Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 2
These with my Compliments unto your selves and are to Enform you that the affair for which I feed you Respecting Elisabeth Ridley the wife of Thomas Ridley Junr. is not settled and words are given out that I Dare not put her to the law but however the over bareing powers are very still and are in hopes that I will let it Dye and go no further and would have me acknowledge something tho never so small a matter will give them satisfaction for they I find out can prove nothing to purpose. I hope the writ will be so well laid as to suffer no nonsuit for I can prove any thing and every thing she has let her Tongue Run to so great a Degree. Mr. Paines letter I did not give to Mr. Upham for advising with some of my best freinds found it would not Do for it Touched upon the very thing that they wanted that is to seek for Relief to the church and then the woman shall be not only an accuser but all the strong Evidence for my conviction so I must go into the law and I hope you will stand to maintain my cause as far as justice appertains and you shall not find fault I hope for your fees yet to come send a supeana for witnesses and please to give Direction concerning them whither they can be sworn here or whither they must face her in Court for there are some women that have young children and some with child and some old people which will be Difficult for them to go to court. Please to give direction in the whole affair: further whither or not it would not be best for Esqr. Winslow to be present at Taking Evidence if any be Taken out of court. Thomas Ridley is gone to Canada River a whaling so that he cannot be Taken with the writ if he must be named there in. Enquire of Daniel Paine as to all Circumstances in the affair. Major Gorham had a letter sent up to him last court which I should be Glad one or both of you would Enquire into to se how it bares and who is the signer for I have some reason to333susspect it. Upon the whole do for me under all circumstances as if it were for your selves. I Remain your humble Clyant
Although dated and docketed as 1764, this letter is clearly a follow-up to RTP's letter of Apr. 5 to Rev. Caleb Upham (printed above). The fee mentioned by Barnabas Paine was noted in RTP's cashbook on Apr. 3, 1765 under business for Barnstable Court: "Barnabas Paine Esqr. 12/."
I1 fully Intended seeing you the Sunday Evening I fixed, but was prevented by Mr. Hill,2 who I heard was going to Newport, & unless I could meet him Early Monday Morning at his House shd. Miss of Settleing with him, therefor thought it best to settle his note, while he had something to do it with, wch. at last is done. I shd. been glad to seen you before you left home Monday, however shall not forget the Needfull when I meet you again.
After Examining the Inclos'd pray Seal it up & Deliver to Mr. Adam. I made him good offers before I left Taunton, rather than go into Law with him, but he seems very stiff in his own opinion. I offer'd to take off 12 1/2 per Ct. off the Ballance of his accot: & give him 12 mo. credit to pay the Money, likewise told him Mr. Green3 of Providence shd. Exchange as many of the Goods unsold, as they two Could agree on & advised him to send his Young Man to Newport wth: an Inventory of what was left, where it was likely he might Exchange them for other Goods that might do better for his Shop. wch: proposall he seem'd (when I left him) to like & desired time to Consider of it since wch. he sends an Inventory of the Goods remaining on his hands by Mr. Green, with a pretty odd kind of a Resolve, by wch. I find he don't Incline to Engage to pay Money for Ballance of his Accot. on any consideration, and I am fully Determin'd to take nothing but Money for sd: Ballance, as for my takeing back sd: Goods or drawing the amount of them out of his Shop I shall not do, haveing no Goods left in the Province & last fall turn'd them all into Shipping. He wd. willingly make it appear that all the Goods I sent him were in Trust, I suppose he means on Commission, but let any Man look334at the Face of the Invoices & see if there is any Colour, or pretence for his Receiveing the Goods on that footing, had they been Design'd & sent as Goods on commisso. to be sold on my accot. & Risque, the Invoice wd. not been made out as it is neither shd. I have Charg'd him in my Books wth. the sd. Goods, if he can produce any sort or kind of a memo. from me, or any Mention in my letters to him, of Directions respecting the sale of those Goods, in what manner they were to be Sold &c. (wch. must have taken place had the Goods been sent by me on Commisso.) then I will take back every Article now unsold, for when I send Goods to Sell on my own accot: I give direction in what manner they are to be sold, the pay to be recd. for them, & what proffit I Expect on them. I wd. therefore have him Carefully look over every letter he every recd. from me & if there appears the least Shaddow of sd: Goods bring Intended as a Consignment on Commisso. I will give up the point. On the other hand I have Proof that the sd. Goods were look't out while he was in & out of my Store for some days together, that he knew they were to be sent him as Goods part, of the two Ships he had Contracted to Build for me, wch. if he had comply'd with wd. not have over Run the Goods part Fifty pounds, he knew of, & agreed to take the Goods I put up for him, & objected to several articles when I was looking them out, but I told him he must take some of them, as my only Inducement to Build those two Ships, was to Carry off my unvendable Goods as well as others, & when he receiv'd them at Taunton he wrote me that he hoped I wd. not Insist on his keeping all the Goods, my Answer to him Immedy. was that I Expected him to keep them all, but notwithstanding he goes on afterwards to make sale of the Goods, & when he finds that he can't Comply wth: his Contract in Building me two Ships, he then picks out the best Articles among the Goods & looks up the rest to return to me, in lieu of the other Ship, as he Suppos'd I wd. take 'em back. Its Customary soon as a Building or undertaker Signs a Contract to Build a Vessell, for wch: he is to receive Cheafly Goods, to Deliver him the Goods part altogether Immedy. which had (to my Sorrow) been my Practice before & Since I agreed wth: Mr. Adam, for it can't be Suppos'd that Country Builders can Set up Ships & finish them, without they can have their pay to carry them on with, & when little or no Money is in the Question, they must have the Goods to purchase the Timber, Plank, & pay Labourers &c. & was we to Deliver the Goods only as the Ships are Carried on, there wd: not be one builder, or undertaker, in Fifty that could Launch a335Vessell in Seven Years as the most of them are oblig'd to Trust out the Goods months before they get their pay in Lumber, that I look upon it Mr. Adam had no right to find fault wth: my sending all the Goods at once, & am Convinced that had he Built Both Ships for me, he wd. made no Complaint abt: haveing too many Goods sent him, or that they were sent to him in Trust. I can with great Truth say that I made his Assortment of Goods full Ten per c. better then I promised to do, by puting up some Linnens, Calicos, Hatts &c. wch. articles I told him I could not spare, but to Encourage his Building me two good Ships & Launch them agreeable to Contract was the only Motive of my putg. sd: Goods up, & now he wd. fare reward me for it. You'l please to take an oppy. soon as possible to Endeavour to Convince Mr. Adam of his mistake in Regard to these Goods being sent to him in Trust for me, & to know from him what he will do in regard to the Proposall I made him, when last at his Shop, as I am determind to have the matter settled some way or other & that very soon.
Pray let me know wether Mr. Crooks has Employ'd or Engaged with any Persons to Compleat the Brig: in Hellon:s Yard.4 I told him I Expected to hold her by my attachment, but he thinks he shall hold her by his Bill Sale. I am wth. Regard Sr. your most hble. Servt.
Gilbert Deblois (1725–1791) was for many years a successful Boston importer of hardware and other foreign goods. He was an addresser of Hutchinson in 1774, left with the evacuation of British troops in 1776, and eventually settled in England (NEHGR 67[1913]: 9–10. He used RTP as attorney regularly through 1770.
Not identified among the many Hills doing business in Boston at this time.
James Green of Providence.
RTP represented Deblois in two actions against Ratcliffe Hellon (represented by Samuel White) at the May term 1765 of the Bristol County Court of Common Pleas. The first judgment, for default on a note of £1200, was in favor of Deblois; although the second judgment, for a variety of notes totalling £320.3.10½, was awarded to Hellon who argued that he "never promised as the plt. declares." Both cases were appealed and were heard by the October 1765 term of the Superior Court. Hellon confessed judgment in both instances, and awards were made to Deblois (Record Book, Bristol Co. Court of Common Pleas; Minute Book, Superior Court of Judicature, Bristol Co.).