Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 3
I wrote you sum days ago at the request of Mr. Benja: Cuzens, who went on purpose to see you at Taunton on Monday last, But you did not happen to be at home. The Letr. refer’d to if you have recd: it, will give you sum hint of 2 hhds. Melass. belonging to sd. Cuzens, & 20 bbls. flour belonging to me all wch. was siez’d by the Comte: of Attlebury as it was bringing from Bedford to this Town. We have both Made proof on Oath of the Property, & delvd. it to the Chairman of sd. Comte. Since Cuzens returned from Taunton we have ben Inform’d, sd. Comte. reported the Goods to Court, and are Determined to Injure us all they Can by way of Expense if they Cant get it Condemned to them, as they have sd. they thought the flour not worth my Attention at Court & that Cuzens being a poor man they Could Manage at Pleasure.
I think Sr. this Comte. have Acted a very Strange & Suspissious part, & appear to me to have a Wicked design of holding the Goods. For I my self, after Sum time found the Boston papers wch. Contained the Act Allowing us to Transport Goods thro’ your State &c. and presented to the Comte. of Rehobath sum time ago who on sight of it (as they say’d they had no knowledge of sd. Act before) give up a parcel of Flour & other Goods they had seiz’d. Afterwards I sent sd. Act to the Comte. of Attlebury, and they also 388Declar’d they had no knowledge of it but still pretend they have found sumthing by wch. we are lyable wch. is an Oath we was to give in According to sd. Act within 30 Days of the Siezour—which we Could have done in season if we had not Intrusted them with the Law which they did not return us According to promise for want of wch. we have Overrun the Time. I hope your Courts will not suffer the People of these neighbouring States to be Tricked out of there Just property by such Ignorant Designing men.
Pray Sir is there no way to get Satisfaction for this sort of Treatment; if there is, by Law, we shall be glad to Imploy you to get Justice done us & to Punish those Persons. But we are Informed they give out that you had Undertaken for them & Enterd the Information to your Court &c. Nevertheless I am fully perswaded from your well known Charactor, That you will not ingage to support Such Wicked & Designing men. Your Assistance to Mr. Cuzens (as the 2 hhds. Melasss. is of much Importance to him) will not only Tend to Save the Credit of your Whole state but much Oblige him who is needy, and your very Esteem’d Humle. Servt.
P.S. This is the Same flour wch. I mention in a Letr. to Brother John Brown while in Boston, sum time ago & wch. he then gave you Sum notice about. I doubt not but the flour by this Time is much Damaged, and not near the Value it wod be if Good & Sweet for wch. the Holders of it ought to make Good at least the Damagable.
I recd. yrs. enclosing the Resolve of Congress & the Board transferring the Business of the Cannon Comttee. to the Board of Warr, & directing that Cmttee. to deliver to them the Contracts they had entered into, an acct. of the Advances they had made & the Cannon &c. they had recd.
Being from home on public business when I recd. yr. requisition Letter I could not then answer it, but take this earliest Opportunity to comply with the requisition.
The first Contract the Cmttee. made was with Col. Mark Bird for 76.12. 20.9 & 20.4 pndrs. at 40 £ per Ton to be delivered at Philadelphia Congress to find Powder for proving. This Contract was never reduced to writing. When I left Philada. last Decr. he had not delivered all the Guns & I am not certain how many. Some of them were proved again by the Commander of the frigates after they were brought down & burst. I believe Capt. Daniel Joy, who was employ’d by that Cmttee. to attend the proving the Cannon at Col. Birds & Col. Grubbs can inform you particularly what No. & sizes were finally delivered.
There was advanced to Col. Bird on May 15. 1776 2000 Doll. by Order of Congress, & on Decr. 7. 1776. 1000 Dolls. more were advanced. I believe you’ll find them both enterd on the Treasurers books.
The Next Contract was with Col. Curtis Grubb for 100 Tons, at 40 £ per Ton. I must again referr you to Capt. Joy for the No. of Cannon deld. by Coll. Grubb as the matter was not finished when I left Philada.
One thousand Dolls. were paid by his Order to Daniel Joy on his order & on the 8th. of Novr. was paid him 2666.2/3 Dolls. I think you will also find these enterd on the Treasurers books.
The last Contract was made with Messrs. Daniel & Samll. Huges in July 1776 for 1000 Tons of Cannon. Mr. Chase was then with me on the Cmttee., & the Contract by Order of Congress was lodged with the Treasury Board. No Cannon were made in Consequence of this Contract when I came away. I believe the same Messrs. Hughes made the Cannon for the Frigate built at Maryland but that Contract was not made with the Cannon Cmttee., but wth. Mr. Saml. Purviance junr. Messrs. Hughes I think recd. a sum of money when the Contract was entered into I think which is mentioned in it; afterwards Congress on their application ordered 5000 £ more.
Inclosed I send the Contract of Col. Grubb which is all I have & nothing particular occurs to me further of the Subject.
I neglected Sending the above in the season of it, partly because I expected to return to Congress soon after I had wrote & partly because of the unsettled Scituation of Congress & of Conveyance to you. I hope no inconvenience has hapened.