J. Hunter to Stephen F. Austin, 04-12-1827
Summary: Judicial procedure.
your petitioner humbly prays redress for the abuse and to be
released from the persecution and oppression of Wm Scott who
declares that I shall not be out of the law while I remain in that
place and that he will have me halled up to court at least once a
month if it should be for no other purpose than to hackle me by
which he means to ridicule and abuse me as he has been in the habit
of doing at each court day for the last six months in such a manner
that it is impossible to bear it, The Alcalde Jackson's letter of last
week will shew you something of the manner in which be abuses not
only me but the court itself. It seems also useless to obtain a
decission against him as he disregards you or your orders—so
declared—And so in the case of the widow he has twisted and
quibled for more than a year and raised a great bill of cost rejec[ted]
and picked the jury untill he got one Exactly to please him who
allowed me only thirty nine dollars and some cents which at the
request of the Alcalde I agreed to take in property and not distress
the widow. And now notwithstanding an express order from your
honor that no appeal should be taken in those cases Behold them
He is so well up to persecuting me at the cost of others—that I beg leave to cite another case where he taking the advantage of one of your letters to the Alcalde (although he wont be ruled by them himself) he wishes to make me prove Every Item of all my accounts by other testimony than my own, he has induced a man to s[wear to an] article that was paid to me two years [ago] he is the agent to prosecute. Now I [can prove?] by the Alcalde Jackson and Eight others citizens of our place that said man has [on]ly declared that I saved his life and he gave me that article in payment This I mention not that I am afraid of loosing it but to shew you what steps he takes [to] persecute me at the cost of Others and also that I am never to get of the law . . . said I humbly pray your honor therefore to instruct me in what manner I am to be redressed and how I am to get out of the law. The shameful story of the buckle business is not yet settled and when Ever it is decided he will appeal or take some other step of delay
J. Hunter, [Rubric]