THE unwearied Aims of the French, for a great many years, to swallow up the States of Holland, are sufficiently known to all the World; and by their Intrigues with the late unhappy Pensioner de Wit, they were once within an Ace of overturning this Commonwealth for good and all. That the French continue in their former Methods of Bribing with their Money such Villains as are destitute of all Love to their Country, and who are willing to Sacrifice every thing to their accursed greediness of Money, we have a fresh Example in the Treason and Trial of these two Mis­creants Jacob Martinet Sheriff or Scapen of the Town of Sluys, and Cornelius Reolands Master of the Ship called the Argle of Amsterdam, which was as follows.

On the Third day of April last, there was intercepted a Packet of Letters sewed within the Wastcoat of a Seaman, going from Sluys to Ostend by Land: which being opened by one of the Magistrates of Ostend, before whom the Fel­low was brought, they were found to contain a danger­ous Conspiracy to Betray to the French the strong Town of Sluys, and thereby a chief Key of Holland. Upon which the Seaman being examin'd, Declared that he came from Sluys the day before, and was designed to find some way to get thence to Dunkirk, and that he had received the Letters found a­bout [Page 2] him from Cornelius Reolands his Master at Sluys, and was to deliver them to one Monsieur Rayon a Colonel of a Regiment of French, lying in the Town of Dunkirk. He fur­ther confessed, That he had been three weeks before with Letters from his Master to the same Colonel, and that he had returned with Letters from the said Colonel, directed to his Master.

The Fellow, after this Confession, was kept close Prison­er, and an Express immediately dispatch'd to acquaint the States with it, who thereupon ordered the Magistrates of Sluys to secure the said Cornelius Reolands in close Prison, and to Examine him secretly about this Treason. Reolands being taken, denied all at first, but the Letter he had writ­ten to Monsieur Rayon being produced against him, which had been taken at Ostend about his Servant, he not only confest it was his, but also that Jacob Martinet the Sheriff of the Town was concern'd in the Affair more than he, and that the Letter written in Cyphers, found about his man, was written by Martinets own hand.

Upon this Martinet being secured, there was one Let­ter immediately directed to the Marquess of Castanage Ge­neral Governour of the Netherlands from the Assembly of the States of Holland, to desire his Excellency would be pleased to send the Seamen taken in Ostend with the fore­said Letters, immediately under a Guard to the Town of Sluyce, which his Excellency was pleased to do.

All things being ready for the Trial of these two Trai­tors, Count Horne Governour of Sluys was ordered to re­pair to the Town to be present at, and to hasten the Trial. Upon the first day of this Instant May the Prison­ers, Jacob Martinet and Cornelius Reolands, were brought to their Trial in the Town-house of Sluys, before Judges appointed for that Effect, of whom Count Horne was one. Cornelius Reolands being confronted with his own Servant, acknowledged, That he and the other Prisoner [Page 3] had kept Correspondence with one Monsieur Rayon, Colonel of a French Regiment in Dunkirk, and by his Means and Mediation with one Monsieur de Perry, Secretary of War under the Duke of Luxemburgh, who was to command the French Army in the Frontiers of Flanders this Summer. And that he and the said other Prisoner had received se­veral Letters from the said Monsieur Rayon upon the same Subject, and in one of them a Line from the said Monsieur de Terry, directed to him and the other Prisoner, wherein he assured them, if they would promise to accomplish the De­sign in hand, he should cause to be paid them in hand, each of them Ten thousand Livers, and upon the performing of it, they should receive, each of them, Twenty thousand more, with an honourable Retreat and Employment in any place of France they pleased. He likewise acknowledged, That they were to receive the first Ten thousand Livers apiece at the Return of his Servant they had sent upon that Errand, when he was taken beside Ostend; and that the way of Returning the Money was by a Bill of Exchange from a Banker of Pa­ris upon a Jew in Amsterdam, payable to the said other Prisoner Jacob Martinet. Adding, That his Servant knew nothing of the Secret, but only was employ'd to carry the Letters betwixt Martinet and him, and the said Monsieur Rayon. And that he knew nothing of the Design till Mar­tinet drew him into it, and assured him, that there was the like Design in most of the Towns of Holland.

Being desired to give account of the Design it self. He gave it thus: That the said Martinet and He were to let in a great many French by threes and fours, under the no­tion of Deserters from the French Army, and that before hand, they were to provide several private Lodgings for them to be ready upon call. In the mean time he and Martinet were to provide a great many Fire-locks, under the pretence of buying [Page 4] them, in order to sell them again to the new raised Regiments in Flanders. That when they had got into Town a competent number of French in the manner above mentioned, they were to concert with the said Monsieur Rayon a particular night, in which He with other two Regiments should be in readiness to march from the nearest places of the French Conquests, to Sluys, by such ways as was laid down in a plan agreed be­twixt them. That at the night and hour appointed, the said Martinet and He were to have all the French in readiness with their Arms to fall upon the Garison, there be­ing ordinarily but two hundred men upon duty at a time; And having cut them off, they were at the same time to open the East Gate to the other French under the Command of Monsieur Ra [...]on, and being joyned together to take Posses­sion of, and keep the Town for the French King, whose Army at the same time was to fall down with all diligence and force upon the Frontiers of Holland. He further acknow­ledged, That he doubted not but the French were tampering with some in most of the Towns of Holland to the same effect; and that he knew, there were several great Sums of Money returned by Bill to Amsterdam to this end, and that there were several Agents up and down Amsterdam, Rot­terdam, Bergen, U [...]som, the Bush, Utreght, Lyden, and all other Towns in Holland, who were busie in making In­treigues to betray the respective Towns to the French for se­veral Sums of Money, and Promises of great Preferment.

Cornelius Reolands being found Guilty upon his Confessi­on, was removed, and immediately thereafter Jacob Mar­tinet, the other Prisoner, was brought to his Trial. Who stoutly denied he knew any thing of a Design to be­tray the Town of Sluys into the hands of the French, or that he had ever entertained Correspondence with Mon­sieur Royon, or Monsieur de Terry, to that or any other Effect. Whereupon Reolands Servant, with whom the a­bove [Page 5] written Letters were found, was produced against him as an Evidence; who being sworn, depos'd, That he had received the Letters, which had been taken about him at Ostend, from his Master Reolands, and that he the said Jacob Martinet, was present when his Master gave them him, and that Martinet desired him to Return as soon as possible, giving him half a Pistol to drink, saying, That if he got a good Answer of some Money Business he had written about, he, the Deponent, should be well paid.

Martinet briskly deny'd that he ever had seen this Wit­ness, or had been in Company with Reolands but once in his Life, about six years ago. The Evidence immediately in open Court required two men, whom he knew, to de­clare, if they did not several times see his Master Reo­lands and Martinet together at the Maurice Head Tavern in Sluys; who upon Oath declared they had often seen them both go into, and come out from that Tavern, they two all alone, and that within less than these two Months. Notwithstanding all which Martinet stood firm­ly to his Denial.

At length the Declaration and Confession of his Accom­plice Reolands was read before him, whereat he seem'd to be much stunn'd, having often changed colour the time of the Reading it. But insisting in his De­nial, and the Law not allowing the Confession of one Accomplice to be sufficient proof, he was adjudged to be put to the Torture. Whereupon all things being ready for it, his Courage failed him, and he told the People appointed to put it in Execution, that he would con­fess all he knew of the Affair he was charged with, be­fore the Judges.

[Page 6] Being thereupon called into Court, He freely confest His being upon a Plot with Reolands to deliver up the Town of Sluys to the French, after the manner contained in Reolands Confession, with this particular Circumstance, That in a Letter Written to him by Monsieur de Terry, Secretary of War under the Duke of Luxemburgh, he was promised Ten Thousand Livers more than was to be given to Reolands, together with a place in the Presidial Court of Sedan, worth Three Thousand Livers per Annum. And thereafter being desired to decipher the Letter written in Cyphers found about Reolands Man: He freely did it in these Words, as was dictated by him from the Letter given him in open Court.

These Confessions of both Jacob Martinet and of Coruelius Reonalds being again read in open Court, they both of them received Sentence in these words.

Forasmuch, as you Jacob Martinet, and you Cornelius Reolands, are by your own Confession, and other legal Proofs and Letters, found Guilty of holding a Correspondence with Monsieur Rayon Collonel of a French Regiment in the French Kings Army, and with Monsieur de Terry Secretary of War under the Marshal Duke of Luxenburgh, in order to betray the Garrison and Town of Sluys to the French for a Summ of Money, agreed to be paid by the said Monsieur de Terry, to you Jacob Martinet, and to you Cornelius Reolands for do­ing thereof. By which Action the whole Province of Holland, and Neighbouring Provinces would have been in eminent [Page 8] hazard of being thereupon ruin'd by the French Army. There­fore the Court does hereby adjudge you the said Jacob Marti­net, to be taken back to Prison, and thence upon the Sixth of May Instant, to be drawn upon a Cart to the publick Mar­ket place of this Town, and there to be hanged up by the Neck on a Gibbet, and being near dead, to have your Bowels ript up▪ and thereafter being fully dead, to have your Body divided into four Quarters▪, to be disposed of as the Court shall afterwards think fit, and your Head to be severed from your Body, and affixt upon the very same Gate of this Town which you designed to open to the Enemy. Likewise the Court adjudges you the said Cornelius Reolands to be taken back to the Prison, and upon the said Sixth of this Instant May, to be taken to the said Market place of this Town of Sluys, and there to be hanged up by the Neck upon a Gibbet until you be dead. Aud this we give for a final Sentence against you both, wishing God may shew Mercy to your Souls.

According to this Sentence, upon the said Sixth day of May Instant, the said Jacob Martinet was brought to the Place of Execution, where he behaved himself very im­penitently, and refused to speak to the People, and had the Sextence executed upon him as aforesaid.

After him came Cornelius Reolands, who both in Prison, and at the Place of Execution, carried himself very devoutly and penitently: And asking leave if he might speak to the People, he exprest himself in words to this purpose, a Co­py whereof he had given before-hand to the Sheriff or Scapen that attended him.