[No. 3399.] Colonel Hughes' Letter Respecting Boards, Shingles and Glass at Albany. Albany, Decem'r 1st 1780. Sir, The Bearer, Capt'n Hall, has two hundred White Pine Boards for your Excellency's use. He is order'd to Land them at Poughkeepsie. The Warrants your Excellency was pleased to favour me with, have not been carried into execution. It was not requisite. Boards enough could be bought, the Difficulty lay in getting them transported. Few were willing to turn out voluntarily, unless they could be assured of their Money, as soon as the Work was compleated, which could not be complied with. To attempt an impress, was only to discover our Want of Force to effect it, and a Defeat would have been worse than not attempting, as it would have disaffected many without producing one good Consequence. I applied to the Corporation of the City, who have not turn'd out a single Team yet. This being my Situation, I have made a Virtue of necessity, by holeing up the Disagreeableness of being obliged to use coercive Measures, if a proper assistance was not given me, without. Indeed, this seemed to be the only alternative. General Clinton, in order to give weight to the application, honoured me with his Company, to Schenectady to which, I have Reason to believe, was owing a very considerable Part of my Suggess. What I have obtained has been altogether from the westward. A want of water has prevented my succeeding up the Hudson. ingles are very scarce in this Quarter. I have not been procure more than five or six thousand, Sir. All the Glass I have been able to procure yet, has been but about Forty Panes, which are gone down. I have heard of more, and intend to purchase, if Paper will effect the Purpose. I have the honour to be, with the greatest Respect, Sir, Your Excellency's most Obedient and very Humble Servant His Excellency Governour Clinton. Hugh Hughes. [No. 3400.] Hughson Likely to be Tried as a Spy. Dec'r 2d 1780. D'r Sir, I am this moment favored with your Letter of the 27th ulto. If the Charges ag't Hughson are as you mention in your Letter, man & Horse stealing, they are not cognizable before a C't martial. By the late act of the Legislature, a Person having gone over to & joined the Enemy & afterwards coming out & secretly lurk in any Part of the State is subject to be tried by a C't martial as a spy. If, therefore, you can Certify to me that Hughson is of that Character & give me the particular Detail of his Character, I will order a C't martial for his Trial. No Flag is yet, nor can be now sent, until the lakes are frozen, if one had been sent tis not probable we shou'd have by its return of Capt. Drake as it is most likely he may have carried to Niagara. [To Colonel Drake.] [G. C.] [No. 3401.] Colonel Woodhull's Return of Persons Assessed Whose Sons Have Gone Over to the Enemy. Dear S'r, Pursuant to the Directions of an act Passed the ninth of October, 1780, for filling up our State Batallions Dureing the war, Inclosed your Excellency has a Coppy of a Tax List of Persons whose Sons have gone of to and Joined the Enemy; in Haste, I am with Great Regard your Excellicencies moste Obd. Serv't Decembr. 2d 1780. [To. G. C.] Jesse Woodhull. A List of Persons assessed for their Sons going to & Joining Assessed by us this Second Day of Decembr., 1780. Nathaniel Saterly, William Moffit, Seth Marvin, James Runnels, Eebenezer Woodhull, Assessors for the Precinst of Cornwell Orange County. [No. 3402.] Information Concerning Persons Who Assist the Enemy. Sir, By one of ouer Inhabitants here, who has been lately exchanged, named Georg Weber, I have been informed of one named Row, living towards the Blue Mountains behind Sopis; saide Row Receives all the letters from the Enemie and does send them to the disaffected and likwise the letters directed to the Enemie are forwarded by him; and in Shinectidy, the wife of Adam Hellmer, who is with the Enemie bears the same office, where one McDuggal shall do the writings for; and Rudolph Shoemaker furnishes the Enemies Scouts with Provision. This Intelligence comes from a Prissoner out of Montreal, who is not exchanged yet, and begs that his name might not be mentioned for fear of his Sufferings by the Enemies; wherefore I have the pleasur of acquainting your Excellency thereof, that such measures might be taken for to prevent such Correspondence, since it is out of my Power to gain any other prouve, till by the man, who expects to be exchanged by the first opportunity, the affaire might be clearer laid before you. I Remain with due Respect your Excellency's most obdt. Hble. Serv't Wm. Petry. The following Persons bes me to Remember them to your Excellency to be rememberd when any Exchange should be mad as: Peter Piper, Frederik Dornberger at Montreal; John Frank, Lorentz Frank at Quebec; Span Knebel at Montreal; John Hanse, Barend Hanse at Quebek. To His Excellency Georg Clinton, Esqr. [No. 3403.] SUPPLIES FOR THE FRENCH FLEET. Mr. Daniel Parker Discovered in a Reprehensible Proceeding by Colonel Hay. Poughkeepsie, 2d December 1780. Sir, Your Excellency will no doubt remember that in the beginning of October last I made an agreement with Mr. Daniel Parker for a Quantity of Wheat to be paid in salt, an agreement which at the time it was made was generally Imagin'd to be much for the benefit of the Inhabitants of this State, and which had both parties strictly fulfilled their respective Covenants to each other, wou'd undoubtedly have proved so, but the Embargo on that article being very unexpectedly taken off, prevented me from delivering the wheat at the Time agreed on, and Mr. Parker or his agent has voluntarily detained from me the Salt which he was to pay for the flour he had received, as will appear in one Instance by an affidavit of Mr. Chandonett's, which I now en close for your Excellency's perusal, and in several others that will be produced hereafter, in short, Sir, such evasive answers bordering upon Falshood have been given by some of these Persons with whom he is connected, that I begin to suspect they design to get as much Wheat or flour into their possession as possible, and then put me to the disagreeable necessity of suing him within the State of Massachussets, probably at the City of Boston, where it wou'd be uncommonly expensive, perhaps impossible to collect the proper Evidences on my part, every one of whom live within this State; As, therefore, the agreement originated within this State, as there has been a palpable and Voluntary Breach on the part of Mr. Parker with respect to the delivery of the Salt, I wou'd request your Excellency to grant an Impress Warrant for such Salt, Wheat or flour of Mr. Parker's found within this State as may be adequate to the Wheat he has received from me as Agent of this State, and for repayment of the Damages that have accrued to the State by the non fulfillment of his part of the Agreement; Should he think himself aggrieved, he has free recourse to all the remedy he can possibly have a right to claim, as every witness he can wish to produce |