Folios 290-291: Wilson Rathborne, Regulating Officer, North Shields. Responding to...

Folios 290-291: Wilson Rathborne, Regulating Officer, North Shields. Responding to the letter of 29 October and sends a report on the case of Aaron Mitchell, on board the Eliza tender. He returns the enclosure and the Protection taken from Mitchell when pressed. Aaron M Mitchell was pressed by Lieutenant Liddle, Sunderland, on 23 October and detained on information from Mr Wood of Sunderland, whose letter is enclosed, that he had served at sea prior to the current Indenture. Aaron Mitchell is about 19 years old, a healthy active young man, well suited for service.

Folios 292-293: enclosure with folios 290-291. Letter dated 26 February 1811 from John Wilkinson, ship Laurel, Sunderland, to The Admiralty. Reports that his apprentice, Aaron Mitchell was pressed at Sunderland. He has enclosed an affidavit which he hopes will demonstrate that his Apprentice was never at sea before being bound, and ? he had been a short time at sea? He is willing to find one able-bodied Seaman or pay a sum of money for his discharge. He can provide more proof but hopes this will be sufficient. Aaron Mitchell has a Protection for 3 years, and the information that he was an Apprentice before the enclosed Indenture is totally false.

Folios 294-295: enclosure with folios 290-291. Protection dated 20 July 1811 in the name of Aaron Mitchell, Apprenticed to John Wilkinson from 28 August 1810.

Folio 296: enclosure with folios 290-291. Affidavit dated 4 October 1811, sworn before a Justice of the Peace in the County of Durham at Bishop Wearmouth, by John Smith Bowhill, labourer. When he married his wife, her son of a former husband, Aaron Mitchell, was about 11 months old. At a very young age he went to his uncle, John Forster, of Witton Gilbert, a farmer, and stayed with him until May 1810, when he came to his mother at Bishop Wearmouth. On 28 August 1810 he bound himself to John Wilkinson, ship owner, for a period of 3 years. He was never at sea or bound to any other person previously.

Folios 297-298: enclosure with folios 290-291. Letter dated 26 October 1811 from Robert Wood, Bishop Wearmouth, to Captain Rathborne, North Shields. He has been shown Captain Rathbnorne's letter by Lieutenant Liddle and has been told that an affidavit has been made confirming that Aaron Mitchell was never at sea prior to the date of his Indenture in 1810. He swears that Aaron Mitchell spent 7 years at sea in the brig Laurel, John Wilkinson, Master, and that the produced Indenture is his third. It is clear that perjusy has been committed in the Affidvait