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A certain Abiel Wood, of Pownalborough, having laid a plan, with the assistance of Thomas Rice, and the rest of the Committee of Correspondence of that Town, to supply the inhabitants of Nova-Scotia with provisions, contrary to, and in direct violation of the Resolves of the Continental Congress, I think it my duty to expose them, and every person who shall endeavour to break through the grand rules by which alone we must expect to effect a defeat of our unnatural enemies.
Wood, after he had been to Nova-Scotia with a large quantity of goods, which he imported in opposition to the Continental Association; after he had committed the numerous outrageous crimes mentioned in a publication of the Committee of Inspection of Pownalborough, in Mr˙ Edes' s paper of the 11th ultimo; after, by his finesse and low cunning, he had raised many and great disturbances in this place, by forging and spreading lies in favour of the British Ministry, and against America; after, when by his friends he was advised to desist from such male-practices, seeing he could not effect his purpose of torifying the whole Town, and that his efforts would only tend to disturb the peace and virtue of the people, (for he had many, if not a majority of them dependant upon him,) replied, if the Town was ruled by his opinion, that a pepper-corn would turn a scale, and that he was determined to persist in what he had undertaken, and the worst the Committee could do, was to publish him in the papers, which he cared not for. After all these things, the said Committee of Correspondence, of which Mr˙ Rice is the principal, met at Wood' s house, notwithstanding they were knowing to the truth of the above; and furthermore, that he had the very goods he imported, as mentioned, then on sale in Nova-Scotia; and having eat dinner with him, and drank up all his ale, they composed the piece which appeared in Messrs˙ Hall' s paper, purporting that he had not violated the Association
in any respect, &c˙, and that for the rash words he had spoken he had made an acknowledgment, which acknowledgment has never appeared other than the dinner and ale; and consented that he might go to Nova-Scotia with a large quantity of salt, for the support of the British fisheries, in opposition to the Continental Resolves to the contrary, which he religiously executed with his sloop; and on his return he cleared out for New-York, but he touched in here.
The Committee of Inspection, alarmed at so violent an
Address of Timothy Parsons to the Publick
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act of opposition as the supplying our enemies with provisions, or even the violation of the Congress' Resolves, which is the grand criterion of every friend to his Country in his Committee conduct, met and voted that it was not safe he should proceed until he had liberty from the General Court of this Province. An evidence respecting Wood' s design, follows, viz: