Theal and his son John Lobdin, and " Stephen Delance " [De Lancey f] " some of them "laid under £500. bonds and also the solemnity of an " oath -- but they regard not any thing the Commit- ■' tee does with them, so long as they have their lib- " erty. It is supposed numbers are concealed on " Long island. Please to take it into your wise con- " sideration, whether or no it will not be best to send " and purge Long island ; and as I wrote to you a " little back by Mr. Chapman, one of the members of " Salem Committee, to know what we should do with " those that forfeit their bonds, and how we should " get pay for the last, as there is since many more, we " should be glad of an answer.

" By order of the Committee,

" Ezekiel Hawley, Chairman.

" Salem, June 22d, 1776. ' To the Honourable the Provincial Congress " of New-York." *

Two days after that letter was written, [June 24, 1776,] the Sub-committees of Cortlandt and Salem united in the following letter, also addressed to the Provincial Congress ; and in order to expedite the consideration of the subject to which it was devoted, by that body, Ezekiel Hawley was formally directed to forward it, '• with all convenient speed."

"Salem, 24th of June, 1776.

" Gentlemen :

" Whereas sundry persons of note have lately ab- " sconded from our part of the country, and we have "reason to think, from several circumstances, are " (with numbers of others) assembling together on