Very respectfully yours,
To W. Bates, Esq. W. Chipman.
Sunday, 16th April, 1815—Dear Sir—I have just received by express from Fredericton, a letter from the Attorney General, stating that from the state of the river, it will be impracticable for him to be at Kingston by the 20th, and as he has hitherto taken the whole burthen of the trial upon himself, it cannot go on without him. From the circumstances, therefore, and as the present state of the travelling would probably render it dangerous to my father’s health (who is not now very well) to hold the court this week, he has determined to put it off till Thursday, the 4th of May, for which day he wishes you to summon your jury, and to proclaim the holding of the Court. He regrets much giving you this additional trouble, but it must be attributed to the extraordinary backwardness of the season, which was not, probably, foreseen when it was recommended to hold the Court on the 20th of April. I have not time to forward a new precept by this conveyance, but I will forward one in time, or the one you have may be altered. This can be easily arranged when we go up to the Court.
Yours truly,
W. Bates, Esquire. W. Chipman.
The Court was accordingly proclaimed, and at the same time I wrote a letter, inclosing the proclamation to Mr. Dibble, the former gaoler, to which I received the following answer:
Dear Sir—I yesterday received your letter, inclosing your proclamation of the Circuit Court, for the trial of Smith, the horse-stealer. I shall be very sorry if Judge Chipman’s health should be such as to prevent his attending the trial. Should the Attorney General attempt to prosecute on recognizance for the escape, I think his (the Judge’s) influence at Court would prevent it. I am quite of your opinion, that it will be the most difficult case that has yet been before any Court for trial in this County. As for his behaving much better after I left the gaol, it was what I expected he would do, to put Reid off his guard. Those parts of his chains that were hanging in convenient situations, were powerful weapons, and had Reid come into the gaol alone, or weak-handed, he would have felt the weight of them. It is remarkable that the villain with all his art and cunning, should manage it so ill; and it seems altogether providential that from the beginning (except his sickness) he has either delayed too long or been too hasty, which has prevented his escape before, and I hope and trust will be the same with you. I am sorry for the trouble you have with him, and confidently hope and trust he will not evade your vigilance. You are too well acquainted with his conduct to need my advice. I must claim from you the particulars of his conduct at the trial.
I remain yours truly,
W. Bates, Esquire. W. Dibble.
On the 30th of April, I went to the gaol and found Smith lying quietly with all his irons and chains uninjured, and told him that on Thursday next, the 4th of May, he must have his trial before the Court for his life or death; and that Mr. Pearson, the Deputy Sheriff who apprehended him at Pictou, had come to witness against him; but he paid no attention to what I said. The second day Mr. Pearson came to see him, and told him that his (Smith’s) wife had come to see him; but he took no notice of him, no more than if he could neither see nor hear, and set at defiance all attempts to extort one single expression, as though he were destitute of every sense.