LETTER OF
The GOSPEL TRUTH CHARLES G. FINNEY
1866
To Lauren Ford
29 January 1866
[MS in Finney Papers, Supplement #154.]
Two brief extracts from a letter of Finney were copied by Lauren Ford into the following letter to Finney:
New York Feby 2. 1866
No 128, Broadway
Supreme Court
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Charles G. Finney } Novr. 19. 1864
agt } Judgment, Damages, $2106.63
Samuel Wise } Costs 156.58
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Whole Judgment $2263.21
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Interest from Novr. 19. 1864.
Revd C. G. Finney
Dr Sir
Your letter under date of
Jany. 29. 1866 in answer to mine of Jany. 22. is now
before me - Considering all the circumstances of the
business against S. Wise I am constrained to say
that your Letter is by no means satisfactory.
When I commenced the suit against Wise it
was not known to you or to me that he had obtained
a discharge from his Debts under our insolvent laws -
and the first intimation that I obtained of this
discharge was when he pleaded it in barring the
[page 2]
action against him, and after this plea
was put in you was unwilling to proceed further
with the prosecution - Believing that I could invalidate
this discharge I offered, in writing, to go on with the
suit and incur the hazard of the Costs on both sides
if I failed in the suit, and you consented that I
should proceed upon this condition. I did proceed
in the suit, and after great labor I succeeded in
obtaining a Verdict in your favor against Wise for
$2967..97, at the Circuit Court. By your discretion
the amount to be entered in the Judgment was reduced
to $2106..63, and for this amount Judgment was
entered as stated at the head of this Letter.
In addition to the Bill of Costs $156.58 which is
included in the Judgment as above stated I paid
out, in the progress of this suit more than forty Dollars,
of my own money - making about $200..00 That is
due to me for my services in this business - -
In my letter of Jany 22 I proposed to take meas-
=ures to collect from Wise the whole or a part of the
Judgment, upon conditions stated in that letter, and
to that proposal you refer that you "do not wish to
have him disturbed by expensive law proceedings that
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might compel him to do what he is ill able to do"
and you add, for my encouragement I suppose,
"If it is ever collected your Costs will be paid of course."
In my letter above referred to, I stated certain
conditions upon which I was willing to proceed
against Wise - You reject the conditions proposed
and without stating any other conditions upon which
I may be allowed to proceed - you answer me by the
intimations above quoted from your letter. I con can
only infer from this that you will not consent, that
at present, any measures shall be adopted to collect
the Judgment from Wise.
If, as a special matter of favor to a man who
has attempted to defraud you, it is your pleasure to
suffer this Judgment to remain without an effort to
collect the whole or part of it, I have no cause to
complain of this determination, provided that my
charges in the matter are paid. But I cannot
consent that my claim for my Costs & expenses
should be indefinitely postponed, whilst you, who
have the sole control of the Judgment, will not
allow me to take the necessary steps to enforce the
payment from Wise - I cannot be considered
(over)
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unreasonable if I say to you that I expect
either that you pay me my costs & charges, an or
that you give me the proper authority to
proceed against Wise
respectfully
Yours &c
L. Ford
Footnotes:
Ford wrote:
I think it barely possible that something may be got out of Wise if expensive legal proceedings were instituted & pursued against him. Under these circumstances I am willing to make the attempt to get something on the Judgment on the following conditions - 1st you assign the Judgment to me - 2nd I will engage to bear all the expenses of a prosecution against him, & pay you ten percent of whatever may be realized as a part of the whole of the Damages in your Judgment $2106.63, after paying the Costs of the Judgment & of the further proceedings against Wise (L. Ford to Finney, 22 January 1866, Finney Papers).