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TKIAL OF COLONEL BURR. Federal Court — Richmond, Saturday, Sept. 26. MOTION fOU COMMITMENT. ” LVIDLNCL Ol CLn. WILKINSON, CONTINUED. Mr. ll.w said th.it lie wan witling in oidcr to save time, to wave cveiy thing which i elated to the operations of the army ; and requested that general Wilkinson would proceed to lelate what occured at Ncw-()i leans. (General V\u,kinson. I proceeded from Natchi’oches to Natchez, and, descending from that place, reached Fort- Adams on the 18th of November ; where I found Mr. Svaiiwout, who liad been taken ill i on hi, route fioni Natchitoches to New-Or lcans, and, lor his accommodation, was invited bv someone of the officers to that place. He informed tnc that Mr. Ogden had reached that place, on his way to Tentiessse ; but, being alarmed by the rumours which prevailed in that part of the country, he was afraid to proceed, and had halted there. I enquired of Mr. Swart* Wout whether Mr. Ogden had borne any let ters. He said that he had not ; but that licut. Silence of the navy had been sci.t some time befor e from New-Orleans, through the country, with letters from colonel Burr Iproicedcd on, and reached Nevv-Orlcans on the 25 h of November, in the evening ; and. on the 26th, in the morning, I icceivedthis letter from Doc tor Bollman. [Here general Wilkinson pro duced the letter. See note G ] This letter reminds me of a circumstance which I had omitted. The morning after 1 had received the letter of Doctor Bollman at Natchitoches, 1 acknowledged the receipt of it in a short note, and informed him that I should be in Nevv-Or* leans about the 29th. I did not call on Doctor Bollman ’til! the 30th. After the ordinary sa lutations, 1 enquired whether he had heard of colonel Burr, since hi, arrival He informed me that he had not. I asked him whether he had heard of lieutenant Spence’s arrival in Tennessee. He enquired how I come to know any thing of lieutenant Spence. I inform ed him that it was through \rr. Swartwout. He assured me that he had sent dispatches for col onel Burr by lieutenant Spence, andthat he had heard of his arrival at Nashville. He then en quired wliat pan F n.eant to take ? I observed, th .t I felt myself delicately situated. It was impossible that I could take any part, while I hold oy commission ; and ! was so circum stanced that I could not get rid erf it. He asked me what I thought of the competency of the force of the undertaking I observ ed that it depended upon a variety of circumstances ; such as winds, weather, composition and ap pointment of the troops, skill in conduct, the resistance of their opponents, and other causes on which the success of military operations de pend. But I gave it as my opinion- that I thought the force insufficient. He said that col onel Burr had gone too far to retract ; that he bad numerous and powerful friends in the U liited States, who stood pledged to support him with their fortunes ; arid that he must succeed lie then enquired of nie my opinion as to the stale of the magazines of provisions in New- Orleans. I observed that, if colonel Burr des cended with the force proposed, they would Starve, unless he brought provisions along with him ; for I had before ascertained preciselv the quantity then on hand. He said that it was his ; opinion, also, that there would he a scarcity of < provisions ; that he had written to colonel Burr on the subject ; and that he expected a supply from New-York and Norfolk, where col. Bun had many friends. He said that lie had noticed in the public prints the sailing of some vessels with flour ; and supposed that they might be destined for th.it place. I did not see Doctor B ‘liman afterwards, ’till the sth of December, the day after the arrival of the mail ; and I call ed on him to enquire the news. He said that he had seen a letter from colonel Burr of the 30th of October, in which he stated’that lie ■should be at Natchez, on the 20th of Decem ber, with two thousand men ; to be followed by Jour thousand more ; and that he could have raised or levied twelve thousand men, as e.isib *s sis.ifhe had thought them necessary. I then informed Doctor Bollman, that if colonel Burr came to New-Orleans, I should oppose him. Ib’ then replied, ihev must come there for pro visions and equipments. He observed, that col onel Burr hud great confidence in me ; but he did not know what had passed between us; and asked, it I could not make such a defence as would cover my reputation, and still permit bun to come. I replied in the negative ; and We then parted. Some few mornings ahtr wards, he called at my quarters—-there was a gentleman in the room ; and I took hint into the piazza. He said, that he wanted to know mv determination. 1 expre sed mv surprize ; and told him ‘hat he knew my determination. Mr. If ay. While you were thus extracting front Doctor Bollman the secrets of his party, were you taking any measures for the security or New-Orleans ? A. Yes. My orders and instructions will shew what measures I deemed it my duty to pursue. For these lam responsible to the ex ecutive of the United States. Mr. Martin. Are the cyphered letters filed ? A. Yes. Q. Are the keys furnished? A. Here it is. Mr. Butts mentioned the situation of Mr. Tazewell, who was sum noned as a witness on the part of coldhel Burr. He said that Mr. Tazewell had represented the situation of his jfarailv to be such as required his i umediate re turn home. Mr, lk>tt observ'd that, although lie had introduced the request of Mr. Tazewell to be discharged, he should be compelled to op pose it. Mr. Tazewell stated that he had been un expectedly summoned, he well knew, to an swer intei rogatories as to certain proceedings before the gt and jury; that he had just been informed of an occurrence in his domestie af fairs, which made it indispensably necessary for him to return immediately ; that then-, vvete many gentlemen, in this place and its vicinity of the grnd jury, who were as competent to give evidence on the points to which he should be called upon to depose, as he possibly could be ; arid who would be subjected to no kind of inconvenience in attending. If he were to be examined at all, he requested that it might be immediately done ; lor me situation of his fa mily was such that he should be compelled to return 1 he Chief Justice said to Mr. Tazewell, that he knew lull well that it was not in the power of the court to discharge him. Mr. Botts said it was impossible to examine Mr. Tazewell ’lid general \\ ilkinson had gone through his testimony. It was not possible to know the importance of his evidence’tili gen cral \\ likinsoii was cross-examined. Mi. Hay observed, that it was an unprece dented measure to introduce any member of the grand jury to prove what had passed in the jury room. Mr. Bons. We have not said for what pur pose we mean to introduce him. Mr. Hay. I presume that I may be permit ted to Jirinunu ioi what purpose. Mr. Baker said, that he meant to speak ge nerally or me propriety and convenience of giving testimony as to what passed in the grand I jury room. One good cllcct. at least, would result from it : that by introducing witnesses to pi ove what had passed there, it wouiti p:e vent poup.e from giving information to the grand jury, which they could not support else wht ic. Mr Boyts called for the key to the cypher ed letters ol colonel Burr. General \vii.kinson handed him a small pot ket dictionary, and a paper containing cer tain hierogty pines. Mr. Boy is. In the duplicate received by Dr Bollman, there is an erasure. N’t ill you be so good us to explain the cause of it ? General \V ilkixson That erasure was made by rnyseil, and the words afterwards in troduced L>y me. 1 have a deposition which will be more satisfactory than my own expla nation. Mr. Botts. Whose deposition l A. Mr. Duncan’s. Mr. Wirt. Lead the deposition of Mr. Duncan, lor which see note 11. Mr. Bo r us. \V hen was the erasure made ? A. Dining the sitting of the legislature in New-Orleans. Q. \\ hen were the words restored ? A. 1 cannot now state with certainty. Q Was the letter exhibited to the legisla ture ? A. It was introduced ; but I confine my self moral communications. Q. What was tiie occasion of the erasure ? A 1 o put it out ol the power of a certain fact ton i.- the legislature, to whom, at that time, i intended to submit the paper ; to con ceal it from that faction vv owcie opposed to my measures, and who, I believed, were ini- j inical to the true interests ol their country, and j were laboring to excite suspicions that i was 1 connected with colonel Bun, in order to des-j troy lie public confidence in me and ttui* to j defeat my measures. At the head ol this lac- “ lion 1 considered John ivuticins, esq. the : speaker. Having determined not to submit the letter, l restored me words. Q nul you prepare any translation to sub mit to the legislature ? A. Ao. 1 only made notes. Q. Bid you make a translation for any othet puipose ? A. Only a partial and imperfect one. Q For what purpose ? A. To understand it. Q. Was ihcie any other occasion for which a translation wasmaue l A. No. Q. Did you make any translation for the executive i A. No. Q Were those words, “ your’s post-mark ed 13th of May is received,” erased ? A. Yes Q. Where is the copy of your letter, cov ei ing a copy of that of colonel Burr, and your deposition to the President of the United States ? A It is among my papers. Mr. Hav . Bo L understand you correctly, when 1 suppose you say, that the translation intended tor the legislature of New-Orleans, was sent to the President ? A. No. Mr. Hay immediately observed, that, on re col ecting dates, he perceived that he had mis understood general Wilkinson ; that the letter was sent to the President betore the session of the legislature of ,\ ew-Orleans. Mr. Botts. Do 1 understand vou to say, that this was your translation of the letter which was intended for the legislature of Nevv-Or lcans ? A. No. It was Mr. Duncan’s. Mr. Botts. Have you ever sworn that this was a true translation ? A. No. Only substantially so. General Wilkinson. May Ibe permitted to offer a few words of explanation ? When Dr. Bollman was arrested, I will confess to you, that I was so little acquainted with judicial proceed ings, that I did not know it was necessary to do mere accompany him with a letter of ad vice. I rrr.s about to send Idm off in this trey, when Mr. Duncan suggested to n.e the pro priety of senuitig forward a deposition ;o justify his commitment. I put the letter into the hands of Mr. Duncan, with the key; and he made out the intei pi elation. W hen Mr. Dun can presented the translation to me, I stated my objections to the omissions. He urged me to sign the deposition. The time was urgent; the express waiting ; and I confess that I fear ed a rescous. r l his did not give me much time to consult my understanding. If I had it is probable that I should have resisted the signing of the deposition, with those omissions, notwithstanding my confidence in the judgment and integrity ol my counsel I was, also, at the time, oppressed by domestic afflictions ; and my mind was hurried and agitated by the pain ful and interesting scenes which surroundec) me. Mr. Botts. Were there variations between this orginal icuer in cypher, and that that was sent on to the president ? A. Yes. Mr. Botts. Were they noticed by you, or by Mr. Duncan in your presence. A. I suppose so ; because I objected general ly to the Omissions. Mr. Botts. How was the cypher formed? A. It consisted of an American edition of Lntick’s dictionary, and of hieroglyphics. Mr. Bo ris. Which was formed first i A. The dictionary. Mr. Bot ts. When was that formed ? Here general Wilkinson reierred to a letter without a signature, dated in 1800; and said, he presumed it must have been formed about that tin c. Mr. Botts. Do you know the time of the year. A. I presume it was October. Mr. Baker. ‘I o whom was that letter ad dressed ? A. To myself. Q By the same. By whom was it wuitten. A. By colonel Burr. General Wilkinson observed, that it was a private letter, to which he had referred mere ly to refresh his memory, the concluding para graph oi which is, “ when I receive your cy pher and your address, you shall hear from me.” Mr. Wickham insited upon seeing the let ter. General Wilkinson refused; but said it was at the disposal of colonel Burr, and handed it to him. M. Botts. With whom was the cypher formed ? A. Colonel Burr and myself. Mr. Botts. When were the hieroglyphics agreed upon. A. To the best of my recollection, the hie roglyphics, which refer to the alphabet, were formed about the change of the administration, after the induction of tire president. The hie roglyphics are divided into two parts ; one part relates to the alphabet and figures, and the oth er part to arbitrary, names or designations. Mr. Botts. When were the arbitrary names established. A. I think in the year 1795 or 1796, but not delivered to colonel Bun at that time. Mr. Botts. \\ ho originally devised tne cy pher. A. That you hold in your hand (the hiero glyphics) was devised partly by myself and part ly by captain Campbell Smith. Mr. Botts. Are you sure it was in 1796, in which that part vv as devised. A. I think 1 said in 1795 or 1796, but could not ascertain which. But, advening to the motives which induced me to form it, 1 think it was in 1794 Mr. Botts. Are there no circumstances which can enable you to ascertain the time ? A. I could have proved with certainty the time, if a witness w hom I had summoned had attended. Here is another cypher made by captain Smith in 1794; and the hieroglyphics representing the president and vice-president are the same with those used in the cypher with colonel Burr. Colonel Burr. What was the mode adopted by you of sending round the prisoners ? By pub lic vessels ? A. No. My plan was to engage passages on board private vessels, and to lay in a double stock of stores for their accommodation. Colonel Burr. When did your dispatches go on board the vessel ? Can you ascertain the time ? A. Not without recurring to my correspon dence. Mr. Wirt. You had been for many years in habits of intimate correspondence with co lonel Burr ? A. Yes. (to be continued.) documents REFERRED TO IN GEN. WILKINSO.n’s EVIDENCE. Ol DEPOSITION OF COE. CUSHING. On or about the Bth of October, 1806, I was sitting at the dining table in my quarters, at Natchitoches, with General Wilkinson, when a gentleman entered the room and enquired for Col. Cushing, I rose to receive him. and he presented me the letter from General Dayt n, of which the following is an exact copy, viz.— “ iii:ahet\ Town, A". J. July 27, 1806. “Dear Sir—This will be presented to you by my nephew, a son of the late General Mat thias Ogden, who commanded one of the Jersey Regiments in the revolutionary war, and whom you probably recollect.—He is on his way to Nevv-Oi leans, and is advised by me to call at your post, if it should be Fort Adams or else i where upon the Mississippi, as t am told it is. His mciits and the esteem in which he is held by me, makes me anxious to procure for him a welcome reception, even for the short stay of a few •-juit, that he may be able to make with you. “ Any instance of friendly a’tcntion or assist ance shewn to him, and his very worthy com panion, Mr. Swartwout, will be gratefully ac knowledged, and regarded as a favor conferred on” Dear Sir, Your sincere friend and very humble servant, Jonathan Dayton. Colonel Cushing, The gentleman informed me that he was the Mr. Swartwout mentioned in the letter, and I presented him to General Wilkinson, as the friend of General Dayton, and lequested him to take a seat with us at table, which he did. Mr. Swartwout then observed, tha’ Mr. Ogden and himself, being cn their way to New-Orie ans, hhd learned at Fort Adams, that our troops and some militia were assembling at Natchito ches, from whence they were to march against the Spanish army, then in our neighborhood, and that the object of his visit was, to act with us as a volunteer. He remained with us some time, and conversed on various topics; but said nothing which could excite a suspicion against him ; and he left us with a strong im pression on my mir.d, that his business toNew- Orleans was of a commercial nature, and could be conducted by Mr Ogden during his absence. While he was in my quarters, 1 was called out on business, and was absent from five to ten minutes. The next morning I was walking on the gallery in front of my quarters, w hen general Wilkinson came up, and taking me aside, in formed me that he had something of a very serious nature to communicate to me. So much so, that although it was necessary to hold it in strict reserve for the present, he begged me to bear it in mind, that 1 might be able to make a fair statement of it at any future pe riod. He then asked me if I knew, or had heard of, an enterprize being on foot in our western states. I replied .that I had heard no thing on the subject, and asked him what the enterprize was to which he alluded. He then said, “ yes, my friend,” a great number of indi viduals, possessing wealth, populatity and ta lents, are at this moment associated for purpo ses inimical to the government of the United States. Colonel Burr is at theii head; and the young gentleman who delivered you the letter last evening, is one of his emissaries. The story of serving as a volunteer, is only a masque. He has brought me a letter from colonel Burr, which, being in cypher, I have not yet been able fully to make out, but I have discovered that his object is treasonable, and that it is my duty to oppose him by every means in my power, lie assures me that he has funds—says the navy at e with him—oifets to make me second in command, ana to give the officers of the army any thing I may ask for them : and he requests me to send a confiden tial friend to confer with hirr. at Nashville in Tennessee. In fact, he seems to calculate on me and the army as ready to join him. I then asked the general whether he had received any information or instruction on this subject fioni government; to which he replied, that he had not, and that he must therefore adopt such measures asin his judgment were best calcu lated to defend the country. He said he would immediately march to the Sabine and endeav or to make such terms with the Spanish com mander, as would justify him in removing the greater part of his force to the Mississippi; and that the moment this should be effected, he would send me to New-Orleans in a light barge, with orders to secure the French train of artil lery at that post arid to put the place in ihe best possible situation for defence ; and that ae would follow wiih every man that could be spared from Natchitoches w ith ail possible ex pedition. He told me, that he would give the information he had received to the President of the United States, and solicit particular in structions for his government; but, as delay might prove ruinous, he would pursue the course before suggested, as the only means in his power to save the country, until the plea sure of the President conld be known. On our march to the Sabine, the general told me that he thought his presence at New-Orler.ns, at as early a period as possible, was absolutely necessary ; and that the moment he could make terms with the Spanish commander, he would set out for that place and leave!me to bring on the troops. Natchitoches, 15th November, 1806. T. H. Cushing, Col. 2 .1 Reg. Inf. and Adj. and Inf sector of ihe Army. Sworn to before me at the city of New-Or leans, this 20th day of May, 1807. George Pollock. Justice cf the Parish of Orleans. Philadelphia, 2Sth July, 1806. Dear Sir—Mr. Swartwout the brother of j Col. S. of New-York, being on his way down ’ the Mississippi, and presuming that he may pass you at some post on the river, lias request ed of me a letter of introduction, which I gave ; with pleasure, as he is a most amiable young j man, and highly respectable from his charac ! ter and connections. I pray you to afford him any friendly offers which his situation may re j quire, and beg you to pardon the trouble which this may give you. With entire respect, your friend and obedi ent servant, A. Burr. | His excellency gen. Hilkin’cn. Air Swartwout.