Papers of John Adams, volume 20

317 William Brown and John Hopkins to John Adams, [ante 14 April 1790] Brown, William Hopkins, John Adams, John

From William Brown and John Hopkins

[ ante 14 April 1790 ]1

To the Honourable John Adams Vice President of the United States of America

The Petition of Wm: Brown & Jam̃. Hopkins with advice of the Honourable John Jay most humbly sheweth that they being now in Confinement in the new Goal of this City suffering under the greatest cruelty that can be inflicted on any human Person & from the Noble Character that Yr. Honour bears induces them to apply for redress hoping that if consistent Your Honour will free them from the Punishment inflicted on them. may the God of Mercy in whose hands are the hearts of Men dispose Your Honour to befriend them in granting them also their Release they having sailed out of this State. The Petition would also present to Your Honour that there is people who is well acquainted with the Captain & know him to be of an infamous Character. may the Great Sovereign whose unbounded Pity is towards the distressed make Your Honour the happy instrument in granting them Release & may every Blessing be shewed on Your Noble Character from the inhabitants of this City who advised us to apply for Redress. & as in Duty bound we shall ever pray &c.—

Willm. Brown John Hopkins

RC (Adams Papers).

William Brown and John (or James) Hopkins were accused of mutiny and attempted murder aboard the Morning Star, Capt. Henry Kermit, which sailed from Amsterdam to New York earlier in the spring. They were arrested upon their arrival on 20 March, tried before the New York State circuit court, and found guilty. On 14 April Brown and Hopkins were sentenced to stand one hour in the pillory, serve six months in jail, and receive 39 lashes. The dating of this letter is based on newspaper accounts of their trial. There is no indication that JA intervened in the case ( Doc. Hist. Supreme Court , 2:22; Minutes, 13–14 April 1790, Circuit Court for the District of New York, RG 21, NjBaFAR; New-York Daily Gazette, 22 March; New-York Packet, 15 April).

John Hurd to John Adams, 17 April 1790 Hurd, John Adams, John

From John Hurd

Sir Boston Aprl. 17th. 1790

I have the honor of your Excellency’s Favor of the 5th. Currt. & acknowledge myself extremely oblig’d by the kind & friendly manner in which you have receivd & reply’d to my Letter—1 I was apprehensive that it might not be so directly in the Line of your Office to nominate, or recommend any persons to Appointments under Congress— 318 yet fully perswaded in my Mind that a Word from you occasionally might have great Avail, & being unknown to the supreme Executive, I had not Resolution eno’ to make my Application to the President himself

It is highly satisfactory to me, that if you have Opportunity of mentioning my Name, your Report will be much in my favor—that the Number of Candidates for Offices is very great, & many have much Merit I make no doubt from wch: Circumstance some Embarrassmts. may arise—

Doctr: Welsh was kind eno’ to shew me Yr. Excellencys Letter to him, from a hint therein respecting my Friends Governr. Langdon & Judge Livermore I shall take the Liberty of writing soon to one or other of them on the subject

my old Friend Putnam indeed is no more!2 I had the pleasure to hear from him a few Months before his Death and dare say, he much regretted as well as myself that he ever quitted the Country, where, had he tarry’d he might have appeared among the principal Actors on the Stage— But he was too much influenc’d by that Veteran in Toryism Old Brigadr. Ruggles & the Chandler Family—that Party, most of ’em I beleive, especialy the Residents in Nova scotia must be sensible they made a bad Bargain in their politicks—

Nova Scotia has sufferd much by the Restraints their Governmts. have laid on the Trade from New England yet very loth to own it—they smuggle considerable on the Borders of the State, and We feel the want of a Market for great part of our fresh provisions & live Stock—

Business in Boston the Winter past has been dull by a general Complaint, a smaller proportion of Navigation than usual, if we may judge by what has been done at the Insurance Offices—& unfortunately more frequent Losses taken place—few Vessells on the Stocks building either in To. or out ports—the three federal Ships set up by subscription the year before last, stood long on hand before disposd off our Ship Building Business seems to want a Stimulus from some Quarter to give the Tradesmen of this Town their usual Hilarity— Two fresh Arrivals from London Capts. Scott & Bernard with several other Vessells within the Week past seem to give a little Spring to Business in Town just now—but Lotterys & speculations in the public Funds have been the cheif Objects of late—many of our Speculators will be much disconcerted by the last News from Congress—that the Assumption of the State Debts has receivd a Negative—the price of our Massa: State Consolidd: Notes fell immediately one Shilling in the 319 pound, & tis supposd will fall lower—so have we often been baffled when our Expectations were rais’d to the highest

Your Excellency will please to excuse my lengthy Reply & be assurd that I am with the most cordial Respect & Esteem / your very obedt. huml Servt

John Hurd

RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “His Excellency / John Adams Esqr.”; endorsed: “Mr Hurd. Ap. 17 / 1790.”

Boston insurance broker John Hurd (b. 1727), Harvard 1747, wrote to JA on 17 March seeking his patronage for a federal post. In an [April 1790] letter to mutual acquaintance Dr. Thomas Welsh, JA advised Hurd to gain the support of New Hampshire senator John Langdon and representative Samuel Livermore. Hurd did not earn a federal appointment (both Adams Papers; AFC , 9:34).

Worcester, Mass., lawyer and loyalist James Putnam (b. 1726), Harvard 1746, was a mentor to JA in his youth. Putnam relocated to St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, where he died on 23 Oct. 1789 (JA, Earliest Diary , 1:92; Sibley’s Harvard Graduates , 12:64).