Statement of Facts, on the Injurious Treatment of J. Elsee, Esq. / Late Tenant of a Considerable Portion of Havering Park Farm, in the Forest of Hainault, in Certain Transactions with the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and Their Agents; To Which Are Added Notes in Illustration of the Gross Abuses of the Forest Laws.

by John Elsee

Expences upon the 20 Acres of wheat carried to Chigwell.

Fallowing in 1818, ploughing four times,harrowing, rolling, picking, &c				60	0	0
Seed wheat, fifty bushels, at 8s. perbushel				20	0	0
Ploughing, sowing, &c.				20	0	0
Rent and taxes in 1818				20	0	0
Hoeing, weeding, &c. at 10s. peracre				10	0	0
Cutting, carting, and harvesting				20	0	0
Threshing, dressing, and delivery				20	0	0
Taxes in 1819, at 10s.				10	0	0
				£180	0	0
Produce, 30 quarters 1 bushel of wheat	146	0	0
13 load of straw, at 40s. per load	26	0	0
Loss upon this twenty acres	8	0	0
	£180	0	0
Loss upon 232 acres valued to Mr. Ellis	304	1	10
Loss upon the twenty acres of wheat	8	0	0
	312	11	0
Profit upon 146 acres of grass	139	19	6
Net Loss of 398 acres	£172	11	6

Mr. Elsee’s statement of the land mowed is in strict corroboration of the printed particular, as given in to the arbitrator, in the following document.

Hay stacked atWindmill Hill, and disposed of by Mr. Elsee.				Hay stacked atHavering Park, and taken by the Crown and Mr.Ellis.
No. I.				No. I.
		Acres.				Acres.
14	Bourne Bridge	12		5	Barn mead	12
26	Long Mead	32		7	Forebury	20
27	New Mead	14		11	Brook bottom	6
38	Part of twenty acres	4		40	Part of Williper hill	28
40	Part of Williper Hill	16				—	66
44	Collier row hoppet	3
		—	81
No. II. Waste Land.				No. II.
Windmill hill		16		41	Collier row	20
Great sand hill		16		42	Ditto	10
Little sand hill		7		43	Part of twenty acres	18
Sixteen acres		16		45	Collier row	29
Lodge Pen		4				77
Collier row		6	65		Deduct cut of	11	66
			146				132

Yet it was calculated by one Harding, who was a jobbing carpenter, that 256 loads were to be accounted for, besides the 123 valued to Mr. Ellis, which makes 379 loads, that is 108 loads more than the land could produce. The question here is, how came this carpenter employed? The arbitrators and umpire, one would think, might have measured a hay-stack, without his aid, as they knew so well how to charge for doing it.—But they perhaps wanted some one to bear out their statements, and the following anecdote will shew that Harding was finely adapted for their purpose.

This Harding 20 years ago lived in Hertfordshire, where he failed as a farmer, and travelling into Essex, he followed his original business of a carpenter. Mr. Elsee was building a new house near Romford, and employed him as one of the carpenters. At the same time a bricklayer named Jervis was engaged to do the plastering by the yard, and his work to a certain extent had been measured and paid for.—But some time after Jervis informed Mr. Elsee he had made a great mistake, as the work came to three times as much as was made of it. After some enquiry it turned out that one of the carpenters, this very Harding, had been measuring it for him. On this it was remeasured, and it was found to be less than he had been paid for; and then Harding found out that he had measured his feet by 3 instead of 9 to the square yard. They were both discharged for this, but Harding took care to measure the haystack by himself!

After this it may not be surprising that he should say the stacks were 15 or 16 feet high, when every farmer knows they are seldom more than 6 feet to the eaves. And as further proof of his honesty and ability he said 8 inches was the average height of a truss of hay, when some of this was of the worst quality, and the trusses measured from 14 to 16 inches. This was deposed to by the hay-binders, and all the witnesses. Williams particularly said he was obliged to borrow larger carts, as the hay was so bulky, he could not load it upon his own.

A most, impertinent attempt was made to discredit the accounts of Mr. Elsee, but they happened to be kept in an old book of trading accounts, and were folioed from the beginning more than 20 years ago, so that any deception was out of the question. This impertinence is the more reprehensible, as coming from one who had not hesitated to falsify the evidence of one John Young, whose statement exactly corresponded with Mr. Elsee’s accounts.

Mr. Elsee is further charged with being the cause of the suit about the dung, as he refused to abide by an agreement made between him and Mr. Ellis in February, 1821, when it was agreed at Mr. Ellis’s house, in the presence of Mr. W. Masterman, that each should name a friend; but it was particularly mentioned that neither Mr. Mee, nor Mr. Driver, should have any concern in the business. Mr. Benton, of Hornchurch, and Mr. Carter of Chigwell were named, and the White Horse, Romford, fixed as a place to meet at when convenient. Mr. Ellis wrote a paper, and read it to Mr. Elsee; it was signed, and put into Mr. Masterman’s hands; in a short time the meeting was appointed, and the parties, with Mr. Carter and Mr. Benton, met in Romford market, and were about to go to business, but Mr. Ellis declined till a friend came whom he expected every minute. The parties waited more than an hour, when who should arrive, but Mr. Mee and his Son! An altercation took place, and the business was not proceeded in, but no one was to blame for this, except Mr. Ellis, for introducing Mr. Mee contrary to the stipulation that he was to have nothing to do in the affair. Mr. Carter and Mr. Elsee were ready to meet Mr. Benton, but refused to admit Mr. Mee and his Son. Mr. Masterman then gave the paper they had signed to Mr. Elsee, who handed it to Mr. Ellis, but the latter handed it back to Mr. Elsee, as his nephew Smith had taken a copy.

In conclusion we shall merely exhibit at one view the sum total of the pecuniary injury that Mr. Elsee has sustained directly and indirectly in these transactions.

The award for Rent was	2066	3	10½
Fixtures, &c.	930	8	0
Loss on Dung only, with Law Expences	1191	10	0
Half of Appraisement, paid Mr. Ellis	14	16	6
	£4202	18	4
Received from Mr. Ellis	349	11	0
TOTAL LOSS	£3853	7	4½

Such a result requires no comment; but in addition to this plunder of property, there is the mental torture, and its consequent bodily suffering, which cannot be expressed.

These circumstances would have been long since laid before the public, but from various perplexities, and the very disastrous events that arose out of this ruinous litigation. For some time Mr. Elsee had hopes of being able to defend himself, as an eminent counsel told him he had a cause that would triumph in any tribunal besides the chancery side of the exchequer. And, on the reference, he was assured that nothing could destroy the decisive proof in his favor. But all this was fallacious! and only helped to involve him deeper and deeper in expensive consequences.

He has, however, though late, been able to arrange these matters for publication; and to take those steps that are yet open to him, as a British subject, to obtain redress and indemnification; and the length of time that has passed since the injury, furnishes an additional reason why justice should now be the more promptly administered.

There are various minor circumstances that accompanied this before unheard of persecution, which we purposely omit to mention, although they strongly illustrate the system of vindictive and malevolent hostility with which Mr. Elsee has been pursued in the course of the transactions we have detailed; but they would extend to too great a length, and we have already made out a case which needs no farther illustration. We therefore leave it in its simple and unadorned condition, to make its own way to the conviction of the reader.—If any answer can be given to any portion of our narrative, let it be made, and we shall be ready to meet any enquiry, and to justify all that we have advanced. And if no reply to our charges should be made, nor any redress afforded for the injuries we have mentioned, the party aggrieved will at least have the consolation of knowing that he has done his duty in protesting against the wrongs which have been inflicted upon him under the mask of law, and from a quarter where he ought rather to have met with protection than plunder.

To the public, and to those who are invested with authority for the security of the public interests, the judgment is referred, without any apprehension of what the public opinion will be, whatever influence may be employed to prejudice the minds of those who have the decision in their hands, as far as the interests of the individual are concerned. To them the appeal will be forthwith made; and to complete the case, we purpose giving the result in an appendix, that a useful example may be set to other sufferers under undeserved injuries, of the advantage of a persevering pursuit of justice; or a beacon set up to warn crown tenants against putting themselves in the power of such men as Mr. Elsee has had to deal with.