Barnstable Novbr. 4th 1761 Mr. Paine Sr.,

There is a Case Depending at our Inferiour Court In December wherein Eben. Gorham Junr.1 is plant. and Elisha Thacher Deft. for Defemation and If you will Come In Behalf of The Plant.2 I3 will Give you Ten Dollars And Gett you as Much more Buissiness as I posibly Can. Mr. Ephraim Berry who Gave you a Small Fee Last Court Depends Upon your Comeing at The Next Court & will Give you what Further Is Reasonable I would not have you fail of Comeing. In hast I am yr. Humble Servt.

CORNS. CROCKER 211

P.S pray Send me word as Soon as possible wheither you will Ingage to Come or Not yrs. C:C

RC ; addressed: "To Mr Robert Treat Paine In Taunton with Care & Speed"; endorsed. Several sums are tallied on the verso.

1.

Ebenezer Gorham, Jr. (1729–ca. 1772), a Barnstable mariner, later lost at sea (C. W. Swift, ed., Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, 2 vols. [Barnstable, 1888], 1:431).

2.

This action is not further identified. The Barnstable County court records were largely destroyed in an 1827 fire.

3.

Cornelius Crocker (1704–1784) operated the grist mill and a public tavern in Barnstable (Swift, ed., Barnstable Families, 1:224).

Boston 31st. Decer. 1761 Dear Sir,

Your favour of the 27th Current1 have rec'd, inclosing one for your sister, wch. I2 will forward by some careful hand. I thank you for yr. intelligence of Thos. Allen's departure, I believe I shall Lose that Debt. Your Friends had almost concluded you had taken Leave of this world and gone into another, as we have heard nothing of you for a Long time, but I shall now have the pleasure to inform them, that you was at Taunton a few days ago. As to news we have none except what is in the publick prints. Our politicians are divided in their Opinion of a Spanish War & tis thôt Mr. Pitt will be replac'd, or rather reassume his office, as there is private Letters that mentions, His Majesty had sent for him in 2 days after he resign'd, & had, a Long interview, & is of the same Opinion with Mr. Pitt for declaring war against the Spaniards or know the reason of their designs in preparing their naval force.3 I shd. be oblig'd to you, if you wou'd when you write again, write Somewhat Legible, for it took me so long to pick out some & guess at the rest, that I have only time to Subscribe Yr. Friend & Hble Servt.-,

WM. BELCHER

RC ; addressed: "To Mr. Robert Treat Pain Attorney at Law in Taunton"; endorsed.

1.

Not located.

2.

William Belcher (1733–?), son of Moses and Mary (Williams) Belcher of Braintree, was a merchant in Boston in the firm of Richard Cranch & Co., candle manufacturers, etc. (NEHGR 60[1906]: 247). He left Boston about 1768, and his estate there was administered by a trustee through 1773 according to a receipt book of his at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

3.

William Pitt (1708–1778), England's great war minister during the Seven Years' War, learned of the Franco-Spanish alliance in Sept. 1761 and was eager to declare war on Spain. Failing to receive Cabinet support, Pitt resigned his post on Oct. 5 (DNB).