on board
whereof there were in bale goods, Saltpetre, and other things to the
Value of at least 30,000 L.: That if I would give him a pardon, he
would bring in the Sloop and goods hither, and would go and fetch the
great Ship and goods afterwards. Mr. Emot delivered me that Night Two
French Passes, which Kidd took on board the Two Moors Ships which were
taken by him in the seas of India (or, as he alleges, by his Men
against his Will). One of the Passes wants a date in the original, as
in the Copy I send your Lordships; and they go No. I. and No. II.[3]

[Footnote 3: See doc. no. 87, note 2.]

On Thursday, the 15 of June, I sent Mr. Campbel, the Post-Master of
this town, Kidd's Countryman and acquaintance, along with Mr. Emot, to
invite Kidd to come into this Port. Mr. Campbel returned hither on the
19 of June, and gave in a Memorial to my selfe and the Councel,
containing what had passed between him and Kidd: The said Memorial
goes No. 3.[4] On the said 19 June, as I sate in Councel, I wrote a
Letter to Captain Kidd, and shewed it to the Councel, and they
approving of it, I dispatched Mr. Campbel again to Kidd with my said
Letter, a Copy whereof goes No. 4. Your Lordships may observe That the
promise I make Captain Kidd, in my said Letter, of a kind reception,
and promising the King's pardon for him, is conditionall; that is,
provided he were as innocent as he pretended to be. But I quickly
found sufficient Cause to suspect him very guilty, by the many lyes
and Contradictions he told me. I was so much upon my guard with Kidd
that, he arriving here on Saturday the [first] of this moneth, I would
not see him but before witnesses; nor have I ever seen him since, but
in Councel twice or thrice that we examined him; and the day he was
taken up by the Constable, it happened to be by the door of my
Lodging,[5] and he rushed in and came running to me, the Constable
after him. I had him not seized till Thursday the 6th instant, for I
had a mind to discover where he had left the great Ship, and I thought
my selfe secure enough from his running away, because I took care not
to give him the least umbrage of my Design of seizing him, Nor had I
till that day that I produced my orders from Court for apprehending of
Kidd, communicated them to anybody. And I found it necessary to shew
my orders to the Councel, to animate them to join heartily with me in
securing Kidd, and examining his Affair nicely, to discover what we
could of his