tween Governor Blount and myself, as far as I know, in the manner stated by me in my deposition.

9. In your conversations in England with persons of consideration, was any mention made of a description of people in this country who wished to separate the Western settlements from the Union?

Answer. No mention of such persons was made to me by any persons whatever.

10. How long have you been acquainted with the British Minister in this country, and by what means did you come to know him?

Answer. I was introduced to him in London, by Mr. Pinckney, soon after his appointment to this country, and I paid him a visit, and left some letters for America, of which he took charge. I have never seen him since his arrival in America.

11. On your return to this country, in 1796, you wrote to Governor Blount. Did you urge him to meet you at New York?

Answer. I did write to him as stated in my deposition, and spoke of some private, business; but I did not mention this subject, nor did I request him to come to New York. His arrival there, in February, was without my knowledge or privity, and, as I understood, for private business of his own.

12. To what persons in England or America have you written, on the subject of this inquiry, since your return, and what answers have you received?

Answer. I have written to one person in England, a Member of Parliament, but not of administration; from whose answer it does not appear that the business was ever spoke of there by him. I also wrote to Governor Blount, and received answers; the purport and substance of which correspondence I have already explained. I likewise wrote to Mr. Liston; and, I believe, to no other person. Mr. Liston gave me an answer, which is now in the possession of the committee.

13. What was the purport of your letter to Mr. Liston?

Answer. I have no copy of the letter, but I recollect its purport, which was, to inform Mr. Liston that I had heard of a certain enterprise in contemplation, and on which he had been consulted; and to caution him against it, as a very delicate measure, requiring great circumspection, and capable, if known to be encouraged by him, of injuring those interests, both of this country and his own, which I was persuaded it was his wish to promote. I also hinted that a plan more extensive was contemplated by fitter persons; and having understood that he intended to send his secretary to some place on the business which had been mentioned to him, I strongly dissuaded him from this step; indeed, to do so, had been one of my chief inducements to address him. In his answer, now in the possession of the Committee, he assured me that he had no intention of sending his secretary anywhere. I was induced to take this liberty with Mr. Liston, from the manner in which I became acquainted with him, and the very favourable light in which he was presented in letters which I had received from England, and one of which I enclosed to him.

14. What was the project against which you cautioned Mr. Liston?

Answer. It was that of Chisholm, of which I had been informed by Governor Blount, and which the latter told me had been mentioned to the minister.

15. What was the project to which you alluded as being in more proper hands? Did Mr. Liston know of it, or did you explain it to him?

Answer. It was that contemplated by Governor Blount and myself. Mr. Liston, as far as I know and believe, had no knowledge of it, nor was it our intention to give him any. I did not think it proper for him to be acquainted with it; the intention being to apply, not to him, but to the British government.

16. In your conversation with Governor Blount, at New York, you expressed your regret that Louisiana did not belong to England, since the value of lands in the western country would, in that case, be increased: Was this the first time you had contemplated or expressed that idea?

Answer. It was not. I had reflected on the idea before, but had never mentioned it verbally to any person; nor in writing, except once, and that was in a letter to a gentleman in England. This letter, however, merely stated the possession of those countries by England as a desirable thing.

17. What was the nature and object of the business contemplated between William Blount and you?

Answer. Nothing precise or definite had been agreed on. Much was to depend on the result of Governor Blount's inquiries and observations, upon which I never received any communication from him. But the general object was to prevent Louisiana and the Floridas from passing into the hands of France, pursuant to the supposed cession by Spain; and to make propositions to the British-government in that view.

18. What were the propositions intended to be made to the British government? Answer. On this head, also, nothing definite had been agreed on. Had Governor Blount gone to England, he would, of course, have proposed his own terms; had I gone, I should have received his instructions. This would have been settled in the interview

which I proposed between us, had it taken place. Had I gone without seeing him, I should have waited in England for letters from him on the subject.

19. Was it not understood that William Blount and yourself were to use your personal efforts and influence to prevent the supposed cession of Louisiana by Spain to France from being carried into effect?

Answer. This was certainly our object; and every means, both in this country and Europe, would, of course, have been employed by us for its accomplishment.

20. Was it not proposed that Great Britain should send a force into that country for this purpose?

Answer. To ascertain whether they would do this, was the express object of Governor Blount's intended visit to Europe.

21. Was it not understood that, in case circumstances should require it, Governor Blount and his western friends were to make active efforts in co-operation with the British forces which might be sent there?

Answer. When Governor Blount and myself parted at New York, the understanding between us was that he should go to England. Nothing was then said, or has since passed between us, on the subject of this interrogatory; nor have I any direct knowledge of his views on that head.

22. What part were the Indians and western people to act in this business; and in what manner were they to be used in its execution? Was a co-operation by force from the territories of the United States contemplated?

Answer. As to Indians, there was nothing particularly said about them, nor had I any idea of their being employed. To keep them quiet was all that I supposed to be intended, or advisable. The western people, according to my view of the subject, were to be rendered favourable to the possession of the Floridas and Louisiana by the British, and disposed to emigrate there, and assist in holding the country, should the reduction take place. No cooperation by force was mentioned by Governor Blount, nor have I any knowledge of his precise intentions as to either the western people or the Indians. All this, as I understood the matter, was dependent on his observations and inquiries in the western country, on which subject I have had no information from him.

23. What part was William Blount to bear in this business, and what advantage or emolument was it understood that he, and others who might favour or aid it, were to derive from its accomplishment?

Answer. I have no doubt that Governor Blount had high expectations of emolument and command, in case the project should succeed, but nothing definite on this subject was spoken of between him and me; and, from the nature of the business, everything must have depended on the arrangement to be made in London with the British government.

24. Did William Blount ever apply to those persons of importance, in and out of the government, whom it was agreed that he should sound on this subject?

Answer. I do not know that he ever did apply to any of them. I had no information from him on this point.

25. In one of your letters to William Blount, you urge the propriety of his appearing to have no connection with land schemes, or commerce in What place was meant,

and why was this caution recommended?

Answer. England was the place meant, and the caution proceeded from an opinion in me, that the dignity and importance of character which it was desirable for Governor Blount to maintain in England, would be lessened by his appearing to be concerned in commerce or the sale of lands.

26. In another part of the correspondence between William Blount and yourself. you tell him that it would be proper to keep his business in England secret from Mr. King. What was the reason of this caution?

Answer. The reason is explained in the letter itself which contains the caution. It is possible that I may have had some further reasons than are there expressed. But I have no accurate or perfect recollection on the subject.

27. In one of your letters to William Blount, you mention a paper which you had drawn up on the subject of your business, to be left for him, in case you should sail for Europe without a personal interview, and which you wish him to possess, but do not choose to send. Where is that paper, and what were its purport and substance?

Answer. The only copy which now exists was sent by me to England, directed to myself, some time in May or June. It contained a variety of notes, reflections, and cautions, relative to the business contemplated between me and Mr. Blount, which had occurred to me after he left Philadelphia, in the spring, on his return to Tennessee, but I cannot state the particulars. They were reflections which occurred to me at various times, when think. ing on the subject, and were noted down as they occurred, to serve myself and Governor Blount as hints and memorandums in the progress of the business. One copy I sent to England for my own use when I should arrive there. Another I retained for Governor

Blount, but afterwards destroyed when I conceived the business to be at an end. They were never seen by him.

28. Do you know any other matter or thing which, in your opinion, is material to the objects of this examination? If yea, declare it fully.

Answer. The foregoing deposition and answers contain all that I know on the subject; and aided by the correspondence now in the possession of the Committee, will, I presume, furnish them with every idea respecting it in my power to communicate.

(CD)

NICHOLAS ROMAYNE.

On the thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, in pursuance of an order of the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, appointed to prepare and report Articles of Impeachment against William Blount, a Senator of the United States, impeached by the said House of High Crimes and Misdemeanours, Mr. William Davy, a partner of the mercantile house of Davy, Roberts and Co., of the City of Philadelphia, merchants, appeared before the said Committee, and a solemn affirmation having been administered to him in due form of law, by Reynold Keene, Esquire, one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the City of Philadelphia, and an Alderman of the said city, did depose and say:

That, on the twenty-eighth of February last he chartered the brig John Henderson, Captain Ephraim White, of the Port of Philadelphia, which was loaded by him and cleared out for Hamburgh, but was actually bound, with the consent of the owners and underwriters, for London; that she was, so cleared for Hamburgh to protect her from French cruisers; and on this account he had resolved to take no passengers, nor any letters unless from persons well known, and in whom there could be great confidence; she was not advertised; but, as had been his practice, the deponent informed the Secretary of State and the British Minister of this opportunity, in like manner as, on a former occasion, of sending a vessel to Spain, he had informed the Spanish Minister. A few days after, Mr. Liston's secretary, Mr. Thornton, called on the deponent, and asked if he would permit a special messenger, a confidential person, whom they wished to send to England, to go in this vessel. The deponent told Mr. Thornton that, although the vessel would be cleared out for Hamburgh, and her papers carry that appearance, she certainly was intended to proceed for London. That he had determined not to take passengers, and feared the vessel might be endangered by having such a person with dispatches on board. Mr. Thornton assured the deponent that the messenger was a confidential person, that the dispatches with which he would be intrusted were of great consequence, that they would be taken great care of, and would be leaded in order to be sunk in case of danger of capture. Mr. Thornton did not inform the deponent of the nature of the dispatches; but as the deponent thought there would be an advantage in intrusting his own private dispatches to so confidential a person, he consented to take him, and so informed Mr. Thornton, adding, at the same time, that he would charge the messenger with his own dispatches. A few days after, while the brig was loading, a person called on the deponent, and said he was the person recommended by Mr. Thornton to go in the brig. He was a hardy, lusty, brawny, weather-beaten man, and much resembled one of the King's messengers formerly seen by the deponent, who addressed him as such, but was immediately informed he was not the person. The deponent conducted him from the counting-house to the parlour, and offered him some refreshment, which he accepted; and, considering him as a person in whom the British Minister confided, the deponent entrusted him with the secret of the voyage, and his intention of committing his private dispatches to his care; the deponent particularly mentioned that, although cleared for Hamburgh, the vessel would actually proceed to London, but requested him, however, to be perfectly silent on this business, which he engaged to attend to. While drinking some porter he appeared sociable; and, on the deponent's remarking that although he had mistaken his name, he was impressed with an idea of having seen him before, he told the deponent "No;" that he was a back-countryman; that he had long lived among the Indians, and was with them during the last war; that he was well-known to the Spaniards; that his name was Captain Chisholm; that he had been an interpreter to the Indians last winter in this city; that the Spaniards had frequently imprisoned and treated him cruelly in Pensacola; that they dreaded him, and he hated them, and was now determined to take his full revenge on them. He added, that his influence with the Indians was such that he could do with them as he pleased; that he knew every part of the Mississippi; that there was no man in America who knew the forts and their exact situation so well as himself, and that he was now going to London to accompany and conduct a squadron to the attack of Pensacola. The deponent smiled at the idea, and regarded it as a Quixotism, and not the real object of his voyage; he said he was serious, and that nothing would be more easily executed; that the Spaniards had no posts of any consequence on the whole of the Mississippi; that one hundred, or one hundred and fifty, a mere handful of men, might destroy them all. He appeared

anxious to give an opinion of his own consequence as a British officer. Soon after he called on the deponent, and introduced as his respectable and confidential friend, Mr. Christian Jacob Huetter, who was to accompany him on this expedition, and requested a passage for him in the brig. The deponent was then impressed with the danger of permitting such a man as Chisholm to go in the brig, and stated strongly to Chisholm his fears; he replied that the deponent need not be afraid, for he was furnished with other papers fully sufficient to cover his design; he then showed the deponent a number of letters unsealed, from Mr. Liston to persons in Hamburgh, stating him to be a person going there on a land speculation, and one for a person in London, who the deponent then supposed to be either one of the under secretaries of state or Mr. Liston's private agent, calling him, "the person of whom I have written to you relative to the land business." This letter was not directed to the person by an official description. These, and the strong assurances of care with his dispatches, induced the deponent to consent to their going in the vessel. The brig was prevented from sailing on the day first intended, but their baggage was put on board, and Sunday, the 19th of March, was fixed positively for her sailing. She had dropped down the river, and the captain had called on the deponent and received his dispatches; the private dispatches of the deponent had been delivered by him to Chisholm, who he sup posed was then on board; but the same evening the deponent was surprised by Dr. Rogers calling on him to inquire for Chisholm, who, he said, was still in town. Doctor Rogers wished to ask him some further questions concerning the Welch Indians, of whom Chisholm, he said, knew more than any other person he had ever met with. The deponent felt much alarmed at this report of Chisholm's not being on board, fearing that, from some cause or other, the captain had left him behind, and with him the deponent's private dispatches. The deponent went immediately to Mr. Liston, and informed him of these apprehensions. The deponent had before given a hint to Mr. Thornton that Chisholm was a babbler, and now mentioned to Mr. Liston every particular, and the probability there was that he had babbled in the same way to others; that he had shown the deponent Mr. Liston's letters; that he had been frequently seen with Frenchmen; that he appeared to be either a very weak man, or to be acting a double game. Mr. Liston observed, that his letters were given as a matter of prudence as well in relation to the vessel as to the dispatches; but he appeared uneasy and alarmed at the apprehension of the deponent that the vessel had gone without Chisholm, whose baggage was all on board, and determined to accompany the deponent in search of him immediately that night. Mr. Liston and the deponent accordingly went together, and, while Mr. Liston stopped at the corner of Second and Arch Streets, the deponent went into Lesher's tavern, where Chisholm had lodged. Chisholm and Huetter were there together, and Chisholin was vociferating vehemently amidst a crowd of Frenchmen. They were called out of the room at the request of the deponent, who expressed to them his surprise to see them there after the captain was gone, and told them of his alarm. They replied, that the captain was not gone; and to convince him, they would go to the bouse where he had lived, and endeavour to find him out. The deponent left them and returned to Mr. Liston; told bim they were not gone, and that they said the captain had not gone, but that the deponent did not believe them, and would follow them in search of the captain. It was now between ten and eleven o'clock; Mr. Liston returned to his house, and the deponent followed Chisholm and Huetter, and after strict inquiry was satisfied that the captain was not gone; and was further informed by Chisholm, that the captain had engaged to call for them at five o'clock the next morning. The deponent returned with them to Lesher's tavern, told them to wait for him and he would see them again that night, late as it was, near twelve o'clock. The deponent then went to Mr. Liston, and informed him of his inquiries and their result; and, at the same time, took the liberty to observe that, in the deponent's opinion, Mr. Liston had employed a person, or was engaged with one, not en. titled to his confidence. Mr. Liston seemed seriously impressed with the deponent's information of the exposure the man had made, and immediately wrote a letter to Mr. George Hammond, Under Secretary of State, which the deponent delivered that night, or about one o'clock, to Chisholm; and the next morning they went out of town.

The deponent being interrogated by the Committee, whether he knew the contents of the letter to Mr. Hammond, says, that Mr. Liston put it into his hands to read; that the purport of it was to inform Mr. Hammond, that he should hear further from him on the subject by the packet; and that, in the meantime, it would be proper to be cautious; the packet was to sail the following week. The terms of the letter were ambiguous in themselves; but, connected by a person who understood the subject, evidently conveyed a caution against Chisholm. Mr. Liston told the deponent. that the man Chisholm had come forward to him with certain propositions, which it was not within his province to decide on; but that he thought himself obliged to refer him to his government, and twenty or thirty guineas for his passage was a trifling expense. The deponent particularly mentioned to Mr. Liston the bawling he had heard Chisholm make among the Frenchmen, and of his wearing the national cockade, and the alarm it occasioned to the deponent on account of his vessel and cargo. He replied, that was a cover to his designs, and for the purpose of gaining informa

tion. Soon after the brig sailed, Mr. Liston paid the usual price for Chisholm's passage, conformable to Mr. Thornton's engagement. Christian Jacob Huetter paid for his own pas sage. The vessel left the Capes on the first of April, and has never been heard of since by the deponent. Chisholm wrote letters to the deponent from the Capes. In the first, dated March 23d, he requests the deponent to inform Mr. Thornton that "all is well so far." Under cover of a letter which the deponent received from the captain, was an open letter from Chisholm, directed to William Blount, senator in Congress. The deponent was thunderstruck, knowing Mr. Blount's character and politics, to see a letter to him from a man who pretended to be pursuing such a plan as Chisholm's. The deponent read the letter, and took it to Mr. Liston. It contained only, in general terms, that all was going on well; that he expected a long voyage, and desired remembrance to his family and friends; and that Blount would inform them how he was going on. Mr. Liston advised to seal and deliver the letter; which was done.

The deponent declares, that it never occurred to him that the United States were either directly or indirectly concerned in the progress or consequences of this project; but he considered it (if really projected, which he very much donbted, apprehending Chisholm's real object to be something very different) as merely a wild enterprise between England and Spain, until the late publications on the subject.

Being further interrogated, whether any conversation had since passed between him and Mr. Liston, or Mr. Thornton, on this affair, the deponent saith, that about two or three weeks ago, Mr. Thornton informed him that they had some suspicions that Chisholm had not gone in the brig, and requested the deponent to find out the pilot and inquire. This was before Blount's affair exploded. The deponent obtained the information that Chisholm had actually gone, and communicated it to Mr. Thornton.

Being interrogated, whether any conversation had taken place between Mr. Liston and him, since the discovery of Blount's business, the deponent answers, that on the day of Mr. Blount's examination in the Senate, the deponent was passing by Mr. Bond's house, and was called in by Mr. Liston. After other conversation relative to the papers of a captured vessel. Mr. Liston asked the deponent if he had informed anybody that he, Mr. Liston, had paid Chisholm's passage? The deponent told Mr. Liston he had not, nor had said anything else on the subject, but that he had strong reasons to apprehend that Chisholm had talked of it himself to several persons. Mr. Liston said, he could not have done his duty if he had not sent him on to his government, for them to hear and decide on his plans, which were beyond his powers to act on.

WILLIAM DAVY.

(CD No. 2.)

Extract of a Letter from Thomas Davy to William Davy, dated "London, September 13, 1797.” "The papers you sent me concerning the business with which Captain Chisholm was commissioned to our Court, did not at all surprise me; I do not wonder it should have transpired from such hands. He made some vain attempts to borrow cash from me on the credit of your recommendation. Being desirous that not the slightest recommendation from you should be neglected, I sent to Lord Grenville's office to be satisfied of the reality of the story he told me; and there found that, though his business was treated by the ministers as it deserved, they had not, as he pretended to me, refused him pecuniary assistance, but had absolutely supplied him largely: I mean, in a manner fully adequate to his pretensions. In consequence hereof, on my sending him word that it would not suit me to advance bin any money, I saw no more of him.”

(EF)

The deposition of George Lesher, aged forty-eight years and upwards, being duly sworn before the Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, appointed to prepare and report Articles of Impeachment against William Blount, a Senator of the United States, impeached by the said House of High Crimes and Misdemeanours, by Reynold Keene, one of the Aldermen of the City of Philadelphia, on the 19th day of July, 1797.

GEORGE LESHER, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that for several years he has kept a tavern in the City of Philadelphia; that some time late in the last fall a man, called Captain Chisholm, came to his house with a party of Indians; that, after they went away, he remained until about the first of April, within which time he observed to this deponent, that it would be a fine thing if the Floridas could be taken from the Spaniards.

That there lodged in his house, at the same time, a man of the name of Huetter, who, he understood, intended to go to Hamburgh; three days before the vessel was to sail in which he was to go, Chisholm came to this deponent, in his back room, and said he was going to Europe, and should make his fortune; on the next day, in the evening, he came to him