The Old Bookaroo,
I’m open to any correction but this is my take on the French passes:
The passes Ralph Paine found in the records of the Colonial Office are presumably those sent over by Bellomont to the Board of Trade as enclosures to his letter of 26th July 1699. This letter was received on 20th September 1699 and the various other enclosures (copies of letters, depositions etc relating to Kidd) were read over the following month or so and filed together.
Although Ralph Paine acknowledges that the pass of the Rupparell is a copy (it is marked as such, I believe) he believes that the pass for the QM is the original presumably based on the fact that it is not marked as a copy.
However, in the same file someone at the Board of Trade has also taken the time to summarise Bellomont's letter and includes the following:
B. Copies of 2 French Passes taken by Kidd on board ye 2 Moorish ships, now sent.
Bellomont’s letter also states:
B Mr Emot delivered me that night two French passes which Kidd took on board the two Moors ships which were taken by him in the Seas of India (or as he alleges by his men against his will) one of the passes wants a date in the original as in the copy I send your Lordships, and they go (No. 1) and (No. 2).
which suggests that he still has at least one of the originals but probably both. If not, why send one original and one copy?
As this was nearly two years before his trial Kidd did not know of any copies and believed that Bellomont had withheld the originals. When he was given permission to collate documents for his defence, the authorities in London naturally believed that the originals had come over on HMS Advice (with Kidd) in 1700 and the search centred on the dispersal of the packages, letters and parcels addressed to various parties that Bellomont had sent over in two deal boxes. They may well have been in the boxes but the two secretaries, Jodrell and Burchett, had no luck in finding them.
Kidd also demanded his letter from Bellomont dated 19th June 1699 which acknowledged Bellomont’s receipt of the passes. This letter had been closely guarded by Kidd as it was the closest thing he had to a receipt. However, Captain Wynn of the Advice had confiscated it from Kidd’s pocket and it never resurfaced- despite the Admiralty asking Wynn about both it and the passes. A copy of this letter is in the same CO file as the passes.
At his trial Kidd was eventually reduced to cross-examining one of his passengers on the QM, Edward Davis, and tried to get him to admit that he had seen the passes. Unfortunately, Davis pulled the rug out from under Kidd's feet by admitting to the court that he couldn’t read.
There are some doubts about all this though. Apparently the passes (either the originals or the copies) were placed before the House of Commons as early as December 1699 and Bellomont apparently informed Vernon of the two commissions he had secured and sent over on the Advice. I don’t have a copy of this letter but he may be referring to the originals.
It’s conceivable but unlikely in my view that the CO file contains one original pass and one copy hence the belief that both the passes found by Ralph Paine are copies (as are all the other enclosures in the file) and that the location of the originals is still unknown.
Kind Rgds
Peter K
Ps Nothing in the BL Phips journal about the Bobadilla wreck. However, its interesting that Phips arrived in London earlier in the same year as Kidd. At least one of Kidd's backers was involved in a project at the time of Phips' arrival and most of the noble backers had been involved in some way in various treasure hunting expeditions prior to 1695. They would have made ideal sponsors for Phips new treasure hunting venture and Kidd would never have been known.
I’m open to any correction but this is my take on the French passes:
The passes Ralph Paine found in the records of the Colonial Office are presumably those sent over by Bellomont to the Board of Trade as enclosures to his letter of 26th July 1699. This letter was received on 20th September 1699 and the various other enclosures (copies of letters, depositions etc relating to Kidd) were read over the following month or so and filed together.
Although Ralph Paine acknowledges that the pass of the Rupparell is a copy (it is marked as such, I believe) he believes that the pass for the QM is the original presumably based on the fact that it is not marked as a copy.
However, in the same file someone at the Board of Trade has also taken the time to summarise Bellomont's letter and includes the following:
B. Copies of 2 French Passes taken by Kidd on board ye 2 Moorish ships, now sent.
Bellomont’s letter also states:
B Mr Emot delivered me that night two French passes which Kidd took on board the two Moors ships which were taken by him in the Seas of India (or as he alleges by his men against his will) one of the passes wants a date in the original as in the copy I send your Lordships, and they go (No. 1) and (No. 2).
which suggests that he still has at least one of the originals but probably both. If not, why send one original and one copy?
As this was nearly two years before his trial Kidd did not know of any copies and believed that Bellomont had withheld the originals. When he was given permission to collate documents for his defence, the authorities in London naturally believed that the originals had come over on HMS Advice (with Kidd) in 1700 and the search centred on the dispersal of the packages, letters and parcels addressed to various parties that Bellomont had sent over in two deal boxes. They may well have been in the boxes but the two secretaries, Jodrell and Burchett, had no luck in finding them.
Kidd also demanded his letter from Bellomont dated 19th June 1699 which acknowledged Bellomont’s receipt of the passes. This letter had been closely guarded by Kidd as it was the closest thing he had to a receipt. However, Captain Wynn of the Advice had confiscated it from Kidd’s pocket and it never resurfaced- despite the Admiralty asking Wynn about both it and the passes. A copy of this letter is in the same CO file as the passes.
At his trial Kidd was eventually reduced to cross-examining one of his passengers on the QM, Edward Davis, and tried to get him to admit that he had seen the passes. Unfortunately, Davis pulled the rug out from under Kidd's feet by admitting to the court that he couldn’t read.
There are some doubts about all this though. Apparently the passes (either the originals or the copies) were placed before the House of Commons as early as December 1699 and Bellomont apparently informed Vernon of the two commissions he had secured and sent over on the Advice. I don’t have a copy of this letter but he may be referring to the originals.
It’s conceivable but unlikely in my view that the CO file contains one original pass and one copy hence the belief that both the passes found by Ralph Paine are copies (as are all the other enclosures in the file) and that the location of the originals is still unknown.
Kind Rgds
Peter K
Ps Nothing in the BL Phips journal about the Bobadilla wreck. However, its interesting that Phips arrived in London earlier in the same year as Kidd. At least one of Kidd's backers was involved in a project at the time of Phips' arrival and most of the noble backers had been involved in some way in various treasure hunting expeditions prior to 1695. They would have made ideal sponsors for Phips new treasure hunting venture and Kidd would never have been known.
