to the Vulture ship-of-war, which lay at some miles below Stony and Verplanck's Points. He wrote me after he got on board, a letter, of which the enclosed is a copy. Major André is not arrived yet, but I hope he is secure, and that he will be here to-day. I have been and am taking precautions, which I trust will prove effectual, to The papers contained in André's boots, copies of which were sent to Congress. |