At Douglastown, Monday 18th, Sept. 1809

Evidence. James Ventonbury called as a Witness by the Plaintiff and Sworn Deposeth says that in spring 1807 one Peter Cloutier came into the service of the Plaintiff as a shore man in the summer fishery and continued so to serve her for the span of three months being the summer fishery and that he the said Peter Cloutier be not withstanding he being a shore man only he did sometimes go to serve in company with the Plaintiff's son William in order to fish, on account of one Allan McDonald being unable to go out with the Plaintiffs Son from occasional intoxication and that the fish thus caught were kept in a pile by itself and altogether separate from the pile of fish got by the Plaintiff's Voyage with the said McDonald and likewise separate from the pile of fish got in the Plaintiff's voyage along with the witness that the whole of the fish so caught by the said Cloutier and the Plaintiffs said son were weighed out twenty or twenty one quintals at the end of the summer fishing and then delivered to the Defendant personally who received the same upon the Plaintiff's beach, that the said Peter Cloutier was not then present and that the witness understands he had no share in that quantity of fish being entirely on monthly wages that the witness himself was present when the said Cloutier received from the Plaintiff in part of these wages four gallons good oyl and a grindstone worth about ten shillings - and that the Plaintiff's said son William was allowed by his mother the Plaintiff one third of the aforesaid quantity caught with Cloutier.

And the Witness says the whole of the twenty one quintals aforesaid were received by Mr. Masy the Defendant and carried away by him in his own coat, and the witness further saith that he understood thereafter that the Plaintiff's son William had been satisfied for his share of the aforesaid quantity by the Defendent And the witness further saith that the pile of fish; aforesaid which was got in the Plaintiff's Voyage along with him amonts to one hundred and forty seven quintals in all and that the same was altogether different and distinct horn the aforesaid number of twenty or twenty one quintals aforesaid which formed a pile of itself as the voyage of the Plaintiff along with the said Cloutier - that the witness does not know the number of quintals that were in the Pile of the Plaintiff's voyage with the said McDonald but he is certain that the said pile was altogether different and distinct from the aforesaid piles - being cross examined by the Defendant wheter or not he had granted in the presence of the witness any things to the Plaintiff for the said pile of the voyage of the Plaintiff with Cloutier and he the Witness saith that he the Defendant did not grant any such receipt in his presence, the Witness adds that he is not in any way interested in the event of this suit, and is at present in the employ of Mr. Rossignol.

The Defendant moves the court that as the aforesaid Peter Cloutier is now absent and out of the jurisdiction of this court and living in the Parish of St. Thomas near to Québec being he considers a material witness in this cause therefore he prays that a Writ of Commission Rogatoire be granted on behalf of him the Defendant directed to a judge or Magistrat within the District of Québec for the examination on oath Faits et Articles of his the said Pierre Cloutier as to the fact of his having so fished in manner set forth by the aforesaid Witness James Vinton with the Plaintiff's said son William and caught thereby in all the aforesaid quantity of twenty or twenty one quintals of fish and that the said Writ of Commission Rogatoire be retournable on the first day of the now next to be held at Douglastown.

It is ordered that the Writ of Commission Rogatoire as prayed for by the Defendant in this cause be granted and that in the meantime the same to remain over until the first day of the. now next to be held here.