The Phoenix — Dover [N.H.], 1793-03-09 00:00:00, page 2

Strafford, ff—March 6, 1793.
Then the above named Lydia Gray,
and Sally Tufts, personally appearing and
being duly cautioned arid examined made so
lemn oath, that the enclosed depositions, by.
^^m severally subscribed were just and true.
- Henry Mellen, Just. Peace.
THE deposition of Capt. John Riley of
lawful age who teftifies and fays, that some
time a ter the appearance of the republication
of the result of the Ecclefiaflical Convention
at Pomfret, and after an answer had been
made thereto, in the case of Mr. Dodge.—
I was in company with the Revd.Mr. Thurs
ton of Somerfworth, and Mr. Ladd, printer
and publisher of the paper in Dover called the
Phenix, at Mrs. Knight's ferry in Newing
ton—l heard Mr. Thurston and Mr. Ladd,
in conversation, the firft I observed, was Mr.
Thurston's enquiring of Mr. Ladd it the an
swer to the result was length,; Mr. Ladd re
plied it took' up one page or fide of his paper
and part of another—Mr. Thurston then ob
served, he should be unwilling to engage in a
Newspaper war, but if he must, he must —
Mr Ladd then turned to me and enquired
if I had seen it ?I answered in the affirma
tive, and gave for reason that I had seen the
author, and told him if a certain person had
known of its being answered he could have
given some circumflances in favor of Mr.
Dodge.—and the conversation upon this clo
sed.
Quest. Did you from what you heard, sup
pose Mr. Thurston was interested, and meant
to write in the case?
Anfw. I did.
Quest. Did you hear Mr. Ladd request or
advise Mr. Thurston to write an answer to
the observations in answer to the republica.
lion ?
Anfw. I did not.
Quest. Has Mr. Thurston ever applied to
you, to be informed, what yoO could fay,
as to the conversation at Mrs. Knight's Fer
ry?
Anfw. He has.
Quest. Have your family ever informed
you that he has since called in your absence ?
Anfw. They have.
JOHN RILEY.
Strafford, ff.—March 7th 1793.
Then the said John Riley personally ap
pearing made oath, that the within deposi
tion by him subscribed was just and true.
Before me
Henry Mellen, Just. Peace.
With regard to what Mr. T. said so me
in the counting-room—l shall fay the fame
as before —which I am ready to make so
lemn oath to, but as it would be merely, a
bare assertion of what was said to me in pri
vate, I think it not proper to be particular
as there is proof fufficient to convince the
public without bare assertions—Mr. T. ac
knowledges, that he did talk with me in the
counting room about the republication of the
result—and that he wrote the preface to it,
wherein he wifhcd.it might be published.-—
But in the affidavits we have a flat contradic
tion, where Mr.T. declared that he never had.
•any conversation with me upon the fubje&
previous to the republication of the refult—
and that he was wholly unacquainted with
the business—that is, that he never knew any
thing of the republication till -it appeared in
• my paper—lt is rather surprising that Efqr.
John Pike, should apply to Mr. T. to write
an introduction—when every person who is
acquainted with the 'fquire, will readily grant
that his abilities as compositor or writer are
full equal to the competition of the Intro
duaion- -especially when Mr. Thurston
acknowledges that it was forwarded to HIM
to have it inserted in the Dover paper—But
I (hall submit it to the public to judge whe
ther he has acquitted himfelf of the charges
exhibited against him in my former piece or
whether he is not deeper involved.
As a Printer I ever, have and ever shall
behave toward Mr. Thurston as a Truly
impartial Printer ought to do ; but in
refpea to his Rerfonal, and private abuse, as
a private man, I shall take the liberty, of
calling Upon him for fatisf^aion in another
way.
For the PHENIX.
MR. LADD,
I HAVE often attended our town meetings,
and ever thought they were carried on
with as much faiinefs and as little noise and
Confufion as those of any town in the Coun
ty. But at the last meeting, for the choice of
State and County officers, I am lorry to fay
I had ' very great reason to change my opini
on. When the vote was called for County
Register, I suppose there were present about
two hundred and fifty or three hundred voters
and many of those perhaps did not vote at all
—but when the moderator declared the number
of votes thrown for the several candidates,to my
utter astonishment there appeare^^fypw
wards of four hundred. This leddß^^xa
mine a little into the matter to dKrover if pos
sible the persons concerned and the methods
made use of to bring about this iniquitous
and scandalous tranfaaion. Such, however
was the uproar and confufion occasioned by
the people's clambering over each others heads
and bawling out to the moderator from the
tops of the feats that it was next to impossible
to arrest the attention of Mr. Moderator or
any one else. However after much difficul
ty I at length approached a little old white
headed man, who seemed perfealy quiet and
immovable amidst the elamourslof the sur
rounding multitude, and immediately began
my enquiry. He told me he had just put in
four votes, and saw another man put in no less
than seventeen votes for County Register—
Another person who flood hard by informed
me that he and many others had put their
votes into the Moderators hat, and afterwards
had thrown the votes into a hat held out to
them by some other person ; and they were
all counted together by the Seleamen and
Moderator. I told the old man I was afto
niffied that such barefaced and scandalous con
du& should pass thus unnoticed,and apparent
ly with the concurrence of those very men
who of all others should be the most vigilant
in deteaing, and forward in discountenancing
such wicked attempts, to annihilate our free
dom of ele&ion. His reply was this. If
the people are not used kindly and smiled
upon and gai ned upon in a laughing
goodnatured way^ —we shall never be chosen
Seleamen, Senator, Councillor, or Represen
tatives any more ourselves—l think Mr.Ladd,
it is high time §0 put a flop to such abomina
ble practices however they may be counte
nanced by men of seeming consequence. If
the votes of worthless men that are frequently
purchased for a drink of Grogg, are to have
double the weight in oureleaions of those of
our most refpe&able freeholders in town, I
would alkwhere is the honor of being ele&ed
into office and who can affirm he has had the
fte fuffrages of thepeople ?—lt is therefore
most devoutly to be wifhed,that all those who
have the good of their country at heart would
on all proper occasions boldly stand up, and
" use their utmost endeavor to banish that ve
nality and corruption which seems to be faft
gaining ground among us, and which if not
'timely checked will alway be the disgrace, and
most probably end in the deftraaion of the
people#
rr -SPECTATOR,.
MR. LADD.■
MUCH has been said against Tbecl
ires &c, as tending to corrupt th#
morals of youth—But how much more fol
is the pernicious praflice of gambling —£
which oftentimes ends in deadly feuds —d
lam informed for the polilhing, or ra-fr
ther corrupting and contaminating there,
principles of the youth in this town—
Billiard Table has been /et up in a li-]
cenfed house—And that apprentices wi^^ '
out the knowledge of their masters —
nors without the corf ent of their parents
or guardians, are permitted to Jquander
eitbet their own, or their makers or pa
rents property without referue Does
not this lead them on to pilfer—As thereof
is an express law of this fate against it.
b^ere—lf the Selectmen ought not to ;
look into the matter.|
ATOWNSMAN. h
—,
Fer the PHENIX.
Hr LADD, . 1
WHEN a citizen, aduated by virtuous I
and,onefl motives, appears in public
with a view to referm the morals, orcheck thel
general vices of the rimes, he deserves ap*' 1
plaufe ; and while he adheres to truth and de»
cency he will obtain it—but if fir'd with ^
.contrary spirit and different views, he dip>
his pen into slander and deserts the truth, h/
then loses his claim to merit, becomes dange ,
rous to society and deserves public centre.- b
A person of one of those descriptions appear'
in the Phenix of Saturday last under the fig
nature of" A Friend to good Lawyers"—
Like the writer I am a friend to good Law!
yers— like him also 1 venerate the charader{
Mr. Wentworth, instances of his hu "^
frienddrip and forbearance to debit sot
wanting—how careful the person ne id
at, has been in fending similar info wfo
debtors, the people in the County c 4—
I with not in this <wa, to quarie ;
author or his illiberal epithets— ^,r thar•
fake oljuftice, and to corred errors, ; ill anfc
fwer the charge against the attorney's I havle
heard what tranf^ion is therein alffded to,
tho' the original could not be known by time
mutilated pidure.
The fads are these—An account of aboard
sixteen pounds was lodged with the attorney
against a transient person belonging to Maffirl
chufetts, with a request to obtain the pay |if |
opportunity offered, with as little exptnee ah|
possible—more than a yearfafter, the defendant I
passing thro' Dover, was arrested by precetotal
fom two gentlemen in town —this giving^a I
fair opportunity, an a&ion was commenced! ;■
but before Court the plaintiff, either from fefri
getfulnefs, or induced b, some other means, fare,
he never left the account with the attorney mH
all; his handwriting, however, loon rcriified
that error—he then told the defenlßnt he did I
not mean it should be sued— the attorney who ■
was also present said that from the length of ■
time arid the complex variety of directions ,nd ■
commands in the office he might have forgot
ten the exa& order ; and if he had gore too ■
fall he would take nothing for his Services tod■
to give the fulleft proof of his willingne^ to
compensate for any damage he might navc oc
casioned through a supposed millake, paid the
defendant's whole expence and difebarged him I
But that it was upon a note of hand^ as ■
the writer affirms, —that the adion was pi?fc.J
cuted or execution obtained—that the dqfen«fl
dant was ever confined by the suit in dofeipuA
son, a moment, or even to goal jjfefodtb^
the plaintiff had not heard of the suit
came down—are all palpable and notorious ■
fallhoods, palm'd on the public for truh— the ■
defendant work'dat his trade in the n ghbout* |
hood the wholetime—and to these facts those ■
neighbours can witness.
But what will a candid public fay when they ■
are allured, that in a few days aher the defeat I
dant was difeharged, a letter arrived from the 1
-I
1 KI