Document: Petition of Solomon Lachaire, farmer of the excise on slaughtered cattle, for a writ of appeal against a judgment of the city court

[several lines lost] farmer of the slaughtered [ ] in the city of Amsterdam in New Netherland [ ] how it is that he, petitioner, on the 25th of November of the year before last, in the presence of the court messenger, caught a certain Englishman named John Lawrens, residing in the Smits Valley, smuggling a slaughtered ox in four quarters, a barrel of bacon, and an open tun of meat.

Now it is such that for this reason the petitioner on the 14th of January has brought the aforesaid John Lawrens to court before the lords schout, burgomasters, and schepenen of the aforementioned city and there demonstrated and proved the smuggling in writing with the fourth article of the ordinance of farming devised by the high and mighty lords States regarding the slaughtering of animals; therefore, his request and conclusion is based and founded on the placard published by the director general and lords councilors on 18 January 1656 and a copy of the request has been placed in the hands of the defendant, answered, replied and copied; finally, having furnished papers relevant to the proceedings, the judgment pronounced by the same gentlemen determined that the complaint concerning the aforesaid meat was unfounded because by the declaration of the magistrate of Vlissinge, being the defendant’s brother and his clerk, it appears that all of the aforesaid meat was slaughtered at Vlissingen and that the excise would have been paid there, and therefore the petitioner is condemned for his incurred expenses. But the aforesaid bacon, because it doesn’t appear that he had paid excise or the customary fee at Middelborgh or elsewhere, where it was slaughtered, we declare to be subject to confiscation to the [several lines lost] in the former judgment [ ] ought to become the same to [ ] and [ ] the petitioner’s demand and conclusion, [ ] thus have the aforesaid lords [ ] still persisted and maintained with their previous judgment; and whereas the petitioner, as farmer, finds himself injured by this judgment, he swears [ ] to declare himself appellant before the high councilors of New Netherland, as he hereby does, seeking an order for a writ of appeal in proper form with the compulsory clause. Thus doing, I remain a faithful subject and servant under your esteemed honors’ good administration. (was signed) Salemon La Chair (dated) at Amsterdam in New Netherland, this 17 March anno 1657.

Rights: This translation is provided for education and research purposes, courtesy of the  New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections, Mutual Cultural Heritage Project. Rights may be reserved. Responsibility for securing permissions to distribute, publish, reproduce or other use rest with the user. For additional information see our Copyright and Use Statement Source: New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 8.