apprehend any such persones coming from your government in this province without your pass -- I perceive that your papists are very insolent & couragious, so it was with ours, & that at a distance I have of late catched a messinger bound from hence to Boston & opened his letters, by which I have discovered severall hellish designes, upon which discofery I catched Coll: Bayard & the attorney william Nicholls -- Coll: Dongan, Major Brockhouse Stephannus Van Cortland Major willet, daniell whitehead, doctor Reid, Mathew plowman the late Collector, have absconded themselves out of this government to pensilvania or Maryland wee humbly desire your honor to take all convenient care to apprehend all such persons coming from hence to your government without passes that they may be prevented to bring to pass their wicked designe hereinclosed is a coppy of a letter received from Barbadoes wherein you will see how I have apprehended suspected and sent 2 Irish rebellious traiters in a pensilvania Bark but were conveyed ashore to goe to Maryland, the s^ letter will informe you the state of those Islands, for newes of England wee have non but old, I received a gracious letter from his ma% directed to the Liev* Governor ffrancis Nicholls &, in his absence to sucb as for the tyme being take care to preserve the peace & administer the lawes in the province of Newyork having Commission from the Committies of the s^ province so to doe, I received the s** gracious letter In which I was ordered to take upon me the government and to take to my assistance soe many of the prin^^ Inhabitants freeholders as I thought lilt & to doe all things which to the place of his ma^ies Lievt. Governor & commander in Chiefe doth or may appertaine for his MaHes service & to the wellfare of the Inhabitants -- according to the law & custome of the s'^ province, & I received an other letter from the honbrable privy councell with order to proclaime the prince & princess of orange to be King & Queen of England Scotland ffrance & Ireland defenders of the faith & Supream Lord & Lady of the province of newyork and all other territories and dominions to the Crown of England belonging, with all was solemnly affected the 10 december last & ever since have been busie to settle the province, but by severall ill affected people have been obstructed so much as in