When I first arrived I found this province miserably harrassed with a most Horrible witchcraft or Possession of Devills which had broke in upon severall Townes, some score of poor people were taken with preternaturall torments some scalded with brimstone some had pins stuck in their flesh others hurried into the fire and water and some dragged out of their houses and carried over the tops of trees and hills for many
Miles together; it hath been represented to mee much like that of Sweden about thirty years agoe, and there were many committed to prision upon suspicion of Whichcraft before my arrivall. The loud cries and clamours of the friends of the afflicted people with the advice of the Deputy Governor and many others prevailed with mee to give a Commission of Oyer and Terminer for discovering what whichcraft might be at the bottome or whether it were not a possession. The chief Justice in the Commission was the Deputy Governour and the rest were persons of the best prudence and figure that could then be pitched upon. When the Court came to sitt at Salem in the county of Essex they convicted more than twenty persons of being guilty of witchcraft, some of the convicted were such as confessed their Guilt, the Court as I understand began their proceedings with the accusations of the afflicted and then went upon other humane evidences to strengthen that. I was almost the whole time of the proceeding abroad in the service of Their Majesties in the Eastern part of the Country and depending uponthe Judgement of the Court as to the right method of proceeding in cases of Witchcraft but when I came home I found many persons in a strange ferment of dissatisfaction which was increased by some hott Spiritts that blew up the flame, but on enquiring into the matter I found that the name and shape of several persons who were doubtless innocent and to my certian knoweledge of good reputation for which cause I have now forbidden the committing of any more that shall be accused without unavoydable necessity, and those that havebeen committed I would shelter from any Proceedings against them wherein there may be the least suspition of any wrong to be done unto the Innocent. I would also wait for any particular directions or commands if their Majesties please to give mee any for the fuller ordering of this perplexing affair. I have also put a stop to the printing of any discourse one way or the other, that may increase the needless disputes of people upon this occasion, because I saw a likelyhood of kindling an inextinguishable flame if I should admitt any publique and open Contests and I have grieved to see that some
who should have done their Majesties abd this Provence better service have so far taken Councill of Passion as to desire the percipitancy of these matters, these things have been improved by some to give me many interuptions in their Majesties service and in truth none of my vexations have been greater that this, than that their majesties service has been hereby unhappily clogged, and the Persons who have made soe ill improvement of these matters here are seeking to turne it all upon mee, but I hereby declare that as soon as I came from fighting against their Majesties Enemyes and understood what danger some of their innocent subjects might be exposed to, if the evidence of the afflicted perosns only did previle either to the committing or trying of any of them, I did before any application was made unto me about it put a stop to the proceedings of the court and they are now stopt till their Majesties pleasure be known. Sir I beg pardon for giving you all this trouble, the reason is because I know my enemies are seeking to turn it all upon me and I take this liberty because I depend upon your firendship, and desire you will please to give a true understanding of the matter if any thing of this kind be urged or mage to use of against mee. Because the justnesse of my proceeding herein will bee a sufficient defence.
Sir I am with all imanigable respect  Your most humble Servt.  William Phips
Dated at Boston the 12'th of october 1692

Boston in New England Febry 21st, 1692/3
May it please yor. Lordship.
 By the Capn. of the Samuell and Henry I gave an account that att my arrivall here I found the Prisons full of people committed upon suspition of witchcraft and that continuall complaints were made to me that many persons were grievously tormented by witches and that they cryed out upon severall persons by name, as the cause of their torments.  The number of these complaints increasing every day, by advice of the Lieut. Govr. and the Councill I gave a Commission of Oyer and Terminer to try the suspected witches and at that time the generality of the People represented the matter to me as reall witchcraft and gave very strange instances of the same.  The first in Commission was the Lieut. Govr. and the rest persons of the best prudence and figure that could then be pitched upon and I depended upon the Court for a right method of proceeding in cases of witchcraft.  At that time I went to command the army at the Eastern part of the Province, for the French and Indians had made an attack upon some of our Fronteer Towns.  I continued there for some time but when I returned I found people much disastisfied at the proceedings of the Court, for about Twenty persons were condemned and executed of which number some were thought by many persons to be innocent.  The Court still proceeded in the same method of trying them, which was by the evidence of the afflicted persons who when they were brought into the Court as soon as the suspected witches looked upon them instantly fell to the ground in strange agonies and grievous torments, but when touched by them upon the arme or some other part of their flesh they immediately revived and came to themselves, upon [which] they made oath that the Prisoner at the Bar did afflict them and that they saw their shape or spectre come from their bodies which put them to such paines and torments.
When I enquired into the matter I was enformed by the Judges that they begun with this, but had humane testimony against such as were condemned and undoubted proof of their being witches, but at length I found that the Devill did take upon him the shape of Innocent persons and some were accused of whose innocency I was assured and many considerable persons of unblemished life and conversation were cried out upon as witches and wizards.   The Deputy Govr. notwithstanding persisted vigorously in the same method, to the great dissatisfaction and disturbance of the people, untill I put an end to the Court and stopped the proceedings, which I did because I saw many innocent persons might otherwise perish and at that time I thought it my duty to give an account  thereof that their Ma'ties pleasure might be signifyed, hoping that for the better ordering thereof the Judges learned in the law in England might give such rules and directions as have been practized in England for proceedings in so difficult and so nice a point;  When I put an end to the Court there were at least fifty persons in prison in great misery by reason of the extreme cold and their poverty, most of them having only spectre evidence against them, and their mittimusses being defective, I caused some of them to be lett out upon bayle and put the Judges upon considering of a way to reliefe others and prevent them from perishing in prison, upon which some of them were convinced and acknowledged that their former proceedings were too violent and not grounded upon a right foundation but that if they might sit againe, they would proceed afteranother method, and whereas Mr. Increase Mather and severall other Divines did give it their Judgment that  the Devill might afflict in the shape of an innocent person and that the look and the touch of the suspected persons was not sufficient proofe against them, these things had not the same stress layd upon them as before, and upon this consideration I permitted a spetiall Superior Court to be held at Salem in the County of Essex on the third day of January, the Lieut. Govr being Chief Judge.  Their method of proceeding being altered, all that were brought to tryall to the number of fifety two, were cleared saving three, and I was enformed by the Kings Attorny Generall that some of the cleared and the condemned were under the same circumstances or that there was the same reason to clear the three condemned as the rest according to his Judgment.  The Deputy Govr. signed a Warrant for their speedy execucion and also of five others who were condemed at the former Court of Oyer and terminer, but considering how the matter had been managed I sent a reprieve whereby the execucion was stopped untill their Maj. pleasure be signified and declared.  The Lieut. Govr. upon this occasion was inraged and filled with passionate anger and refused to sitt upon the bench in a Superior Court then held at Charles Towne, and indeed hath from the beginning hurried on these matters with great precipitancy and by hiswarrant hath caused the estates, goods and chattles of the executed to be seized and disposed of without my knowledge or consent.  The stop put to the first method of proceeding hath dissipated the blak cloud that threatened this province with destruccion; for whereas this delusion of the Devill did spread and its dismall effects touched the lives and estates of many of their Ma'ties Subjects and the reputacion of some of the principall persons here, and indeed unhappily clogged and interrupted their Ma'ties affaires which hath been a great vexation to me, I have no new complaints but peoples minds before divided and distracted by differing opinions concerning this matter are now well composed.
                              I am Yor. Lordships most faithfull
                                                    humble Servant
                                                               William Phips
[Addressed:]  To the Rt. Honble  the Earl of Nottingham att Whitehall  London
[Indorsed] R [i.e., received]   May 24, 1693
                                                           abt. Witches
This letter is here reprinted from the Massachusetts Historical Society's Proceedings, second ser., I. 340-342, where the original, in the British archives, is described as "America and West Indies, No. 591" and "also in Colonial Entry Book, No. 62, p 426"; again prints it, though in abridged form, ascribes it to "America and West Indies, 561, nos. 28, 29," and mentions the duplicate as "Col. Entry Bk., Vol LXII,, pp. 426-430," and as "entered as addressed to William Blathwayt."  It may also be found in G. H. Moore's Final Notes on Witchcraft in Massachusetts (New York, 1885), pp. 90  - 93, with his annotations. Examination at the British Public Record Office shows that the original letter (formerly America and West Indies, 561, no. 28) is now C. O. 5:51, no. 28, and is plainly addressed to the Earl of Nottingham.
And from Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases edited by Prof. George L. Burr
L. D., NY, 1914.