544 Letters to the Governor and Council

November 8

America, If nothing appears from the Examination of M^r Stumps
papers to induce Your Excellency to believe otherwise of him I
should be glad to hear they are return'd him as I know he must suffer
from the detention of his Books of Accounts.

November 8
Red Book
No. 127
Letter 153

[John Stump, son of John, Harford County to Gov. Lee &
the Council.]

May it Please Your Excellency and the Honourable Council This
will be handed you by M^r Benjamin Bradford Norris who going
down to the Assembly have obtained the favour of him to wait upon
you with it; I Wrote you some time Since by John Patrick Esq^r for
my Books & Papers, but he Informed me they Cou'd not be had in
less than two or three Days which time he cou'd not wait; Therefore
have taken the Liberty to write you again on the Subject; Suppose it
wou'd be Needless to say any more than I have said in my Former
Letters with Respect to what I suffer for the want of them; but That
it may Please Your Excellency & the Honourable Council to have
them carefully seiled up & Delivered to M^r Norris ;
And that it may Further Please your Excellency and the Honour-
able Council; to Consider the Situation I am in, Confind to the
County, and Thereby deprived even the Liberty of going to see
my (Relations) or looking after my Property as the Chief of both
lies in other Countys, Indeed the Chief I am worth have laid out In
Erecting a Very Commodious Merchant Mill Nearly Equal to any in
the State; have got her Compleated all but the (Stones and Clothes,)
she will be of Publick Benefit when Finished, which is out of my
Power for want of my Books to Collect the money; and the Liberty
to go after the Stones & Cloths (and so she Stands :) which is a Very
Considerable loss to me, as well as the Publick; It Realy wou'd be
endless for me to mention what I suffer on Acc^r my Confinement, and
although you may look upon me In what Point of View you Please;
yet I am Conscious that I have always Acted the part of a good
Subject; and a Real Friend to the Common Cause of American
Liberty; Therefore I hope your Excellency & the Honourable Coun-
cil will at least think me Entitled the Common Priviledge of a fine
Subject; and that I may be no longer Confined to the County; and
if it should be Required can give any Security for my good behaviour
towards the State; Inclosed is a Certificate of my Character; and as
I Mentioned In my last; hope you have found nothing In the Books
Contrary to Law; or any way Prejudicial to the Common Cause of
America

November 9
Red Book
No. 30
Letter 47

[H. Hollingsworth, Head of Elk, to His Excellency Thomas S.
Lee, Esqr.]

And please your Excell^cy & Honors In my long letter of the 22^d
October I did myself the Honour of acquainting you of my diffi-
culties being out of money and Credit though much in debt haveing