Quebec Gazette #2429. 10/10/1811.
	Latet Anguis in herba.
	Mr. Editor,     By giving the enclosed documents and statement of facts to the publicity of your Gazette, you will much oblige,

			Your most obedient servants,
			George & William Hamilton.

	Quebec, Oct. 9th, 1811.
	Copy of an award made by the arbitrators under a rule of the Court of King's Bench for the District of Quebec, in the suit of Peter Fraser, plaintiff. vs. George & William Hamilton, defendants.

	District of	IN THE KING'S BENCH.
	Quebec.
		Peter Fraser, Esquire,	plaintiff.
		George Hamilton
			} defendants.
		William Hamilton,

We the undersigned, two of the arbitrators and amicable compositors, named and appointed in virtue of a motion of consent made in this case, and bearing date on the 20th June last past, to wit, Benjamin Tremain, Esquire, named on the part and behalf of the said defendants, and Ross Cuthbert, Esquire, named on the part of the said Court of King's Bench, to award, order, arbitrate and finally determine the issue between the said parties in this case, and all matters and things in difference between them, touching the premises. Having duly examined and fully considered all the allegations and proofs made and advanced by the said parties respectively, and it appearing to us the said arbitrators, that the said Peter Fraser did bona fide proceed to the said ship Trio while stranded on the bank or shoal of Mille Vaches, as set forth in the declaration in this case, filed, with the sole intent to procure to the underwriters and all others whom it might concern, the said ship Trio, and cargo therein contained, and did, with the persons whom he procured to assist him, the said Fraser, protect and guard the said ship Trio and cargo, as aforesaid, for and during the space of seven days.     We, the arbitrators, do therefore, by this our written instrument, award:     1st. To the said Peter Fraser, the sum of thirty pounds currency, for the time, care and diligence employed and exercised on and about the said ship Trio, while stranded on the bank of Mille Vaches, as aforesaid, to wit, from the 26th day of October last past, until the 2nd day of November also last past.     2nd. And further to the said Fraser, for the sole purpose of paying and compensating divers persons procured by him the said Fraser, to assist him, the said Fraser, in the preservation of said ship Trio and cargo, as aforesaid, to wit, William Pettigrew, pilot, the sum of seven pounds currency, Jean Baptiste Asselin, the sum of seven pounds currency, Joseph Albert, the sum of seven pounds currency, a boy (name unknown to the arbitrators, but proved to have assisted) the sum of three pounds ten shillings currency, and two other persons (also names unknown, &c.) who at the request of said Fraser did assist as aforesaid, but for and during the space of five days only, to each the sum of five pounds currency, making together the sum of thirty-four pounds ten shillings currency. These several sums thus and hereby awarded to the said Fraser, for the purpose aforesaid, in consideration of the time and labour expended and employed by them the said several persons in and about the said ship Trio and cargo aforesaid, at the special instance and request, and under the direction of him, the said Fraser.     3d. And finally, we award and determine that the cost of suit be paid by the defendants in this case.     And further we the arbitrators undersigned, in justification of this small sum of money, hereby awarded to the said Peter Fraser for salvage in this claim, desire to add, that the said ship Trio and cargo aforesaid, were not eventually saved by the said Fraser, owing to the said ship Trio and cargo aforesaid being taken possession of by Captain Cribbin and other, sent by the defendants to take charge thereof. To wit, on the 2nd day of November last past; which act was made expedient on consequence of the frequent intoxication of said Peter Fraser which rendered him in a great degree unfit in such circumstances to conduct said ship Trio, and made it doubtful whether the said Fraser could have contributed to the ultimate preservation of the same.

		(Signed)	Benjamin Tremain, Ross Cuthbert.
	Made at Quebec, this 30th
	day of September, in the
	year of our Lord 1811.

A true copy, conformable to the original filed in the above case, and remaining of record in our office. Quebec, the 8th of October, 1811. Pyke & Perrault, P.B.R.

	Quebec, Oct. 9th, 1811.
	Copy of an award made by the arbitrators under a rule of the Court of King's Bench for the District of Quebec, in the suit of Peter Fraser, plaintiff. vs. George & William Hamilton, defendants.

	The following, written by Robert Christie, Esquire, who advertises himself in the Quebec papers, under date of June, 1811, as corresponding agent to the committee for managing the affairs at Lloyd's, is extracted from the shipping list received by that committee the 25th July last.
	Quebec, 14th May, 1811.
	The ship Trio, respecting which such unfair proceedings have taken place, as will appear by documents herewith transmitted, has been purchased by certain persons of this place, trading under the firm of George & William Hamilton, for £1400. Mr. Peter Fraser is an old and most respectable inhabitant of this Province; by his exertions, the Trio and her cargo have been prevented from being totally lost. The conduct of the Hamiltons in stigmatizing this man and his tenants, as robbers and pirates, is notoriously unjust and unguarded; they attempted to incriminate Fraser, in which they failed; they have, as I have mentioned above, purchased the Trio for £1400, and in order to overawe Fraser, and prevent an application for salvage by him, that they might hold the ship and the money due for her purchase as long as possible, they charged him with plundering, &c.; being defeated in their attempt to ruin this person, they still refused him any compensation for his trouble and salvage of the ship. Fraser brings a suit against them in the Admiralty (the cheapest and most summary method in Canada of adjusting salvage). The Hamiltons made an application to the Court of King's Bench for a prohibition, which (extraordinary to say) was granted, and Fraser is compelled to bring an action for salvage in the Court of King's Bench against the Hamiltons, which must necessarily be attended with much delay and expense, and from which there are two appeals, so that Hamilton may keep him out of his salvage for four years or more. By what authority Messrs. Hamilton refuse salvage, I know not; but their refusal so to do, with the manner in which they have endeavoured to incriminate Fraser, who it is allowed, has saved the Trio from total loss, coupled with the prohibition in the Court of King's Bench by which the jurisdiction of the Admiralty is usurped, has produced an effect which it is feared, will be fatal in cases of future wrecks. The inhabitants contiguous to the shores of the St. Lawrence, have universally expressed a resolution to render no assistance in future cases of distress. I regret to say, that this resolution, if followed, may be attended by the loss of many lives and much property, in the River St. Lawrence, &c. &c. &c.     Should the Trio have been underwritten at Lloyd's, the committee is informed that she lays now at Quebec, little worse for her damage, &c. &c.
	(Signed)   Robert Christie.
	STATEMENT OF FACTS.
	On the 27th October, 1810, John Cribben, Master of the ship Trio, consigned to our address, arrived at Quebec, from Pointe aux Mille Vaches, and informed us of the accident which had happened to her; and the defection of his crew. We immediately collected as many of the consignees of goods laden on board of her as at the time could be found out, and they gave us the following authority in writing:     We the undersigned merchants of Quebec, do hereby empower Messrs. George Hamilton and William Hamilton, of Quebec, also merchants, trading under the firm of George & William Hamilton, to hire vessels forthwith to go down to a vessel called the Trio, whereof John Cribben is Master, now wrecked upon the batture Mille Vaches, to the purpose of saving the goods and merchandise laid on board, and to do in the premises what the nature of circumstance will require, without further or special power on our behalf. We will be further accountable to George & William. Hamilton, for all the expenses accruing in consequence, proportionally to the bill of our lading; and further we will be their guarantee for proportionate expense of the persons goods whose marks are affixed to the manifest hereunto annexed, but who may not be able to sign hereto owing to being absent, or bills of lading being filled to order, on their default of payment.       In testimony whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names at       Quebec, this twenty-seventh day of October, one thousand eight       hundred and ten.

			Hall & Gowen,
			Hoyle, Henderson & Gibs,
			John B. Hamilton,
			Benn, Heath & Co.,
			J. Hallowell, Jun. & Co.

	Under this authority, and being anxious to do the best in our power for all parties interested, we hired as many schooners as could, at that late season, be procured, and sent Captain Cribben back to the ship, with a crew sufficient to save both her and her cargo, had it been possible. He arrived at the ship on the 2nd of November, where, from time to time, as the vessels we dispatched reached him, he trans-shipped as much of the cargo as they could take in, and returned himself on the 29th of the same month, when we received from him the following letter:
	Quebec, 29th November, 1811.
	Gentlemen,
	I am just arrived from the wreck of the ship Trio, after having done all in my power to save the ship and cargo, having loaded and sent up as many loads as I could get schooners or boats for; they have all arrived but one long boat, loaded with hardware, which was wrecked at Green Island, and the cargo is safe there. I hereby authorize and request you to advertise and sell, for the benefit of the concerned, the ship, remainder of cargo, and materials, as they now lay or did lay, stranded on the north side the River St. Lawrence, Pointe aux Mille Vaches.

		And am your	most obedient servant,
			John Cribben.
	Messrs. George & William Hamilton

	In consequence of which the following advertisement was inserted in the Quebec Gazette:
	At the Neptune Inn, will be sold, on Monday next, the 3rd December, for the benefit of the concerned:     The ship Trio, John Cribben, master, as she now lays, or did lay, stranded on the north side of the River St. Lawrence, nearly opposite the Island of Bic, with the remainder of her cargo, consisting mostly of iron, steel, tobacco, and some dry goods, also, all her materials, except one cable and some sails, brought up in the Mary, Captain Karney, and sold at St. Andrew's wharf, on Monday last.

		George	& William Hamilton,
			Agents for the underwriters.

	Any information may be obtained respecting the Trio, by applying to Captain Cribben, who is just arrived from said ship, and at Mr. Dallow's the taylors' lower town market-place.     Quebec, 29th. November, 1810.
	Pursuant to this advertisement, the said vessel was, on the 3rd day of December, set up for sale by Mr. Louis Delamare, and the conditions of sale published; when Mr. James Voyer, Notary Public, appeared on the part of Peter Fraser and others, and read aloud the following protest:     On the third day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten, at one o'clock in the afternoon, at the request of Peter Fraser, Esquire, William Pettigrew, Jean Baptiste Asselin and Joseph Albert, all of Green Island, in the County of Cornwallis; I, James Voyer, Notary Public, duly commissioned and sworn for the Province of Lower Canada, dwelling in the city of Quebec, in the said Province, went to the Neptune Inn, in the lower town of Quebec, in consequence of an advertisement inserted in the Quebec Gazette, on Thursday last, whereby George and William Hamilton, styling and subscribing themselves agents of the underwriters, gave public notice, that on this day the ship Trio, John Cribben, master, will be sold at the Inn aforesaid, as she now lays or did lay, stranded, on the north side of the River St. Lawrence, nearly opposite the island of Bic. And in consequence of the sale of the said ship now about to be made by the said Louis Delamare, I, the said Notary, at the request aforesaid have given the said Louis Delamare to understand and be informed; that the said requestants have certain claims and demands against the ship Trio, by way of salvage, for certain services by them rendered to the said ship, of which said claims and demand for salvage, and for the lien which the said requestants have upon the said vessel for the same. We do hereby give due notice to the said Louis Delamare, in order that if he should persist in selling the same, the said claims and rights may be saved and reserved into the said requestants; and that the purchaser or purchasers thereof be made responsible for the amount thereof: hereby declaring that in default thereof, the said requestants should and would hold him the said Louis Delamare, personally responsible for the amount of the said salvage: and did and doth hereby protest against him for the same; and for all damages, costs, charges, and interests, to be suffered and sustained by the said requestants by reason of the said Louis Delamare neglecting as refusing to comply with the present request.     Thus done and notified at Quebec aforesaid, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, the day, month, and year first above written. Copy hereof having been left with the said Louis Delamare, speaking as aforesaid, so that of the promises he may not pretend or allege ignorance. - Signed on the original.

	William Pettigrew, Jean Baptiste Asselin,		P. Fraser
	Joseph X Albert     }	Witnesses
	George Ross, L. Massue

	as appears by the same remaining of record in my office, a marginal note approved.
	James Voyer, Notary Public.

	Whereupon we guaranteed the sale to whomever might become the purchaser or purchasers; and the ship Trio and cargo being then set up at auction, Peter Fraser appeared in a state of intoxication (as will be remembered by numbers of the persons present) and but for the same, which, after some time, were adjudged to him for the sum of £1500; but from his then state of intoxication, and possible unwillingness afterwards to comply with the conditions of sale, we thought it necessary to take advice of our counsel, Edward Bowen, Esquire. His Majesty's acting Attorney General, and J. Fletcher, Esquire, Barrister at Law who delivered us the following opinion:     On conversing with Messrs. George & William Hamilton, respecting the circumstances relative to the sale of the ship Trio of Whitehaven, and her cargo, adjudged to Mr. Peter Fraser, for £1500 as the last and highest bidder, we are of opinion that Messrs. Hamilton will be fully justified in the immediate demand of the price in pursuance of the condition of sale, and on his declining either to pay the same or give such security as shall be reasonably satisfactory, in again putting up the vessel and cargo, and calling on him for any defalcation which may take place on a second sale.

			J. Fletcher
	Quebec, 3rd December. 1811.

We then make through Mr. Lee, Notary Public, the following protest:     On the third day of the month of December, one thousand eight hundred and ten, at three of the clock in the afternoon, being in the Neptune Inn, I, Thomas Lee, Public Notary at the request of John Cribben, of Great Britain, mariner, Louis Delamare, of Quebec, auctioneer and broker, and Messrs. George & William Hamilton, of Quebec, aforesaid, merchants and agents for the underwriters; did personally speaking to Peter Fraser, of Green Island, tender unto him the register of the vessel called the Trio, now wrecked on Mille Vaches shoals, of which he has just now been the purchaser, under the express condition that the money should be insisted upon immediately, and did summon and require him the said Peter Fraser, forthwith to pay the sum of fifteen hundred pounds, current money of Quebec, the purchase money of the said vessel called the Trio and the remaining parts of the cargo now therein as will more fully appear by the advertisement to that effect, exhibited unto the said Peter Fraser, and hereunto annexed; hereby in default thereof protesting against the said Peter Fraser for all and all manner of damages and particularly declaring him that the said vessel called the Trio, and the remainder of the cargo therein shall be again put up for sale, for his own account, and at his risks and perils, when received for answer, "That he was pleased the vessel should be sold upon his own account" whereupon, I the said Notary, have protested in the manner aforesaid.     Thus done at Quebec, in the presence of Francis Quirouet and Thomas Place, witnesses, hereunto required.

	Francis Quirouet,
		} Witnesses:
	Thomas Place.		Thomas Lee, Notary Public.

	I hereby certify the above to be a true copy taken by me from the original minute remaining of record in my office. In testimony where, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal of office, at Quebec, this eighth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and eleven.
	Thomas Lee, Jr.
	The vessel was immediately put up again, and the conditions of sale proclaimed anew; when, we being the highest bidders, after waiting for fifteen minutes without receiving a bid, she was duly adjudged to us, at £1400. On the same day a monition, issuing from the Court of Vice Admiralty here, was served upon us, requiring us to show cause why salvage should not be decreed to the said Peter Fraser, to one William Pettigrew, J.B. Asselin, and Joseph Albert; and on the 24th of the same month, a libel was filed in the said Court on their behalf, demanding of us the sum of £2000, each, as salvage, on the said ship Trio and cargo, making thus a demand of £8,000, being about £3,000 more than the gross proceeds of the said ship Trio and her cargo: to this suit so instituted in the Court of Vice Admiralty, we pleaded an exception to the jurisdiction of that Court; and afterwards a prohibition from the Court of King's Bench, bearing date 20th February. 1811, was issued; upon which, Peter Fraser, frustrated in his attempts there, brought his action along against us in the said Court of King's Bench for his supposed services on board the said ship of £550, where, instead of £550 salvage, £30 had been adjudged to him, as the award expressed it, for labour and services, Peter Fraser still withholds from us the long boat of the ship Trio, left by Captain Cribben at Green Island, with sails, &c, we have frequently demanded it in the same of the underwriters and others concerned in the ship, but to no purpose: we are not without hope, that the suit being now terminated, he will give her up.

What the nature of Mr. Christie's appointment from the committee for managing the affairs at Lloyd's may be, we know not; but we rather suspect he may have mistaken it; and we most sincerely thank those gentlemen for the opportunity they have given us, in furnishing a copy of that part of his letter, to ward off the blow which his envenomed shaft was calculated to inflict. The liberality and justice of the British underwriters is known and felt throughout the universe, and will no doubt point out to them the proper manner of proceeding, where the characters of individuals have been maliciously, unjustly, falsely and wantonly misrepresented by an agent of theirs. How Mr. Christie can reconcile such conduct to himself, we are at a loss to find out: surely the way to earn his salary from the committee, (for it is to be supposed he has one,) is not by advocating cases against them, which Mr. Fraser's certainly was, or by falsely representing others who have happily succeeded in doing their duty. We shall do Mr. Christie more justice than to suppose even he could believe, that the salvage was to be borne by us, or that it made any other difference to us, whether the underwriters or Mr. Fraser got the proceeds, than the wish faithfully to fulfil our duty to those by whom we are paid, and which, by the foregoing award, appears now at least we have done.     (Note: The list of 185 persons in London, Liverpool and Dundee entrusting Messrs. George & William Hamilton to look after their interests is available on request, but not significant to the present case.)     An apology for this lengthy statement, will not, we trust, be deemed necessary, by the thinking part of our readers, when it is recollected that the invidious attempt which has been made by Mr. Christie to vilify our characters, has attacked us in those points, which, we trust, will ever be considered of the greatest consequence to British merchants - their honour and humanity.

			George & William Hamilton.
	Quebec, October 8th, 1811.

P.S. Unfortunately we have not been furnished with the documents mentioned as accompanying Mr. Christie's letter; had we, they should have formed a part of this statement; however, we trust, he may think himself called upon to produce them to the public.

Quebec Gazette #2434. 14/11/1811. Page 2, Col. 4C.
	A statement of facts, relative to proceedings upon the ship Trio, stranded last autumn, upon the shoals of Mille Vaches, in the St. Lawrence, having been ushered into public notice, under the sanction of Messrs. Hamilton, of this city, may have given room to expect some attention to that subject on my part. I am not flattered, nor am I offended at the epithets with which they have condescended to embellish my reputation, being liberal enough to presume, that these gentlemen have, contrary to their usual precaution, forgotten to consult their learned counsel previous to insertion of the present statement. I shall therefore pass in silence, any allusion to myself in that production, and these gentlemen will not mistake the present as a compliment, in return for the conspicuous place they have given me amongst the heroes of their poem.
	The business of the Trio, is doubtless the most interest of the sort, that has hitherto occurred, or that perhaps may again occur in this country, on whatever direction it be regarded. Having had occasion to attend, during the various times in which evidence was given in this case, and upon which the award of the arbitrators (the preface to the present statement) was made, I may be excused in stating some of the principal facts, that were then clearly incontrovertibly established. It appeared, and it also appears by the award, that Mr. Fraser, in a late and inclement season of the year, with some of his tenants, leave their habitations on Green Island, in an open boat, for the bona fide purpose of yielding succour, or of saving a ship richly laden, stranded at the shoal off Mille Vaches, upwards of fifteen leagues distance from Green Island, and upon a wild and inhospitable coast, open to the sea, and exposed to frequent gales of wind from the east. On arrival at the place, they find the Trio, high upon the shoal, totally deserted, with her sails loose and flapping, her hold full of water, her hatches open, and her deck strewn with merchandise, the apparent vestiges of plunder, her anchors on her bows, her rudder knocked away, but her hull otherwise perfectly sound. Mr. Fraser, not having sufficient hands to clear the ship by pumping, judges it more expedient to scuttle her at low water, taking care to caulk up the aperture at return of tide: by this means, after three or four tides, the water is drained from her hold, and at high water the Trio is completely afloat. Mr. Fraser, after securing the ship at anchor, to prevent her driving further at high water, sets his men to work at a temporary rudder, for the purpose of steering the Trio across the river, in order to lay her up in a place of safety for the winter, or to bring her to Quebec, if the wind permitted, which, it appeared, could have been easily effected. At these exertions they are continuously employed for a week, exposed to frequent gales of wind, in which the people would frequently have abandoned the Trio, had not Mr. Fraser, by encouragement, and the example of his own perseverance, which few less robust than he, could have supported, prevailed upon them to stand by the ship. Such was the posture of affairs on board the Trio, when the captain arrived from Quebec, with some small craft, who, disappointed to find the Trio so favourably situated, and ashamed, perhaps, at having too precipitously abandoned her; after some parley with Mr. Fraser, proceeds to violence, and assisted by his men, disposes Mr. Fraser and his people, maltreat, and threaten them with criminal prosecution as plunderers, which was indeed afterwards attempted without success. Here all further exertions for earnestly saving the ship are arrested; part of his cargo is trans-shipped into the smaller craft, and the Trio is hauled up on the shore, and without further deliberation is abandoned, and delivered up to the agents for the underwriters, to be sold as a total loss. It appears also in evidence, that Mr. Fraser, so far from plundering, or committing any act of negligence while in charge of the Trio, had evinced the greatest caution and care for the preservation of the articles found loose on the decks upon his arrival, proven to have been plundered by Indians and others, needless to mention. A liberal public has, however, done ample justice to Mr. Fraser's injured reputation: a man of real property, and whose integrity has stood high in the opinion of his fellow-citizens for more than forty years before the name and the industry of Messrs. Hamilton gave lustre to our commercial world, was not to be wantonly ruined, by the envy of individuals. Mr. Fraser, just indignant at the treatment he has experienced, proceeds to law for the recovery of salvage upon the Trio, as well as for the re-establishment of his character; which he conceived to have been injured by those likely to enjoy the fruit of his danger and fatigue in saving the Trio. Here he is gallantly opposed by Messrs. Hamilton, who, after a series of dauntless resistance, agree to refer the affair to three Magistrates, who, after hearing the foregoing, and other matters not less substantial in evidence, award Fraser £30 for work and labour, and £34 10s to pay his people, six or eight in number, in all £64 10s with cost, for having saved a property which, upon enquiry, they would have found worth between fifteen and twenty thousand pounds, having no doubt taken into consideration their loss of time, expense for provisions, distance of their voyage, season of the year, and above all, the danger and success of their enterprise. The arbitrators have condescended to apologize for the small sum awarded to Fraser, in consideration of his intoxication, (and a better apology would not be amiss:) but his men, not faring better then he, are punished for having been, we presume, in evil company. It appears, however, that Fraser, while in charge of the Trio, was at all times, capable of giving the necessary orders, and that, had he not been dispossessed, he would have succeeded in laying up the Trio in a safe place on the south shore during winter, and that it was quite probable he might even have brought her safe to Quebec last autumn.     The arbitrators have, I am persuaded, exercised the best of their judgement, but with submission to their superior opinion, I will hazard another: I conceive, that Mr. Fraser's intoxication was totally foreign, and (supposing it true) could not at all bear against his merits in the present affair. The value of the property saved, and Fraser's merits as a salvor, and not his failings, were solely intended as the subject of their deliberations. It mattered not to the concerned, whether Fraser was sober, or not sober, provided his efforts in saving their property were successful; the most desperate enterprises have indeed been undertaken with success, by men intoxicated, which sober men would not have dared to encounter: yet I will affirm, that in no instance, except the present, have salvors been therefore less liberally rewarded. The interest of the underwriters being of so general and permanent a nature, and so closely connected with the commercial welfare of the nation, our Courts of Justice have, with a liberal and equitable policy, unanimously approved by that enlightened portion of our countrymen, on all occasions manifested a zeal to reward the labours of intrepid and enterprising salvors, as well as to punish individuals that take advantage of the deplorable situation of the sufferers. Had Fraser been guilty of plundering the Trio, (and no pains were spared to ascertain the truth,) he ought, and would have suffered the penalty of the law. If, on the other hand, he acted bona fide like an honest salvor, he should have been handsomely rewarded, not only as a remuneration for his services, but as an encouragement to others for similar conduct in future cases. The reader may judge for himself of Mr. Fraser's conduct, from the following passage in the award, wherein the arbitrator state, "That he did bona fide proceed to the said ship Trio, while stranded on the bank or shoal of Mille Vaches, with the intent to procure to the underwriters, and others whom it might concern, the said ship Trio and cargo therein contained, and did, with the persons whom he procured to assist him the said Fraser, protect and guard the said ship Trio for and during the space of seven days." &c. &c. The ingenious reader may reconcile the commencement with the conclusion of the award; - I confess it is beyond my comprehension.     I will not dwell upon the trivial protest of an authority to act as agents for underwriters for a few individuals in Britain, who may or may not be in the habit of underwriting, nor will I suppose Messrs. Hamiltons serious in offering it as legal authority in the present, or in any other case. It may indeed have proved of some service in procuring them commissions on sales they may have effected. While the fiction lasted; it has long since died a natural death, nor indeed have Messrs. Hamilton regarded it as of any consequence in the present case, as appears by the precaution of obtaining a special authority from Messrs. Hall & Gowen and others, of this city. How would the gentlemen of Westminster Hall, or Lloyd's smile at their authority and statement of facts, upon being tendered at the skeleton of £1400, stripped of Messrs. Hamilton's commissions, law expenses, salvage, &c. as the proceeds of a ship and cargo underwritten at £20,000 or £30,000 and upwards, and perhaps at that moment, after a few partial repairs, lying safe in the London Dock. I shall now proceed to further consideration of this statement of facts, which, as it was voluntary and unsolicited, was, I presume, intended by these gentlemen, open to fair investigation. In giving due applause for what they have done for the benefit of the concerned, they will excuse my boldness in stating, what in their de facto capacity of agents to the underwriters, they ought not, in the hurry of their zeal, by any means to have omitted, and further, what, as such agents, they could not legally do. - I conceive, then, that Messrs. Hamilton, acting as agents, should before all things, in their zeal to serve the underwriters, have ascertained the propriety of abandoning the Trio, this is a most essential point, upon which they do not appear to have consulted their learned counsel, and upon which there is a total silence; on this subject, I would recommend them to peruse Marshall in Insurance, page 584, and other places verbo abandonment - (2nd Edition.)     I strongly doubt the legality of the abandonment of the Trio as for a total loss, Fraser's exertions having rendered the loss merely partial; Fraser should at least have been previously consulted, and his opinion of her actual situation might have prevented an abandonment; in which case, the underwriters would gladly have made good her repairs in the spring, and no doubt have liberally rewarded the salvors, and would certainly have felt more obliged to their agent, than I am inclined to think them under present circumstances. Had these gentlemen taken the pains to have coolly consulted with their learned counsel, they would have learned, that acting as agents for the underwriters at the sale of the Trio, they could not legally purchase that ship. As it is however, not improbably that the whole business respecting the Trio may hereafter give room to some able discussion at Westminster Hall, we shall wait Lord Ellenborough's opinion upon the subject. From the solemn procession of advertisements, protests and opinions that move through that statement of facts, one would at first presume that some essential benefit had thereby accrued to the underwriters, through this zealous diligence of Messrs. Hamilton.     How are we disappointed in finding the reverse, and the whole calculated merely to defeat Fraser's purchase, and to secure their own for £100 less than Fraser offered, which, asking pardon for differing with their learned counsel, is a defalcation that Messrs. Hamilton, and not Mr. Fraser should make good. The Trio being offered for sale by Messrs. Hamilton, as agents for the underwriters, is bid up to £350 or thereabouts, where she hangs for some time, at that moment Mr. Fraser comes in, and surprised to find so valuable a property on the point of being sacrificed, bids her up in a few minutes to £1500, with a full resolution of doubling the sum if opposed. Messrs. Hamilton, imagining that nothing less than intoxication could induce Fraser to bid against them, upon the Trio, and that it was possible he would afterwards be unwilling to comply with the conditions of sale, immediately consult their learned counsel, an opinion is given, the Notary is called into the field, Fraser's purchase, it is presumed, is solemnly defeated and annulled, the Trio is again put up to sale, and repurchased by Messrs. Hamilton themselves for £1400, and Fraser is set down as a knave and a drunkard, not worth a single day's credit, though liable to £100 loss, for bidding against his superiors; such were the precautions taken (we presume for the benefit of the concerned) at the sale of the Trio, all comprehended within the narrow space of three or four hours. In reflecting upon this singular and summary mode of sale breaking, it will occur to the meanest capacity, that Fraser, knowing the real state of the Trio from actual survey, would not bid more than he thought her worth, and that though Messrs. Hamilton have conceived it possible, it was not at all possible, he would repent his bargain; he knew too well the value of the acquisition, of which, it appears, Messrs. Hamilton themselves had no mean opinion. Neither is it unusual for bidders to attend sales of that magnitude with the strong box at their heels; a day, a week, or sometimes more, being allowed to make payment in such cases; nor have these gentlemen condescended to explain why Mr. Fraser's bid was not in every respect as good as Messrs. Hamilton, this surely deserves an explanation, if an explanation they thought at all necessary. It is evident Mr. Fraser's bid was a good bid, for it was no bid at all. If it were a good bid, Fraser, upon its being knocked down, became the purchaser, and took upon himself the risk of the Trio, and had he even refused to pay the purchase money, Messrs. Hamilton, acting as agents, could compel payment; and it was not lawful for these gentlemen to attempt to rescind the sale upon any pretext. If, on the reverse, it were no bid at all, or, what amounts to the same thing, an invalid bid, Fraser surely could not be liable for what their learned counsel term a defalcation. That which is in itself null can produce no effect. Were it competent for every broker or auctioneer thus to annul sales, the mischief would be infinite, even the purchase of Messrs. Hamilton themselves might be rescinded in the same manner as they have endeavoured to rescind Fraser's, upon the interposition of a third person, were it not owing to the happy union of interests, collected in their own persons of agents, vendors and purchasers. I know not whether these gentlemen intended the present statement as justificatory of the legality of their own purchase, to the exclusion of Mr. Fraser, or as a specimen of the benefits accruing to the underwriters from this instance of their zeal. In either case, the subject was interesting enough to require more coolness and temper than they manifest on the occasion.     Messrs. Hamilton fancy an inconsistency in my conduct, in having embraced Mr. Fraser's case; they cannot, however be ignorant, that being a professional man, I espoused Fraser's case for the same reason that my learned friends espoused theirs. Not being employed by Messrs. Hamilton, and I certainly would not volunteer into their service, I was at liberty to engage in Mr. Fraser's, which I conscientiously conceived to be the better case, and should it even prove an illusion, is one that these gentlemen will still allow me to indulge. I feel perfectly at ease, and hope Messrs. Hamilton may not feel less easy on the occasion than myself. Mr. Fraser's character is redeemed from the opprobrium with which it was branded; this indeed, was an object much more desirable to him than money, under the circumstances of his case, although, in retrieving his reputation, his more opulent enemies may glory in the hope of having compelled him into the highway of ruin.     Were my intentions as malignant as Messrs. Hamilton imagine, I might expatiate more largely upon the subject they have thrown open to discussion, than would suit either their purpose or my own inclination. I have met these gentlemen on their own ground, and on their own terms, and it is hoped, with as much temper as they could desire. To me it is indifferent, whether Mr. Fraser or Messrs. Hamilton make a fortune by this, or any other speculation, but owing to the underwriters at Lloyd's certain duty, I shall, while they continue their confidence in me, faithfully attend to their interests, though unhappy enough to incur the displeasure of Messrs. Hamilton, or any other gentlemen I may personally esteem.     Whatever be the nature of our respective business, there is an ample field for the exercise of our zeal and exertions for the benefit of the underwriters; and for my own part, so far from entertaining any jealousy of their superior merit, I shall rejoice with Messrs. Hamilton upon every occasion wherein they may successfully signalize their zeal in the interest of that respectable body of Englishmen.

			Robert Christie.
	Quebec, 9th November, 1811.

Quebec Gazette #2435. 21/11/1811.
	Mr. Editor,
	For the information of some of your distant readers, who, are unacquainted with the parties engaged in the late controversy which has appeared in your Gazette between our firm and Mr. Robert Christie, and who might probably, on that account, expect some reply from us (to what we believe, he terms his discussion of our statement of facts.) We are inclined to observe; that, when an Attorney, of no older standing in the Courts than October 1810, has the hardihood (after a voyage to London, no doubt in quest of information) to accuse, before an enlightened society, the highest legal authority in this country, of having usurped the authority of another court, in itself highly respectable, and which usurpation, to use Mr. Christie's happy epithet, occurred during his absence, of course founding this extraordinary accusation upon supposed facts which he could not have witnessed; when he asked for, sports his opinion against the award of arbiters ordered by the Court of King's Bench, an award given by men, whose hearts of this moment, beat high with the mens conscia recti, notwithstanding his differing with them in opinion, we do not look upon such a person worthy a reply. We called upon Mr. Christie for documents with which his statement to the committee for managing the affairs at Lloyd's was accompanied, but he has not brought any forward. We asserted, and we still assert, that, that statement was a malicious, unjust, false and wanton misrepresentation of our characters and conduct in the management of the affairs of the ship Trio, and we assert it notwithstanding his paltry threat of our having published it without the advice of our learned counsel; and we do not see in his discussion that he denies it. Mr. Christie builds much on the highly respectable character of Mr. Fraser, seems perfectly satisfied that a generous public has done his justice, and that his injured reputation is retrieved; be it so: the trusty tenantry of Green Island, with Peter Fraser at their head, clothed in the specious garb of magistracy, accompanied with the high sounding epithets of one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the District of Quebec, in the Province of Lower Canada, may be very fit instruments for Mr. Christie to send forward with affidavits and certificates, to men who are unacquainted with them; but here, we presume, Mr. Christie does not build much on their effect. He dwells much upon the intoxication of Mr. Fraser being only supposed by us for his having dared to bid against us for the ship Trio; the disgraceful scene of inebriety which was acted at the Neptune Inn on the third of December last, is too fresh in the memories of a respectable body of the citizens of Quebec for Mr. Christie to expect to be heard on this side of the Atlantic. He makes light of our powers to act for the underwriters, and talks of those from whom they are held as a few individuals who either may or may not be underwriters; let him say, how many of the respectable names appearing to these powers are amongst the few from whom he holds his corresponding appointment; find one as easily supported as the other. For furnishing inconsiderate and capricious statements, he may, perhaps, have a salary; in this he has the advantage: but, without a guarantee from the committee to bear us harmless, supposing us to act wrong, (if wrong one could be supposed to act,) following the advice of this second marshall, we should prefer taking the advice of elder counsel, as to the legality of the abandonment of the Trio, and not consulting a man who was, and can be proven to have been in a state of intoxication while on board. We are satisfied, and shall have no objection to answer for our conduct when called upon. Mr. Christie, in talking of the skeleton of £1400, as the offering made the underwriters for the ship Trio and cargo, shows either wilful ignorance, or what is worse, a desire to mislead. Speaking of it anatomically, the body was œ5766 12 5, and we did not suffer it to be made a skeleton of. One question seems to be, was Peter Fraser's case for or against the underwriters? The decision of the arbiters, though unhappily for them it is disapproved of by Mr. Christie, says, it was against them; and leaves him to reconcile his conduct to himself (which he seems easily to do,) namely, that of taking a salary from the one as agent, and a fee from the other as counsel. Void of fact, and unsupported by documents, we leave Mr. Christie's discussion, and withdraw from any further reply; convinced of the tyranny of a Nero in compelling a Roman gentleman to combat a gladiator.

			George & William Hamilton.
	New Liverpool, November,	1811.

G.R. Bossé©1998.

Posted: Nov. 9th, 1999.

Updated: July 15, 2003.