I hereby certify, that I have copied the foregoing passages from the letters purporting to be from David Ayres and G. Thomas, respectively, as above mentioned, and that said passages are correct extracts from said letters. I further certify, that, as the Attorney of said William Apes, I acted for him in the suits brought by him against said Thomas and Ayres for libel, that while said suits were pending, said Apes manifested a forgiving and forbearing disposition, and wished the suits not to be pressed any further than was necessary to show the falsehood of the statements of said Ayres and Thomas, and contradict them; and, that he expressed himself willing to settle with them upon their paying the cost, and acknowledging their error, in consequence of which, by direction from him, after he had perused said letters, I accordingly discharged both suits, the bail of said Thomas and Ayres paying the costs, which amounted to fifty dollars.
I further certify, that during my acquaintance with said Apes, which commenced as I think, in March last, I have seen nothing in his character or conduct, to justify the reports spread about him, by said Thomas and Ayres; but on the contrary, he has appeared to me to be an honest and well disposed man.
HENRY W. KINSMAN, No. 33, Court Street. Boston, November 30,
1833.
I, the subscriber, fully concur in the above statement.
JAMES D. YATES, Elder of the Methodist Protestant Church.
The original confession of Reynolds being lost, I trust that the following certificate will satisfy the reader that it has actually had existence.
To whom it may concern.
This is to certify that I have repeatedly seen, and in one instance, copied a paper of confession and retraction of Slanders, which the writer stated he had uttered, and published in papers of the day, against William Apes, the preacher to the Marshpee tribe of Indians, signed, John Reynolds, and countersigned as witness, by William Parker, Esq. The copy taken of the above mentioned confession by the subscriber, was sent to the Rev. T.R. Witsil, Albany, N.Y.
THOMAS F. NORRIS, President of the Protestant Methodist
Conference, Mass.
Attest,
JAMES D. YATES.
Boston, May 7, 1835.
Nevertheless, lest this should not be sufficient, I am prepared to defend myself by written certificates of my character and standing among the whites and natives, (the Pequod tribe,) in Groton. They are as follows:
We the undersigned, native Indians of the Pequod tribe, having employed Rev. William Apes as our Agent, to assist us, and to collect subscriptions and monies towards erecting a house to worship in, do hereby certify, that we are satisfied with his agency; and that we anticipated that he would deduct therefrom, all necessary expenses, for himself and family, during the time he was employed in the agency, as we had no means of making him any other remuneration.