Thomas Clarkson - A DOUBTFUL DEBT

    Early in 1823 the ship "Marshall Wellington" came to anchor in Sydney Cove. The master of the ship, on seeing his crew swarm ashore for leave, indemnified himself against all debts they may incur by publishing a notice in the Sydney Gazette stating he would not be responsible for the same.(53) This was the usual custom, and a necessary one, as it ensured the onus was placed on the inhabitants, if they gave credit to the seaman, to recover it from the perpetrator and not his master.
    On to these shores stepped young James Bee, an allegedly illiterate ship's cook. He made his way to the House of George Davey (an acquaintance of Thomas') where he proceeded to drink out his wages. As a result of this exercise he became so inebriated it was obvious he would need board and lodging for the night. This was offered to him by the host.(54)
    Early the next morning, urged by George Davey and Thomas Clarkson, he signed a promissory note for £30. Davey made the note over to Clarkson, who presented it to the Ship's Captain for payment. He refused and the Captain immediately dispensed with the services of his poor cook. The unfortunate Bee found himself in custody and subsequently before the courts to face charges.
    James Bee claimed that the House of Henry Hart, run by George Davey had been recommended to him, and that Davey had invited him to eat at his establishment, which at intervals of sobriety, he did.(55)
    His shipmates had followed him to the same location and. having spent all their ready cash, would leave their debts on his account. He could support this if need be with the testimony of Edward Flaherty. Further, he claimed, Flaherty could be questioned in relation to the promissory note in question which, as Flaherty claimed, was organized and signed….(56)
during the heat of the defendant's intoxication, in a kind of private apartment, in a clandestine manner and that another (note) which had beep drawn up by one Mr Flaming, being disapproved, had been destroyed.
    Bee was gaoled and left here in a strange country_ without sufficient funds to pay the arrears.
    The court considered the note more than a little suspicious, and rebuked Thomas Clarkson for not proceeding with the matter in the recognised way when dealing with sailors whose Captains had already advertised their indemnity of debts; the suit was dismissed.(57)
    The question remains though, was Thomas really the instigator of an attempt to extort money from poor drunken Bee or did Bee leave himself open to prosecution by incurring debts he couldn't pay?   
Ironically Thomas Clarkson was to find himself in a similar predicament in May 1823. In retrospect it had all begun early in 1811. At this time Thomas had entered into a "certain bond of obligation" by becoming a joint bondsman with one James Bowler of Windsor for the payment of the rent of the Turnpike between Parramatta and Windsor for one year.(58)
    The right to collect the tolls was put to auction and one Thomas Boulton became the purchaser and prevailed upon Clarkson and Bowler to share the payment of the rent of the same.
    Shortly after Bowler died, leaving Thomas Clarkson and Thomas Boulton partners in the debt.
    During the time he was operating the tolls, Boulton was gaoled for some misdemeanour and as he could not attend to the taking of the tolls, his finances deteriorated and he was unable to pay the rents. At the end of his yearly tenure of the Tolls, moves were made by the Trustees, D'Arcy Wentworth and Simeon Lord to recover the cost of the purchased Tolls. Since Boulton was in gaol and penniless, the proceedings against him were ineffectual and so on 15 March 1820, these charges were duplicated in suit against Thomas Clarkson, as surety, for the sum of £155.
    On his release from gaol, Thomas Boulton joined William Stewart's survey expedition to Bateman's Bay and was allowed to leave the colony, unnoticed and unannounced and was consequently never heard of again.
    However, this was not the end of the issue, Wentworth and Lord, calculating that a debt of £1,000 was owing on unpaid Tolls, directed their suit against Thomas Clarkson as the sole surety. Judgement to this effect was issued on 18 October 1820 leaving Thomas with the complete debt.(59)
    On 26 May 1823 Clarkson composed a long letter to the current governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane. In this he included a detailed account of the circumstances and claimed if  "Thomas Boulton had been detained from leaving the colony he would have eventually become able to discharge the whole of the said claim against him" thus indemnify Thomas. Now, threatened with the payment. Clarkson declared himself incapable of discharging the amount of such a judgement. Further, he declared, if payment were insisted of him, he was facing a gaol sentence and this would leave his very large family without means of support "deprived of his exertions to maintain them".(60)
    Little was Thomas, or any other member of his very large family to know that within a year they would be forced to struggle on without his support and efforts indefinitely. Within a year Thomas Clarkson would be dead.

 Page last updated -  7 July 2006