The enclosed papers, from No. 1 to 16 inclusive, are the depositions taken by the committee of investigation on the 7th. Colonel Ayre arrived from Plymouth and took command of this depot. Shortland sent in a message to the committee, requesting their attendance at his office, to which was returned for answer, that considering him a murderer, they were determined to have no communication with him—but added, if the commanding officer from Plymouth had any thing to communicate, they would wait on him; and, at his request, they went up to the gate, where they stated to him all the particulars of the affair.
He expressed great regret for what had occurred, and assured the prisoners that no further violence should be used upon them. In the mean time Shortland made his appearance. Instantly the indignant cry of murderer, scoundrel, villain, burst from the lips of hundreds. The guilty wretch stood appalled, not daring to offer a syllable in vindication of his conduct; but with a pallid visage and trembling step, returned to his guard-house, from whence he was never seen to emerge while we remained there. In the course of the day, a rear-admiral and post captain arrived from Plymouth, sent by Sir J. T. Duckworth, commander in chief on that station, to enquire into the transaction; to whom we likewise fully stated, by the committee, all the particulars, together with Shortland's previous infamous conduct. Their scandalous misrepresentation of the same to the admiralty board, as will be seen in their statement No. 20, is truly characteristic of the British official accounts. We likewise wrote to Mr. Beasly on that day, giving him a short history of the affair, but as he did not acknowledge the receipt of the letter, we concluded it had been intercepted. On the 14th we received a letter from him dated the 12th, of which No. 18 is a copy—in answer to which No. 19 is a copy. On the 16th we received another from him, of which No. 20 is a copy; in the interim he had seen a copy of our report, sent by a private conveyance, which seemed to have greatly altered his opinion concerning the affair. In his letter of the 14th was an extract from the statement or report sent him by the admiralty board. On receiving which we wrote to admiral Duckworth, of which No. 21 is a copy.
On the 22d of April, Mr. King, appointed by the American agents at London, and a Mr. Larpent on the part of the government, with a magistrate of the county of Devon, arrived at the depot to investigate the affair; they were employed the greater part of three days in taking the deposition, respecting the same; and though we would not hastily prejudge Mr. King's report, we deem it necessary to state, that our anticipations of it are not of the most favourable nature, from his not appearing to take that interest in the affair which the injuries his countrymen had received demanded, as far the greater part of their time was employed in taking the depositions of Shortland's witnesses, most of whom were the principal actors, on that day, and of course were implicated with him in his guilt. On learning Mr. King was about leaving the depot, we addressed a note to him, stating, that we had a number of witnesses waiting, whose depositions we conceived would be of importance, and requested him to have them taken; we received to this note no answer, and he immediately left the depot. The particular points on which those depositions would have born, related to the picking the hole in the wall and breaking the locks of the gate leading into the market-square—they would have exonerated the prisoners generally from having any share in those acts, or even a knowledge of their having been committed. As these were the two principal points on which Shortland rested his plea of justification, we deemed it highly necessary that they should have been placed in a proper point of view. As for an idea of the prisoners attempting to break out, a moment's reflection would convince any impartial man of its improbability. Every prisoner that had a sufficiency of money to defray his expenses, could obtain his release and a passport, by applying to Mr. Beasly, or through their correspondence in England; those who had not funds would not have left the depot had the gates been thrown open, having no means of subsistence in a foreign country, and there being a very hot press of seamen at that time, they knew their risk of being kidnapped was great, and when, by staying a few days longer, they were assured they would be embarked for their native country. The infamous falsehoods circulated in the English prints, of the prisoners having armed themselves with knives, clubs, stones, &c. seized a part of the guard and disarmed them, and other similar reports, are unworthy of notice; for when the disturbance occurred on the fourth of April, concerning bread, the prisoners having burst open the inner gates, had they the least disposition, they might have immolated the whole garrison, as they were completely surprised and panic struck.
The artful policy of the British officers in coupling the transactions of the 6th of April with that of burning Mr. Beasly's effigy, may easily be seen through; the latter was done a fortnight previous, by a few individuals, without its being generally known, or the least disturbance concerning it; and we deem it but justice to state, that whatever negligence Mr. Beasly may have been guilty of, respecting the affairs of the prisoners, he should be totally exonerated from all blame respecting the massacre.
There was an instance that occurred on the evening of the 6th, which reflects so much credit on the Americans, it should not be passed over in silence. When the brutal soldiery were following the prisoners in the yards, stabbing and firing among them, a lamp lighter, who had come in a few moments previous, ran into No. 3 prison, to escape being murdered by his own countrymen; on being recognized, a rope was fixed for hanging him immediately. In this moment of irritation, when their slaughtered and bleeding countrymen lay groaning around them in the agonies of dissolution, such an act of vengeance, at that time would not have been singular—but on its being represented to them, by some influential characters, that such a deed would stain the American name, to their honour be it recorded, that humanity triumphed over vengeance, the trembling wretch was released, and told to go—"We disdain to copy after your countrymen, and murder you at this advantage, we will seek a more noble revenge."
We deem it necessary here to remark, as some editors have manifested a disposition to vindicate Shortland's conduct, that, allowing every circumstance to be placed in the most unfavourable point of view for the prisoners, suppose, for a moment, it was their intention to break out, and a number had collected in the market square for that purpose, when, being charged upon by the military, they retreated out of the square into their respective prison-yards, and shut the gates after them without making any resistance whatever; under such circumstances no further opposition could have been expected, and, consequently, their intention must have been completely defeated. What justification can there then be made to appear for the subsequent brutal, unprecedented butchery and mutilation? None! The most shameless and barefaced advocates and apologizers for British injustice cannot produce any.
| WALTER COLTON, | Members of the Committee. | |
| THOS. B. MOTT, | ||
| WM. HOBART, |
DEPOSITION No. I.
I, Addison Holmes, being solemnly sworn on the holy evangelists of Almighty God, depose and say—