To his Excelency the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, your petitioner would respectifully represent that on the [...] day of the 18[...], he shipped a lott of whisky to the mouth of Toms Creek. On its way to where this petitioner lives in the county of Johnson, while the same was at the mouth of said creek in a house in the possession of one M^r Swan ^& while^ there a bublic day at the point refered to ^was held^ & a man went to this petitioners brother who was there at the time & wanted to purchase some of the whisky, his brother refused to sell it telling him that he was not authorised to sell the same & that if he was he would be subject to a fine for selling, the Gentleman then told him that if he would let him have 4 gallons he would pay the same number of gallons back, as he was a bar Keeper in the county himself, to which his said brother concented, he got the whisky & let the same be drank on or near the premises, for which this petitioner was presented at the next term of the Johnson Circuit Court, & at the present term Novr. 1860 was fined $60⁰⁰ he says that he was not the oner of the premises nor the house where the whisky was sold & had no controle of the same in any manner only the leave of the Occupant to let the whisky remain there until he could hall the same home, he says that he did not authorize his said brother to dispose of it in any manner whatever, & that it was proven on trial & he so charges that he never did recieve One cent for the same neither in mony or whisky & did not think he had violated the law in what he had done, & did not try to defend himself only by the plf^s witness who proved in substance the statement, he says he is very poor has no means to pay the said fine, & thinks that he realy was inocent

and blameless in all he done, he therefore prayes your Excelency to take Cognizence of his case and grant him all the relief that it merits he says that he never has been engaged in selling whisky before nor since & would not have had that amt on hands had it not been to save a debt he pledges himself never to have anything to do with it agan wherefore he prayes for all the mercy due him under the circumstances

your Truly
William Stapleton,

We the undersigned Citizens of the county of Johnson Join in the prayer of the above named petitioner,

Remitted
B. M

Is^dJay 3 1861