The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-09-12 00:00:00, page 2

I come now to what passed in the presence of the gentle
men to whom we referred the hearing of the affair.
The evidences produced by Mr. Williams, were Captain
Smithers and Francis Hopkinfon, Esq;
Capt. Smithers's evidence—“ 1 remember to hear Mr. Wil
liams querying with iurpnfe refpe&ing the circumstances cf
the story, but on my asking Mr. Randolph, this day, whe
ther he knew of any other person under that or a fimilai pre
dicament, whereby a mistake of names might occasion the
difference, he declared he neither knew nor heard of any
such thing of any man, but that Mr. Williams told him
the story."
The evidence of Francis Hopkinfon's Efq;—“ I remember
Mr. Williams told me Something about it at Bordenton, but re
member allo to have heard the report in town before 1 left it,
which was early on Saturday morning, the sixth of July lad.
I cannot fay I heard it the night before I left town, but I
certainly heard it before 1 left town."
After Mr. Hopkinfon had given in his evidence, I got up,
and told the gentlemen I could prove I came home in com
pany with Mr. Butler, who set me down at my door from
his chair, on the fifth, at nine o'clock at night; that, being
fatigued, 1 went to bed without feeing any person except
thole of my own family, and did not rife until eight o'clock
next morning, from whence I inferred that -Mr. Williams
mult have millaken the da); for 1 could not poffioly have
done my own bulinefs, gone and received the money, then
to Mr. Smithers's, and afterwards go to near twenty different
places in the ward, to pay for the arms we had collected ;
besides my receipt book shews I paid the money on the ninth,
which 1 molt certainly did. Upon this Mr. Williams got
hold of the receipt book, and endeavoured to persuade the
gentlemen that the figures in tne receipts were altered, to
which the gentlemen made no reply. I then told them a
reference to Mr. Nixon's book would fhe:v when I received
the money, which to the belt of my knowledge was on the
eighth, and paid on the ninth, for 1 thought I had paid the
money the day after I received it; and repeated again, that as
far as I could remember 1 kept it but one day in my hands.
Upon this Samuel Howell, Esq; replied,— “ft appears
clearly from Mr. Hopkinfon's evidence, that Benjamin Ran
dolph did not raise the report, but from Mr. Smither's, that
he has been a propagator of it." But the sequel will shew how
far I am to be considered guilty of the latter, whatever might
appear to them at that time.
Upon Mr. Howell's faying this, I got up and said I have
so much charity for Mr. Williams as to believe that he might
have blended ideas, and that he might have misapplied the
confinement of the Mayor and guards to Donaldson, as the
conversation was mixed, and an immediate transition from
the one to the other, alledging how unreasonable and incon
fotent it would be to suppose that I should tell a thing which
I knew to be falfe; and which the person, concerning whom
it was told, could detect in a few days, and what ends! could
possibly have in view in so doing, &c.
Mr. Williams replied, he was not mistaken, and urged as
a reason for my faying so, that he heard me fay at that time,
that Donaldson was a Tory,, and that 1 had remarked him at
the election, &c. 1 his 1 confefs made me warm, perceiving
that he was determined to support his charge, and that his
tongue was ready to utter any lye, which the wickedness of
his heart could suggest, as he invented in an instant one
pladfible lye to support another. I immediately addressed
Mr. Smithers, and allied him The heard any such thing. He
replied, he did net; upon this, I got up, and walked across
452
the room, telling him I should fee him again'; to this he made
some reply, which Ido not recollect- On this Mr. Meredith
got up and said, 1 fee you have a mind to fight, you had bet
ter go out of doors, and fight it out, &c. On this we broke up.
I went out of town next morning with my /Companion, Mr.
Hunter, to whom I related the whole affair, with what I told
said Williams whin firft acceded by him about said Donald
fcn, and the inconsistency cf said Williams's report. Thus
it remained to the second of September, when I returned from
camp, and to my surprise 1 heard of the narrative.
I went immediately to the C flee- House to get one of them ;
none being there, Twent to Mr. Towne's, and finding none,
I returned home, and lent tor Capt. Smithers, with a deter*
mination to make the whole matter public. I accordingly
sent for two indifferent mtn to take down what the Capt.
should -declare relative to the affair. The , following is his
account of the matter.
Sept. 2, 1776, the declaration of James Smithers, taken
in the presence of us the fubfciibers, is as follows—The said
James Smithers does declare and fay, “ That on about the
seventh of July lad, in the present year, at the corner of
Fifth and Market Greets, he thinks between two and four
0 clock in the afternoon, Mr. Edward Williams transiently
met Mr. Benjamin Randolph and him the said James Sail*
thers, that they fell into difeourfe concerning New-York, and
other news relating thereto; he remembers to have heard Mr;
Benjamin Rand dph fay 1. mething refpeftiiig the confpiratora
who were taken up, viz the Mayor and others, and one who
had been hanged at New-Y^rk, and also some other perlons
being taken up dr ?pprehe-m^d, and on him was found some
papers, drafts or pia .s.of our river, chevaux de frife, or
other works, and that Benjainin Randolph mentioned the
pedon's name, and that James Smithers cannot recoiled the
peifoiis name. And we, the fubferibers, asked him, Whether
that person was Artnur Donaldson or no? And he declares
that he cannot recollect what name. This converfatior
happened in conseq uence of a salutation from Mr; Edward
Williams concerning the news, &c. &c.
JEREMIAH CRESSON,
JEHU ELDRIDGE.
Let the impartial public determine, whether from Capt
Swithers's relation, 1 am to be considered as a reporter or
not. In the firft place, before the referrees, he said it was
on the sixth, and that I positively denied there was any per
son at all in that or a similar predicament; and in the last, be
fore Messrs. Creffon ana Eldridge, he declares he can recol
lect nothing of the person's name, though he fays I mentioned
some name. Isthisan evidence on which to be found guilty ?
But Messrs. Williams and Donaldson charge me with altering
the date of my receipts, and' I told them Mr. Nixon's book
would ihew when I-received the money, which appears to be
on the sixth ; I then thought I received the money one day.
and paid the money on next day, but find 1 was mistaken—
However, I went to the men whose receipts I was charged
with altering the date ; two of them said they made no eh
try of the matter; the third went and examined his book
and found it the eighth ; I then told him my receipt Viewed
it to be the ninth. He said he could not be c-rtain'to a dav
that it was likely it was on the ninth he received it. I had
been out for eight days, the last two of which I rode from
New-York to Philadelphia, and arrived at nine o'clock, the
night of the fifth, got up about eight o'clock of the sixth,
which was Saturday, did such business of my own as <;.?
fuffering during my absence, and went to Mr. Nixon's and
received the money.