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Deposicõns of witnesses taken at Skynners hall London the xviith of Aprill in the |
third yeare of the raigne of yor Soveraigne Lord King Charles before Daniell Hills and | Nathaniel Weston Commissioners by vertue of his Maties Commisson awarded out of | his highnesses Court of Chancery in a cause there depending betweene Robert |
Barker esqr. plaintife and Bonham Norton esquier defendant.
Roger Norton sonne of the defendant Mr Bonham Norton aged xxvii yeares or thereabouts sworne | and examined on the plaintifes behalf deposeth and saith, To the ffirst Interrogatory he saith | That he knoweth the parties plaintife and defendant and office of Kinges Printer, and he hath knowne | the plaintife about fourteene or fifteene yeares, and the defendant from his Infancy and the Office | about twelue yeares, and he saith that vnder the defendant his said father he hath bene ymployed | about the managing of the said office about seauen or eight yeares & imployed in buying | and selling in the said office.
To the second Interrogatory he saith that he knoweth that the moietie or parte of the said office wch was | [ink blot] <in> question betweene the parties to this suit was heretofore sequestered by his Mats Court of Chancery | out of the defendants hands into the hands of certaine Stationers, and to his best remembrance | yt was so sequestered about fiue or sixe daies before Christmas 1622 but for what cause | he knoweth not, and was dissolued between Easter and Whitsuntyde then next following | as he now remembers. And he saith that the said defendant did enter vpon the execucõn of the | said office after that the Sequestrators had giuen yt vp. But he saith that the defendant did not at | the taking of the said office, vpon him after the Sequestracõn take any accompt of the stock of the | said office, And the reason was for that the Sequstrators would not deliuer him any Accompt | And he saith that he knoweth not what stock in bookes paper and debts was in the office at that | tyme.
To the third Interrogatory he saith, that he knoweth of the decree mencõned in the Interrogatory and he saith | that hee hath seene yt, but neuer read yt wholly, and for the tyme of the making of yt, he referred | him to the decree yt self: And he saith that hee beleeueth that there is a clause therein to the effect | mencõned in the Interrogatory for that he hath heard his said father relate so much to him or to such | effect. And he saith that the person nominated by the plaintife for the managing of the affaires of the said | office was one Robert Constable and this deponent was the partie named by the defendant to manage | yt, for him accordingly. And further saith that he knoweth not that the moneyes arrising by the | said office should be kept in a chest and half yearely Accompts to be made thereof betweene | the said persons nominated vntill the defendant should be satisfied his eight thowsand pounds, but saith | that moneys were paid weekely out of their receipts for the managing of the office, and the | remaines of these weekely moneyes were sometymes locked vp, and the defendant tooke them out vpon | ocasion, and made half yearely accompts thereof.
To the fourth Interrogatory he saith that the said office was executed by the said two parties, but whether | according to the decree he knoweth not, but beleeveth yt was, And he saith that the said two parties nominated, kept and did yeild vp and perfect the half yearely accompts, as he beleeueth | according to the decree And he saith that the plaintifes said Accomptant Robert Constable did tender | his presence and assistance in seeing to the managinge of the said office. And he saith that he | knoweth not that his said father the defendants did print, sell, or trust anything out, against wch the | said Robert Constable did make excepcõn, or not giue allowance of.
To the fift Interrogatory he saith, that sometymes Mr Bill, sometimes Mr Harper for Mr Bill, & sometimes | this deponent did keepe the bookes accompts, & stock of the said office vnder the said defendant and | Mr Bill and sometymes the defendant, and sometymes other servants of Mr Bills. And he saith that | they the defendant and Mr Bill, did committ the care and charge of the same euer since the decree | vnto this deponent and the said Thomas Harper and of the managing and examinacõn of the said office. And saith that this deponent and Mr Harper did buy and sell the wares and commodities for the most | parte for both parties of the said office in that tyme. And by the said parties the works and receipts | and profitts of the said office were entered, And by the same persons the monies during that | tyme that came in by receipts & profitts of the office were received, And saith that this deponent | and Mr Harper did giue the Creditt to them that bought books wthout ready monie out of the | said office for the most parte.
To the vith Interrogatory he saith that hee this deponent was certaine Receavor for that parte of the office | wch the defendant holdeth when moneys came to be devided, And saith that there was noe other bookes | kept, but the seuerall bookes of Accompt for the said office, and noe certaine Seller but | generall. And for the rest of the Interrogatory this deponent conceaveth yt is fully answered in the | next precedent Interrogatory.
To the viith Interrogatory he saith that for ought hee knoweth all summes of money and other thinges | mencõned in the said Interrogatory were brought to accompt and entered into the books of the said office.
To the viiith Interrogatory he saith that neither hee this deponent nor any other person or persons to his knowledge by his direccõn privitie consent knowledge or otherwise did reward any debtor | debts summe or sommes of money due to the said office, or to the accompt thereof at any time since | the said decree, that were not truelie entered and booked as in the Interrogaory is mencõned And | he saith that all entryes of receipts and paiements till Christmas last are truelie entered and booked | according to the vsuall and former course to this deponents knowledge And further to this | Interrogatory he saith not.
To the vxth Interrogatory he saith that all the books and printed workes of the office, that were § | printed sould giuen lent or yssued out of the said office during the tyme since the making | of the said decree, were truly booked and entred into the vsuall books of the said office to this | deponents best remembrance, except some fewe books of small value given to Customers | according to custome of the office, when great summes of money were paid and vpon such | occasions And hee saith that they were entred at such tyme place and by such persons as | formerly
Daniel Hills. Nath. Weston verte [verso]
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formerly is answeared, and further to this Interrogatory he saith not.
To the Tenth Interrogatory he saith that he cannot estymate what stock in bookes paper and debtes | the fore said office hath at the tyme of his examinacõn, but saith yt is kept nowe by this deponent | & Mr Bill: and for the fore said estymacõn and the rest of this Interrogatory he referreth him- | self to the said bookes of accompts.
To the xiith hee saith, that hee cannot nowe remember what summes of money due to | the office from the 18th of June last to this daie were receaved, nor who receaved | the same, but beleeveth that all those receipts are trulie and duely entred into the bookes½of the office for the entry of such receipts to wch hee referreth himself As also that the | proffitts of the office since the said eighteenth of June are truly entred and further saith | not
To the xiiith he saith hee can answere nothing precisely, but referreth himself to the said | books of accompts
To the xiiiith Interrogatory he saith that the former parte thereof he hath answered before, and verely | beleeveth that the Accompts of the proffitts of the office, deliuered vp to the now Commissioners | by the defendant and the Chardges and defalcacõns are true, for this deponent did extract them § | out of the bookes and did compose them.
To the xvth Interrogatory hee saith that about fower or five yeares past, he knoweth his father | engaged his moietie of the said office to Arthur Norton his eldest sonne, Thomas Hungate | and one John Hodgetts deceassed, to saue them harmeles, against certaine engagements | but beleeveth that a great parte of those engagements are dischardged , but what | somme those engagements came to hee knoweth not & of other engagements encumbrances | or assurances hee knoweth not, but only those that are mencõned in the Indenture or Indentures betweene the defendant and those parties aboue mencõned in the former parte of this | Interrogatory To wch Indenture or Indentures, he referreth himself.
To the xxviith Interrogatory he saith that the plaintife or some for him did deliuer to this deponent | a note of certaine bookes and other thinges wch the plaintife pretended were printed in the said | office, from the Twenteth of December 1622 to the xviiith June 1626 the copie | whereof is now showed him as hee beleeveth And saith hee hath not compared nor | considered the same wth the bokes of accompt of the office, because there is noe catalogue | kept of what is there printed wthin that tyme And further to this Interrogatory he saith not |
To the xxviiith he saith that by waie of defalcacõn and chardges vpon the fore said moietie of the said office, the defendant hath taken vpon his accompts for every Apprentice | and servant by him imployed in the said office from the sequestracõn to the xviiith of | June last, a weekely allowance of xiiis iiiid and sometymes there were but two, and | at noe tyme exceeded three: but for the more certaintie thereof he referreth himself | to the bookes of accompts.
To the xxxith he saith yet is vncertain to say how many numbers haue bene | vsually printed vpon every impression, and saith that the allowance of overplus | in paper hath bene vsually since the said decree & before vpon every six thowsand§ | sheetes one Reame of paper, and after that rate for greater or lesser numbers, And | over and aboue the precise number mencõned in this Interrogatory he saith that there | hath bene about fiftye Bibles a peece allowance in fyner paper in two Impressions | as he beleeveth or thereabouts And hee saith that that proporcõn doth vsually | produce in such like numbers so much nevertheles sometymes more and sometymes | lesse. And further he saith not.
Daniel Hills.
Nath. Weston. |
