ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



No. 43. 



Papers of the Continental Congress, p. 409. 



To the Rig^it Honourable the United States in Congress assembled. 

 The humble petition of Fleury Mesplet, late printer of Cong-ress at 

 Montreal. 



Gentlemen: — 



"ïour petitioner takes the most respectful liberty to represent to you 

 that he has been for this three months past imploring the clemency of Your 

 Honours. Flattering himself that in consequence of the proofs he has 

 given of the justness of his pretentions by the several certificats which 

 he has furnished to the gentlemen appointed by Your Honours to 

 examine his affair, that you would be pleased gentlemen to take it im- 

 mediately into consideration and j"ender him the justice due to his 

 services — he has remained hitherto in a most profound silence not daring 

 to importune Your Honours, but his detention here reducing him to the 

 greatest extremity, he is forced to make tliis address to Your Honours. 



Beseeching you, gentlemen, to cast a favorable eye upon a man who 

 through his zeal and attachment for your interest has sacrifised all his 

 worth and totally ruined himself and family. And if his distressful situa- 

 tion can any ways touch your hearts and inspire Your Honours with any 

 pity for him, he intreat Your Honours to enable him to fulfill the engage- 

 ments wliich he was obliged to contract during his imprisonment at 

 Quebec, and free him from the embarassment in which he is involved in 

 order that he might return to Montreal, where his unfortunate wife over- 

 whelmed with grief only supports herself in the hopes of seeing him return 

 entirely satisfied from Your Honours. 



In the deplorable situation in which he is plunged he has no other 

 hopes of relief then the compassion and generosity of Your Honours. To 

 Montreal he dare not return to avoid the pursuits of his creditors and should 

 unfortunately. Your Honours Shew him the least indifference in granting 

 his request he would be reduced to despair; as he would have no resource — 

 whatsoever — left him but flight — and his miserable wife also reduced to 

 the greatest necessity and the mercy of the public as the few effects which 

 his ennemies have left him would immediately be attacked and sold by his 

 enraged creditors. 



If your petitioner had had the least reproclie to make to himself in his 

 conduct towards Your Honours he would not have persislfed so long in his 

 demands but he dares to repeat to you, gentlemen, that he has sacrified 

 himself, his wife and fortuné to adhere to your cause, being fully persuaded 

 that nothing could equal the Justice of Your Honours. 



Therefore he beseeches you, gentlemen, to consider liis distressful posi- 

 tion and not abandon him to despair the resolution which Your Honours 

 have been pleased to pass to allow him 426 dollars is hardly sufficient to 

 balance the expenses which he has been obliged to make for himself and 

 a friend who accompanies him to assist him in his affair and who has 

 advanced to him his journey expenses from Montreal in the middle of 

 winter — from here Philadelphia and return and since for both their sub- 

 sistence in this city. Therefore your petitioner is in the impossibility to 

 leave this place with this small sum as he dare not appear at Montreal 

 unless he could present to his creditors a définitif resolution from Your 



