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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio ch<9cked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessouci. 10X 14X 18X 22X 12X 16X 20X 26X 30X y 24X 28X 32X Th« copy film«d h«r« has h—n r«produc«d thanks to tha ganarosity of: Manuscript Division Public Archives of Canada L'axamplaira filmi fut raproduit grico i ia gAn^roskA da: Division des manuscrits Archives publiques du Canada Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha baat quality possibia conaidaring tha condition and lagibillty of tha original copy and in Itaaping with tha fiiming contract spacificationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara filmad baginning with tha front eovar and anding on tha last paqa with a printad or illustratad impraa* sion. or tha bacic covar whan appropriata. All othar original copiaa ara filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printed or illustratad imprac^- sion. and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illustratad impraaalon. 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Tous les autras axamplairas originaux sont filmto an commandant par la pramiira paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'iilustration at an tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Un daa symbolaa suivants apparaitra sur ia damlAra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la caa: la symbols — *• signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbols V signifia "FIN". Laa cartaa, pianchaa. tableaux, ate, pauvant dtra filmte i daa taux da rMuction diffirants. Lorsqua la document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en urt seul clichA. ii est film* A partir da i'angia sup4riaur gauche, de gauche i droite. et de haut en bas. an pransnt le nombre d'imeges n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 '^/ ^ To the Town Reeve of the. Township of , in the County of Waterloo, Wellington District, C W SIR :— ■ WincNEVER I am nnthontically informed of the day upon which you and your hrotlier Ileeves are to assemble — after boiiig oonotituto d — I will apply to the lleeve of the Township in which I reside, to lay before you, collectively, a Petition embodying the fol- I am, loAving statements SlK, Your Obedient, JOHN F(JOTE, That by represeiilatioiiB made by Jamei WKBrriiR, Esq., and which were not sualahied by facta, and by n course aa insiduooa as it wai pertinaciously urjrnd, the Undersigned was inveijjled into an agreement with the ITon. Adam Fkrgi'eson, oI ^Voodhill, and the said James Wpbster, to act under the designation, ;)uWic/i/, of a /iiJHo! and Gf no a; AgBUt, &c. & and liad the (illioial appui lir.ontaof Coroner, Public Notary, and Commiaaioner o( the Queen's Jlench, conferred upon him ; but without being made aware of these appointmenta till t'le Commissions wtae received. A. . Fergusson, (Exjudge) the successor to James Webster in the representnlion of the County of Waterloo, concurring— That when the undersigned entered to perform tiie duties of tliut situation, they were not those which they were represen'ed by James Webster, they would be ; but they were (iiscre^/i/oA/c—THK onjEcr inf.imous : and ii iMa,;i,'( that Agency is eslal'lished. And ( hei.eve it will b» more so, when you reflect that had that agreement been a bona Jide agreement, by which every thing conneeted willi it wus tnilhriiMv explained andsaii.sfactorily understood by the contracting parties, liefiir'^ it was enlered into, then the selllemeul on separntioii ivoiilii, as a nierj matter of course, be simple and easy. The facts establish the oppoailc. Alter my resignation and Webster's acoeptuiice. I npent "/«• i/ivir, going to and meeting with him urging a settlement ; met once during that lime with his Honor, tho ex-Judge, ami Wehster, at t'ergu.i, hut into business they could not go, all that business, moreover, being only to five me a receipt for their fees, and uii acknowledgement for the anifiunt which Welwter has admitted tliesu parlies owe me. About lit inonlhs afler niy resignation, end for the first lime, I wrote to the FergussoES, and to Webster, /eqnesting asoltlement, and in one of my leilers I staled lo his Honor llial [ was prepared to cancel any claim which, possibly 1 could have against him and Webster, provided he and Webster would close lliu allair ; but no reply. These Fergussoui coil up iiilo sileni'. and insolent contempt; \/obsler olnslers and bullies ; but no attempt made by either paiiv lo sellle. The current of secrellij and privaUly arranged measures for "aume other uhjrcl" is. ••Lipped somehow or somewhere, and seiile ihey will not evidentlv, till they are compelled ; and 1 may now hope that you are satisfied that (/ie»c measures of /Aei/s have no consonance wiili tho terms of the u>n(/en agreement. In illustration, &o. &c.'' N. B.— Alter spending the Vi months wllh Webster, nnnlher 8 monllisattempling lo extract a settlement from the Fergussons, the subject was opened for mediation to a friend of James Webster, nnil lo whom the undersigned (sending at same time referential documenls) wrote in the following terms ; To. , Esquire. " FKnm s, 9lh Febiuary, 1849. " Sm, — I beg to trouble you with the enclosed, not fur piibliui'ii 11, bill for your considerulion aiid advi.ie. " Though our respective residences wore in near neighborhood wilh friends i-.iulual, yel 1 believe we never met, except at an inquest J ' 1- ■■• ."''"'»• ■"-•'-l»»<'""""n )".."- iV......,.,.„f ,i,„.l,„ J. II,,.!,!!!? rani! and position of the parlies, tho importance and peculiarities of the subject to which I refer, induce me to become my own chaperon by sending the enclosed for your prirate perusal. , "'^'\"' ^''■"■'.'" ^!""' -'''"''''■y '" " "''!■»>; '':'"" the TMinA- Tver Split by the Fergnssons and Webster of the ofren Sound Road affair of he year I84(), with the particulars of which 1 am unfortunately authentically acipiainled, and two parlies (the //oh. and the ex^iudee) th hitherto not suspected, bill actually identifying themselves with that swindle., now' appear'in lliesceiie "It is to me the source of intense pain lu refer to asubject of that description, but from the frandulence used to secure my acceptance, the personal injury which I have sustained, the bauelnl influences which it exercises over me, the urgency of parties to fix, and their now skulking .rom closing, i.npel me to apply to you as a party purely disintercted, that as such, and from your position and advantages, the leal question involved may be thoroughly invesligaled and developed. At this distance of lime (from my resignation) and from the iufa- nious treatment and injury which I have experienced, I have now no misgivings about breaking aood fnilh, especially as it was these parlies themselves that urged us all into our now relative positions. And as even an idea of the infamy of that Uiid Agenc,/,c>imxol be acquired merely Fergusson and Webster's hiicUvg in lliat ronlraclof ISlti. and he wus noil ling else ill the contract of Xl.'iOO, in 1818. Rut apart V ■x^ ■i. si from ll,!.l, i),„Wri,li.,i |„i«B,i,iui!S (.■nil rfcirc'ly .:biii|.tplien .« mx! "l)sHrvi>m..H ,,f ll,f«e imrlicii trnvarda me while tliul >,Koi.cy Mi»ted ; and nfrluhily I would nut l.« juxlitiod in applyina lor advice, unle« I w..« pr^pMrcd lo r»fiir you to oll.er parllci. who uro kuown lo you, whi are of unkuowledied rfspectibllilv, and whoaa veracily nuy nol ha linjieitrltril. " Thai nwlwdle, though wid, lynnnpi-cted, In not, I bdlrve, known, nnd tor c..rliti:i beyond Wehtln't nhopmales, but thf nhiect of tl.t Ajieiicy Im.l « wider l«»Ke, am..,!;; hia private frienda, and principally by hi» nwu repr.-s,.i,l,.lion». To eeveral of tho.n I niiel.t refer, but I solP„t _______., |..Nqu,re, iia (he uiie who I believe ia the beat iuforniuj of nil lmi mniHtauoea, and m:,ie pailiealarly of the inf,imuus ji iiwlr ohjrcl oj l/itil Afieiicy. ' ' ' * *"*•••♦♦♦♦«♦«..♦ "Idonot hf(...n(elorefertliitrpa«cto'ou, uvBu yoli, though you are llio avowed udmirer of Webater and hi.exnellenciea. The cane rpoo vcaitHPl, ii:l» o.i. .„ fraud of individ'i.il opprHsaloii and iiijuUioH— m-iirA wo-.c lu ila jiMic lefereneea it has n.'.'eMily and strength III ilHeir lo inforeei,.vi.r may be their reputalion or convonlinnal rank. Il i. enquiry I wi.h for, and wimtovor m ly he the coiiaennences to any piiriy, the siilij.ct la one of iinporlaiici', m much ao publicly aa it in privately." N. n.— Aft 'r allowing a reasonable time to ehtpue, and nothing done, the undersigned sent coplea of the preceding communlcntion, one lo the Honorable A Ijiii FurgujDn, and oiio to Janes Wehder, at same time writing to them in the following terms, vix ; _ , ,„ , -, . , „ FunauH, 9ili March, 1849. To Jaiiirs \Vi hsier, f. q , Sic. &,c., Fergus. " .'^111,— Von will receive enclosed a copy of a comninnicalioii which at its date was lent by me lo , Esquire. " I h.»ve hIho cent a like copy lo the ll..n. Adam Kcruusson, of Woodhill, possibly h» may «how it to his aon, the ex-Judge, and I may menliou. that iitler you parlies have had a reasonable lime lo rommune, I proceed to action. " You parties may consider the Rlate.meiits made in the enclosed as statemenla made by mo publicly, and you may, if you please, take Ihe inilinlive in proceedings in conforiiiily. Wlielheryon do so or not, ia tome a subject of po-fect indifference, as now I shall sle. dily pursue my own course of enquiry ; but at same time be prepared lo meet you parlies provided you parties move first. Yet while, and in tlin iiieRiuvhilc, I iiiiiy or may not deprecate publicity, especially us my contemplated mensurea will leave publicitv at the discretion of reputed recpectahlo and discreet men ) hnt if I lind that any attempt is made to foil or circumvent me, I shall uiihe»ii.;tingly, and promptly adopt ujtetnalivia. ' .. i „„, &c. &c." ^- D.— Fergussnu, agreeahly to his liiv»riub!o practico, look no iioarties are appa- rently reposing complacently and with coiifidenCB under the impression thai they cannot be reached, that Ihe real, the aclunl ohjerl. of that Fergus Land Agency cannot be eslaliliahed, or possibly, they allncli importance lo their rank and position, willi all ttint their jirirnle infiii- eiirr III iiclivo piiviile comiiniilioii, or more probably lliey believe that their otiier mcRsures, which, wilh zeal and assiduity they are drivhig will drive ine trom tlii.» District and this position, and thereby deprive me of the means and opportunity to force enquiry, and consequeutiy preclude exposuro of those their private practices which they know must unavoidably ensue from public investigation." Again :— " It is certainly dislressing lo be driven to this allernalive.hut from the fraud, iiijnalicp,^ne«»licable obs'titincy of tbes» people and the very extreme pecniiaritics of that case, it is now a course unavoidable. How hidden, dark nnd flesperalo soever these measures bfi which these people have ob-served towards me, yet I do not despair of exposing those measures and establishing fraud, oppression, iiijusi viiukicnne, as well as the purity of my own iiioliveB and entire singleness of purpose; thai, loo, while by a cast as desperate as it was nnpriu- cipled,! have been thrown into and cointrained to keep .^ppositionfhaving affinity to that casejnhich crenlesa snspicion against me in every movement I make to enforce investigatimi in order lo obtain justice. The struggle on tho part of these people is lor the inuintonance of llieir elevated position, of their apparent integriiy of principle and clmrauler, of, in short, their, in their ovvn way, of the sovereignty of tho Wolhnglon District, provided Ihe good sense of the people cannot be impressed with just convictions of the manner in which tlllitere treated privately by these men. And from the course which nom Ihey insidiously observe towards me, il appears to Lo convincing ulal Ihey will take every measure to injure me, in order to deprive me of the opportunity to inslilule enquiry. By persisting with such inveteracy aa Ihey do nersil, and characterislically, su assidiously, they seem to be nnpressed with the importance as well aa the consequences and result spirit is SI ill existing in all its inveteiucy, as these parties will not seitle, but thai tliey will persevere to injure,°evidenlly to persecute me aa if I was an individual proscribed." ' You know these peeple, possibly iheir means, possibly their private practices wilh all their private influence in active private combi- nalo.i ; nnd ihere, yes there, nnd in your possession arc these veritable documents, .ibsolutely establishing an engagenteni with its se,jenls as now narrated. You have seen me act under all these official nppoinlmenU Yon hold a letter of agreement by which iheso people engage to pay me at ihe rale of .£185 a year for 2J years, longer, yes, longer, if [ liked. Urged to, yes, urged, and by fraudulence into ihat appointment, by parties who command and who use at iheirpleaeure, the Crown patronage, &c. &c. Al! llwt, tr to perform ilie dunes ot thai situation, which, as lo duties, were no duties. Yet you hold documents establishing the fec-t that 1 cast cnnneciion, llicse advantages, from me with feelings intense of indignation and disgust, to assume in proference the posit- , of that ol a laboring man, and now, and for nearly two years, I hive e.-hausled courlesy, struggled, dared these people, yet I cure an arrangement without encountering all those incidents connected with Court proceedings." salary, that apparently, cannot pro- Again : — " All lhe.se proceedings nro generated by a (illhy venal act, my knowledge of which waa incidental and acquired under circumstances which caused me pain, but which must have, from principle, commanded my confidence. That confidence 1 have faith- tally mninlained, underacts of fraud, of personal insult, oppression, injustice. But all these sustained infliciionsappear only lo excite parlies 10 pcrpclraie outrage, to increased aggravated acts of unmiligated oppression nnd insult, till now my delcrminatioa lo exact justice knows no limit. Still, nnd with every confidence, 1 confide ihis case to your integrity and professional management, to apply peacefully for redress ; and while t am aware that yon will observe towards these people all but only the requisite courtesy, yel, and notwithstanding any apparent disparity inour conventional rank, you will be to me Ihe firm, the tnithful, the unSinchlng advocate of my rights, and now avoid all avoidable compromise.'' By the Undersigned, JOHN FOOTE. To Mr. f >,(. + Bcete of the Timnship of -/ V- / , Fergus. Sir :— In a like peaceful spirit, and with feelings sincere of attachment and respect to the authorities and laws of our common country, I now submit these very Abstract Statements for your consideration, and beg thai you will view them merely as preliminary to a Petition which I will lay before you collectively, in order to obtain your advice. Having been subjected to fraud— having repudiated Ihe connection and the patronage of parties whose praclicell delesl : having, and I believe, necessarily, placed into abeyance these Commissions which I hold from the Crown, and thai from the Judges of the t^ueen's Bennh. Having suffered serious ijury, still, insiduously and virulently persisted in agaiust me by Adam Ferguasnn, known as Iho Hon. Adam Fergusson, of Woodhill, and Jamt» lVj6«fer,Fergu» j and convinced that, now, to me, every avenue to Court Enquiry, on that subject i , .,"" '''T 'V '"" •""' '""" »'""• "" ^■'"''old.r.o.' .h. ..„<}. You who, M.ucl...,.c<,.,.,i,atio„.lly ..know- w 1 r . " rrr : ;"■ , ' T"'"'" '""' "^ """*"' """""""' '" "•• Aomi..i..ra.io„ of J„„lc. b.-w..« .nan .nd ,..„„. /l«.».A/y, Urn I w,ll „,.ply or, and crave y„„r advice, that enquiry n,«y bo instituted. .. it i. enquiry I wi.l. for, a. whatever may be th. con.«,t„.„cea to any pnrly, the aubjecl i. one of impor.unc, .. much >^o publicly a. it i. prhaUly r ». y oe Y..t I know not w!,y I »l,„„ld be dra^Red fron. my oheri.hed obacurity to atate such facta, to complain of fraud, oppreMion. i„ju.tice,«,„rA 7'7'"" •«^-'"-'-'""'.'/"'"-P^"'"«'y''-onnce,p„bliclyde.e,.,.bomi„a....bhor,.uch practice.. A iWy wo hoi high ra„U,.„dco,.»o.,,.e„ne,a„d.omeho«,, your confidence in the direction and management of your pubL affair., and who, a. a /„,n,7,, af.d frn.,, ,.n,„ng ti.em.olvea. enppiy you w,th all poli.icul ingredient,, with principle., profe.aion.-with in,ormation and high intelligence, rLv- ,ngy„„r con.,d..r,. ,o„ ; and who, ton „a . Fa.nil, lend their aid to raiao money fron. the PutUc, aid Government to be-tow that public ■no ..> or he Kood „ l,o pubhc. and >v„o too and al,o, as a Family, aid.d by private influence and active private combination, intercept, ol n-h.. n...|y, that pubhcfr n.oney and apply ,t for ii>. priv.Ue u.e of thcm.,lve. and their Familie,, to the prejudice of that , ublic from wh,ch ,ha. money was ra„od , and who, (having air.nity to that job) still a, a family adopt fraud, individual oppr-ion, for anJ^^mZ .roM,-. It ,s then by that holy and indis-oluble tie that bind, n.an to man, for mutual protection a.,d ..fety, and with the brotherly integrity 01 a I. -'■"'--•».' n,jured-that I do firmly remind you, firmly repeat, that 'it i. enquiry I wish for, a. whatever may bo the consequence, .0 any p:. ty, ,l,o,rf,ject ,s one of ,n,p,.r.ance a. much so publicly ..it i. privately, and that ju.tioe may be mel.d out to all panic, whatever may bo their repuliition or conventional rank." »■■»-»•>■<.». wnaiovtr I am, with faithful regard, JOHN FOOTE. r « -(.•"l>ie» of the preceding will be sent, one to the Honorable Adam Ferguson, one to the ex-Judge, A. J. Fergu..ou M P P one ^J^Zi:;^!!:;^' "— '-'^-"«-eof each Township ofthe District. n ,. ,n '..h F. H,rg:;^2S^ J. F.