The same local terrorism which had prevailed, throughout the County, under the auspices of the former Provincial Congress, was continued, with the sanction of this;' numbers of the inhabitants of the County were seized, only on information secretly conveyed by unseen accusers, and cast into prison, without a hearing ; * and some of them were severely
the period now under examination, prove, teyond a question, and apart from every other consideration, how short siglited the leaders of tlie Kebellion were, when, through the violence of their lawlessnesB, they impaired tlie productivenecis of so fruitful a source of supplies, both for the City and for their Armies.
1 See pages 320. post.
- 2 Vide pages ;V2C, 327, post.
2 William Sutton, Estj., of Mamaroneck, appeared before the Congress, personally, and informed that body that he had been obliged, for fear of injuries, to leave his home ; and requested protection to return to his house, and to occupy it. lie is understood to have been the tenant occupying what is known as De Lancey's Neck, [Journal of the Provincial CongresSf *' Die Veneris, lU ho., A.M., Deer. 15, 1776 ; " Information received, persmtalhjj from Edward F. de Lancey, Esq. ^mi€ of the present owners of De Lanceifs Neck.)
Thonuis Merritt was arrested and taken before the Committee of Safety, in the City of New York, "on information of persons from *' Westchester-county, that he had declared he had seen people casting " great quantities of Bullets, to kill the Whigs ; and that he knew "where great quantities of those Bullets were" -- a trumped-up charge, which was so entirely transparent that, after his accusers and their witnesses had been examined by the Committee of Safety, whoso fondness of i}ersecutiou was known to all, Merritt was promptly discharged.