Erith, James Thomas

Waaye Platz+, April 14\th/ 1822 /
May it please your Excellency /

The difficulties connected with the formation of a new /
Settlement at a remote distance from its parent state and the comforts of life /
are in themselves of no trifling magnitude, especially if we take into con=sideration /
the entire failure of Two succes+sive Harvest’s which your /
Excellency knows has been experienced in this country during the /
short period we have resided here, but when facts allow us to add to /
them, the los+s of servants (for whom a great expence had been incurred) /
under the sanction of an Office which ought to be “a terror to evil doers” /
only # from motives, which their future employment and the profits /
attached to their labours (as unfolded by a certain Ledger) have rendered too /
plain and obvious to be mistaken, and those very servants allowed to strike /
the man who feeds and clothes them, without obtaining any redres+s from /
the local authority after repeated applications, while he himself is wantonly /
dragged from his bed upon which he was stretched in a state of great bodily /
weaknes+s, as a vagrant of the lowest and worst description, exposed to /
all the inclemency of the Evening air, and placed upon a swamp (which /
the pencil of an Artist has clearly exhibited) with two unoffending children /
during the absence of their Mother, the burden becomes too intolerable for /
the shoulders of a freeborn British subject to endure, and he cannot sup=res+s /
the anxious and increasing desire of returning to that Land where /
Justice ever sits on her throne of state in splendid robes of unsullied white, /
nobly supported by Twelve disinterested men, when he cannot trace /
her footsteps in an English Colony, and such your Excellency were /
the feelings which dictated the various statements of my unfortunate /
situation which from time to time have been handed to General /
Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin during the absence of your Excellency /
and supported as I am by the Official documents which I have /
received at various periods of my short but lamentable History in this /
Colony I dare affirm that the whole case has never been fairly nor /
fully met or replied to, while evasions of certain points, abound through=out /
the whole of the correspondence, and promises solemnly made which /
have never been realiz+ed, and in consequence of which I was induced /
as soon as your Excellency arrived on this part of His Majesty’s /
foreign pos+ses+sions in your high and exalted station to hand you /
a statement of my grievances, and duplicates of my proceedings and /
which although briefly entered into, occupied a considerable number /
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of sheets, but for which I know your goodnes+s would not require an apology /
and therefore I was not surprised to hear from Mr Phillips ( our late worthy /
and much respected Magistrate) that the Honourable Captain /
Somerset had told him that your Excellency had expres+sed (in his /
pres+sence) a determination to bring to Justice the author of the /
misfortunes of which I had complained to you “whether it were /
General Donkin or Captain Trappes “ and that your Excellency /
had dispatched a duplicate of my Memorial to England, but your /
Excellency will Judge of my Surprise after the arrival of such /
intelligence through so pure a channel of conveyance, when I /
received an Official communication from Colonel Bird immediately /
afterwards, dated at the Colonial Office Feb\y/ 13\th/ 1822, stating /
that you “had received my Memorial and perused it with the great=est /
attention, and having done so had called upon Captain Trappes /
to reply, to the grave accusations, which I had again thought proper /
to bring forward against that Gentleman, and that therefore he was /
instructed to inform me, that the explanations which Captain Trappes /
had given upon [every point] of the statement I had made, had /
entirely satisfied your Excellency, that Captain Trappes had in [no] /
[sense done me any wrong], or could be considered as having /
acted towards me with any other feeling than that which the /
duties of this situation required” but this declaration however, /
does not appear to me, to savour of that wisdom and Justice which /
your Excellency is known to pos+ses+s, and this impres+sion has been /
strengthened by the following suggestions which have spontaniously /
presented themselves to my mind, and first, Captain Trappes’s /
[mere reply], I conclude would have no more satisfied your Excellency /
(however plausible and well arranged) than a declaration of /
Innocence made by a person under serious charges in an English /
Court, would induce the venerable Judge on the Bench to dismis+s /
the case, from the mere defence of the prisoner, without the exam=ination /
of witnes+ses, or hearing that Plaintiff in reply, and secondly /
because such a declaration would prejudice my case in the /
circuit Court where I intended to have brought it on an Action /
unles+s your Excellency was pleased to point out any other way of my /
obtaining impartial Justice for the injuries which have been done /
me, Thirdly because the Letter of Colonel Bird does not contain /
an answer to the whole of my Memorial and is totally silent in /
respect to the deposit which I made in England under a solemn /
promise from His Majesty’s Government that the whole should /
be returned in Three Months after my having been located, which /
has not been done and a considerable sum is now due to me, /
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while a supply of rations for myself and family have been denied /
me for no other reasons that I know of, that because I refused to /
sign away my property, It is therefore but reasonable that they /
return me the balance, and which I have no doubt your /
Excellency will soon direct to be done, Fourthly /
because the Letter from Col Bird is at variance with the /
declaration made by the Honourable Captain Somerset to /
Mr Phillips which I have previously stated, and confirmed in /
a subsequent conversation with Mrs Erith, and who appeared /
much surprised when he read the Letter from the pen of Col /
Bird, and throwing it on the Table, again repeated what he had /
heard your Excellency as+sert upon the subject, and therefore /
I cannot refrain from stating that every person here to whom /
I have mentioned the case (and the number is considerable) /
conceive that your Excellency probably knows nothing of the /
document to which I allude, and on that grounds I have to /
entreat your Excellency’s pardon for again troubling you on /
the subject, but it appeared to be enveloped in such sable /
clouds of mystery that I humbly conceived nothing short of an /
appeal /to\ your Excellency could disperse them. In the con=clusion /
therefore I humbly pray, that your will be graciously /
pleased to order that a correct copy of Captain Trappes’s reply /
to my Memorial be forwarded to me, and that you will /
be pleased previous to your Excellency’s pronouncing Judgment /
to receive my replication to his defence, and allow me to hand /
you Affidavits from persons regularly sworn before the Landdrost /
and I do not prove to a demonstration all I have stated respect=ing /
the conduct of Captain Trappes, I am content to sink under /
the heaviest punishment which British Laws can inflict and am /
Your Excellency’s /
most ob\t/ subject and Servant /
Ja\s/. Tho\s/. Erith /