Document: Rejoinder of Peter Adriensen and Adrien Appel to the reply of the fiscal

To the highly esteemed lord, the lord general of New Netherland and the esteemed high councilors thereof.

Pieter Adriaensz Soogemaekelyck, prisoner, and Adriaens Jansen van Leyden, prisoner and defendant, against the lord fiscal, plaintiff.

This serves as a rejoinder to the plaintiff’s replication that they, being subjects and simple people, have no knowledge or understanding of what the difference is between the high authorities and a subaltern bench [ of justice ], thinking that they do very well by complying with the laws which they try to obey, being content to know how to behave as do other subjects; it saddens them to experience great loss because of compliance and inconvenience, and to be confined for not obeying your honors’ placards through prohibition of the aforesaid court or observing the same against the orders of the aforesaid court; thus, the defendants must of necessity on the one side or the other be struck with loss and inconvenience, which they then claim (subject to correction) to be neither right nor just, and one cannot truthfully say in consideration of the aforesaid and the reasons alleged in their written replies that he [sic] in any particular manner have violated your honors’ placards, by which the defendants do persist with their aforesaid replies and conclusion. (was signed:) Pieter Adriaensz and

A. Appel. In the margin N. Amsterdam, this 3rd of August anno 1656.