Weeks, James

To His Excellency General The Right Honourable Lord /
Charles Somerset, Governor of the Cape of Good Hope /
7+c 7+c 7+c /
May it please your Excellency /
The Memorial of James Weeks residing at Pendonis /
near Bathurst most humbly and respectfully /
Sheweth /
That some time ago your Excellency’s /
Memorialist made application to Major Jones the late Landdrost /
of Albany, in order to obtain a pas+sport to Craddock, where /
he intended to take out a Licence to barter with European /
Articles for Cattle 7+c with the Inhabitants of that district /
when he was refered by the sitting Magistrate to M\r/ Le Seur /
the Secretary of Grahams Town, as his legal Adviser, and /
was told by him , that One Licence would be sufficient /
to authoriz+e him to Travel through every distict of this /
Colony. /
That your Excellency’s Memorialist said /
in reply, that if Mr Le Seur was certain of that fact, that /
he (your Memorialist) would then take out his Licence in /
Grahams Town, although he would reap no advantages /
from its including the district in which he resides, and he /
was answered by the profes+sional Gentleman before /
alluded to, that such was the Law of the Colony, when /
Major Jones, immediately said „I know nothing of the /
Laws of this Colony, therefore do not bring Me into /
any Scrape” ! and Mr Le Seur and Mr Unkuright /
both confirmed the former statement and in consequence /
of which your Memorialist was induced to pay him Thirty /
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Rix Dollars for that extensive privilige /
That your Memorialist on his arrival /
at Craddock, conceiving it to be his duty (agreeable to /
his settled principles,) to show a proper respect to the local /
authority, waited upon Captain Harding the deputy /
Landdrost, to exhibit his Licence, as his legal authority /
for trading in the Colony, when to his great surprise, he /
was informed by that Gentleman, that, that document /
was of no use whatever within the limits of his district, /
and Moreover, that if your Excellencys Memorialist /
has disposed of any part of his Goods, that his Waggon, /
Bullocks and Stock, would have become forfeited to His /
Majesty’s Government, without any hope of recovery /
whatever, and which would inevitable have effected the /
utter ruin of himself and family. Captain Harding /
also stated to your Memorialist that had he, even /
desired a Licence for the Albany district, that Twenty /
Five Rix Dollars was the largest sum, which could /
legally have been charged /
That Your Excellency’s Memorialist /
was therefore obliged to take out an additional Licence /
at Craddock for the district of Graaf Reinet and for which /
he paid Twenty Five Rix Dollars, and on his return to /
Grahams Town, waited upon Mr Le Seur, to state to /
him, the disappointment he had met with, and the /
peculiar hardships of his case, when he again insisted /
that he was perfectly right in his former as+sertion, and /
that Cap\t/ Harding was wrong. Your Memorialist therefore /
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has no alternative but to intreat your Excellency to de/c\ide /
the point, which certainly affects the trading part of the British /
Settlers, and probably his Majesty’s revenue, and as it was /
never his intention to take out a Licence for the district /
of Albany, that you will be graciously pleased in your /
goodnes+s and clemency to direct that The Thirty Rix Dollars /
received from him by Mr Le Seur, under such very extra=ordinary /
circumstances may be forthwith returned and /
your Memorialist (as in duty bound) will ever /
pray 7+c 7+c /

(That your Excellency’s Memorialist a short time /
previous to the period, when Sir R. Shawe Donkin gave up the /
Government of this Colony into your illustrious hand, prayed him /
to grant your Memorialist an additional /three\ hundred Acres of Land, /
which are near to his present location, on the grounds that he /
was in pos+ses+sion of a larger number of Cattle than his pasturage /
would keep, but to which he received no answer. Your /
Memorialist therefore humbly prays your Excellency will be /
pleased to grant him a favourable answer to the prayer contained /
in his Memorial and he will ever feel and manifest the most /
genuine gratitude) /
>>X<< the Land for which Memorialist prays has been as+signed to no one. /