Edmond Smithwick of Tyrell County in the Province of North Carolina Gentleman aged fifty years and upwards being sworn and examined deposeth as followeth viz:

To the first Interrogatory this Deponent saith that he was Sheriff of Tyrell County part of the year One thousand Seven hundred and forty seven.

To the second Interrogatory this Deponent saith that he received a Writ for Election of Members for the said County of Tyrell and that the said Writ directed that two Members to be chosen to represent that County in the General Assembly to be held at New-Bern.

To the third Interrogatory this Deponent saith that he was in Company with Mr. John Hodgson Mr. Benjamin Hill and others Members said to be chosen for the Northern Counties saith that after the said Election he was in Company with Mr. John Hodgson and Mr. Benjamin Hill and Mr. James Craven Members and others and that some of the said Members required a sight of this Writ and found fault with this Deponent for returning only two Members pursuant to the said Writ.

To the fourth Interrogatory this Deponent saith that Mr. John Hodgson Mr. Benjamin Hill and Mr. James Craven or one of them asked this Deponent if the Gentlemen of his Country had given him security to Indemnify him for returning five Members as chosen Burgesses for the said County by virtue of the said Writ and saith that he this Deponent replied to them that he had taken no security to do an unlawful act nor would not and that they or some of them offered this Deponent security if he would return five Members chosen by virtue of the said writ as the Sheriff of Chowan or the Sheriffs of some of the low Counties had done.

To the fifth Interrogatory this Deponant saith that Mr. John Hodgson or Mr. James Craven or one of them Members for Chowan shewed this Deponant the Writ of Election for the said County of Chowan or some one of the Sheriffs of the Northern Counties and acquainted this Deponant that the Sheriff had returned five Members of Assembly as chosen Burgesses for that County and that the Gentlemen or some of them of that County had given their Sheriff security to Indemnify him for so doing.

To the sixth Interrogatory this Deponant saith that the Writ directed to him and also the Writ shewed to him this Deponant by the said Mr. Hodgson or Mr. Craven directed that the Members should be chosen for the said Counties and he never heard that any of the Writs issued at that time were for electing more than two Members for each of the several Counties of this Province to serve in the General Assembly.

To the seventh Interrogatory this Deponant saith that about the month of April one thousand seven hundred and forty eight he was at Mr. Alstons who was Sheriff at the time of that Election and having conversation about the returns of that Election he heard the said Alston say that he had security given from the persons of the County of Chowan to Indemnify him for any Damage that might happen to him on account of returning five Members and that if it was to do again he believed he should not do it. This Deponant further saith that he doth not know that the Sheriffs of Currituck Pasquotank Perquimons or Bertie had such security But that it was generally said that they had.

To the Eighth Interrogatory this Deponent saith that he never saw any of the returns of the said Writs for the said Counties save one and that Writ had a return thereon of five members as chosen to sit in General Assembly except his own Writ which had only two