Shortly before the Estreating Session [October] it has been the Custom to
send Letters to the assaulting parties, to shew Cause thereat, why their
Recognizances should not be Estreated: which Notices have brought many
to come to Tryal, or to agree with their Prosecutors, and to submit to Fires
or procure a stay of Proceedings; and so ended the Suits: and others who
had not been prosecuted were brought in to Pay their discharge Fees wch
saved them from being Estreated; and accordingly have been taken out of
the Estreat

These Notices served likewise to discover and rectify any mistake in
the Justices Clerks, or Clerk of the Peaces Clerks that might have intervened by
misroturns misentries missions of Entries or otherwise; and thereforesohave
been look'd upon as indispensible

This Duty of Estreating was done by Mr. Jefferson as Mr. Waller's
Deputy in Michas Term 1769 and at Christmas '69 he quitted that
Employment, and delivered up every thing necessary for the future Estreat
and Execution of the Office and

From that time till September following Mr. Waller Executed the
Office assisted by Mr. David Rees< no role > , when

Being displaced, and succeeded by Thomas Butler< no role > Esquire Mr
Butler made a demand of all the Books and Records of the Office which
(except a few) were refused by Mr. Waller, who contended for Res [..] upon to the Office [..] And
so the Estreating Sessions passed over without any Notices being sent to the
parties outstanding in the 7 Sessions of October December January,
February, April, May, and July preceding

And all that Mr. Butler could do after obtaining the Opinion of Mr.
Wells, Deputy Clerk of Estreats in the Exchequer [E] was to return an
Estreat of the September Session And further, when called upon by the Order
mark'd (C) for the purpose of returning an Estreat of the Fine of one Sherlock
a smugler set September Session, by Agreement as of July Session, and
there Enter'd, Mr. Butler return'd that, together with same others appearing
in the same Book And

Mr. Butler as well as Mr. Jefferson (who as it was absolutely necessary to
have a Person well acquainted wit the duties of the office became his Deputy, and no [..]
from other motive) had reason to apprehend that neither of them could be
call'd on for any farther Estreat of Mr. Waller's time

And So sensible were the late Sheriff's Agents that Mr. Waller was the only
proper person to be calld that they applied to the Court to Compel him, as late Clerk of the Peace
to make the return in Question and accordingly, an Order was made which Order
was enlarged; and by the difficulty of Access to him, much delay was occasioned
during wch time many of the Suitorswere till at Care hourSollicitors to get their Recognizance
dischargedandmade frequent Applications for that purposeafter their Recognizances, in Order to get them
dischargedbut Mr. Waller still detaining the Books the Sessions could do noting there