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North Fork P. O. Mason Co Ky
th 1863
Hon Gov Jas Robison
Your petitioner, feeling himself grievously burdoned, by the recent action of the honorable County Court of Mason, by the imposition of both fine and triple tax, in consequence, as it is charged, for contempt, in refusing to be sworn to the inventory and valuation of my real and personal property, begs the exercise of your executive clemency in his case, believing that the following pleas will justify it.
First, The petitioner is ignorance of the fact, that the law imposed such an obligation upon the assessor. Your petitioner has been a resident of the United States about 14 years and twelve of which he has spent, where he resides at present, and during the whole of which time he has always given in his list to Mr Geo Grant and was never sworn by him in his life, as to the inventory and valuation of his real and personal property, and believed, that if the law imposed such a duty upon the assesor, Mr Grant would exacted of me at some time or other, during the long series of years, in which he has discharged the duties of the office, and indeed, in which he has spent the strength of his manhood and the maturity of his age to the entire satisfaction of the public.
Your petitioner is told, that the ignorance of a law is no plea of justification for its violation, yet he feels constrained to make the plea, because there was no contempt intended by his refusal to swear and believed the new assessor demanded the oath of your petitioner, because he was a catholic. Had the assessor explained to your petitioner the
why and wherfore of the oath or had your your petitioner ^known^ the nature of the oath as he now does he would not have refused. Your petitioner farther avers, that the state has suffered no loss or wrong at his hands in its revenue by his refusal, as his list was true and just and in evidence of which fact, the board of equilization, to whom he was well acquainted has not disturbed it.
Secondly, your petioner by hard manual labor and and frugality and economy has been able to purchase a small house and lot in the town of Lewisburg Mason County Ky, in which he now resides with his wife and daughter. He owns also one horse and cart as personalty, and no money, but is in debt in the sum of one hundred dollars. His wife is infirm the daughter to be educated and no one to aid him to support his family and to pay his debts.
Your petioner is a man over sixty years of age and is dependant wholly upon his individual labor to support his family and himself, and in consequence of the advanced prices upon the absolute necessities of life and the low rate of labor, he greatly fears want and sacrifice to himself and family
Your petioner prays your excellency to dispassionately view the above facts and to exercise your executive mercy in the remission, at least of some portion, if not the whole of the burdon of which he complains.
Thos ^his X mark^ Cow
Attest
Addison Dimmitt
Sworn to before me th 1863
A K Marshall J. P. M C.
The foregoing petition contains as I understand a true history of the transaction and a correct statement of the facts.
Jno D Taylor