The second and further answere of John Bill Cittizen and Stacioner
of London to the Bill of Complaynt of Bonham Norton Esquire Complainant.
1. The said defendant for further satisfaction of this hoble Court and answere to the said Bill, and to such exceptions as the said Complainant hath taken against this defendants former answere to the said Bill, Saieth as followeth, And |
2. first touching Three hundred drifatts by the said Bill pretended to bee brought into England duringe the space of ffive yeares in the said Bill mencõned and by the said Bill pretended to bee sould by this defendant for Six |
3. shillings apiece, this defendant saieth that hee cannot nowe <by his memorye or by the helpe of any Accompts or note remayninge in his handes> declare the certaine number of the said drifatts belonging to the said Copartnershippe betweene the Complainant and this defendant that were brought in, during the compasse |
4. of the tyme before mencõned, But saieth hee verelie <beleeveth> there were not above Twoe hundred drifatts belonging to the said Copartnershippe brought in, during the compasse or space of the said ffive yeares, and saieth |
5. that above one hundred of the said drifatts were during the said five yeares sent abroad again & disposed for the vse of the Ioynt Stocke then remayning in Copartnershippe in such manner as this defendant hath more |
6. particulerlie declared in his said former Answere, And many of the rest of the said drifatts were stollen & broken, Soe as no profitt was made thereof by this defendant neither canne this defendant <by his memory or by the helpe of any Accompt ore note remayninge in his handes> declare the |
7. Certaine number of them that were so stollen or broken, And the residue of the said drifatts (not beeing so manie as ffiftie in number as this defendant thinketh were sould for fower shillings or ffive shillings a peece |
8. by this defendants then wife or by her appoyntment, And as this defendant thinketh the money raised by the sale thereof was to be allowed vnto her for her labour & paines in the same sorte as they <were formerly allowed vnto her duringe the ioynte Copartnershippe betweene John Norton Bonham Norton & this defendant > and not entered into the booke of Accompts |
9. concerning the said Ioynt Stocke (as this defendant thinketh <of which neverthelesse this defendant is ready to giue allowance if this Hon<er>able Courte shall thinke fitt and soe order the same> And this defendant denyeth that the same or any other money raised by the sale of the said drifatts was any waies concealed or other wise by him this defendant converted |
10. to his owne vse, As by the said Bill is vntruelie surmised, And touching the severall Rents of xxxs and Three pounds per anum in and by the said Bill likewise pretended to have beene receaved by this defendant & not accompted |
11. for, but converted to his owne vse during the said Terme of ffive yeares this defendant saieth as in his former answere, that hee hath allready made an Accompt for the same vnto the said Complainant in writinge, But as |
12. whether it were in a particuler Accompt by it selfe or included or annexed in the generall Accompt concerninge the said ioynt Stocke wch the said complainant hath since enforced this defendant to buy of him vpon verie hard and |
13. vnconscionable Termes this defendant remembreth not (it beeing nowe abowt ffive or six yeares since the making of the said Accompt,) Neither hath this defendant to his remembrance) the said Accompt so made concerning |
14. the said Rents or any copie thereof in his custodie, but thinketh the plaintiffe hath the same, whereby the certaynty thereof may better appeare, to wch this defendant in this behalfe referreth himselfe, And this defendant further |
15. saieth that hee did not conceale or convert the said Rents or any part of them to his owne private vse before the said Accompt thereof made to the said Complainant or wthowt giving the said Complainant any part or accompt thereof |
16. As by the said Bill of complaint is likewise pretented, But saieth that such part of the said Rents as this defendant had was by & with the Complainants consent & allowance, And concerning the overplus of money by the said Bill pretended |
17. to bee in the Boxes belonging to the said Copartnership weeklie during the said ffive yeares more than was entered in the said Books, this defendant saieth that during the said ffive yeares by the negligence or miscarriage |
18. of the shopkeeper beeing servante as well vnto the Complainant as vnto this defendant there was some weeks an overplus of money in the boxes more then was sett downe in the books, But more often there was more sett downe |
19. in the Books as receaved weekely then could bee found in the Boxes wch omissions or misentry on either side came chiefely by the default of one John Hodgetts foreman of the shoppe beeing a man specially |
20. trusted or ymployed by the Complainant, And this defendant did somuch dislike of the said Hodgetts ill dealinge therein, that for the same & other misdemeanors hee this defendant displaced the said Hodgetts, And yett the said plaintiffe hath |
21. since (as this defendant is informed) verie much ymployed the said Hodgetts, And this defendant saeth that it beeing nowe abowt six yeares since the said Copartnership ended & since a generall Accompt concerning the same made |
22. by this defendant vnto the said Complainant in such manner as is mencõned in his said former answere hee this defendant is not nowe able particulerlie to declare what overplus of money was in the said boxes more then was entered in |
23. the Books any weeke during the said terme of ffive yeares, But for more certainty thereof referreth himselfe to the said Accompts and thinketh that during the said whole ffive yeares copartnership, such overplus of money |
24. in the said boxes did not countervaile somuch as was wanting in the said boxes other weeks of that wch was entered in the said Books as receaved, Neither did this defendant for his owne part during the said terme of ffive |
25. yeares copartnershippe wth the Complainant convert to his this defendant owne vse any such overplus of money or conceale the same or any other such money or profitt belonging to the said Ioynt Stocke or deale vnfaithfully wth the |
26. Complainat as by the said bill of Complaint is vntrueile pretended <and this defendant cannot by any note Accompte or writinge remayninge with him or any other to his knowledge make a more perfect Accompte of the said Rent and money remayninge in the boxes>, But contrarily did from tyme to tyme during the said Copartnership take great care & paines to incease & advaunce the ioynt Stocke & common profitt of them both togeather |
27. Insomuch as this defendant verelie thinketh and hopeth to prove that the said Complainant one way or other had & receaved above ffower thowsand poundes profitt by the said trade or Copartnership duringe the said terme of ffive yeares |
28. And touching the value of the Stocke in Copartnershippe att the tyme of the death of John Norton mencõned in the said Bill this defendant likewise referreth himselfe to the Accompts thereof since past or made & saieth that hee |
29. cannot nowe <by his memory or otherwise> withowt sight of these Accompts declare what the certaine value of the said Ioynt Stocke then was (it beeing nowe abowt xii yeares since the said John Norton dyed, Neither can this defendant declare in particuler |
30. howe the said ioynt Stocke was ymployed betweene the death of the said John Norton & the ffowerteenth of March 1618 Nor howe much in particuler was gayned or gotten thereby or howe much of the gaines in particuler |
31. was paide to the Complainant & to others to his vse yt beeing nowe likewise about sixe yeares since copartnership betweene him & the Complainant ended, And this defendant having so long since given an accompt vnto the plaintiffe concerning |
32. the premisses wch Accompt this defendant saieth that the same was iust & true wherevnto this defendant for more certayntye thereof referreth himselfe, And touching the debts in & by the said Bill supposed to bee made |
33. & trusted owt by this defendant wthowt the <plaintiffes> privity or consent <of>, This defendant confesseth that hee this defendant himselfe did make or trust owt some of the said debts, the particulers whereof this defendant is not able <by his memory or by the helpe of any note or writinge> to expresse, but |
34. saith that all such of the said debts as himselfe made or trusted owt did not amount to somuch as the somme of ffower hundred poundes in the whole, But the rest of the said debts were made & trusted owt by such |
35. as attended in the said shopps as servants to the said Copartners.
Tho: Malet
?Henlie Hill xxo
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