USA > New Jersey > Cape May County > The history of Cape May County, New Jersey : from the aboriginal times to the present day > Part 12
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"Copy of a letter from John Hatton, Collector of Salem and Cohensy, to Gov. Franklin, dated Dec. 7th, 1770, com- plaining of the action of Mr. Jas. Whilden, Thomas Leam- ing and John Leonard, Justices at Cape May:"
"I humbly beg leave to inform your Excellency that I am again obliged to fly from and quit my Office, and dis- tressed family by reason that his Majesty's laws and my
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HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
actions in executing them as a faithful servant are misinter- preted by these Your Excelys Justices at Cape May viz James Whilden, Thomas Leaming, and John Leonard, Esqrs who I am informed could not get any others to join them,
"23 Novr-I arrived at Cape May from Burlington. My wounds being so bad prevented me getting there sooner.
"24 .- I procured Joseph Corson, Esqr to go with me to J. Leonard & T. Leaming, Esqs, when I gave them your Excellencys Proclamation to which they paid no regard, and during my stay with them, being about two hours, they did not read it.
"I likewise delivered the Letter Mr. Pettit wrote by your Order on the 17th in regard to bailing my negroe, when they absolutely refused to admit him to bail.
"I then went to the Gaol from whence I found Hughes had been let out in order to go where he chose to procure himself bail, and without any guard he had ful liberty to go where he liked.
"My negro still close confined and very ill the Cutts in his skull being very bad from whence had been taken sev- eral pieces of bones.
"In the dead of night I returned home found my wife as I had been informed, just expiring thro' fright for me and her son, well knowing the danger we were in; and few of my neighbors, tho' I have several good ones durst venture to come to my house being threatened with destruction by Hughes or his friends, notwithstanding the distress of my family, I was obliged to leave home the next night in order to get some one to bail my man.
"This night was assaulted on the road by some man who with a stick struck me several blows in my arm: when a Blow with my Whip handle in his head, stunned him, I rode on.
28 .- On my giving Nicholas Stillwell Esqr £200 security he was so kind as to bail my Negro, being well acquainted with my ill usage, & the distress of my family, a copy of the Bail piece now produced justly expresses it.
"29-Got my Negroe from Prison.
"Decr 5-Mills the Pilot who is advertised with your
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JOHN HATTON. THE TORY.
Excellencys Proclamation was this day going about my neighborhood, armed with a Club and threatening me with destruction.
"6 .- I met the said Mills on the Kings road who threat- ened me with his Club but on my putting my hand towards my pocket he went off. I immediately went to James Whil- den, in order to request him to execute Justice against the said Mills, as I had some days before lodged a complaint before him, but I was told he was not at home, tho' he had been seen a few minutes before. About six hours after on the same day the said James Whilden, Thomas Leaming, & Jo Leonard Esqrs sent 5 men with their warrant now pro- duced, who seized my man as he was going home with a loaded Team, he having been all the day with two of my neighbors getting some of my summers Crop which had been till then decayed on the ground. A few minutes after I was arrested on the same account as the warrant testify- eth. When I first entered the room Mills was sitting by the side of Jo Leonard Esqr with the same Club by his side he had in the morning-during my conversation with them in which I did not give any of them an uncivil word, the said Leonard expressed himself, in a very unbecoming man- ner.
"I then desired the said Mills might be secured and again repeated to them that he was the Pilot who on 8t November threatened me with death if I came near the Ship to execute my Office as his Majs Collr and likewise that he was one of the men who took away the Pilot boat I had seized her, and further that he was the man who laid hold of my son in the street at Philadelphia till a mob of Sailors came up when he and they most inhumanely treated him so that he was taken from them for dead.
"He acknowledged the threatening and obstructing me when I was going to the ship, and like wise taking away the Pilot boat I had seized, and said he would do it again when there was occasion-his conduct was not in the least disapproved by the Magistrates present.
"The Magistrates did not regard my Charges against him, but on my insisting on Mills, being some way secured they
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HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
consented to bind him over to their own Court. An Uncle. of Hughes, was ready for his Bondsman.
"They then bound me, and insisted on £200 security, but. they refused any security I could give for my Negro which I offered them nor would they allow him to stay in the hands of the Constable till next morning: When I told them I would produce them any bail they should require as my friends were at some distance, but they ordered him imme- diately to prison.
"There were present Hughes and his brothers and other relatives who threatened destruction to any who gave me: any assistance; during the whole time they could not pro- duce any one to say that either I, or my Slave, ever was heard to use the least threatening word against the said Mills or any one else, since my first coming amongst them, the reason they give for binding me and sending my Slave again to prison, is, that Mills declared my son told him in Philadelphia, that his fathers Negro should do for him. but did not produce any proofs.
"Since my ill treatment on 8 Novr. His Majs Vessels having been very vigilant has greatly obstructed their smug- gling by water therefore I being so distressed by these three Magistrates gives them full liberty to perform it on shore, for I am well assured, & have just reason to believe that there hath been & still is several thousand pounds worth of contraband Goods lodged on this shore since the 8th of No- vember last, which Goods they are now conveying by Land to Philadelphia, and have been so during a few days since in the open day to go to my door with a loaded Waggon. and men armed with Pistols in their hands challenging me to appear if I durst, to seize them.
"Mills and the Boat now appear in public and he bids defiance to any.
"These my assertions I can prove if the Witnesses are impartially examined, therefore I hope your Excellency doth plainly perceive that it is for my Zealous attachment to his Majesty that I am thus injured abused, and interrupted by these three Magistrates-
"My Instructions are, in any difficulties to apply to Your Excellency for assistance and protection, therefore do most
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JOHN HATTON, THE TORY.
humbly pray from Your Excellency a speedy redress as His- Majesty's Revenue suffers entirely by the Actions and Pow- ers of these three Magistrates at Cape May. "JOHN HATTON."
The following is a copy of the warrant for the apprehen- sion of John Hatton, collector at Salem.
New Jersey, Cape May county, ss.
George the third by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith &c To our Sheriff of the County of Cape May or the Constables of the said County or either of them Greeting Forasmuch as Je- dediah Mills of the said County of Cape May Pilot hath personally come before Us Janies Whillden, Thos Leaming, and John Leonard, Esqrs three of his Majs Justices assign- ed to keep the Peace within the said County of Cape May & hath taken a Corporal Oath that he the said Jedediah Mills is afraid that John Hatton, Esqr. of the said County of Cape May will beat wound maim or kill him th said Je- dediah Mills and hath therewithal prayed surety for the Peace and Good Behavior against him the said John Hat- ton Esqr. therefore We command and charge you jointly and severally or either of you that immediately upon the Receipt hereof you bring the said John Hatton Esqr Forth- with before us the said James Whilden Thos Larning & John Leonard, Esqrs or either of Us to find sufficient Sure- ty and Mainprize as well for his personal appearance at the next General Quarter Sessions of Our Peace or Court of Oyer & Terminer of General Goal Delivery or which ever of said Courts should happen to be held first in & for our said County as also for our Peace and Good Behavior in the mean time to be kept toward us and all our Liege Peo- ple and chiefly towards the said Jedediah Mills that is to. say that he the said John Hatton, Esqr. shall not do nor by any means procure or cause to be done any of the said Evils to any of Our said People and especially to the said Jedediah Mills.
Given under Our Hands and Seals this 6th day of Decr in the IIth Year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lord
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HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
George the third of Great Britain &c in the Year of Our Lord 1770.
(Signed) J. WHILLDEN T. LEAMING J. LEONARD.
At the same time a warrant was issued for Hatton's slave, Ned, by the same justices, because Jedidiah Mills complain- ed that he "is afraid that a Mulatto Slave called Ned by name belonging to John Hatton, Esqr. of the lower Precinct in said county of Cape May" might "beat maim or kill him."
The following is the correspondence, taken from official documents in the colonial office at London, England, con- cerning the Hatton matter:
"Copy of a Letter from Mr. Hatton, Collector of Salem, Etc., to the Commissioners of the Customs, dated Perth Amboy, Dec. 25, 1770, complaining of the ill treatment he had received.
"Perth Amboy, 25th Decemr 1770.
"Gentlemen
"On my way to the Governor with the inclosed Remon- strance I received Yours of the roth Inst. on the Receipt of which I went to Mr. Skinner, Attorney General whose opin- ion I have now sent like wise the inclosed Remonstrance will give Your Honors a just Information of the further il treatment I have receiv'd Mr Read Collector of Burling- ton hath bailed out Hughes. Mr Read's actions are, as formerly; which is to distress me and the Service of the Revenue all He can. He is one of the 3 chief Judges of this Province & hath a Salary for it & is likewise one of the Governor's Council.
"I am credibly informed that a Set of Merchants at Phil- adelphia have remitted a Quantity of money to this Province in Order to gain any Point they want to likewise make this Cape their Stanch Store, as they say they cannot do without It for their Contraband Trade-for since the 8th of last November there have been 5 other Vessels unloaded with Illicit Goods.
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JOHN HATTON, THE TORY.
"I have wrote three pressing letters to the Captain of His Majs Vessel in this River but no One hath yet appeared to give me any Relief. I hired a Sloop on purpose to go to them to get them to keep their Vessel or Tender in our Bay which would be the proper place, whereby they would perceive, with my assistance on Land, all the proceedings of the smuglers there; but they declined my Request saying they could not assist me on Shore, and Winter coming on they must lay up their Vessels, therefore I am obliged to keep concealed by day, & when I travel it is all by night, & expect no other than some Day to fall a Sacrifice to their Wicked Malice & Inventions. I left my Wife at the point of death thro' Fright for me and her Son. My Son being still Ill at the Tavern He was taken to first, & will lose ei- their his Arm or the use of it, which cannot yet be deter- mined & hath undergone a Severe Illness myself going Hundreds of Miles to endeavor to procure Justice & have almost expended my last Farthing and am in the greatest distress for more, who am
"Gentlemen &c "JOHN HATTON."
"I am to call on the Governor on my way back for an answer to my Remonstrance of the 7th Inst. He having sent to the Attorney General for his advice & the Result thereof I will inform You Mr Skinner advises me to arrest the 3 Magistrates if I can get them before the Governor for their actions & false Imprisonment but I want money, having now expended in this affair upwards of 30£. Be pleased to excuse the Badness of this Letter as my Wounds in my Head & right Arm are still so bad that I can hardly think or hold my Pen."
Letter from Attorney-General Skinner to Mr. Hatton, giving his opinion on the proceedings of the magistrates at Cape May:
"Dec. 25, 1770.
"Mr. Hatton
"I have considered the Papers you have laid before me,
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HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
and those sent by Mr Petit and am of opinion that as the transaction was on the high Seas the Admiralty only hath Jurisdiction, & it is those vou ought to apply.
"Upon the same principle the Magistrates at Cape May had no authority to issue their Warrant, or bind you over to Court the place where the Seizure & Rescue was made being without their jurisdiction or that of any Court but the Admiralty. CORTD SKINNER.
"to John Hatton Esqr."
Letter from Mr. Skinner, Attorney-General of East Jer- sey, to Charles Petit, Esq., secretary to Governor Franklin, giving his opinion on the conduct of the Magistrates at Cape May:
"Dec. 25. 1770.
"Sir
"I received Yours by Mr. Hatton with the Papers in- closed & have considered them as well as the Shortness of the time would permit, together with other Information given me by Mr. Hatton.
"I am of opinion that the place where the Seizure & Rescue were made is clearly out of the county of Cape May. That the Admiralty only has Jurisdiction and that the Jus- tices of Cape May were forward in taking upon them any Enquiry; than issuing their Warrant & taking Mr. Hatton & his Slave after his Excellency's Proclamation is an inso- lent Contempt of his Proclamation and will, with other parts of their Behaviour, justify His Excellency in ordering their Attendance before him in Council, or upon very clear Affi- davits of their Behaviour removing them from Office.
"It was their Duty to Support Mr Hatton the Collector & not suffer a Man Mills so principally concerned in the Matter to Sit with them when they illegally demanded Se- curity of the Collector, then countenancing the outrage of the Pilots as well as the running of Goods are Sufficient to remove them-Be pleased to make my Compts to the Gov- ernor & am &c: CORTLAND SKINNER.
"To Chas Petit Esqr Govrs. Secretary."
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JOHN HATTON, THE TORY.
Letter from Mr. Hatton, collector of Salem and Cohan- sey, to the commissioners of the customs, Boston, relative to his ill treatment by the magistrates at Cape May:
"Gentlemen
"I wrote to your Honours from Perth Amboy on the 25th instant, and inclosed you the Attorney General's opinion of the Actions of the Magistrates and likewise my last Re- monstrance to Govr Franklin and also the Copies of two Warrants which has been served on me and my Negro. Two Days after I arrived at Burlington & waited on the Governor & delivered a letter from Mr. Skinner a Copy of which is inclosed, after much persuasion His Excellency granted according to Mr Skinner's Opinion an Non Ultimo Prosequi for me but as my Negro happened not to be men- tioned in it, the Governor refused me one for him, therefore both he and me as one of his bonds men must appear at their next Court in February, what the issue may be I can- not pretent to say but no good. His Excellency has like- wise wrote to the three Magistrates to appear before him and his Council sometime in the Spring the particular time not yet fixed, but if we may judge from former instances the result will be. I wrote this from opposite Philadelphia, the Tavern where my son is whose wounds are partly heal- ed but has lost entirely the use of his Arm. I beg your Honours will consider the distress I am in for want of Money as I have now spent nearly forty pounds in traveling so many hundred miles & in fees for advice & other ex- pences caused by this affair and I have still other Expences to pay by reason my man must attend their Court, therefore do most humbly beg your Honours will either grant me my Incidents now due or advance some of my salary or any other means you may think proper, which must be speedily & can be done by an Order on Mr Swift. I have taken out a Supreme Writt for Mills the Pilot by the Attorney Genera- als advice as there is no Court of Admiralty in this Prov- ince .- I should be glad vour Honours would interpose so as to get the Magistrates punished according to. their de- serts. I am &c JOHN HATTON.
"Coopers Ferry opposite Philadelphia 30th Decr. 1770."
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HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
"N B The Letter referred to is not yet come to hand."
Copy of a letter from His Excellency, Governor Franklin, to the Commissioners of His Majesty's Customs at Boston:
"Burlington, April 10, 1771. "Gentlemen,
"I yesterday received your Letter of the 26th of March, and am much surprized to find that Mr Hatton has not ac- quainted you with the Result of the Enquiry made by the Governor & Council into his Complaint against the Mag- istrates of Cape May, as on 26th of Febry he obtained a certified Copy of all the Minutes & Proceedings relative to that matter, which he said was to be immediately transmit- ted to you, agreeably to the Orders you had before given him. However as it appears by your Letter that you have- not received them, I have directed the Secretary to make out another Copy, which I send enclosed; together with a Copy of sundry Notes & Observations made by him, ex- plaining more particularly several matters relative to Mr. Hatton's Complaint, which are either omitted, or slightly mentioned, in the Opinion given by the Governor and Council. By comparing these with the several Paragraphs. of the Complaint, as numbered you 'may be able to form a true Judgement of the Conduct of your Officer.'
"The Representation Mr. Hatton has made to you of the ill Treatment that he, his Son, and Negro, received from a number of Seamen belonging to the Ship Prince of Wales, in Delaware Bay, on account of his having seized a Pilot Boat, suspected to have some Contraband Goods on Board belonging to said Ship, and of the barbarous Usage which his Son afterwards received of them and a Number of oth- ers at Philadelphia may, for aught I know, be very just. They were Transactions entirely out of the Jurisdiction of this Government, and which I have had no Opportunity of enquiring particularly into. But as to his Complaints against the Conduct of the Magistrates, and of the Distress which they have occasioned him, I do take upon me to say they are entirely false and malicious.
"Altho' I have long had a very bad Opinion of Mr. Hat-
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JOHN HATTON, THE TORY.
ton's Principles and Disposition, yet as he appeared before me with several Wounds, which he said he had gotton on board a Pilot Boat, from some Irish Seamen, when doing his Duty, and told me a melancholy story of the ill Treat- ment he had received from three of the Justices, I was moved to give some Credit to his assertions. Accordingly, I issued a Proclamation for apprehending the Persons con- cerned in the Affray, in Case any of them should appear in this Province, and afterwards sent Orders to the Justices to appear before me in Council on the 21st of February, which (as they and most of the Gentlemen of the Council lived at a great Distance) was as soon as they could be well got together. I besides advised him to apply to the Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania for a like Proclamation, and to obtain the Chief Justice's Warrant for searching all suspected Houses & Places in Philadelphia, at which City the Seamen were at that Time. He was likewise advised by the Attor- ney Genl to apply to the Court of Admiralty, where only the offence was properly cognizable. Neither of which he did, as I have heard. On the contrary, he has done but little else but ride about the Country, taking a Number of un- necessary Journies to Philadelphia, Burlington and Amboy, with an Expectation, as I suppose, of receiving a handsome Allowance out of the Revenue for his Trouble and Ex- pences, on pretence that he was engaged in what his Majes- ty's Service absolutely required.
"The Day fixed for the Hearing, and some Days both before and after, happened to be the severest Weather we had during the Winter, yet several of His Majesty's Council and the King's Attorney, tho' they had between 60 & 70 miles to Travel, gave their Attendance & spent with me near three Days in hearing the Parties, and enquiring into the affair, wlien they gave it as their unanimous Opinion, that there was no just Foundation for any of Mr Ilatton's charges against the Justices .- The Particulars of his Com- plaint, and the Opinions of the Council and Attorney Gen- eral, are set forth at large in the Minutes. I could not but concur with their Sentiments, as the Facts in favour of the Justices were, indeed, too evident to admit of any Hesitation in the Matter.
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IHISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
"Mr Hatton appears to be a Man of a very unhappy, vio- lent Temper, sometimes bordering on Madness, so that it is impossible that he can live long in Quiet with his Neigh- bours. He has extravagant Notions of his Power and Im- portance as a Collector of the Customs-insists upon great Homage and Deference being paid him by the Country Magistrates-tells them he is exempted from paying Taxes out of England-& that he has it in his Power to get the Governor Council, Chief Justice, Attorney General, and every Officer of the Government removed, if they should at any Time refuse to do as he would have them. In short, there is nothing so absurd & outrageous, that he has not shown himself capable of saying or doing, on which Ac- count I have had more Trouble with him than with all the other People in New Jersey. Besides, he has got a Notion in his Head, that by making great Clamour against the In- habitants of this Province, representing them all as con- cerned in Smuggling, in Combination against him and his Authority, and that he is suffering from his active Zeal for his Majesty's Interest, he shall make himself a Man of Con- sequence with the Commissioners of Customs, & through them get preferred to a better Collectorship. In this I should most heartily wish him Success, so that it was any where out of this Colony, were I not well assured that he has been unfaithful to his Trust, and strongly connected with some of the most noted Smugglers in Philadelphia, and with the Only Person in all his District who is suspected to have any Concern in such illicit Practices. Nor indeed, have I the least Doubt, if the People on board the Ship and Pilot Boat had offered him Money instead of Blows, when he first came to them, but that he would readily have ac- cepted it, and left them to pursue their Measures without any Disturbance from him whatever.
"I do not, however, expect that the Opinions of the Gov- ernor, Council, Attorney General & Secretary, now trans- mitted to you, will have much Weight with you, Gentlemen, or make you think the worse of the Conduct of your Offi- cer. My Reasons for this I shall tell you candidly, that if I am in the Wrong in any of them you may set me right. They are
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JOHN HATTON, THE TORY.
"Ist Because you paid so little Regard to the Opinion of tthe Govr and Council, in the Year 1768, on a former Com- plaint of the same kind, that you thought it necessary to -send to me for 'Copies of the several Affidavits and other Materials upon which it was grounded: thereby shewing that you either believed us to be incompetent Judges, 01 «doubted the Justice of our Decision, and were therefore de- termined to make a fresh Enquiry into the Matter Your- : selves.
"2d Because I am credibly informed, that so far from "blaming or censuring Hatton for his extraordinary Conduct at that Time, you even gave him Marks of your Approba- tion, complimenting with a Place in the Customs, an infa- mous Fellow who he then sent to you with his ground- less Complaints. I call this Fellow (whose Name is Clark) infamous, because he appeared evidently, both to the Coun- cil of me, to be determined to swear thro' thick & thin, in favour of Hatton, and contradicted himself so often in the Course of his Testimony, that several of the Council de- "clared that they thought he ought to have been committed tto the Goal for Perjury.
"3d Because your own Inspector General of the Customs "(who was particularly directed by vou to enquire what Foundation there was for Mr. Hatton's Complaint that Time) not only represented to you, in his Report or Letter of the 17th June 1769 that the Disputes Hatton had with the People were 'of a Private Nature, arose from trifling Matters, owing to an unwise Department in his private Station,' and not 'on Account of his Zeal for the Service,' or for 'exerting himself in his Duty,' as he had alledged, but at the same Time acquainted you with sundry Facts, and transmitted to vou a Number of Proofs, fully evincing that he had been guilty of unwarrantable Practices in his Office, and had given Encouragement and Assistance to "some of the most noted Smugglers, to the great Detriment "of the King's Revenue: notwithstanding which you have "suffered him to continue in Office, and have not, at least as I can learn, ever shewn any marks of your Disapprobation .of his Conduct .- Had I not known that the Inspector Gen- «ral, after a strict Examination into the Matter, had made
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