of his at whose Mercy Beamont did lye there was a Record rased by somebody I suppose Mr. Settle may more certainly inform you since my Retirement I have not had Opportunity to make Inquiry into Particulars But both Vaveser and Beaumont by Common Fame are notoriously known Now I thought my self at rest for some time but my Enemys meant no such Thing for quickly was I served with an old Obsolete Writ that is scarce in a King's Reign made use of called De homine Replegiando which was made returnable immediate or immediately I told Mr. Beaumont and the Clark-sitter one under Mr. Trotman Secondary or Deputy Sheriff at the Poltry Counter That I did not understand the meaning of it but I would immediately advise with Councel and accordingly would put in my Return And I very happily met with Councell in the same House to whom I shew'd the Writ and stated my Case he said He would look it over and draw up a Return But before Councel could draw it up I was next day serv'd with an Alias returnable also immediate being of the Tenor of the Former and the next day was served with a Pluries By this time my Councel had finished the Return which by good Witness was carried to the Poultry Counter drawn by him in Latin Therefore for the more Common Understanding thereof I give it with the Pluries in English for our Commonalty generally as yet do not understand either Latin Prayers or Court-Hand Latin Writs The Pluries CHARLES the Second by the Grace of GOD of England Scotland France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith c. To the Sheriffs of LONDON Greeting Whereas WE have often Commanded you That justly and without delay you should cause to be Replevied the Body of Richard Civiter which John Wilmer of Jewen street LONDON Merchant hath Taken and having Taken doth hold as it is said unless he should be taken by Our Special Precept or that of our Lord Chief Justice or for the Death of a Man or for our Forrests or for any other Cause whereby according to the Custom of England he is not repleviable That We might hear no further Clamor for Defects of Justice or that you should signifie unto US the Cause why our said other Precepts to you directed you would not or could not Execute and you contemning as We Conceive Our said Command to Replevin the said Rich Civiter or at least have not hitherto taken Care to signifie unto Us the Cause why you would not or could not do the same to the manifest Contempt of Us and Our Commands and to the great Dammage Grif of the said Richard Civiter Concerning which We are Amazed and extreamly moved Therefore firmly injoyning We do now Command you That you do cause the said Richard Civiter to be replevied according to the Tenor of our said former Precepts to you formerly directed or else That you yourselves be before Us from the day of Easter in three Weeks wheresoever We shall be in England to shew Cause why Our said Commands to you so often directed you have dispised to execute and have there this Writ Witness Our Self at Westminster the 28th day of April in the XXXIV year of our Reign Shellberry By the Lord High Chancellor of ENGLAND To the abovesaid Writ I shall subjoyn the Return drawn up by my Councel which is in these words following WE Samuel Shute Esq and Thomas Pilkington Esq Sheriffs of the City of LONDON to Our Sovereign Lord the King and the day and place within mentioned do certifie That the within named John Willmer doth Assert and Claim the within Named Richard Civiter to be his Servant by Contract between the said John Wilmer and Richard Civiter by Deed indented By which Indenture the said Richard Civiter for a price did Bargain with the said John Wilmer to serve him the said John Wilmer in his Affairs in the Island of JAMAICA for a Term of years as yet to come and long before the coming to us of the said Writ he did of his own Accord pass over unto the said Island by Reason whereof we the said Sheriffs him the said Richard now in the Service of the said John in the Island aforesaid cannot Replevie or Deliver Signed by Council Anthony Welden Now that the World may see this Return was True and Honest and the State of my Case I shall here annex the Copy of the Indenture it self as followeth THis Indenture made the 31 of March in the year of our Lord 1680 between Richard Civiter of the one part and John Wilmer of London Merchant of the other part Witnesseth That the said Richard Civiter doth hereby promise covenant and grant to and with the said John Wilmer his Executors and Assigns from the Day of the date hereof until his first and next Arival in Jamaica in parts beyond the Seas and after for and during the Term of Nine years to serve in such Service and Imployment as he the said John Wilmer or his Assigns shall imploy him according to the Custom of the Country In the like kind in Consideration whereof the said John Wilmer doth hereby covenant and grant to and with the said Richard Civiter to pay for his Passage and to find and allow him Meat Drink Apparel and Lodging with other Necessaries during the said Term and to pay unto him the said Richard Civiter as by Custom of the Country he ought and in such Case is used In witness whereof the Parties above-mentioned to these Indentures have interchangeably set their hands and Seals the Day and year first above written Sealed and delivered in the presence of Walter Ninn Mayer of Graves-End Richard Cresswell Searcher VVilliam Codd Attorney Having brought you thus far the said Return being given in as aforesaid my Councel assured me according to the best of his Judgment That I should hear no more of it if the Sheriff made that Return But I said VVhat if they Scruple it He answered Do you stand by it for 't is the Truth of your Case and if they do make any other upon their Perils be it for if they make a false Return what ever Dammage you suffer you have good Remedy against the Sheriffs when their time is expired I being assured of the fidelity of my Councel did sit down satisfied But here I might lead you into a large Field as to what passed between the She Sheriffs Mr. Secondary Trotman the Councel and my self but it s not material having come to a greater length already than I hoped it would therefore now shall study Brevity In fine there was a Return made other than what I first put in which was in the Lawyers term an Elongavit the fence whereof is Englished as followeth BEfore the Coming of this VVrit to us directed the within named Richard Civiter was elongated by the within named John Wilmer to Places to us altogether unknown so that the said Richard Civiter we could not Replevine as within is
given in Command Resp Sam. Shute Ar ' Vic. Com. Tho. Pilkington Ar. Vic. Com. I shall not now Enquire into the Reason nor relate Why and by whose Advice this was made but I told Mr. Sheriff Shute It was none of mine and was not a True Return if I suffered by it I begg'd his Pardon if I sought my Relief where the Law would help me Now by means of the last Return it let in my Prosecutors to take out a Capias in Withernam as they call it directed to the Sheriffs of LONDON upon which they issued out their VVarrant to take me into Custody which if I had been must have lain untill the Return of the Boy which at least would have been six Months it may be twelve The Copy of the Warrant Poultryss BY Virtue of the Kings Majesties VVrit of Capias in Withernam unto us directed you shall without delay take the Body of J. Wilmer of Jewen-street London Merchant in VVithernam and deliver him into our Custody so that him we may safely keep untill we shall be able according to the Custom of England to Replevy the Body of Ric. Civiter whom the said Jo. Wilmer hath taken and having taken doth detain according to the Tenor of the same VVrit dated 11. 8. 1682. To any of our Serjeants at Mace Sam. Shute Ar. Vic' Th. Pilkington Ar. Vic' The day before the Capias was granted I was by Rule of Court from the Kings-Bench-Court to attend where I appeared and then the Attorny General moved I might plead to an Information in the Crown Office being the same Mr. Carlton Beaumont threatned me with which was then by Order of Court read and is as followeth THe Attorney General this present Easter-Term informs That the Defendant Jo. Wilmer late of Jewen-street London Merchant being a person covetous of Gain not in the least caring by what wayes and means he Livelihood Gain and Profit acquireth although to the Damage and Prejudice of others The Defendant the 30th day of April in the 32 year of Charles the now King at Graves-End in the County of Kent in and upon one R. Civiter son of R. Civiter of Wapping Barber an Infant within 13 years of Age against the Peace of Our Sovereign Lord the King made an Assault and him the said R. Civiter beat wounded and evilly intreated so that of his Life he greatly despaired and then and there the said R. Civiter in a certain Ship by Force and Arms falsly subtilly unlawfully and injuriously conveyed and caused to be conveyed in that Ship into parts beyond the Seas into a certain Island called Jamaica falsly subtilly unlawfully and injuriously the said R. Civiter transported and caused to be transported with intention to detain the said R. Civiter in the Island aforesaid for his profit and other Enormities to the Dammage of the said R. Civiter and to the wicked Example of all others in the like case Delinquents and against the Peace of our Sovereign Lord the King his Crown and Dignity VVhereupon the Attorny General craved Advice of the Court in the Premises and to put the Laws in Execution against the said J. Wilmer to Answer our Sovereign Lord the King the Premises c. Whereupon I was ordered to plead Guilty or Not Guilty I replyed That if by the Legal Course of that Court I ought so to do I was ready to do it But withal told my Lord Chief Justice I was sorry that Great Court should be troubled with so Trivial a Thing wherein was more of Malice than any thing else for that one Carlton Beaumont one of the busiest in Prosecution had threatned to Colledg me before he had done with me My Lord commanded the Tip-staff to take me into Custody If I did not immediately plead Whereupon I pleaded NOT GUILTY Upon which my Lord ordered a Tryal at Bar of that Court And as I told you in the Introduction I shall not meddle with any thing done by that Court in my Tryal being a Noli me Tangere yet I hope without Offence to Justice in defence of my self I may touch upon the Material Witnesses there produced against me one was Civiters wife who swore several things against me as my Discourse and Demands at my Lord Mayor's That there I demanded what Money I had disbursed in the Boy 's Passage outwards and likewise what his Re-passage would cost when as it s notoriously known by many good Citizens That those things are notoriously false for that my Offers were as are formerly exprest Another Witness brought against me was their Waterman who swore He carried us down to Graves End which is also notoriously false Now That the Waterman We produced was the Right-man that carried us I shall make out by such a Corroborating Circumstance as shall satisfie all unbyassed persons tho many will say It s hard to find a Waterman after 2 years that but once carried one by Water or that never saw the man before or since but take the Circumstances and then Judge As we went to Graves-End Some Discourse between one another will be to pass away the time and amongst other Discourse our Waterman told us That year a Gentleman as I understand had some time before gave a Boat to be towed for by several Watermen and he that came first to the place appointed should have it our Waterman said He got the Boat that year By this Token many of Billings-gate watermen told us his Name and so we found him our or else among the Thousands it had been Impossible Therefore whereas the Popish Scriblers have charged me with Subornation and my Witnesses with Perjury I doubt not by unquestionable Testimony of good Citizens and others of Repute to make out Both against some of their Witnesses with Vavesor and Beaumont Thus have I given you at large the most material Things done by my self in sending over the Boy and also the most remarkable Occurrences done or said by others from the beginning of the Prosecution to the Tryal at Westminster Where by the way Note I had above 20 Witnesses of good Repute whereof one half of them as I am Inform'd was not sworn nor several of those that were ever so much as heard I had six Councels judg'd as able as most as plead at that Bar who did speak little the Reason of both I leave to indifferent and unbiassed men to judge when the Matter and Manner of my Case was as before is stated and would have been fully prov'd having done what I promised in the Beginning I leave my self to the Judgment of God and men whether Guilty or Not Guilty of the Information When some of the July confessed They had many times done the same thing and had not near so much to say for themselves as I have and yet thought it no Crime in them But some may say Every one is not John Willmer and That same may better steal an Horse than another look over the Hedg But to requite Proverb
he had Any living Also I told him I had done nothing but what was fair and should be content any one should do the same by mine should God bring them in the same Case as the Boy persisted he was in as being Fatherless Motherless friendless penniless and helpless and this believed by me and farther I said to him if this Civiter had a Son run away from him that was any wise serviceable to him and he had any Love for him I wondred he did not lock out for him long before this time the Gentleman said he would not have looked after him now but in hopes to get a piece of Mony for saith he I have heard the Boy had been very unlucky and run away from divers places and would never come to good here and therefore hearing how I had disposed him and the manner of the Boys going he said he was well satisfyed that he was better disposed then the parents could have done for him therefore he vvould acquaint them vvith it and meddle no more in it so I heard no more of them until about Three Months ago and then one Mr. Grote a Sollicitor being Neighbour to this Civiter and had lent him some Money and Civiter being poor and not able to pay him the said Civiter told him of this business and said if he would follow it he might get as much Money as would pay himself upon vvhich Mr. Grote came to me bringing with him Civiter and his Wife who I had never seen before to my Knowledg and Mr. Grote charges me how I had sent away a Boy one Civiter about two years ago to Jamaica which Boy was their Boy and therefore they expected satisfaction should be made for the same whereupon I replyed Surely the Boy I sent could not be theirs for hâ—st dfastly affirmed to the last he had neither Father or Mother and I perceived here he had brought both whereupon little more passed at this time farther then giving them a Glass of Wine I being in a Tavern at Dinner not many days after Mr. Grote came to me very civilly and tells me I must do something in this business about the Boy I told him I would do any thing that was reasonable but I knew no Reason I had to do any thing whereupon saith he will you go before my Lord Mayor and leave it to Him I told him I would very readily then Sir saith he I shall not trouble you with a Summons but pray please to Appear such a day and hour Accordingly I attended where soon after I saw Capt. Sam. Jones who had been Commander of the Ship at the time when the Boy was sent whom they had summoned in when my Lord Mayor was ready we were called before him there appeared against me that I knew again Mr. Groat and Civiters Wife they telling my Lord how their Boy vvas lost and how I had taken him up and Capt. Jones had carried him away my Lord asked vvhat I said to it I said my Lord I own such a Boy by name and gave my Lord Account as to the Matter and Mannea of Fact as before is recited my Lord turning to them said what would you have they Answer'd Their Boy again I replyed The Boy sought me not I him and indeed by his pittiful Complaints prevailed with me to take him or else I should not have done it whereupon one Mr. Rainsford Waterhouse a Man of known Repute and Estate said my Lord I wonder at the Ingratitude of these People and what they would have they ought to give Mr. Wilmer Thanks for doing so well by the boy who is better provided for then they could do for they are so Poor that the Parish doth daily Expect when they will come upon their Charges I knew not one Word of Mr. VVaterhouse's being there until I heard him speak when he had done saith my Lord Look you here why do you come with Complaints when you ought to give thanks to God and Mr. Wilmer for doing so well by the Boy upon which speaks one Mr. Vavasor vvho vvas all this vvhile a Spectator and no vvays concerned in it or made acquainted with it as I shall prove in due time and that Civiters Wife had never seen Vavasor in her Life before to her Knowledg but he then spake and used many words to little purpose that to me his Lordships patience seemed very great to suffer him so to talk and concluded all with having the Boy again at my Charge whereupon I told my Lord they should see I was so far from any Design of any Advantage I had by the Boy that I would be content to loose all my Money disbursed in sâ—nding him out which with Passage Clothes and other Charges was not less than Eight pounds provided they would be at Charge for him back and if he were not their Boy to give security to pay me all my Charges all which I thought vvas reasonable if he vvas their Boy and they had any Love to him or desire for him and vvere able to keep him I thought it vvas fair for me to loose my Money aforesaid and keep the Boy above Two Years vvhen he could do little of service My Lord vvas of Opinion I offered very fair nay farther I offered to leave it wholly to his Lordship if they would but they refused unless first I would be obliged to bring the Boy and other Matters they would leave to my Lord so that Mr. Vavasor speaking Words unbecoming him in the place vvherein he stood how I was an Ignoramus on purpose to provoke me I said my Lord I see this Gentleman hath some farther Design in hand and is willing to be doing seeing therefore nothing of Reason will satisfie I knowing my own innocency in the Matter I pray my Lord let them take their Course by Law for I perceive it is more than the Boy this Gentleman aims at Money at least if not something else therefore pray my Lord let them take their Course upon my Lords speaking to Civiters Wife Good Woman where is your Husband for to prosecute she answered My Lord My Husband is a poor man and hath not Clothes fit to appear before your Lordship or words to that effect upon vvhich saith Mr. Vavasor My Lord I will be bound with the Woman to prosecute vvhereupon he vvith the Woman entred into a Recognizance of Forty pounds to prosecute me at next General Sessions of Peace at Guildball and my self vvith Sureties vvere bound in the like Sum to Appear all this while to give Mr. Grote his due he vvas so Civil as to say very little seeing I had offered so fair That nothing as he said in Reason and Conscience could be said against it and now for what vvas said and done at my Lord Mayors several Good Citizens can testifie the truth of this Relation nay I dare stand to the Memory of my Lord himself I had almost forgot one thing farther I offered the Woman vvhen