On the 31st of October I wrote to Palmer:—
“The £250 in registered letter duly received to day. With it I have been enabled to obtain consent to the following:—That, with the exception of issuing the writs against your mother, no proceeding as to service shall be made until the morning of Saturday, the 10th, when you are to send up the £1,000 or £1,500. You will be debited with a month’s interest on the whole of £4,000 out of the money sent up. I impress upon you the necessity of your being punctual as to the bills. You will not forget also the £1,500 due on the 9th of November.”
On the 6th of November I issued writs against Palmer and his mother for £4,000. I sent them to Mr. Crabbe, a solicitor at Rugeley. On the 10th of November Palmer called on me. I had received a letter from him on the 9th of November:—
“I will be with you on Saturday next, at half-past one.”
He did call on me, and paid me £300, which, with the two sums I had before received, made up £800. £200 was deducted for interest, leaving £600. He was to endeavour to let me have a further remittance, but nothing positive was said. It is possible that writs were mentioned, but I have no recollection of it. No doubt he knew of them. [A letter of November 13 from Pratt to Palmer was then read, in which, after giving some explanations with respect to the “Prince of Wales” policy, Pratt said:—“I count most positively on seeing you on Saturday; do, for both our sakes, try to make up the amount to £1,000, for without it I shall be unable to renew the £1,500 due on the 9th.”]
On the 16th of November Palmer wrote to me:—
“I am obliged to come to Tattersall’s on Monday to the settling, so that I shall not call and see you before Monday, but a friend of mine will call and leave you £200, to-morrow, and I will give you the remainder on Monday.”
On the Saturday (Nov. 17) some one came from Palmer, and gave me a cheque of a Mr. Fisher for £200. On the 19th Mr. Palmer wrote to me:—
“All being well, I shall be with you to-morrow (Monday), but cannot say what time now. Fisher left the £200 for me.”
On Monday, the 19th, which was the settling day at Tattersall’s, Palmer called on me after 3 o’clock. This paper (produced) was then drawn up, and he signed it:—