Sir,
You will perceive from the two letters marked A. and B. of which I
enclose copies, that the subject of Mr. Pagan has been for some time
in my view. The former of those letters being intended for you, and
containing a summary of facts, I determined to show it to Mr. Tilghman,
who was Pagan's counsel, before it was sent to you, in order that he
might correct any misstatement. This produced the latter letter from him
to me; and I have thought it more advisable to forward both of them to
you even in the unfinished state of my own, than to reduce the case into
a form which might be supposed to be less accurate.
As I do not discover an essential difference between Mr. Tilghman and
myself, I shall not discuss any seeming variance, but proceed upon his
ideas.
It is too obvious to require a diffusive exposition, that the
application for a writ of error was not only prudent, but a duty in
Pagan. To this Mr. Tilghman explicitly assents, when he says, that he
was perfectly 'satisfied of the prudence of applying for the writ of
error, as Pagan could not complain of a defect of justice, until he had
tried the writ of error and found that mode ineffectual.' This remark
becomes the more important, as it manifests that the process was not
suggested as an expedient for shifting any burthen from the government.
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