person heere to enforme against the[m] and they making it appeare by a
dutch certificate under the seale of Amsterdam and by other dutch
writings w'ch are extant with us found in the seisd ship, that shee
was a dutch ship of Amsterdam sett out by diverse Marchants of that
citty, the councell released the said Capt and the rest w'ch had beene
inprisoned, And sent to the rest of the ships company that they might
freely come into our harbor, where they should have trafficke and
protection from all Injuries and liberty of trade with any of our
inhabitants as any other ships whatsoever, the ship afterwards came
into Salem harbor,[4] And the Governor gave order to have the whole
Cargo of goods to be brought ashore, that theire might bee a true
Invoyce taken thereof, that the state of England[5] might have the
tenth. And the rather because it was reported to be a vessell of great
treasury And the account thereof might be expected from the goverment,
being brought in to this Jurisdiction, And to the end there might be
the better satisfaction given to such as might inquier after it. In
Wittnesse of the premisses I have hereunto sett my hand and caused the
seale of the Colony to be afixed.

[Footnote 2: Nantasket.]

[Footnote 3: England and the Dutch were now at war (1653-1654), and
the ship if Dutch might be good prize, but there was no war with
Spain.]

[Footnote 4: There are several entries regarding it in the _Records of
the Essex Quarterly Courts_, I., but under the name of the _Happy
Entrance_.]

[Footnote 5: The Commonwealth government.]

This is A true Coppie Compared with the originall

per EDWARD RAWSON, Secret'y.

[The words "Jno. Endecott Gov'n'r and the seale of the Colony" appear
in the margin.]

_9. Deposition of Matthew Hill. October (?), 1653._[1]

[Footnote 1: Mass. Archives, vol. 60, p. 172a.]

Mathew Hill aged 30 yeares and upwards deposeth and sayth

That upon the seaventh day of May 1653 last past aboute two of the
clock in the afternoone of the same day The Prize-men and company that
take the Spanish Ship out of Carlile Roade in Barbados,[2] there being
at that tyme when shee was taken eight men of the shipps owne company
on board when they tooke her (as the Gunner thereof informed this
depon't) and that two of them leaped over board, w'ch were taken up by
other shipps, and that they tooke thother six men with them, and were
expected to have beene sent on shore back againe, but they cume not