1796, perfonally engaged himself, and promifed faithfully and upon his honour, to fettle the fum finally by the ift of Auguft to come, 1796, pretending, as he was that time collecting money for difpatching his fhip (Prefident Washington of 1200 tons) to India and China, to be entirely out of funds that moment, but would receive fums in time to fatisfy me in three months. Quite unacquainted with the character of Mr. Brown, I relied on his engagement, not fufpecting a man of his age and property, nay, a merchant, which fhould fupport his public credit, to be capable of falfehood or forfeiting his word and Honour-I went on to fettle myself in this country, and purchafed an eftate of Mr. B. Dobel the 6th June, to be paid in three, fix, and nine months. Confcious in myself of the value of my poffeffions, I began directly with the neceffary improvements of the eftate, and the building of a house, &c. I made feveral payments of different natures to a large amount, from the fums I had on hands, confiding entirely upon the payment of Brown in Auguft; but, to my great detriment, this man by that time made several objections to the intereft of the fum; on which, at last, to cut short all difficulties, and of obtaining my money, defifted of near 4000 dollars; after which he fent bills upon James Greenleaf, which were protested. ing by this the base intention to keep me out of my money, I fued Brown, and obtained judgment by the court of Providence in November, 1796; he, however, to delay the cause further, prevailed on Mr. Ives to enter fecurity for the amount in order to take out a writ of error for the Supreme Court at Philadelphia, where I alfo obtained judgment in February laft; which judgment being returned to the court in Providence in June, execution against Brown is iffued there, which now is in the hands of the Marshal for recovering the payment before Noyember court.

See

In

In the mean time my bonds for the eftate becoming due, I did my beft to pay off what I could; and in March, 1797, the firft bond was cancelled, the half of the second paid, and at the fame time had provided bills on Amfterdam for 6000 dollars, which Mr. Meredith, the State Treasurer, had agreed to take from me under the ufual requifites of an indorfer; thefe bills Mr. Dobel was to call for, which he did in ten days afterwards, when he came too late at the Treafury, the neceffary fums being provided for precedently. This disappointment irritated Mr. Dobel againft me, as if I was the caufe, which I certainly was not. After finding no other occafions to negotiate thefe bills elsewhere, he grew very preffing for the further payment of the bonds: I did every poffible endeavour to raise money, but found it impracticable; only I received now and then small debts and fums which enabled me to go on with my buildings and improvements, which once begun I could not ftop: but this made Dobel the more in fury to be paid: I told him my circumftances in regard to Brown, of which he was acquainted long before, and was now shortly to be terminated, and that then I would pay him immediately. All my remonftrances were in vain; and in anger he took out a writ of ca. fa. to put me into cuftody for affuring my appearance at the court at Newtown the 7th Auguft. This writ was ferved to me fome time ago; I accepted the appearance, and the fheriff was fatisfied without infulting me further. I inftituted Mr. A. Wilcocks as my lawyer to appear at court at the fixed time; and by his letter after the court had judged the caufe, it appeared that I was to make the payment before the next court in November. It appeared, however, that Dobel took out a new writ of ca. fa. which the Sheriff, Jofeph Fell, prefented to me the 11th inft. ; but as by that document was specified that the pay

ment

ment was to be made before the fitting of the next court in November, I prevailed on him to let it reft there, as he could be fure of the fettling, where more than five times the value of the debt was in the house and estate, in case. payment fhould fail. He parted feemingly fatisfied, but returned the next morning, the 12th inft. and told me then that Dobel had abufed him in a violent manner for not executing his duty: that he infifted on having the money inftantly, or would fue him for it. I declared it was out of my power to fatisfy him directly, if it fhould be to the risk of my life; that it would be a very hard and unjust cafe I fhould be put in confinement, when not only the estate but a quantity of valuable property in the houses fecured him of the payment, before the time ftipulated by the court; the more when I had a fimilar cafe for 35,000 dollars, now in the hands of Marshal at Providence in execution. I urged that Dobel had no commands on him in this affair, but that he was only answerable for the court, by which means all he should execute against me was his own pleasure and act. He acknowledged feemingly the ftrength of my arguments, but wifhed I would only do him the pleasure to go myself to fee Dobel at Briftol, or his agent, Mr. Murray, at Newtown, to fettle with them, in order to extricate him from all reproaches. I not prefuming in the leaft the base defign of the Sheriff, accepted his propofition, and, not wifhing to meet the turbulent Dobel, I went to Newtown, where I had a converfation with Mr. Murray, who, it proved foon, could do nothing in the matter. I was thunderftruck when I perceived Fell's treachery in a full light, and myfelf duped, and obliged to fubmit to the humiliating circumftances of going in cuftody, from whence I fent this communication to the extent of America, in order that the public may judge how enormous and indignant I'am treated fince my ar

2

riving

riving in a country which I fo much benefited by bringing thither all my wealth, and putting an hundred hands to work, by which their families are fupported. I efteem the Sheriff Fell in this conduct as guilty of injuftice and inhumanity as Dobel, whofe commands he was not obliged to obey being an officer to the court, he only was liable to their orders.-If he had entertained himself the laft doubt of my unableness or unwillingness to pay the debt, he was excufable for feizing my body; but as Dobel and he, as well as every one who knows the leaft of my circumftances, muft be convinced of the contrary, I give it in the confideration of every human mind, if any thing can be more fhocking than to fuffer innocently under the mafk of the laws, by the influence of perfonal hatred or animofity.

Not lefs I pretend to have reafons of complaint about the hardship and injuftice of the law (if not only perhaps an infringed cuftom), who put it in any man's power to extend his wrath against another, and thereby to injure an honeft man in his fame and reputation, as is my cafe. I am informed by a gentleman of knowledge and character, that before the revolution (fince which time this law has not received any alterations) never a writ of ca. fa. was permitted to be iffued till the Sheriff had returned to the court that no property exifted. I have then an indubitable right to afk, on what foundation at prefent fuch a writ can be iffued, which is beyond all equity, juftice, and principle? where it is carefully flated in the conftitution of this commonwealth, that only bulwark of our fafety and rights, Art. 9. Sect. 16. that the person of a debtor, where there is no ftrong prefumption of fraud, fhall not be continued in prifon after delivering up his eftate for the benefit of his creditors in fuch a manner as fhall be prefcribed by law. Now I

dare

dare to prefume, that the fpirit of this fenfe admits as well the giving fecurity for the payment as the delivering of the eftate, which in fact may be confidered as the fame effect.

By the fixth article of the amendments to the conftitution of the United States, it is also stated, The right of the people to be fecure in their per"fons against unreasonable feizures fhall not be violated.' I queftion if my feizure is on reasonable grounds or not; and if not, as I pretend with full conviction, who is anfwerable for the violation of this point and law of the Union expreffly enacted for our fafety?

I further question who is to repair the injuries and damages which a detained man may fuffer in his household and bufinefs, or perhaps in his health. and conftitution, when the feelings of a tender mind are overpowered by the cruel thoughts of the iniquity and dishonour which is thrown upon him. All this ripely confidered, is it not to be wifhed and hoped that our wife legislatures may take the neceffary steps to establish a firm and equitable rule for the future on this important subject of man's liberty, to prevent fuch frauds as I am a fufferer by? None can conceive the hurts of my feelings in finding myself so infamously treated after having paffed nearly fixty years with reputation in the public ftages of my life, and where the fource is by no means to be afcribed to a provoking conduct on my part, but only to the bafe refentment of an ill-natured hot-head, who by this means may boaft that he has made his entrance to his intended career as doctor in phyfic, by an act of inhumanity and iniquity, as an excellent recommendation for fuffering patients to call for his feeling affiftance.

I have thought proper to publifh this communication for my discharge and vindication, as well as to remove from the unacquainted public the idea that my confinement was the refult of my inability

VOL. VII.

C

or