'That soon afterwards petitioner, together with his wife and child, two years old, was actually
starving; being at time for whole days without a morsel of food; and having disposed of all
their wearing apparal, without a change left, or even a bed to lie on, was obliged to apply for
the allowance of 3s.6d. a week, under an Act passed in the 53rd of the King, c.l 13, intituled,
'An Act for providing relief for poor prisoners confined in fhe King's Bench, Fleet, and
Marshalsea prisons,' which passed on the 1 Oth of July, 1813; and on the 4th of August last, your
petitioner made affidavit before a commissioner for obfaining said allowance, as directed by
the Act.
'That your petitioner, immediately on making said affidavit, lodged it with Mr.Woodroffe, clerk
of the said Fleet prison; but yet the petitioner could not obtain the relief the law allowed; as
illegal fees, not authorised by the act of parliament, were demanded of him; at first 6s.8d.
were demanded, and afterwards 4s.8d.; but it was not in your petitioner's power to comply
with either.
'That in consequence of your petitioner's not being able to pay either of said demands, his
affidavit was not laid before fhe magistrate for nearly six weeks - namely, until the 15th of
Sepfember following; during which time petitioner and his family were in the most deplorable
state of misery, and would, in all probability, have fallen victims to absolute starvation, had it
not been for your petitioner's having got a little credit from some of his fellow-prisoners, on the
ground of his expectancy of said allowance.
'That one of your petitioner's fellow-prisoners had made a complaint to a member of your
lordship's House on the subject of the fees, which had been illegally extorted from a great
number of the prisoners; and the said peer transmitted the said complaint to the principal
Secretary of State for the home department, who property transmitted the same to the said
Fleet prison; upon which the said illegal fees were refunded.
'That your petitioner applied to Mr.Woodroffe for his affidavit in order to send the same to a
magistrate; but it was refused him; so that the officers of the prison neither sent said affidavit
to the magistrate till as above stated, nor did they enable petitioner, by putting the affidavit
into his hands, to send to a magistrate himself.
That, after your petitioner had regularly received the said allowance, the same was suddenly
stopped for six weeks, previous to his discharge under the general Insolvent Act; though he still
continued in the extreme of poverty and distress, and was not supersedeable, nor entitled by
law to be discharged under any Insolvent Act.
That in consequence of your petitioner having been so reduced from absolute want and
confinement, he was on the point of death, and would, as he verily believes, and has been
informed by a medical gentleman who attended him, have perished during his confinement,
had notthe keeper of the prison, Mr.Nixon, permitted him to walk out into the rules; and that
neither he nor his wife have ever since recovered their former health.
"That during his said miserable confinement, petitioner has witnessed several instances of
persons who were nearly perishing from want; and that he was acquainted with a brother
prisoner of the name Teal, who lived for three whole days on six potatoes; and also that he
knew several deaths in consequence of the effects of imprisonment, some in the prison, and
some soon after the individuals departed from it.
'Wherefore your petitioner most earnestly beseeches your lordships to take such measures as
your wisdom shall deem advisable, to prevent such illegal oppressions as your petitioner has
experienced; as well as to abolish by law the abominable practice of imprisonment for debt
on mesne process; the dreadful consequences of which may not be fully known to your
lordships' House, but are too woefully experienced, not only by the ruined debtor, but
generally by the creditor himself.
'and petitioner will pray,
William Wright.'
