242
NOTES AND QUERIES. m s. v. MA* so, 1912.
Ward had continued in possession two more
years. Defoe asked for payment of the debt
for stock, amounting to about 600/., and
160Z. on account of rent. This was not forth-
coming, and Ward "in a private and
clandestine manner " quitted the farm,
leaving no stock to distrain on. and returned
to Warwickshire. Ward there procured a
commission of bankruptcy to be taken out
against himself, with the object of depriving
Defoe and his other creditors of their
remedies at common law. Defoe further
complained that Ward and the Commissioners
of bankruptcy not only refused to pay him
his debt, but, in order to induce him to
relinquish his claim, pretended that he had
received several sums of money and goods
from Ward, and threatened to bring an action
in the Court of Common Pleas for the pre-
tended debt. The defendants further pre-
tended that a man named Adams, a servant of
Ward's, was an agent of Defoe's, and tried to
make the latter liable for some sums of
money Ward had entrusted to Adams. Defoe
asked the Court to order that an account of
the alleged debts should be set forth, that he
be admitted as creditor to the estate,
and that the proceedings at common law
be stayed by injunction.
The defendant Ward, in his answer, denied that he had originally any intention of taking the farm, or that he had said he was worth 1 ,0001. , but admitted he might have expressed an intention of leaving Coleshill. He stated that he visited Defoe at Stoke Newington in consequence of several pressing letters he had received from Defoe, in which the latter represented that he had a most advantageous scheme to lay before him. The plan that Defoe unfolded was to the effect that, as the farm in question had a quantity of very good tile clay, they should take the premises together, and carry on the trade of brick and tile makers, and that Defoe (who had had considerable experience in the business) should instruct Ward and admit him as partner. The result was that Defoe in- duced Ward to sign a paper, dated 23 Nov., 1724, purporting to be an agreement between them jointly, to take the farm of Hannah Defoe at the rent of 100Z. a year for the term of thirty-one years ; that they should jointly occupy the premises and carry on the busi- ness before mentioned, and each advance 150Z. for starting the works. Soon after signing this agreement Defoe told Ward that his daughter Hannah and the rest of his family would be very anxious if they knew he had entered into business again ; he therefore prevailed upon Ward to sign
another agreement to take the farm singly
but as to what rent and term the latter did
not know, not having paid much attention
or taken a copy, as he believed Defoe's
representation that it was only to satisfy
his wife and family, although Ward since
believed that it was done with the intention
to deceive him, and force him to hold the
farm singly, Defoe knowing it was worth
considerably less than 100Z. a year. Defoe at
the same time entreated Ward to say nothing
of the first agreement among his family,
as, although Hannah Defoe was a witness
to it, she knew nothing of its contents. A
little time after, Ward, having on inquiry
discovered that the farm was not worth
100Z. a year, complained to Defoe, and a
new agreement was entered into, it being
arranged that the land should be rented
according to the rent of the surrounding pro-
perty, and a memorandum of this was
endorsed on the first agreement, which was-
in Ward's possession. Ward further stated
that he advanced to Defoe, both in money
and goods, a sum very nearly amounting
to that which he had agreed to put into the
business ; and had in addition, at Defoe's
request, paid and supervised the workmen
until he had overpaid the amount by 201.
Having exhausted his funds, Ward asked Defoe to advance his share, to which the latter replied that he would order his agent, Adams, to do so out of his rents ; but, on applying, Ward was informed that Defoe had already ordered the rents to be devoted to other purposes. In consequence of this Ward wrote to Defoe requesting that the joint farm might be rented according to the- third agreement, that he might know what rent he was to pay as his share ; also, if the stock on the farm was to be treated as- joint stock, that it might be valued, so that Ward should know how much was his share ; and that the two shares of the farm and stock should be distinct. This latter request was occasioned by a suspicion that Defoe intended to cultivate his own farm with the joint stock. Being unable to obtain any satisfactory reply, Ward, having nothing to live on, returned to Warwickshire, consider- ing he was under no further obligation to concern himself about the matter. Some time after Defoe wrote to Ward informing him that, owing to the death of a brother* or some other relative, a considerable estate of real and personal property had come to him, and if Ward would return to Essex,
- Defoe's brother-in-law Samuel Tuffley died
about 1725.
