"Is it Mr. Sayre's defire that you should attend in his be" half?"

Mr. Reynolds replied in the affirmative. Sir John Fielding defired that it might be afked of Mr. Sayre "whether he had fent for Mr. Reynolds?" Mr. Sayre replied, "he had fent for him without mentioning the place where he was to attend."

It being now agreed, that Mr. Reynolds might attend the private examination of his friend, the first advice Mr. Reynolds gave to Mr. Sayre was this, "That he fhould not answer any interrogatories which Lord Rochford or Sir John Fielding might propound; and that he should not fign any paper."

The information which contained the charge, was a fecond time read at the request of Mr. Sayre, who fmiling at the recital, Mr. Reynolds faid, "that the whole was too ridiculous to be feriously at

tended to." An altercation now enfuing between Mr. Reynolds and Adjutant Richardfon, Lord Rochford and Sir John Fielding were requested by the latter to filence Mr. Reynolds; Mr. Reynolds faved them that trouble by obferving,

that he should always pay a proper deference to authority; but whatever he had there faid of the informer, he would repeat in any other place whatever."

Mr. Reynolds then told Lord Rochford, "that if, after confulting the great law officers of ftate (which his lordship would do of courfe), as the information did not amount to a direct charge against Mr. Sayre, his lordship fhould think himself warranted to receiye VOL. XVIII. 1775.

bail, ample and fufficient bail fhould be given; but, if it was thought warrantable to commit, he fcorned to afk a favour for his client,"

Mr. Sayre was ordered into an adjacent apartment, and he was foon afterwards committed a clofe prifoner to the Tower.

The following is a true copy of the warrant of commitment:

"William-Henry, Earl of Rochford, one of the Lords of his Majefty's Moft Honourable Privy-council, and Principal Secretary of State:

Thefe are, in his Majefty's name, to authorize and require you to receive into your cuftody the body of Stephen Sayre, Efq; herewith fent you, being charged upon oath before me, one of his Majefty's principal fecretaries of state, with treafonable practices, and to keep him in clofe cuftody, until he fhall be delivered by due course of law; and for fo doing this fhall be your warrant.

"Given at St. James's, on the 23d of October, 1775, in the fifteenth year of his Majefty's reign.

ROCHFORD."

Mr. Sayre to Lord Rochford.

"My Lord,

"I find, upon reading the warrant of commitment, that the commanding officer here cannot permit my friends to vifit me, unless by exprefs orders from your Lordship. If it is in your lordship's power, I have no doubt but you will readily grant me that indulgence."

I am, &c.

Tower, three o'clock, Oct. 23.

In confequence of this letter, Mrs. Sayre was permitted to vifit

him.

The day following the LordMayor waited on the Lieutenant of the Tower, and intreated the fayour to be admitted to fee Mr. Sayre, but was told, that his request could not be complied with; for that the fecretaries of ftate had given orders that no one should fee him; nor was he to be allowed pen, ink, or paper: therefore all the fatiffaction his lordship could have, was to fee Mr. Sayre at the window, when they bowed to each other, Several other gentlemen were also refufed admittance.

Nor were any fealed letters permitted to be fent from or delivered to Mr. Sayre.

Mr. Serjeant Glynn, Mr. Dunning, Mr. Serjeant Adair, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Dayrell, Mr. Alleyne, and Mr. Arthur Lee, were retained as counsel for Mr. Sayre, in cafe he fhould be brought to trial.

On the 28th of the fame month, by virtue of a habeas corpus granted by Lord Mansfield, Mr. Sayre was conveyed, by the proper offi.

cers, from the Tower to his Lordfhip's house in Bloomsbury-fquare. Meffrs. Adair, Dayrell, Lucas, and Alleyne, attended on the part of Mr. Sayre, and Mr. White, partner with the Solicitor of the Trea

fury, on the part of the crown. After the two first mentioned gentlemen had fpoken for fome little time on the fubject of Mr. Sayre's being committed to clofe confinement, by virtue of the warrant of commitment, which only conveyed a general charge, and Mr. White had declared that he had no inftructions to oppofe the bail, his Lordship called for the warrant of commitment, and immediately on perufing it, pronounced, that he had not the leaft doubt of Mr. Sayre's being entitled to bail; as he obferved, that that gentleman was only charged with treasonable practices, and that he, Lord Manffield, fhould not have refused the bail, if Mr. Sayre had come without any counsel. Bail was accordingly directly offered and accepted; viz. Mr. Sayre himself in 500l. and John Reynolds and Coote Purdon, Efqrs; in 2501. each.

After the bufinefs was over, Mr. Sayre thanked his Lordship for the great politenefs and candour he had fhewn on the occa fion; and hoped his Lord fhip would always act in the like impartial manner according to the conftitution. "I hope fo too, replied his Lord fhip; let us both act according to the conftitution, and we shall avoid all difficulties and dangers."

The Lord-Mayor and feveral other friends of Mr. Sayre attended upon this occafion.

On

On Wednesday evening, the 13th of December, Mr. Sayre appeared at the Old-Bailey: and his counfel, Mr. Arthur Lee, moved the court to discharge the recognizance entered into before Lord Mansfield, on the 28th of October laft, on his being brought before his Lordship on a writ of habeas corpus, on the commitment by Lord Rochford to the Tower for "treasonable practices;" when Mr. Baron Burland, who, with the Lord-Mayor, prefided at the court,

accordingly difcharged the recog nizance.

Mr. Sayre, it is faid, has fince given directions to his folicitor, to commence actions against Lord Rochford, his under fecretaries of ftate, and the king's meffengers employed on this occafion.

Francis Richardfon, gent. was admitted into the guards on the 19th of September, vice Charles Frederick, by purchase. He is an American by birth.

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