We are, sir, with the most cordial affection, esteem and respect,
Your Excellency's most obedient and very humble servants,
| Robert Achmuty, | Andrew Cazneau, | David Ingersoll, |
| Jonathan Sewall, | Daniel Leonard, | Jeremiah D. Rogers, |
| Samuel Fitch, | John Lowell, | David Gorham, |
| Samuel Quincy, | Daniel Oliver, | Samuel Sewall, |
| William Pynchon, | Sampson S. Blowers, | John Sprague, |
| James Putnam, | Shearjashub Brown, | Rufus Chandler, |
| Benjamin Gridley, | Daniel Bliss, | Thomas Danforth, |
| Abel Willard, | Samuel Porter, | Ebenezer Bradish, |
From the Essex Gazette of June 1, 1775.
Salem, May 30, 1775.
Whereas we the subscribers did some time since sign an address to Governor Hutchinson, which, though prompted to by the best intentions, has, nevertheless, given great offence to our country: We do now declare, that we were so far from designing by that action, to show our acquiescence in those acts of Parliament so universally and justly odious to all America, that on the contrary, we hoped we might in that way contribute to their repeal; though now to our sorrow we find ourselves mistaken. And we do now further, declare, that we never intended the offence which this address occasioned; that if we had foreseen such an event we should never have signed it; as it always has been and now is our wish to live in harmony with our neighbors, and our serious determination is to promote to the utmost of our power the liberty, the welfare, and happiness of our country, which is inseparably connected with our own.
| John Nutting, | N. Sparhawk, | Thomas Barnard, |
| N. Goodale, | Andrew Dalglish, | Nathaniel Dabney, |
| Ebenezer Putnam, | E. A. Holyoke, | William Pickman, |
| Francis Cabot, | William Pynchon, | C. Gayton Pickman, |
In Committee of Safety, Salem, May 30, 1775.—The declaration, of which the above is a copy, being presented and read, it was voted unanimously that the same was satisfactory; and that the said gentlemen ought to be received and treated as real friends to this country.
By order of the Committee,
Richard Derby, Jr., Chairman.