Report of Francis Buller on 3 individual petitions (prisoner, 3 copies of the same...

Report of Francis Buller on 3 individual petitions (prisoner, 3 copies of the same petition) and 1 collective petition (4 people, 2 of them aldermen) on behalf of Alexander Falconer/ Alexander Faulkener, waterman, convicted at the Surrey Lent Assizes at Kingston, for 'having a concern in the embezzlement of some sugar'/stealing 80lbs of sugar, property of John Taylor and Daniel Hill, from a vessel on the River Thames. There is a covering letter to the petition from James Gordon. Buller notes in his report ' the Extent of this Species of Offence is so great that I think Mercy be held out very sparingly. The Quantity of Property stolen out of Vessels on the Thames was stated at £12,000 a Year.' Grounds for clemency: has served on the king's ships in the past, had no intention of breaking the law, is of a weak state of health having a 'Consumptive Complaint', has a wife, aged mother and crippled sister to support, all liable to become a burden on the parish and 2 respectable merchants are willing to stand security for him. Initial sentence: 7 years transportation. Recommendation: no mercy; annotated 'prisoner has been once before Transported. Folios 97-106.