This Deponent being Master of the Admiral in the said Service, & Saith that the Said Captain Leisler to the best of this deponents observations did upon that & other Occasions, act the most that he could for the Interest of their Majesties King William & Queen Mary & the Security of the Country & also Saith. whilst this deponent continued in New York there was a general Assembly held of the representatives of the Province who made several Publick Acts & did grant a tax to their Majesties of three pence in the pound of all Estates, both real & personal, & the said assembly did likewise own the government & authority of the Said Captain Leisler till further orders from the King, & Saith that being a want of Stores &, necessaries provisions for the Soldiers, who were sent against

LIEUT. GOV. LEISLER. 4G3

the French & the Said Captain Leisler net having money of the Kings To Supply the same as this deponent beleives he was necessitated to press & take divers Quantities of several Sorts of Goods from many of the inhabitants & in particular between fifteen & Twenty pounds worth of linen & wollon from this deponent for the use aforesaid for which this deponent has a receipt given him on the Kings Account by M*" Peter De la Nov their Majistics collector who also told this deponent there was credit given for the Value of Such goods in the Kings Book & that the same should be repaid when the Kings revenue came in, & this deponent doth in his conscience believe that the goods so taken were really employed in their Majesties Service. & not converted to the private Benefit of the said Captain Leisler & also saith that he did knew Ma the w Pluman formerly collector at New York who was turned out for being professed Papists during whose Collectorship the said Captain Leisler had a Ship with some Vines arrived at New York who did Acquaint this deponent, that he had made an Entry of Said Vines in the Custom House & that some days after the said Entry was returned back to him by the said Pluman & Saith that he was informed that there were not above an hundred Pipes of wine in the said Vessel the Custom whereof came to forty Shillings per pipe but whether there were so many pipes of Wine, or how many of them were Captain Leisler' s this deponent Knoweth not & further saith that about the Month of September Nno 1690 Captain William Mason & Captain Francis Goderis by virtue of a Commission from Captain Leisler, did take & Seize from the Subjects of the french King Six Ships which they brought into the fort of New York were they were condemned upon full Evidence as lawfull prizes in a Court of Admiralty.