The Votes and Proceedings of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey, 22nd Assembly, 1772-1776 (bound volume of the printed sessional journals)

Transcription and notes

Transcription, PDF pp. 139-171 (printed pp. 28-60 of the 14 George III session)

Read from page images only (300 dpi, cut into overlapping bands, doubtful words zoomed further); the PDF text layer was not used. Long s is given as s; italics are not marked; running quotation marks at line starts are kept as straight quotes; [brackets] mark catchwords, signature marks, damage and readers' marks. House minutes that do not concern the robbery or the counterfeiters are noted, not transcribed.

PDF p. 139 = printed p. 28

House minutes, not part of the message (end of a bill title "...the first Day of November next"; Council message by Mr. Skinner reporting passage, without amendment, of the Mason's Creek (Evesham, Burlington), Lower-Penn's-Neck and Upper-Penn's-Neck (Salem) marsh bills and the oyster bill; Crosswicks Creek bridge witnesses; date heading "Friday, November 26, 1773."; Perth-Amboy Northern Ward roads bill; Crosswicks bridge witnesses). Nothing on the treasury robbery, Ford, Cooper or Reynolds. (The "Mr. Skinner" here only carries a routine Council message about bills.)

PDF p. 140 = printed p. 29

House minutes, not part of the message (petitions of Jacob Chesnutwood, Burlington freeholders on slaves, Ebenezer Cowell v. Thomas Reading; Crosswicks Creek drawbridge divisions). "Col. Ford" appears only as a member in the division lists.

PDF p. 141 = printed p. 30

House minutes, not part of the message (division list; "That Col. Ford and Mr. Mehelm do bring in a Bill accordingly" [the Crosswicks bridge]; leaves of absence; Nacut Creek dam; date heading "Saturday, November 27, 1773."; Perth-Amboy roads bill passed; catchword "A Message"). "Col. Ford" appears only as a member.

PDF p. 142 = printed p. 31

House minutes, not part of the message (Council message by Mr. Stockton on Abner Hetfield's insolvency bill; Thomas Reading's petition; date heading "Monday, November 29, 1773."; Chesnutwood naturalization; tax-postponement bill; roads-and-bridges committee). "Col. Ford" appears only as a member in the division list.

PDF p. 143 = printed p. 32

[Top of page: House minutes, not part of the message - Supplementary fences bill; Nacut Creek dam bill; John Jackson Sutton petition on English's Creek bank; Joseph Rue / George Cook petitions referred to the next session at Perth-Amboy. The message then begins, still under the date heading "Monday, November 29, 1773." printed on p. 31:]

A Message from His Excellency by Mr. Deputy Secretary Pettit.

A Message to the Assembly.

Gentlemen,

AFTER so full a Communication of the Papers relative to the Robbery of the Treasury had been made to you at the Opening of the Session, I did not imagine you could possibly have been at any Loss to discover my Reasons for mentioning that Affair as being brought to Light. However, as you have thought proper to request that I would give you the " particular Reasons" on which my Sentiments are founded, I shall, as I would willingly oblige you in every Thing in my Power, take the Pains to extract from those Papers such Parts as have more immediate Relation to the Subject, and acquaint you with such Circumstances as have induced me to adopt and still retain the Opinion I expressed to you with Regard to that Matter. This I should have done sooner had I not been prevented by Indisposition.

The first Intimation of the Affair was given by David Reynolds, in his Confession on Oath before the Honourable Judge Ogden, on the 17th of August 1773, and is as follows, viz.—" Samuel Ford said he had had " good Luck and would let him [Reynolds] have a Hundred Pounds or " what Money he wanted. This Examinant asked him how he got it? " he replied, have you not heard that the Treasury was robbed? I have " got hold of one End of it; so took this Examinant along the Lane over " a Bridge and from under a Log, he pulled out a large Paper of Money " and shewed several Twelve and Fifteen Shilling Bills, and put the Mo- " ney in his Pocket," &c.——" They then went to the House, and this " Examinant asked him for the Money, but Ford said he would bring it " to this Examinant's House. And in a few Days the said Samuel Ford " came to this Examinant's House and gave this Examinant One

[catchword: Hundred]

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" Hundred and Ten Pounds or thereabouts; that Samuel Ford said it was " Treasury Money. The greatest Part of it appeared old, and only " about Fifteen Pounds of it new. That he took this Examinant's Bond " for the same."

On the 17th of September, the Morning of his Execution, he made this further Confession on Oath, before Samuel Ogden and Samuel Tuthill, Esquires, viz. " That when Samuel Ford came to the House of this " Examinant about three and a Half Years ago and brought him the Sum of £. 110, as mentioned in this Examinant's former Confession " taken the 17th Day of August last," &c. " the said Ford pretending to " be unwell went up Stairs where this Examinant hearing the said Ford " walk the Room followed him, and looking through the Key-hole saw " Ford stand near a Walnut Table cutting Bills out of a Sheet; that " thereupon this Examinant opened the Door and when he had entered " the Room he saw a Sheet consisting of three Bills of the Likeness of the " Paper Currency of New-Jersey lying on the Table (to wit) one Bill " of Thirty Shillings at the Top, one ditto of Fifteen Shillings next be- " low, and last of all one Bill of Twelve Shillings; that this Examinant " enquired of Ford where he got this new Money, to which Ford an- " swered it is Treasury Money, and I have got hold of one End of the " Treasury, and have the Number of every one of the Bills that were " taken out of the Treasury. And this Examinant further saith that " he believes the Bills so given him in Sheets were true Bills of Credit of " this Province of New-Jersey, and, from all that passed between this " Examinant and said Ford, this Examinant thinks and verily believes " that said Bills were Part of the Bills of Credit of this Province of which " the Treasury of this Province was robbed in the Year 1768. And this " Examinant further saith that one of the new Bills which this Exami- " nant received of said Ford of the Denomination of 15s. and of " the Likeness of the said Fifteen Shilling Bill so cut out of the Sheet as " above-mentioned was delivered to Thomas Anderson, Esq. of Sussex by " this Examinant, who, as this Examinant believes, carried the said Bill " to Burlington, where said Anderson informed this Examinant he had " it examined and that it was approved of and judged to be good, and that " said Anderson brought this Examinant back for said Bill two Dollars. " And this Examinant further saith that he doth not know nor believe " that Samuel Ford had Materials sufficient to counterfeit Money from the " Time of his being apprehended at New-York in 1769 until he went " to England in 1771. And this Examinant further saith that he re- " ceived said £. 110 in Gold, Half Johannes, Silver and Pennsylva- " nia Money about £. 86, in York Money about £. 6, and in Jersey new " Bills about £. 18.

Now the Circumstances which, in my Opinion, corroborate the Testimony of Reynolds in this Respect, are,

1. His first Confession is a mere Narrative of his Transactions with Ford and the rest of his Gang from the Beginning of his Connection with them, and what he has said respecting the Treasury came quite voluntarily from him without his being asked any Question concerning it, or so much as a single Word being said on that Subject, and without

[catchword: any]

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any one present having the least Expectation that he meant to say any Thing but what related to the Counterfeiting of Paper Currency, the Matter for which he was apprehended.—Of this the amplest Testimony can be given if thought necessary.

2. His second Confesson [sic, as printed] was made a little Time before he was led out to Execution, and after he had been previously prepared for, and was well assured he had nothing to expect but Death.

3. Both his Confessions appear evidently to have been made with an Intention of revealing all he knew, and thereby making all the Atonement in his Power to the Publick he had injured; for from the first of his being taken he gave up all Hopes of saving his Life, and when he was informed in Gaol that there was an Intention of attempting his Rescue, he declared he did not desire it, being conscious that he had repeatedly deserved Death for the Crimes he had committed.

4. His Confessions have accordingly been found consistent with Truth in such Particulars as we have yet been able to discover, even to several minute Circumstances.—And the Bond, dated January 16, 1770, has been produced and laid before your House for the £. 110 he had borrowed from Ford, as mentioned in his first Confession, on which are Receipts for the several Sums paid in Discharge thereof.

5. Several Weeks after his Execution it being reported that he had, during his Confinement, likewise made a Confession to the Reverend Mr. Johnes a Presbyterian Minister respecting the Robbery of the Treasury, the Honourable Judge Ogden applied to that Gentleman to know the Truth of that Report, and received from him the following Certificate, viz.

" It fell to my Province as a Clergyman to visit the unhappy Pri- " soners under Sentence of Condemnation in Morris County Gaol, and " in the Course of my Conversation was led more than once to interrogate " David Reynolds respecting the Robbery of the Treasury; he told me " at my first questioning, that he wanted some Money and applied to " Samuel Ford to recommend him to Col. Ford of whom he hoped to " obtain it, and Samuel Ford told him there was no Need of that, and " shewed him a large Quantity of Money hid under a certain Log; and " upon said Reynold's Inquiry into the Matter, says Ford, have you " not heard of the Robbery of the Treasury? Yes says Reynolds; well " says Ford, I had hold of one End of it, but did not let him have the " Money at that Time but carried it to him afterwards, if I don't mistake " to the Amount of about £. 110, and said Reynolds told me he believed, " both when he received the Money, and when he told me, that it was " Treasury Money. I told him it was a very important Affair and he " would do well to recollect every Thing he could, as it would give " Satisfaction to Government to know how and by whom it was rob- " bed, and tend to clear the Character of a certain worthy Gentleman " that lies under Imputations, by some. He told me afterwards that " he had recollected this further, that when said Ford came to his " House and brought the Money, that said Ford pretended he was un- " well and wanted a Bed, he accordingly directed him to a Chamber " where after some Time, said Reynolds went softly to the Door and, as

[catchword: I remember,]

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" I remember, looked through the Key-hole and saw Ford busy at a " Table, opened the Door suddenly, went into the Room and found " said Ford cutting New-Jersey Bills apart with his Penknife, as though " they were in Sheets; and, upon Conversation, Ford told him that he " had the Number of all the Bills in the Treasury; and further he said " not.—This at the Request of the Honourable Judge Ogden I have put " into Writing, and do believe, as far as this Evidence will go, that it " may be depended upon, as said Reynolds appeared to me a true Peni- " tent, and shall be heartily glad if this with other Evidences may " serve to give satisfactory Light in this obscure and most wicked " Affair.—Testified as a faithful Declaration from David Reynolds, by

Morris Town. } October 5, 1773. } TIM. JOHNES."

6. This Confession made in private to a Minister of the Gospel, who was assisting him in his Preparations for another World, so exactly corresponding with the one he had before made in publick, cannot but give great Weight to his Testimony; especially when we consider the Frame of Mind he was in at the Time, his having no Hopes of Life, nor any possible Temptation whatever to make such a Declaration unless it was true.—He well knew that if he was to die no Benefit could result to him from it, and if he had made it on an Expectation given him that he should be pardoned (as some, I am told, have foolishly, or rather wickedly affected to believe) he would naturally, as soon as he found himself likely to be disappointed, have made a contrary Confession, and exposed the Person who had deceived him. But when he was asked, just before he was turned off, whether he had any thing further to say, he declared that he had not, for that he had before confessed all he knew of any Consequence to the Publick, and that what he had confessed was true, or Words to that Effect.—Not to give Credit to the repeated Assertions of a Man conscious of his being just launching into Eternity, and who, as the Reverend Divine that attended him declares, was then to all Appearance a true Penitent (whatever his former Conduct might have been) would argue such a Want of Charity as is disgraceful to human Nature; more particularly in a Case like the present, where no one Thing has appeared in Evidence to the contrary. Here therefore, Gentlemen, I might safely rest the Proofs of my having had sufficient Authority for mentioning in my Speech that the Affair of the Robbery of the Treasury was brought to Light. But for your Satisfaction, and in Hopes of preventing Disputes, I shall proceed to consider some of the other Evidence which was laid before you respecting this Point.—From the last Confession of Benjamin Cooper, taken before Samuel Ogden and Samuel Tuthill, Esquires, on the 24th of September, the following is extracted—viz.

" In 1768 Samuel Ford himself removed to New-York, I believe early " in the Year, and there applied himself to procuring Materials for " counterfeiting Money, and to gain a Knowledge therein, as also any " other Business that should occur. He remained there at the Lodgings " of Mrs. Blaw some Time until he could find some convenient House

[catchword: " in]

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" in a proper Part of the Town to be rented, when at last he procured " a House in the back Part of the Town, where he generally lived when " at his Business as before, though he still lived Part of his Time at " Mrs. Blaw's, and some other Part at his House (as Batchelor's Hall) " following no Business in an honest Way as I heard of.—Sometime in " the Fall of 1768 I went to New-York; I put up at Mrs. Blaw's my " common Place of Lodging, where he, Ford, also lodged, who was " from Home, and the People of the House told me was gone to the " Jersies, from whence he lived and came. He, during my Stay there, " returned Home, where we conversed on carrying on the Business of " the Furnace, in which we were equally concerned, and such other " Matters as occurred for the Prosecution of our Business. I was much " in Want of Money and applied to him to procure some by making " Sale of some Iron Castings in Gerard Banker's Hands. After some " Time spent he at last told me, after enjoining Secrecy, of the following " Transaction, with the Circumstances which I at this Time can't recol- " lect or be exact: That he had Money enough; hinted the Robbery of " the Treasury, and at last gave me a particular Account of the Rob- " bery, of which he said he with two Soldiers, I believe they were " Sergeants, and that they had lived I imagine at the Barracks at Amboy, " where they got acquainted with the Situation of the Treasurer's " House; from Amboy they were some Time at New-York where he " made an Acquaintance with them; I forgot their Names, or if he " told me I am at a Loss, but that he with them had robbed and taken " the Money, and if any more was concerned or not I can't say, how- " ever I well remember he told me of no more. The Time he now re- " turned to New-York, as last above, he informed me he had been to " Bonham Town, and under some Pretensions of selling some Iron Cast- " ings to one Manning a Trader there, but that his Business was to bring " Home his Share of the Money from whence he had deposited it: What " Part or how they shared it I forgot; however, we now came to a Con- " clusion that he should let me have some of it after some little Time " when the chief Noise was over, which was all at this Time. He shewed " me two or three Bundles of Jersey Bills, and one of Pennsylvania, of " and from the Treasury, I still in Want of Money solicited him fre- " quently, but yet to no Purpose, or did he let me have any of it till " the Year 1771, a little before he set off for England. I should have " held him to his Promise with me but for the Reason hereafter;—First, " The Company was indebted to Hayman Levy a Sum near £. 400 Pounds " in or about this Sum; when it was contracted Ford was concerned in " the Furnace, but sold his Share to me in 1769 in the Spring; I be- " came obligated to hold him safe from the Contractions while in Part- " nership; Levy sued the Company and Ford happened particularly to " be taken and held to Bail, as his Name was made Use of in the Account " when contracted. He was now preparing to set off, but incumbered " in this Matter and dare not pay it as it would give Suspicion of his " still being at the counterfeit Business, for which he had been appre- " hended in New-York and acquitted, where I, in the Beginning of " Winter or the Last of Autumn of 1768, or the Beginning of 1769,

[catchword: " was]

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" was concerned with and had received from him some small Sum of " Counterfeit Bills of this Province of 6s. and 3s. each. Here I was obliged " to acquit him of his Promise and dare not disoblige him. He was " also bound by Fear with me; but in his soft Method recommended " that the Treasury Money should lay as he could make as good as it: " This was a Scheme to keep me at Bay. In a short Time after I re- " ceived the 6s. and 3s. Bills he was taken and committed to Gaol for " this Business, when he procured his Brother-in-Law to put this the " Money and Tools away then made and in his Possession, which was " done by Kitchel or Jo. Morriss as Ford told me. He being acquitted, " he moved to Morris County. Now I would go on to say, that being " sued by Levy I was obliged to give him [Ford] a Security that his " Estate should not become bound in his Absence so that John Willson " of Parsiponing and my Brother-in-Law Robert Gasting gave him a " Bond of Indemnity; on my doing this, and in Consequence of his " former Promise in New-York, he let me have one hundred Three Pound " Bills of New-Jersey Currency £. 300 proc. I was to return him " £. 100, the Third; this was the Treasury Money; I was to return him " Gold or Silver. If I had not given him this Security he wou'd sued " me for a large Debt due to him and sold the Share of the Works I " bought of him for a Trifle, whereby it wou'd have ruin'd me, al- " though I had paid him between three and four Hundred Pounds: And " another Inducement was my Obligation. 2d. For the Sake of getting " this Sum of Money which I ought to have had long ere then accord- " ing to Agreement. Further his selling me his Part of the Works " in a few Months after the Robbery made him easy as to immediate " Calls for Money so that he could let it lay untouched * as long as he " thought proper, therefore kept it from me. I should not have ventured " to made the Purchase before of the Works only by his promising to " supply me with this Money at the Share of one Third to him. His " being detected in New-York and not letting me have any of this " Money, was a Damage to me, that is, that I made the Purchase; it " deprived me of a Partner's Aid. Then or soon after I sold a Part of " it that made it more easy to me."

" Sam. Ford once told me he had changed some old Money with " the Treasurer in order to view the House or Situation."—" Some of " the Jersey Paper Money Sam. Ford shewed me that was of the Trea- " sury was in Sheets either in two or four Bills each."——" I well recollect " that Samuel Ford in giving me an Account of his robbing the Trea- " sury said he and the Soldiers went from New-York to or near the " Blazing-Star Ferry where they procured a small Boat and went therein " to Amboy and committed the Robbery and after went off in said Boat

[signature: K] [catchword: " to]

[Footnote, keyed to the * after "untouched" above:] * According to the Eastern Treasurer's Deposition, there was in the Iron Chest about Seven Hundred Dollars, and about Five or Six Hundred Pounds in Bills which had been current and were worn, besides about Fifty-eight Pounds in the Escritoir [first letter faint, read as E]; so that Ford could be under no immediate Necessity of venturing to pass the new Money: And 'tis probable he did not pass it 'till the Times mentioned in the several Depositions. When he let Reynolds have the £. 110 in January 1770, he only risked about £. 18 in new Bills of New-Jersey. Nor was it till the Year 1771, a little Time before he went to England, that he ventured to bring out any large Sums of it. Then it was that he let Cooper have £. 300, Budd £. 200, and Richardson a great Sum (to all Appearance upwards of £. 1000) to change into Gold, as is hereafter particularly mentioned.

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" to a Wood either on Staten-Island or on South-Amboy where they de- " posited the Money for a Time, and the next Day returned into Amboy " in order to hear the common Reports, where they stayed some few " Days."

And the following Extracts are made from Cooper's Answers to the Questions put to him by Order of the Governor and Council, viz.

" Question 4th. When has he Reason to believe that Ford first made " Paper Money, and what Sorts and Denominations were they ?

" Answer. At the Time of his going to New-York with Reynolds with " the Paper, when Ford only made Six and Three Shilling Bills; and " does not believe he made any other Bills before he went to England.

Question 5th. " Let him give as particular Account as possible of the " different Denominations of the Bills Ford made from " Time to Time, and fix the Dates as well as possible."

Answer. " Saw Ford sign Fifteen and Twelve Shilling Bills in " the Spring of the Year 1771 which he is inclined to " think were Treasury Bills, but is not certain, the Reason " he gives for this Belief is that Ford had not to his Know- " ledge any Types or other Materials for counterfeiting of " Money after his Return from New-York.

Question 13th. " In general to fix the Dates of all Transactions and in " particular every Thing he knows respecting the Robbery " of the Treasury, and those concerned in it either in " Fact or by Suspicion.

Answer. " See his Confessions.——He does not believe any other " Persons concerned with Ford than the Soldiers mention- " ed in his Confession."

Question 14th. " What Denominations of Bills Ford counterfeited before " he went for England, and what after his Return from " thence?"

Answer. " He knows Ford to have made only Six and Three Shil- " ling Bills before he went to England; and since knows " nothing of his counterfeiting Money."

Question 15th. " When and how often did he see Jersey Bills in Posses- " sion of Ford or others in Sheets or Parts of Sheets; how " ranged and the Value of the several Bills, and the " Number of them on each Sheet?"

Answer. " Some of the Money Ford shewed him, when he in-

[catchword: " formed]

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" formed him of his having robbed the Treasury, was in " Sheets, but cannot remember how they were ranged; " they were of different Denominations, viz. Three " Pound, Thirty Shilling, Fifteen Shilling and Twelve " Shilling, either two or four on a Sheet. That he re- " ceived several Sheets of Twelve and Fifteen Shilling Bills " of Samuel Ford in 1771, he believes two in a Sheet, one " of each Denomination."

" These are to certify that the above several Questions (in my Hand " writing) were put to Benjamin Cooper, the above Examinant, and " his several Answers to each Question (also in my Hand writing) " were given before me in the Presence of Samuel Tuthill and Thomas " Kenney, Esquires, taken this Twenty-fourth Day of September 1773— " And that the Substance thereof was taken the 17th Instant in the Pre- " sence of the Rev. Mess. M'Worter and Jones and Abraham Ogden, Esq. SAM. OGDEN.

I am sensible that several Objections have been made, and industriously propagated, against Cooper's Testimony respecting the Robbery of the Treasury, and shall therefore give you my Remarks on such of those Objections as are come to my Knowledge, and are thought any ways material.

In the first Place it is said, that he is so bad a Man that no Credit ought to be given to any Thing he has said or even sworn. There is no Person, I believe, who has formed a worse Idea of his Character than I have, and I should think it extremely wrong to let his Testimony have any Weight in Points where it was repugnant to any creditable Evidence. But if there be any such contradictory Evidence, with Regard to the Point before us, I have neither seen nor heard of it that I can recollect. His Confessions have in many Respects been found strictly true, and, if they had not been so, the Villany he was concerned in would not, in all Probability, have been brought to Light, nor Reynolds have been brought to Justice. This you must have seen in the recommendatory Letter from the Justices who sat on his Trial, and in a Letter from the Honourable Judge Ogden. In the latter are these Words " Cooper made the first Confession, and brought out his Accom- " plices, and That on a Promise made him by the Court of recommend- " ing him to your Excellency for a Pardon, on which Promise he relied " and made his Confession, and I have good Reason to believe that with- " out him no material Discovery would have been made." Can there then be any just Pretence for not giving as much Credit to his Testimony concerning the Robbery of the Treasury as was and is given to his Testimony respecting the Counterfeiting Money? The one has in general been found true, why may not the other? Is there any positive or probable Proof to the contrary? No, say the Objectors, there is not; but, if he knew any Thing of the Matter, how came he not to confess it at first as Reynolds did? His not doing it till he had a Rope round his Neck shews plainly enough that he did it merely to save his Life. A

[catchword: Man]

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Man with a Rope round his Neck may be made to swear to any Thing.

To the first of these Objections, I have only to say, that I have been assured by a Gentleman on whose Veracity I can depend, that Cooper declared after his last Confession that he should have mentioned before what he knew about the Robbery of the Treasury, but that so many bad Things had already appeared against him, that he was unwilling to discover that he had any Knowledge or Concern in that Matter, lest he should then stand but little Chance of obtaining a Pardon. For this Fear he had, indeed, no small Reason, as it appears by his own Confession that he had not only been privy to the Transaction soon after it happened, but that he had actually received a Share of the Money for his own Use.

But let this be as it will, I scarcely know which to admire most, the Folly or Wickedness of those who first suggested and propagated the other Idea, namely, that Cooper was either persuaded or compelled to this Confession by Promises of a Pardon, or by Threats of losing his Life.

As this vile Insinuation carries with it a Charge on some of the Officers of Government, and on none more than myself, and as it has met with many Advocates and Promoters, even among those who ought to know and act better, I cannot avoid paying more Attention to it than I should otherwise have thought it deserved.

At the Time when Cooper made his Confession respecting the Robbery of the Treasury there was no one present, nor indeed in the County of Morris, who could have the remotest Interest in persuading him to charge that Crime upon Ford; on the contrary his fixing upon a Man who had so many considerable Relations and Connexions in the County, could not but give Uneasiness to most of those around him. Nor can it be supposed but that it must have been with great Reluctance that he accused one who had for many Years been his most Bosom Friend, and from whom he had received particular Obligations. For aught he knew, and, indeed, as he had at that Time great Reason to expect, Ford might have been taken and brought in a few Days to confront him by some of the Persons then in Pursuit of Ford and his Accomplices; and if his Accusations should be proved false, what Chance could he then have of escaping from Justice himself? Could he, if the whole was a made Story, have possibly been so stupid as to have fixed it upon such a Person, when it would have equally answered his Purpose to have fixed it on some one who was either dead or removed out of the Province to some Place he knew not where? Is it reasonable to suppose he would run so unnecessary a Risk of Detection in a Falsehood, when he must know that if even he had obtained a Pardon for the Crime for which he was sentenced to Death, he would still be liable, in case of such a Detection, to suffer for Perjury?

If I remember right, I have been told that there were none present when he first promised to make a more ample Confession than he had done before, but Samuel Tuthill, Esq. Abraham Ogden, Esq. Lieut. Col. Ogden, the High Sheriff and two or three Presbyterian Ministers. He was

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was repeatedly told by some or all of these, that his former Confessions were not satisfactory, that the Governor and Council were convinced he knew more than he had yet discovered, and that unless he did make a full and ample Confession of all he knew, he must not expect to receive any Mercy. At the same Time he was cautioned not to attempt to make any further Confession unless he meant to tell the Truth in every Respect; for, that unless he did this, it would be only making bad worse, as the Governor and Council were determined that if his Story should not prove consistent, or if it should be found that he had in any ways attempted to impose upon them, that no Mercy should be shewn him on any Account; but, on the contrary, he might expect the utmost Vengeance of Government would pursue him. Col. Ogden even advised him to lay his Paper on his Coffin and write his Confession there, that he might have a proper Sense of the Importance of what he was doing. But that a Syllable was said to him to induce him to charge Ford or any one else with the Robbery of the Treasury, or intimating that he should not be pardoned but in case he confessed he knew something relative to that Matter, I am sure, from the Knowledge I have of those Gentlemen's Characters, and other Circumstances, must be an infamous Falsehood. And to give the least Countenance to such illiberal Insinuations against Gentlemen who have from the Beginning shewn such an active Zeal in detecting and apprehending those Offenders and bringing the whole of their iniquitous Practices to Light, would be an Instance of the highest and most unpardonable Ingratitude. For, if Cooper has been at all tampered with on the Occasion, it must have been by one or other of those Gentlemen, nor could they have made such a Bargain with him without having had my previous Concurrence. He was already sure, and had been from the Time of his first Confession, of those Gentlemen's Endeavours to procure his Pardon, therefore nothing but an absolute Assurance of receiving one from the Person who alone could grant it, could be any Inducement for him to confess more than he had at first done, at least to confess what he knew nothing about to answer a particular Purpose. To suppose Gentlemen of Character, possessed of common Sense, would venture to put themselves so entirely in the Power of such a Villain, as they must have done had they tampered with him on such an Occasion, a Man must himself be devoid of common Sense—To suppose they were so abandoned as to have any Concern in such a wicked Transaction, when there is not the least Circumstance in Favour, but many against such a Supposition, argues a depraved Mind capable of that or any other Villany.

But let us examine whether there are not some Particulars mentioned in his Testimony which are confirmed by the Testimony of others, and corroborated by several striking Circumstances.

1. He entirely agrees with Reynolds in fixing the Robbery on Ford.

2. What he says about two Soldiers having assisted Ford in the Enterprize, seems to quadrate with what was sworn to by Phæbe Webb a few Days after the Robbery happened. She declares, that "she heard "an uncommon barking and howling of Dogs both above and below "the Hill for a considerable Time, when she got up and went to the

[signature mark: L] [catchword: "Door]

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"Door that fronts towards the Water and Dock," &c. "that in about "two Minutes after she opened the Door she heard a great Talking of "People round the Corner next Mr. Skinner's House, and presently saw "two or three People come down the Hill the new Road, and went on "the Dock, upon which, imagining they were Soldiers, she shut the "Door to a small Crack, and saw two others as she thought join them." It is true she afterwards says, that as the Night was cloudy and dark she could not distinguish them to be Soldiers, but, it seems, she imagined them to be such for some Reason or other. Richard Sharpless likewise deposeth—"That in the Night of the Robbery, between "Twelve and One his Son waked him up, when he saw three Men at the "Well; that they went first towards Elias Marsh's Shop, then came "back again and went towards Mr. Skinner's House; and in about "three Quarters of an Hour he heard some Men return again, which "he thought were the same; that he thinks one of the Men had "a Horse;"---This Horse might have been brought, perhaps, either with a View of enabling Ford the better to make his Escape, or to carry the Money off to Bonham Town, where he afterwards said he had secreted it.

[A manuscript pen stroke (a bracket-like line) is drawn over "that in about" in the first line; the printed words remain legible.]

That Ford or Reynolds, or both, had some Connexions with Soldiers at New-York, will likewise appear by some Letters that passed between the Honourable Mr. Parker, Mr. Skinner and myself so long ago as June and July 1771, which, as they likewise shew the Reasons there were even at that Time for suspecting Ford and Reynolds to have been concerned in the Robbery of the Treasury, I shall quote at large, viz.

"To His Excellency WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq.

"Perth-Amboy, June 10th, 1771.

SIR,

"WE have for some Days past been amused with the Hopes of "detecting the Villains that robbed the Treasury, and altho' "the Prospect of making the Discovery is not quite so promising at pre- "sent, Mr. Skinner is now very closely engaged in the Pursuit, and we "flatter ourselves upon a Track that will in the End lead us to a full "Discovery of the whole Matter. A Tract of Land in Essex County "belonging to the Estate of late C. J. Morris was some Time ago sold "by the Sheriff, and last Week £. 2000, the Consideration Money, paid "to Mr. Boudinot; of this about £. 900 was in Jersey Money and "about one Third of it in Bills of 1764 and a few of 1763 mostly if "not all defaced in the Manner that has been before observed to your "Excellency and Mr. S. Smith. The People who paid the Money borrow- "ed it all of one Gomez at New-York, and upon Mr. Skinner's Application "to him he informed him that he had received it in the common Course of "his Business without ever having noticed it's being any ways defaced, "it being mixed in such a Manner through the several Bundles that "it might very well pass unobserved by any Person who was not par- "ticularly attentive, as our Jersey Money in general is now pretty

[catchword: "much]

PDF p. 154 = printed p. 43

"much worn; so that we are in but little Expectation of any further "Discovery from that Transaction.

"At a Horse-Race about ten Days ago at Newark two or three "Fellows known to be great Gamblers, &c. passed five Twelve Shil- "ling Bills, dated 1764 and a little defaced, at a Tavern, which were "noted and are now in Mr. Skinner's Possession; these People are con- "nected with one David Reynolds who was a Bully of the late John "Hackett, and, from several Circumstances, such as his having been "for a considerable Time flush of Money, and frequently passing to "and from New-York upon a Scheme of changing Money, and from "some others too tedious to make the Subject of a Letter, as well as "from the Notoriety of his being a Villain capable of any kind of "Wickedness, is suspected to be a Principal in this Affair with one "Samuel Ford whose Circumstances and Behaviour of late give the "greatest Cause to suspect that he is likewise concerned. The Steps "necessary to make a full Discovery of this Matter were taken with the "greatest Precaution by Mr. Skinner and his Friends and the proper "Persons engaged in it, but most unfortunately the Payment of the "Money above-mentioned to Mr. Boudinot became publick, which "brought out the Passing the five Bills to the Tavern-keeper and has "undoubtedly given the Alarm to the Villains we suspected, which it "is feared will prevent the Discovery in the Manner we expected. But "the Information of a Person that was engaged by Mr. Skinner to watch "Reynolds when he was last at New-York, and some Information he "has received from his Landlady relating to the general Business he is "engaged in when there, which is very often, has given us fresh Hopes "and we are still very sanguine in our Expectations that this Matter will "ere long be brought to Light; but it is so extremely difficult to ma- "nage a Thing of this Kind without it's being made publick (as differ- "ent Persons must from the Nature of the Thing, be engaged in it) "that we are not without our Fears that we may yet be disappointed.

"Having conferred with the two Mr. Skinners on this Matter we "thought it was proper to inform your Excellency of it, and yet we were "of Opinion that nothing more could be done to effect what we have "so much at Heart than the Methods we are now taking; and as Cort- "land Skinner set out upon this Matter, and is to go to the Circuits of "Bergen, Morris and Essex; and Stephen, who came from New-York "but last Evening, set off again this Morning on this Business, I was "desired by him to write to your Excellency on the Subject, which I "have done as minutely as the Matter will admit of, it being impossi- "ble to relate every little Circumstance that gives Suspicion.

"As both Ford and Reynolds have for a long Time been suspected "being concerned in counterfeiting Money, it is possible their Behavi- "our which gives the Suspicion may be on that Account; but a Disco- "very of either will be well worth the Pursuit, and I am convinced that "nothing could have so effectually prevented it hitherto as it's having "become the publick Talk of the Country this Way, which was owing "to the Want of a proper Caution in some Persons at Newark and "Elizabeth-Town."

[catchword: "I received]

PDF p. 155 = printed p. 44

"I received your Favour of the 3d Instant, the Contents of which "I shall duly regard."

"I am, Sir, Your, &c.

"JAMES PARKER."

"To His EXCELLENCY WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq.

"SIR,

"BEING anxious to make some Discovery of the Robbing my "House, I set out last Week on a Piece of Intelligence I received "from Mr. Boudinot, and have been upon the Inquiry ever since, a par- "ticular Detail of which Mr. Parker at my Request has informed "Your Excellency."

"I got Home Yesterday from New-York where I find a considerable "Sum of defaced Jersey Bills have passed; some of 30s. I have traced "but can't come at anything satisfactory."

"I wish it had been in my Power to have stopped one David Reynolds "on his Way from Morris to New-York as I have great Reason to believe "he is concerned in this Affair."

"I set out from Home the 7th Instant, and found he had gone to "New-York the Day before. I hired a Man who was recommended to "me by Mr. Isaac Ogden to go in Quest of him and to watch him, but "instead of keeping with him, he left the House where Reynolds lodged "and went to see his Brother-in-Law, and tells the Woman of the "House to take Notice what Bills she received from Reynolds; this "alarm'd her, and soon after she saw a Sergeant go up Stairs to Rey- "nolds's Room; as she never had Soldiers in her House, this made her "suspect something bad was going forward, and she went to Reynolds "and told him she did not allow Soldiers in her House, he replied it "was a Soldier who had been his Servant; and soon after another "which she took to be a Corporal went into Reynolds's Room, upon "this she went up Stairs and would not suffer the Room Door to be "shut and told Reynolds if he did not go out she would call up her "Brother, upon which he with the Sergeant and Corporal went away, "and about an Hour after, Reynolds returned, went to Bed, and early "in the Morning went away; all this Time Pierson, who I had employ- "ed, never came near the House. The Persons who keep the House "are reputable People and keep Lodgings."

"I shan't neglect doing all in my Power to find out the Perpetrators of "this atrocious Piece of Villany, and hope still to effect it, as it is but "within the six Months the Money begins to circulate.

"PERTH-AMBOY, } "June 15, 1771. } "I am, &c.

"STEPHEN SKINNER."

[catchword: "To]

PDF p. 156 = printed p. 45

"To the Honorable STEPHEN SKINNER, Esq.

"Burlington, July 6th, 1771.

"SIR,

"I RECEIVED a Letter from you and another from Mr. Parker, "acquainting me with the Prospect you had of discovering the Rob- "bery of the Treasury, which I communicated to Mr. S. Smith. We "should be glad to know if you have made any further Discoveries, "and if not, we think you had better contrive, if possible, to have "Reynolds and Ford apprehended. The latter it is very probable is con- "cerned in counterfeiting the Jersey 15s. Bills mentioned in Holt's last "Paper, as he formerly took a good deal of Pains to get out of the late "Mr. Parker the Method of printing Money.—Perhaps, if they were "once apprehended, the Sergeant and Corporal who were at Reynolds's "Lodgings, might be induced to appear against him on a Promise of a "Reward and a Pardon for any Concern they may have had in the "Affair.

"I am, &c.

"WM. FRANKLIN."

"To His EXCELLENCY WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq.

"SIR,

"YOURS of the 6th Instant I this Day received, and can only "inform Your Excellency that upon every the least Discovery I "shall acquaint you with it.

"We have laid such a Scheme to detect Reynolds and some others that "I think we must succeed, but at the present to take him or any other "of the Gang it will answer no Purpose, as they are no Doubt on their "Guard from the Noise already made on this Subject.

"I shall next Week go to New-York on this Matter, and shall endea- "vour to find out the Sergeant and Corporal, and for that Purpose have "engaged the Sutler of the Regiment, who is a very clever Fellow, "and have promised him £. 100 for the Discovery.

"I am, &c.

"PERTH-AMBOY, } "July 9th, 1771. } STEPHEN SKINNER."

3. His Account of Ford's having gone by Water to Amboy to commit the Robbery is pretty fully corroborated by Miss Parker's Testimony who declares, that upon throwing up the Sash and putting her Head out of the Window, she "heard a Noise that she took to be the laying "down of Oars in a Boat, that the Noise appeared to her to be to the "Northward of Elias Marsh's House," the very Place which Phæbe Webb mentions in her Deposition to have seen the Persons she took for Soldiers go towards. Elizabeth Inglis likewise deposed that "she heard "the Rowing of a small Boat, and observed at the same Time that the "Rowing was very smart, and as she thought, by the Noise of the

[signature mark: M] [catchword: "Oars,]

PDF p. 157 = printed p. 46

"Oars, like the Rowing of a Barge." This Woman, as well as many other Persons whose Depositions were taken at that Time, speak of the uncommon Barking of Dogs which they heard during that Night, near the Waterside, and "towards Mr. Skinner's House."

4. Cooper says that on Ford's Return to New-York in the Fall 1768, where he (Cooper) met him, he said That he had been to Bonham Town under "some Pretensions of selling some Iron Castings to one Manning "a Trader there, but that his Business was to bring Home his Share "of the Money from whence he had deposited it." This was as good a Pretence as Ford could make for going there, for by Mr. Manning's Deposition it appears he had actually received from Ford some Iron Castings the Year before.

5. He likewise says that Ford told him "he had changed some old "Money with the Treasurer in order to view the House or Situation." Now I think it is very probable that he did this at the Time when he went from Mr. Manning's on Foot to Amboy about two Months before the Robbery. It is pretty certain he had no kind of Business or Dealings with any Person whatever at Amboy that could call him there. ——The following is Mr. Manning's Deposition, viz.

"New-Jersey, City of Perth-Amboy, ss. Personally appeared before "me Samuel Sarjant, Esq. one of the Aldermen of the City of Perth- "Amboy, this thirteenth Day of November in the Year of our Lord one "Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-three, Jeremiah Manning, Mer- "chant in Woodbridge, who being duly sworn, deposeth and saith That "Samuel Ford and John Cooper came to this Deponent's House some "Time in November 1767 and agreed with and afterwards, to wit, on "or about the fifteenth Day of December following sent to this Depo- "nent one Ton of Iron Castings. That on the second of May 1768, "Samuel Ford came alone and on Foot to this Deponent's and said he "had come from Amboy and called on this Deponent for Money, that "this Deponent then paid him Forty Shillings as appears by a Me- "morandum in this Deponent's Account Book, and soon after the "said Samuel Ford returned towards Amboy. That on the Day after "the Robbery of the Treasury this Deponent was abroad and heard "of it at New-Brunswick and can't say whether Ford was at his House "or not. And this Deponent further saith that the said Samuel Ford "hath not since called on this Deponent, and further this Deponent "saith not.

"Sworn on the Day and Year first } "above written before me } "SAM. SARJANT, Ald." } JER. MANNING."

6. Cooper's Declaration that "some of the Jersey Paper Money S. Ford "shewed him, that was of the Treasury, was in Sheets either in two "or four Bills each" not only agrees with Reynolds's Deposition (the Contents of which I am told Cooper was entirely ignorant of at the Time) but is in a Manner confirmed by Haines and Budd's Depositions, who likewise mention seeing Ford with Money in Sheets. Now, as Cooper

[catchword: has]

PDF p. 158 = printed p. 47

has declared in his Answer to the 8th and 9th Queries sent him by the Governor and Council, that the Press which Ford had before he went to England, "was for one Bill only," and as the Press which he has used since his Return, and which has been seized by the Sheriff, cannot possibly, as it is described to me, print more than one Bill at a Time, I think this Circumstance gives great Weight to the Supposition that Ford had Possession of the Treasury Money. Indeed, from the general Tenor of that Part of the Eastern Treasurer's Oath which mentions the several Kinds of Money in the Iron Chest, one would be naturally led to think that all the Paper Money deposited there was cut from the Sheets into single Bills; and 'tis probable he might think so at the Time, which was in three or four Days after the Robbery, and when his Mind must of course been greatly agitated. However, I am, notwithstanding, clearly of Opinion, that in this, if he did think so, he must have been mistaken; and indeed, there are no Words in his Deposition which mention that the Bills which were cut from the Sheets were cut into single Bills; they might have been cut into two or four Bills for aught that appears to the contrary, as is and often has been the Practice of the Treasurers of this and the neighbouring Colonies. If they were cut into either two or four, or both, they will answer the Description of them given by Reynolds, Budd and Cooper. It may, perhaps, be remarked that Mr. Skinner's Clerk, William Campbell, has declared "that the Method of counting the Money was to put twenty Bills of a "Sort into a Bundle." This may possibly have been the general Method of counting the Money that was cut, but it no ways proves that all the Money that was counted was cut; on the contrary he himself says "that all the Money that was cut was bundled up; and that he believes "the said Money (i. e. the £. 11.000, which he expressly says was in "the Chest at the Time of counting was all counted but not all cut at "that Time." This evidently proves that some uncut Money was kept in the Iron Chest, and I think it not improbable likewise, that some of that which was cut might have two Bills of a Sort left together, as I have many Times seen a Sheet of printed Bills which has contained two or more Bills of the same Denomination, and so printed as to be in a Line with each other.

7. But the Robbery of the Treasury by Ford is not only sworn to positively by Reynolds and Cooper, but is strongly implied in the following Extracts from the Depositions of Dr. Budd and Samuel Haines—

Extracts from Bern Budd's Deposition taken before Samuel Ogden and Samuel Tuthill, Esquires, September 24, 1773.

"Sometime in the Year *seventy-one Sam. Ford came to my House and "gave me twelve or thirteen Pounds in twelve and fifteen Shilling Bills "New-Jersey Currency for my Services done as a Physician and for my "Expences in New-York, I, on a second Examination of the Money, "was fearful of it as it looked very new and as a twelve Shilling Bill "and a fifteen were in a Sheet, and looked as if cut from others. I see

[catchword: "Ford]

[footnote:] * In the Original this is, by Mistake, said to be in the Year sixty-one.

PDF p. 159 = printed p. 48

"Ford and asked him where he got it, he said for Iron sold in New-York. "I interrogated him; he still declared the Money good." "Some Days "after, I applied to Ford for to know if he could pay me the Remainder "of the Order; he told me he could pay me out of that new Money. "I then asked him how he got it; he then told me that it was some "Money which he found under the Stairs in his House in New-York, "that it was left by Hall who ran away, and that he did not think but "that it was Treasury Money, however he did not know. I then told "him if that was the Case I thought it best that Mr. Skinner should be "informed; he then said That would immediately hang him if I told, for "his having the Money with the Circumstances against him in New-York "would hang him, and he would turn King's Evidence and get clear if "I informed: I told him he could hang nobody but himself; he said if "he was detected and taken he would inform against a great many; "I asked him who? He said the Skinners and Ogdens, I asked if they "was guilty? He said no, they was not, but Samuel Ogden was an Ene- "my of his and the Skinners was mistrusted, and if he hanged them "and me he should get clear, and so laughed. I was surprized, and "he pretended it was a Joke and said he had the Money tried and that "it passed the Treasury, that what he had by him for to dispose of I "might have and give him one Half or two Thirds for he believed it "good Money. He then gave eight Thirty Shilling Jersey Bills, I offered "one of them to change at Gordins he said it looked new and he would "take it; if it was not good he could return it: I said I thought best "to give him other Money and so did and returned the Money again "to Ford. He laughed at me and called me a Coward and said he was "afraid of me; I told him he need not for I would not hang any Body "in order to hang myself, as he did not care what he swore. He then "told me that he was not afraid of being hanged, &c. I then interro- "gated him and he told me that David Reynolds, [and] Benj. Cooper "passed it for him. I asked if Haines, John King and Morris did not; he "told me that King had, but Morris did not for if he got drunk he "would tell," &c.

[In the right margin beside the line "I then asked him how he got it; he then told me that it was some" are two small marks resembling "+ +" (manuscript or show-through; not part of the printed text).]

Extracts from the Questions put to Doctor Bern Budd by Order of the Governor and Council, with his Answers.

Question 2d. "To explain more particularly his Reasons for supposing "the Money he received from Ford soon after Ford came "from York, and which he gave Haines to pass on Shares, "was Treasury Money.

Answer. "That the Money appeared new and good, that a twelve "and fifteen Shilling Bill were in a Sheet one above the other, "and that the Paper appeared as if other Bills had been cut "the[damaged — 1-3 letters not printed/legible]from; and [likewise] from what Ford told him."

Question 13th. "W[damaged]he[damaged — ~2-3 letters not legible]ord began to make his Thirty Shillings and "Three Pound Pennsylvania Bills?

[catchword: Answer.]

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Answer. "Since he came from England, as Ford said. He be- "lieves Ford made no Money from the Time of his being appre- "hended in New-York until after his Return from England.

Extract from the Confession of Samuel Haines.

[In the left margin beside this heading are three small marks resembling "+ + +" (manuscript; not part of the printed text).]

"I at a certain Time in Payment of a Loaf of Sugar to Col. Ford, "the Bill being new he inspected it narrowly, which was my Intention "in so doing, on giving it to him, he pronounced it good which encou- "raged me in the Scheme until I got surprised by Abraham Ogden, Esq. "by his shewing one of the same Sort, as I took it, and told me they "came out of the Treasury, begged me to take Notice from whence such "Bills came. I thought others in the publick Way would likewise be "desired the same; I went Home and burnt 6 or 8 and have meddled "no further with them. I told Ford the Affair, which likewise put "said Ford in Surprise."

Extracts from the Questions put to Samuel Haines by Order of the Governor and Council, with his Answers.

Question 1. "At what Time did Haines and King pass the Bills to "Bott and Hedden at Newark, and what their Number and "Denominations?

Answer. "In May or 1st of June 1771, they passed four or five "Bills to them of twelve and fifteen Shillings.

Question 2. "Whether they were received of Ford as good or Coun- "terfeit or as part of the Treasury Money?

Answer. "As Counterfeit.

Question 3. "What Insinuations those were which Ford gave him, "that the Counterfeit fifteen and twelve Shilling New-Jer- "sey Bills were made at Philadelphia, and who were par- "ticularly named and concerned?

Answer. "Ford first said they were Treasury Bills, as if in a Joke; "and afterwards intimated that Richardson was concerned, "and that the Bills were made at Philadelphia."

Question 12. "Whether he did procure Paper from Richardson for "Ford, and where Richardson got that Paper?

Answer. "Knows nothing of Paper for making Money. That the "Money Ford left in his Little-House for him [see the first "Confession] was in Sheets, two or four Bills in a Sheet."

Now those very Bills of twelve and fifteen Shillings mentioned to be passed by Haines and King to Bott and Hedden, and received from Ford as counterfeit Money, were delivered by Hedden and Bott to Isaac

[signature mark: N] [catchword: Ogden,]

PDF p. 161 = printed p. 50

[Running head: 50 VOTES, &c. of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of NEW-JERSEY.]

Ogden, Esq. on Suspicion of their being Treasury Money, who sent them to the Eastern Treasurer and he laid them before the Governor and Council, who adjudged them to be good Bills.—Ford, it seems from many Circumstances, was very cautious not to trust any Persons with his Secret respecting the Robbery of the Treasury, except his old Cronies, Cooper, Reynolds and Richardson, who had been concerned with him in the Counterfeiting Business from the Beginning; and therefore when he let any of the others have Treasury Money, he passed it to them as Counterfeit, of which they had no Doubt as they had an high Opinion of his Ingenuity. What too, I imagine, must have contributed to deceive them was his having (as there is Reason to believe) among the Treasury Bills some of those which had been signed by only two Signers, and his letting them see him sign those with the Name which was wanting. However, after some Time, Ford became almost as communicative to Budd as to the others, and from some Hints which he dropped, or to use Budd's own Words, "from what Ford told him," and from the Newness and Goodness of the Bills he had Reasons for supposing the Money he received from Ford soon after he came from New-York, was Treasury Money.

Thus, Gentlemen, you see both Budd's and Haines's Confessions, which are in general supposed to be given sincerely and truly, contribute to confirm the Testimony of Reynolds and Cooper as to the Point before us.

8. It does not appear that Ford ever counterfeited the Three Pound Bills of New-Jersey, yet he let Cooper have One Hundred Bills of that Denomination at one Time, an Hundred Pounds of which he was to change and return in Gold or Silver; the other two Hundred Pounds he was to keep to extricate himself out of his Difficulties, and was promised him by Ford for that Purpose soon after the Robbery of the Treasury.—I cannot here omit taking Notice of a Circumstance which greatly corroborates Cooper's Evidence with Regard to his having received those Hundred Bills of three Pounds each from Ford, and that two Hundred Pounds thereof were to be applied to his own Purposes. It arises from a Paper which has been furnished me since I delivered you my Speech at the Opening of this Session, and is an Abstract from the Hibernia Company's Books; of which Company Cooper is a Partner and was the chief Manager and Cash-keeper until the Time of his being imprisoned on the Charge of which he now stands convicted. By this Abstract it appears that Benjamin Cooper in August 1771, (which probably was immediately after he received the £. 300 from Ford) charges the said Company's Cash to himself for £. 195 : 14 : 0 : and that in the Expenditure of this Cash, a Number of People are made Debtors to Cash in sundry Sums amounting to £. 162 : 11 : 0 and it is observable that the most of these Payments are in such Sums as are exactly the Amount of one, two or more Bills of three Pounds proclamation or three Pounds ten Shillings Light Money, in which latter Currency those Books were kept: This, I think, renders it highly probable that these Payments were made in Bills of three Pounds proc. each. But, that you may have an Opportunity of judging for yourselves in this Matter, I now furnish you with that Ab-

[catchword: stract]

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[Running head: 14th G. III. WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq. GOVERNOR. 51]

stract in which the Names of the Persons to whom the greatest Part of that Money was paid are inserted, and of whom, if you think proper, you may make further Inquiry.

9. It appears by several of the Depositions already quoted, and by a Variety of other Testimony, that Ford did not counterfeit any Bills of New-Jersey but of the Denominations of Three and Six Shillings before he was taken up at New-York on Suspicion in the Beginning of the Year 1769, and of which but few had been circulated, nor did he counterfeit any Bills whatever from that Time till after his Return from England in August 1772.

10. It likewise appears that all the New-York counterfeit Money in which he had any Concern to the Time he went to England, as well that which was made by Coon, as that attempted to be made by Himself, was so bad that it would not pass, so that he must have rather lost than gained by the Business before that Period. Pennsylvania Money, and the higher Denominations of New-Jersey Bills, he did not attempt 'till after his Return from England. The following Extracts from Cooper's and Budd's Examinations will elucidate this Point—viz.

Extracts from Benjamin Cooper's Confession, written by himself and sworn to before Samuel Ogden and Samuel Tuthill, Esquires, September 24, 1773.

"Sometime in 1767, at what Time in the Year I can't remember, "Samuel Ford set off from Hibernia and went to a certain Coon, a Man "had been concerned in Money making as we were informed, who lived "on or near a Place called Stony Hill, where Ford and Coon conferred toge- "ther on the Subject of counterfeiting Money and respecting the Tools "for making; their particular Conversation I can't say only as Ford "told me on his Return, that Coon had Money of New-York Bills of "40s. some Jersey of 6s. each, and if any other I forget, and some "Copper-Plate for striking them, and that they agreed that Coon should "get the Money and Plates from whence they were deposited, and to "send them all to Ford by my Brother John Cooper," &c. "In a little "Time Samuel Ford [and others] and myself all met at Thomas Kinney's "Esq." "My Brother brought about Forty Pounds in the above Cur- "rency to us where we viewed it and all disliked it, being very bad; "whether it was then concluded on to return it, or whether Samuel "Ford or I carried it Home with us at that Time or not I am at a loss, "or who kept it in Possession, however, am inclined to think we took "it Home as it was afterwards shewed at the Furnace by Samuel Ford," &c. "but finally agreed it would not do to enter into so villainous a "Scheme and returned it to Coon except some six Shilling Bills Sam. "Ford kept."

John Cooper, Brother to Benjamin, mentions in his Deposition before the Grand-Jury that when he delivered it [Coon's Money] to them, and they had viewed it they "said it would not do, and believes there was "some Talk of throwing it in the Fire; but it was afterwards agreed "the Bills were good for nothing."

[catchword: Extract]

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[Running head: 52 VOTES, &c. of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of NEW-JERSEY.]

Extract from Bern Budd's Deposition taken the 16th of August 1773.

"That sometime after this Deponent saith he was at Paulus-Hook "Races and received from a Man three Three Pound York Bills which "this Deponent passed to Copperthwait who returned them through him- "self and Lewis, and this Deponent gave them to Samuel Ford to get "changed for him at New-York, but on Ford's Return he acknow- "ledged to this Deponent that he passed them to the Man as good Bills "himself and that he had made them, but that he would quit that Emis- "sion as he found he could not counterfeit it so well by Reason of the Paper "being so very thin."

Extract from Bern Budd's Confession, Sep. 12, 1773.

"At the same Time I delivered myself up to Justice and confessed to "what I knew concerning counterfeit Money, I reserved, by the Advice "of my Council, impeaching my Brother whom I feared was concern- "ed with the following Man, Isaac Butler, and thought by the relating "of the following Circumstance might impeach him [Thomas Budd] by "his [Butler's] Confession, neglected informing them that some Time "ago the said Isaac Butler came to my House and requested my send- "ing for Samuel Ford, which I did but he was not at Home. Butler "said I would be obliged to you if you will do an Errand for me to "Ford to which I promised, he then gave me four Three Pound Bills "New-York Money, and desired me to give them to Ford, to which I "seemed surprised and asked him if he received them of Ford, for they was "wrote Counterfeit on the Face of one of them? he said I must tell Ford "they was very bad done, that his Friends were in Danger. I remon- "strated against it, and he promised he never would do any more, and "told me to tell Sam. he would do no more; by which Errand I found "out Sam. Ford's counterfeiting Money this last Time; but he request- "ing Samuel Ford's returning me six Pounds and was to send it him "by the Post, which Errand I did, and Ford said Butler and his Friends "owed him and would not pay any back. Then by that I brought "Ford to a Confession I mentioned in my Deposition, each acknowledg- "ing to me the other concerned."

Extracts from Bern Budd's Deposition taken before Sam. Ogden and Sam. Tuthill, Esquires, Sep. 24, 1773.

"Just after my Return Home, Isaac Butler came to my House and "gave me the four New-York Bills as mentioned in the Paper gave to Mr. "Ogden, and on my returning them to Ford, interrogated him and he "acknowledged the making the New-York Money and said that "he did make it and that he found that the Thinness of the "Paper would prevent the Deceiving the Office, and said the Arms was "struck through in his and not in the New-York and he could not make "them to answer," &c. "The Day before he [Ford] was taken he came "he said to take Leave of me and wanted my Assistance in writing "an infamous Advertisement against Samuel Ogden, Esq. which I ad- "vised him against; he then wanted to get my Assistance about his

[catchword: Children's]

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[Running head: 14th G. III. WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq. GOVERNOR. 53]

"Children's Schooling, I told him if he would be honest and inform "me about the Jersey Money he had before he went to England, and all "else he knew, I would, for said I, lying, Richardson and my Brother has "told me and you have not been honest to me. He then began the "following Relation, I have counterfeited Money, I counterfeited "the N. Jersey 12s, 15s, 30s, * 60s. Bills, New-York Three Pounds "but found they would [not] do so left it off. Also I counterfeited Penn- "sylvania 30s. and 60s. Pray how do you do to counterfeit, where did "you get your Things to counterfeit with, I tho't Kitchel had destroyed "them? When I lived in New-York I learnt to carve of a Carver and I "got my Types of a Journeyman Printer in New-York who lived with "Gaine. What is his Name? He said, I believe Morris, a drunken Fel- "low. You said you lost the Types in Philadelphia? When I came from "England I lied to you, for Richardson and myself concluded to not let "any be concerned except your Brother and you, on the Conditions I "told you; I was to make the Money and give it to Richardson and he "was to let it out to others. How could you say my Brother was con- "cerned? He is with Richardson, said he; I acknowledge I have let you "have counterfeit Money mixed with other Money, and will allow you "on your Bond, and do you Justice you may depend."

11. It being notorious that Ford was in very low Circumstances on his leaving Morris to settle in New-York early in 1768; it being likewise well known to all who were acquainted with him that he followed no Business by which he could accumulate Money in a lawful way, and it being manifest from the Evidence produced that he could not gain any thing worth Notice by his counterfeiting Paper Money before his Return from England, there remains no other way to account for the very considerable Sums which we find him possessed of during that Period, but to suppose that he had a Share of the Treasury Money. As you may not, perhaps, have seen any particular Account of those Sums, I now lay before you an Estimate of the Money he expended at that Time, so far as the Honourable Judge Ogden was able to find any Traces in the Inquiry which he made for his own private Satisfaction, viz.

"An Account of several Sums of Money which Samuel Ford lent, "paid and expended after the Robbery of the Treasury on the 21st of "July 1768 and before his Return from England to New-Jersey in Au- "gust 1772. The Account is stated from several Facts proved by Wit- "nesses and other Vouchers, and from Circumstances arising on Matters "proved.

[signature mark: O] [catchword: "SEE]

[Footnote:] * This is probably either a Mistake of Budd's or a Misinformation of Ford's, for there are no Traces of any New-Jersey Bills of a higher Denomination than 30s being counterfeited, nor are there any such found in Circulation which could have been counterfeited by him.

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[Running head: 54 VOTES, &c. of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of NEW-JERSEY.]

[A two-column account: left column = marginal authority notes (in small type), right column = the items and sums (£. s. d.). Braces in the original group the items; transcribed row by row. Each line in the original begins with an opening quotation mark, kept below at the start of each item.]

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[Running head: 14th G. III. WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq. GOVERNOR. 55]

"Besides the above Account, and the Estimate of his Expences "(which latter it is obvious are far from being over-rated) may be "reasonably added a Charge for Ford's being instructed in printing and "engraving and for Types, when in England. And also his Expences "and Charge in supporting himself and Family at New-York and in "New-Jersey before he went to England. It may also be justly con- "cluded that Ford paid several other Debts within that Time undisco- "vered by the Examinations taken at Morris Court and since.

"It is observable from the several Examinations taken that Ford and "his Accomplices counterfeited and passed but small Quantities of "counterfeit Money till after Ford's Return from England in 1772 "when he had a full Supply of Types; before which the Bills were so "bad in their Appearance that they were not fit to pass.

"It may also be concluded that Ford found himself wanting in his "Knowledge, or not having proper Types and Implements for coun- "terfeiting of Money, and to supply which he and Richardson went the "Voyage to England, which can't be supposed they would have done if "they were before supplied.

"The above Account of Facts and Remarks were stated and made by "me as a circumstantial Proof to shew that Ford not only had and ex- "pended large Sums of Money after the Robbery of the Treasury and "before his Return to New-Jersey in 1772, but also that said Money "was not counterfeited by him or his Accomplices;—and was done "for my own Satisfaction as to the Robbery of the Treasury.

"DAVID OGDEN."

12. As I mentioned in one of the Letters laid before you that I suspected Richardson was assisting to Ford in the Robbery of the Treasury, or at least that he assisted him in changing and passing the Money; I think it proper to communicate to you the two following Depositions which confirm the latter Suspicion; but of which I had not heard a Syllable at the Time I wrote that Letter, viz.

"City of Burlington, ss. Personally appeared before me John Law- "rence, Esq. Mayor of said City Col. William M'Donald who being "sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth—That in "the Month of January or February preceding the Races at Paulus- "Hook (which Races were after the Robbery of the Treasury) Captain "Joseph Richardson of Philadelphia applied to this Deponent to pur- "chase a running Horse and offered this Deponent a Watch and two "half Johannes's in part pay, saying it was all the Money he had, "and wanted this Deponent to take his Obligation for the Remainder, "which this Deponent refused, having heard said Richardson's Circum- "stances were bad; then said Richardson offered this Deponent the two "half Johannes's to lend him said Horse in order to run a Race in Vir- "ginia or Maryland which this Deponent also refused for the above "Reason. That several Times afterwards and before the Races at "Paulus-Hook this Deponent saw said Richardson passing through Bed- "minster Township in his Way to Morris County as said Richardson

[catchword: "informed]

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[Running head: 56 VOTES, &c. of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of NEW-JERSEY.]

"informed him. That in the Month of September (after the Robbery "of the Treasury) this Deponent and Capt. George Coryell went to the "Races at Paulus-Hook where they met with said Joseph Richardson "That in the Evening this Deponent, said Capt. Coryell with others "went over to the City of New-York and lodged at one Christopher Ben- "son's; that soon after they had got into the House, said Richardson "and Thomas Budd came in and called for a Candle and a Room; that "this Deponent did not see any thing more of them that Evening. "Next Morning this Deponent went out upon Business and did not re- "turn till eight or nine o'Clock when he asked for said Richardson and "Budd and was told they had not been down that Morning: That he "this Deponent went up Stairs and knocked at their Room Door which "was fast, that said Richardson and Budd answered they would be "down by and by; that soon after they came down when this Depo- "nent asked them if they would go over to the Races, said Richardson "replied no, for he wanted to exchange some Paper Money for Gold "and asked this Deponent if he had any. That this Deponent went "over to the Races, and in the Afternoon saw said Richardson on the "Ground. That in the Evening this Deponent went Home. That the "Saturday after the Races this Deponent met with Capt. Coryell at "Boundbrook, who told him that the Night after this Deponent left "Paulus-Hook Richardson asked said Coryell to lodge with him at a "House near the Tavern where he kept his Horse; that soon after they "got into the Room said Coryell went to Bed; that said Richardson before "he undressed himself took out of his Pockets one Hundred or more "Half Johannes's and a very large Bundle of Paper Money tyed up in "a Handkerchief which surprised said Coryell as he knew it was but "the May before that an Execution was levied by the Sheriff of Phila- "delphia on said Richardson's Race-Horse, and would not suffer him to "take said Horse to Paulus-Hook or Long-Island, until some of said "Richardson's Friends would become bound for him, as said Coryell "informed this Deponent, and further saith not.

"Sworn this 12th of November "Anno Dom. 1773 before me "Jno. LAWRENCE, Mayor. } WM. M'DONALD."

"Province of New-Jersey, ss. Be it remembered that on this twen- "tieth Day of November 1773, Personally appeared before me David "Ogden, Esq. one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the Province "of New-Jersey, Capt. George Coryell, who being duly sworn, depos- "eth and saith, That he has seen Capt. Joseph Richardson, saw him "in Philadelphia the Year before Richardson went to England, then in "the Custody of the Sheriff as the said Richardson informed this Depo- "nent, who threatened to put him into Gaol unless he gave Security "for a Debt, and understood he was very much reduced in his Cir- "cumstances. That the next Year this Deponent saw said Richardson "at the Paulus-Hook Races, and saw him change some Paper Money for "half Joes. That this Deponent saw the said Richardson with Thomas "Budd at one Benson's at New-York. That on the last Day of the

[catchword: "Races]

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[Running head: 14th G. III. WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq. GOVERNOR. 57]

"Races, not able to get Lodging at the Tavern at Paulus-Hook, this "Deponent went to Van Vorst's near Paulus-Hook with the said Capt. "Richardson to lodge, where they lodged in the same Bed; that this "Deponent went first to Bed; that Richardson staid up and sat at the "Table counting first Half Joes, this Deponent thinks an Hundred or "more, and then took out of his Pockets several Bundles of Paper Mo- "ney and began counting them, and continued so long that this De- "ponent went to Sleep and did not know when Richardson came to Bed. "In the Morning this Deponent told the said Richardson that he had a "great Sum of Money and supposed he intended to sport largely, to "which he replied he did not, but said he had received a Sum of Mo- "ney, and there was an Advantage in changing Paper Money for Half "Joes. That his having so much Money surprised this Deponent, as "this Deponent knew and had heard so much of his Circumstances; "and soon after (this Deponent thinks the next Day) informed Col. "M'Donald of it,—and further this Deponent saith not.

"Sworn the Day and Year first "aforesaid, before me "DAVID OGDEN." } "GEO. CORYELL."

Thus, Gentlemen, I have complied with your Request, and given the particular Reasons of my Sentiments, pointed out those striking Circumstances which corroborate the Confessions, and do now assure you that I did, at the Opening of the Session, lay before you all the Examinations, Evidences, Confessions and other Papers which I had then seen or were in my Possession relating to this Discovery; nor have I received any since except the Depositions of Mr. Manning, Col. M'Donald and Capt. Coryell, and the Estimate of Ford's Expences which are inserted, and the Extract from the Hibernia Company's Books referred to, in this Message. There may be some other Circumstances which I do not now recollect, but I think I have mentioned enough to satisfy every Man of Candour—every Man capable of devesting himself of ill conceived Prejudices—and in short, every Man who will not shut his Eyes to the Light of Truth and Conviction.

I have, as it is a Matter of great publick Importance, taken much Pains in the Inquiry; and that I wish you to do the same you must have seen in one of the Letters I laid before you, written to the Honorable Judge Ogden, wherein I gave as a Reason why I did not think proper to pardon the three Convicts at that Time, that I chose the Assembly should have it in their Power to examine them if they thought proper. "It may be a Means (I added) of putting a Stop to the many ridicu- "lous Stories and dirty Insinuations that are already got about among "the People on this Occasion; for every Day's Experience evinces that "there is nothing too wicked for Malevolence to propagate, or too "absurd for Ignorance to credit." I accordingly respited them to the 15th of November, and they have been since further respited to Monday the 13th of next Month. It is necessary therefore, if you incline to examine these People yourselves, that you should inform me so, that I may either order them down or discharge them as may be thought pro-

[signature mark: P] [catchword/turnover: per.]

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[Running head: 58 VOTES, &c. of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of NEW-JERSEY.]

per. If you should incline to enter further into this Inquiry, I should be glad that you would likewise inform me whether you would rather examine them before or after they are pardoned; and I think it will enable you to form the better Judgment if you also make yourselves acquainted with the several Circumstances relative to their Confessions, Trials, &c. which Information you can obtain from the Judges and other Gentlemen who have been active in this Business.

On the Whole, Gentlemen, as there is both positive and circumstantial Evidence to prove that Ford was concerned in the Robbery of the Treasury, and as there is not the least of either to prove the contrary, I doubt not but you will do me the Justice to acknowledge that I was right in asserting that that Affair was brought to Light. But, however that may be, I am fully convinced that I shall stand justified in the Eyes of the impartial Part of Mankind, as I do in my own Conscience. How far those will be justified in either, who, after having such Evidence laid before them, may affect to be of a contrary Opinion, remains to be determined.

Nov. 29, 1772. WM. FRANKLIN.

[The year is printed "1772" — confirmed on a 4x crop of the date line. No place is printed with the signature.]

Which was read, and ordered a second Reading.

The House adjourned till Two, P. M.

The House met.

Mr. Eldridge had Leave of Absence upon extraordinary Occasions.

A Message from the Council by Mr. Ogden.

Council-Chamber, Nov. 29, 1773.

THE House having taken into Consideration the Message from the House of Assembly of the 23d Instant;

Ordered,

That Mr. Stevens, Mr. Stockton and Mr. Coxe, or any two of them, be a Committee to join the Committee of the House of Assembly to adjust and settle the Western Treasurer's Accounts, and to burn the cancelled Money in his Hands, and also to settle all the publick Lottery Accounts that may come before the House this Session;

Ordered,

That Mr. Ogden do acquaint the House of Assembly therewith, and that the said Committees are to meet for the said Purposes at the said Treasurer's House at Three o'Clock To-morrow Afternoon.

By Order of the House, CHA. PETTIT, D. Clerk.

According to Order the House resumed the Consideration of His Excellency's Message of the 17th Instant, respecting the Robbery of Jonathan Whilldin, and the House being informed that the said Whilldin was sick and could not attend, several Affidavits and other written Evidences were read, and several Persons examined; whereupon, after some Debate, on the Question,

[catchword: Resolved,]

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[Running head: 14th G. III. WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Esq. GOVERNOR. 59]

Resolved,

That the Proof of the said Robbery is not Satisfactory to this House, and therefore at present it is unnecessary to enable His Excellency to offer any Reward.

Ordered,

THat Mr. Dey and Mr. Paxson do wait on His Excellency, and in Answer to his Message of the 17th Inst. inform Him, That the House hath made a particular Inquiry into the supposed Robbery of Jonathan Whilldin, and cannot think it expedient to enable His Excellency to offer a Reward, as the House are not sufficiently satisfied that any Robbery was committed, and are of Opinion that the Matter rather merits an Inquiry in the Courts of Law.

The House, according to Order, resumed the Consideration of the Petition from Daniel Hand, Collector of the County of Cape-May;

Ordered,

That Leave be given to bring in a Bill for suspending, for a limited Time, the Penalties incurred by the Collector of Cape-May for not paying the Money assessed on the said County into the Treasury on the Day fixed by Law, and for other Purposes.

The House adjourned till Nine o'Clock To-morrow Morning.

Tuesday, November 30, 1773.

The House met.

Mr. Combs reported, That, as Mr. Eldridge is absent with Leave of the House, he delivered the Bill with him and Mr. Eldridge intrusted to Mr. Parker, one of the Gentlemen of the Council, the Council not sitting.

Mr. Dey reported, That Mr. Paxson and Himself delivered the Message of Yesterday to His Excellency.

A Petition was presented to the House from sundry Inhabitants of the Township of Chesterfield, in the County of Burlington, praying, That the further Importation of Slaves may be prohibited, and that the Owners of Slaves may, by an Alteration of the present Laws, be enabled to set them at Liberty; the Petition was read, and ordered a second Reading.

Mr. Price, according to Order, brought in a Bill, entitled, An Act to restrain the Practice of Foxhunting in the County of Gloucester; which was read, and ordered a second Reading.

His Excellency's Message of Yesterday, relative to the Robbery of the Treasury, was read the second Time.

Ordered,

That Mr. Wetherill, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Price, Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Sheppard, Mr. Hinchman and Mr. Kinsey, be appointed a Committee to inspect the Papers laid before the House by Order of His Excellency, relative to the counterfeiting of Money and the Robbery of the Eastern Treasury, and to take into Consideration His Excellency's Answer of

[catchword: the]

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[Running head: 60 VOTES, &c. of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of NEW-JERSEY.]

the 29th Instant, and that the said Committee make their Report fully thereon,

And on Motion,

Whether the said Committee do take into their Consideration the present Situation of the Eastern Treasury, the late Robbery thereof, and the Mode proper to be pursued to obtain Justice, and Report on the same; on the Question, it was carried in the Affirmative, as follows:

Ordered,

That the said Committee do take the same into their Consideration and report accordingly.

Mr. Hinchman, in Behalf of the Petitioner, and agreeably to the Leave granted, brought in a Bill, entitled, An Act to suspend the Prosecution of the County Collector of Cape-May for a limited Time, and upon certain Conditions therein expressed; which was read, and ordered a second Reading.

The House adjourned till Two, P. M.

The House met.

The several Petitions for prohibiting the Importation of Slaves, and for regulating their Manumission, were read the second Time;

Ordered,

That Mr. Fisher, Mr. Paxson and Mr. Sheppard, be a Committee to prepare and bring in two Bills, one for laying a further Duty on the Purchasers of Slaves, and the other for regulating the Manumission of Slaves.

Col. Ford, from the Committee appointed for that Purpose, brought in a Bill, entitled, An Act for rebuilding, repairing and maintaining the Drawbridge over Crosswicks Creek, in the County of Burlington, and for repairing the Causeways adjoining said Bridge; which was read, and ordered a second Reading.

The House adjourned till Nine o'Clock To-morrow Morning.

Wednesday, December 1, 1773.

The House met.

Col. Ford, in Pursuance of the Leave granted last Session, brought in a Bill, entitled, An Act appointing Commissioners for laying out, making and keeping in Repair certain Roads to and from Paulus-Hook in the County of Bergen; which was read, and ordered a second Reading.

[catchword: The]

[Note: pages 169-171 are transcribed in full because they are short and the treasury-robbery minutes are interleaved with unrelated business. "Col. Ford" on p. 171 is a member of the House voting and bringing in bills, not Samuel Ford.]