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To his Excellency Samuel Houston Esq^r. Gov &c &c

Your petitioners represent to Your Excellency -
that a certain James Nelms, has lately been convicted in the Wilson
Circuit Court for the crime of feloniously seducing away the Slaves
of a M^r Hohnan- with an intention as is charged of appropriating
them to his own use- said Nelms was sentenced by said court - to
be hung- from which judgment he appealed to the Supreme Court -
which Court, after holding the case, upon advisement for three
months, were reluctantly compelled, to affirm the judgment - but
such were circumstances, in mitigation, appearing upon the
face of the record (imperfect as it was) - that said court in delivering
their opinion, as your petitioners are informed, recommended an
application to Your Excellency for a pardon - believing it a case well
warranting the interference of Executive Clemency - Your
petitioners, (or a number of them) are informed, that said Nelms,
in the transaction for which he has been condemned, was made
the dupe of a designing & bad man, by the name of Walker-
The Negroes charged to have been stolen by said Nelms, were
once the property of Walker- but were sold upon attachments
against him - He alledged the attachment were illegally taken sued
out - & still claimed the property - And no doubt was entertained by
the Court from affidavits appearing upon the record - that said
Walker by representing to Nelms, that the property was his, induced
Nelms to carry them off - probably under a promise to divide
their value, or some other compensation. Illegal & hearsay
testimony, of Walker was also admitted in the court below,
without being objected to by Counsel - which prevented the
Supreme court from examing [sic] its illegality - upon the whole
Y^r petitioners from what they have understood - believe that
said Nelms, is the victim, about to be sacrificed to the
[page damaged] & villany of Walker, & that however much he
[page damaged] blame for the part he took in the transaction,
[page damaged] is not one of so heinious a nature,
[page damaged] death!

[page damaged] petitioners further represent that the Act of 1779
under which Nelms was convicted, is extremely sanguinary in its nature,
and was passed in N^o Carolina, at a troublesome period of the
Revolution, when the stealing of slaves, was an every day offence