STAC 5/B21/25
Court of Star Chamber:
Francis Bowles v Thomas Hill et al
Transcript: Dave King
Interrogatories:
Interrogatories to be ministred on the p[ar]te & behalfe of Thomas Hill & others defendts against Franncis Bowles compleynant
1. Inprimis whether do you knowe the p[ar]ties to this sute or [one] or any of them.
2. Itm, whether did you buy any onyon seedes of the said Hill in the xxxjth yeare of the Quenes Ma[jesties] reigne that now is, & what quantitie bought you of him, & in what tyme of the yeare, & whether did he sell you the same seedes for good & new Strawsborough seedes of that yeare & whether was the seale upon them, when you bought them like unto the Seale of the Towen of Strawsborowghe./
3. Itm, whether did the said Hill tell you, that he bought the said onyon seedes of the complt or no
4. Itm, have you, or any other to your knowledge, heretofore dealt w[i]th the said Hill for any onyon seedes, & whether have you & they alwaies found such onyon seedes, as heretofore you or they have bought of him, to be so good as he promised you or them, that they were, and what was the cause that you bought onyon seedes of Hill before any other man, and did you thinke that the said Hill was an honest man, & one that did not use any deceipt in sellynge the same, & what do you knowe or have credibly heard of his dealinge X
5. Itm, did the said Hill sell unto you, or to any other halfe a hundred waight or ther abowtes of onyon seedes w[hi]ch were in a bagge sealed w[i]th the seale of the towne of Strawsborough, or to whom els did he so sell them, and whether did that seale & the bagge conteyne upon them the figures of 1588 and wold you or he w[hi]ch bought the same have had the said seedes unles the said Hill wold agre that you, or he, shold have the bagge wher in they were, & who was then p[re]sent & whether was one Lawrence Thomas a broker then p[re]sent as you knowe or have heard
6. Itm, did you the rather desier to have the said bagge, by cause it wold the better satisfie such as shold afterwardes buy of the said seedes, that they were good & new Strawsborough seedes, and was not the said Hill therupon inforced to lett you, or him, that bought them have the said bagge, & to emptie the residewe of the seedes w[hi]ch were in that bagge, into an other bagge or no .\
7. Itm, whether wold the said Hill have channged the residewe of the said onyon seedes w[hi]ch were in the said bagge owt of w[hi]ch you bought the said halfe hundred, & have putt them in the other bagge, if you had not earnestly desiered to have the said bagge and seale, & was not that the only cause, why he channged them owt of the one bagge into the other, or what els was the cause /
8. Itm, what p[er]son or p[er]sons were p[re]sent when the said Hill channged the rest of the said onyon seedes owt of the one bagge in to the other, & what be ther names, & whether was Lawrence Thomas a Broker then p[re]sent or no.
9. Itm, whether did the said onyon seedes w[hi]ch you bought of the said Hill owt of any bagges w[hi]ch were sealed w[i]th the seale like unto the seale of the towne of Strawsborough & marked w[i]th the figures 1588 ever growe, albeit they were sowen in seasonable tyme & convenient soile, or no. And what is the most seasonable tyme in the yeare to sowe onyon [seedes] as yow knowe or can Judge
10. Itm, whether did you, & others, to whom the said Hill sold of the the said onyon seedes w[hi]ch he bought of the complt charge the said Hill that he had deceived you, or them, in the sale of the said seedes, by cause they were old seedes And whether did the said Hill say unto you that the complt sold them, & did warrant them unto him, to be good & new Strawsborough seedes & when sayd he so /.
11. Itm, whether did you, or any other that bought of the said onyon seedes of the said Hill refuse to pay the said Hill, the money dewe for the same seedes, for that the same onyon seedes proved to be bad, as they did never growe or no
12. Itm, whether do you knowe, that the said Hill or any other did in the said xxxjth yeare of her Ma[jesties] reigne buy any new onyon seedes of one Mr Jackman, Mr Colcott or of any other, & at what tyme, & at what rate or price did you or any other buy the same, & who els bought any of them, or of either of them, & when were you, or they to pay for them, & whether were the same warranted to you, or to any other that bought them, to be good & new seedes, & whether did they prove so good, as they were promised to be, & how did they prosper after they were sowen./
13. Itm, how longe have you knowne Thomas Hill citezin & grocer of London, & whether hath he bene alwayes knowne reputed & taken to be a man of very good creditt & reckonynge, & alwaies iuste faithfull & trewe in all his traffique & dealinge or no /
14. Itm, whether have you, & such other as have had any manner of trade or traffique w[i]th the said Thomas Hill alwaies found him to deale iustly faithfully & trewly w[i]th you & them, & that such thinges as he hath at any tyme delyvered upon his creditt, have alwayes proved so good as he promised they were or no ./
15. Itm, whether do you knowe that in the yeare of our Lord 1588 old onyon seedes were sold for vjli the hundred or under & how knowe you this to be trewe
16. Itm, have you, or some other to your knowledge in your or his custody or kepinge a bagge w[i]th the seale of the towne of Strawsborough w[hi]ch had onyon seedes in it, & was not that bagge, & the seedes that were in it, bought of the complt, & by what meanes, & to what purpose, came that bagge into your custody, or into the custody of any other, & in whose custody els is it, & doth not the seale of that bagge & such seales as the said Hill had upon the bagges w[hi]ch he also bought of the said complt fully agree in forme & fashion to be sealed w[i]th one selfe same seale or no /
17. Itm, whether did the said Bowles complt in or abowt the moneth of february or Marche 1588. sell any bagge or bagges of onyon seedes to one Robert Atkinson, or Richard Dorrington for ready money, & did cause the same to be carried to the howse of the said Atkinson or Darrington, And wold not the said Bowles have carried the same backe againe, for that the money dewe for them, was not ready, And was not the said Dorrington therupon dryven to borrowe mony to pay for the same, And whether was the same bagge or bagges sealed w[i]th a leaden seale ingraven w[i]th the figures 1588. & also marked w[i]th the same figures, And whether doth the same seale & bagge now in your custody agre w[i]th the seales w[hi]ch were on the bagges w[hi]ch the said Hill bought of the said Bowles the complt or no.
18. Itm, whether do you knowe that the complt in or neare abowt the moneth of february or marche 1588. did sell any bagge or bagges of onyon seedes to you, or to any other, & was not Robert Marshe one to whom he sold some & to whom & how many els did he so sell any, & whether did he sell the same seedes as Strawsborough seedes & warrant them to be good new seeds, & at what price or rate were the same sold, & at what tyme in the yeare And whether were the same bagge or bagges or any of them sealed w[i]th a leaden seale wherin was graved the figures 1588 & marked w[i]th the same figures, and how did the same seedes prove after they were sowen, & what els heard you therin by such p[er]sons as bought the same of you, or of the said Marshe, or of any other.
19. Itm, whether be all such bagges of onyon seedes as be right Strawsborough seedes alwaies sealed w[i]th the seale of the towne of Strawsborough And whether do every of the said seales & every bagge wherin the onyon seedes ar sealed conteyne upon them the very date of that yeare of our Lord in w[hi]ch the same seedes be gathered or no.
20. Itm, whether do you or any other grocer or merchannt w[hi]ch doth use to buy or trade for bagges of onyon seedes bargaine or .... the same, unles the p[ar]tie that selleth them will warrannt them to be good & new seedes, and whether have you knowne any man of creditt buy any new onyon seedes w[i]thowt warrantie that the same be new seedes, and whether doth he w[hi]ch selleth the same, use to bringe the date of the yeare of our Lord w[i]th him graven in lead & marked upon the bagge or no
21. Itm, have you or some other by your privitie made some, or any seales at the request of the complt like unto the seale of the towne of Strawsborough, and did you or any other by your p[ri]vitie make some such seale or seales in the xxxjth yeare of the Quenes Ma[jesties] reigne that now is, by the complts appointement or procurement, or at any other tyme w[i]th these figures 1588. & at what other tyme did you, or any other make any such seale or seales & how many were so made, & to what intent, or purpose were they so made & by whose procurement or appointement./
22. Itm, whether did you or any other for you make or cause to be made thes seales now shewed forth unto you, & were they not made by one Buckley or by his procurement, & whether doth thes seales now shewed unto you, & such seales as Hill had upon & w[i]th the bagges of onyon seedes w[hi]ch he bought of the complt differ & vary, & how & in what manner do they soe differ or vary.
23. Itm, whether do you thinke or ar p[er]swaded in your conscience that the said Hill wold have sold you or any other any of the said onyon seedes w[hi]ch he bought of the complt for good & new seedes, if the complt had not warranted him, that the same were new seedes or no
24. Itm, how longe have you knowne Lawrence Thomas als Thomas Lawrence a broker, & whether hath he bene or is he accompted to be a drunkard, & such a one as is of light creditt, & knowne or suspected to be a corrupt or bad fellowe, & such a one as often tymes for lucre & gayne hath mingled good & bad reysens togither for merchannt stranngers & falsly & corruptly hath packed them againe, or otherwise dealt subtilly & falsly w[i]th any other wares or merchandizes, & whether is he accompted or estemed of any creditt .....
25. Itm, whether did Thomas Hill desier or labor you to appeare at the Guildhall in London upon a Jury w[hi]ch were to trye a matter betwene him & the complt, & did he use any other p[er]swacons unto you, or unto any other then to desier you or them to appeare upon the same triall or no.
