Gascoyne at once began a private enquiry and wrote to the Anglican minister at Abbotsville, James Harris. He thought it unlikely that the three witnesses found by George Squires would travel so far "to foreswear themselves on behalf of this miserable object" and Harris did not disappoint. The Reverend was able to corroborate Gibbons's testimony and offer new witnesses who could claim to have seen Squires well away from Enfield Wash. Gascoyne also thought that some of the Canningites doubted the girl's veracity and had colluded in her version of events to spite him; this, he thought, was a political attack on a public official and he refused to let the matter rest. He justified his activities by comparing his apparent compassion for the victim, Mary Squires, with his outrage for the deceit of her accuser, Elizabeth Canning, but his fervour was influenced in part by the attitudes of the time. He considered the behaviour of the Canningites inappropriate for their low station and was more impressed by the assurances of people such as Alderman Chitty and Reverend Harris, who as gentlemen and public advocates were presumed more reliable.