Letter – Nicholas Walton to William Peters – 9 Jun 1776

To Mr Wm Peters							Langley Mill 9th June 1776



Sir

      We received your Letter of the 30th Ulto when we were in the West Country, from whence we are just returned.   When we departed from hence West having had some intelligence of a Cart Saddle that had a piece of Old Leather nailed upon it by a Sadler that had dealings with Fenwick Martin; we left Orders with Mr Mulcaster and John Turnbull a Carpenter frequently employ’d about the Mill, to go to View it; and we inclose you a Copy of Mr Mulcasters Letter which we received at Alston from whence you will perceive that nothing is to be expected to Arise out of this, and more especially as Mr Mulcaster now acquaints us verbaly, that notwithstanding John Turnbull’s opinion was different yet that in his own Opinion the Leather seems so Old and Cracked that it must have been in Wear a longer time than the Supposition of its being the Leather of our Bellows will Admit of.   And this is all the fresh inteligence we have received.   A Copy of Mr. Lowis’s Information had been communicated to us by Mr Justice Tweddell of Unthank, previous to our Writing to you, and as we understood from him that Martin had complained of rigourous confinement in the Dungeon at Nights and had thrown out some intimations of Prosecuting the Justices for false imprisonment; we thought proper to write to the Justice Mr Ord to Acquaint him that as we apprehended Fenwick Martin would clearly prove an Alibi, we thought it would be well that he should intimate to the Goaler to soften the Rigour of his confinement as much as the Nature of the Case would admitt off ‘till the Affair was further sought into.   It was also suggested to us by Mr Tweddell, that as Ridley Swears himself to have been present at the Cutting of the Bellows; that as Martin proves an Alibi that it must be supposed that Ridley himself was the perpetrator of this Deed; and that not only on that Account, but in Order to Secure him to give his Evidence, that he ought to be taken up and Committed, it being reported that he is or was then hovering about in the Country; that this properly Speaking should be done by Warrant from Mr Ord, but in Case Mr. Ord refused that he would himself grant a Warrant for the purpose; we mentioned this also in our letter to Mr Ord and at the same time wrote to you, but as we only got a Verbal Answer from him (tho’ we sent a Special Messenger from Hexham) that he was blind and incapable of business; we were therefore very desirous of consulting you in person that the proper and necessary steps might be taken and as the situation of our business is such as not to admit our returning to Newcastle for some time we still desire that you will take an opportunity to do it we shall be at Hexham on Thursday Evening next where you will find us and in the mean time if any thing can be done by way of getting the Man admitted to Bail we think with you it would be well that it should be done.   We are

      Yours &c. W & S