Wesley Corpus

I am not surprised at all that upon such evidence you should advance such assertions. But I really am at what you afterwards assert as upon your own personal knowledge -- viz. that two Bills of Indictment being preferred against John Wesley and sent to the Grand Jury of Savannah (Bills of Indictment sent to a Grand Jury! What kind of proceeding is this), this deponent and the rest of the Grand Jury did UNANIMOUSLY agree to the said Bills. How dare you, sir, assert so gross a falsehood Have you no regard either for your reputation or your soul Do you think there is no God to judge the earth You know, you must know, how large a part of that Grand Jury did absolutely disagree to every Bill of the two presentments; and gave those reasons of their disagreement to the Trustees, which neither you nor any man has yet chose to answer. You assert, farther, that I was bailed by two freeholders of Savannah for my appearance at the then next Sessions. Here I charge you with a second gross, willful falsehood. You know I never was bailed at all. If I was, name the men (Henry Lloyd is ready to confront you) or produce an attested copy of the Record of Court. You assert, thirdly, that a little before the Sessions came on (viz. the next Sessions after the Bills were found) I deserted my bail. Here is another gross, willful, palpable untruth. For (1) no bail was ever given; (2) I appeared at seven Sessions successively after those Bills were found -- viz. on Thursday, Sept. 1, or Friday, Sept. 2; at three other Sessions held in September and October; on Thursday, Nov. 22 [3]; and lastly, on Thursday, Nov. 22 [24]. Your smaller falsehoods--as that I quitted the colony about the middle of the night, that from Purrysburg to Charlestown is about two hundred miles (you should have said about ninety), that I walked on foot from thence to Charlestown -- I pass over as not material. You, lastly, assert that the Justices threatened to prosecute and imprison my bail for such my desertion, who were in the utmost confusion concerning the same; but by the interposition of this deponent and several others on behalf of the said bail, and to prevent destruction to their several families, the Justices respited their recognizances during pleasure.