1786 A warrant for the arrest of a constable for the embezzlement of over £500 of tax money collected from citizens of a Connecticut town Accusation against Benjamin Sheldon Crime & Fire,Finance

This 8.5" x 13.25" partially printed warrant from Hartford County, Connecticut, is dated March 13, 1786, and was signed by the county treasurer, John Lawrence. Emblazoned with the 2" x 2.25" seal of the State of Connecticut centered at the top. The document directs Sheriff of Hartford County to execute the warrant. In nice shape with some edgewear. Three beginning fold-splits have been reinforced with archival tape on the reverse. The document accuses Benjamin Sheldon, a constable, of keeping taxes collected from local citizens. It reads in part "Whereas Benjamin Sheldon who was Constable of the Town of Suffield in the County of Hartford and Collector of the State Tax for Said Town . . . in the Year 1783 & 1784 has neglected to make Payment of . . . Taxes . . . amounting to the Sum of Five Hundred Eighty Seven pounds, Sixteen shillings and one penny with Interest included on payments made [in] Lawful Money. . . By the authority of the State of Connecticut, [I] command you that of the Money of the said Benjamin Sheldon or of his Goods or Chattels within you Precincts, you cause to be levied, and the same being disposed of as the Law directs, paid and satisfied unto the Treasurer of this State . . . the aforesaid Sum of £587 . 16 . 1. . . And for want of such Money, Goods and Chattels of the said Benjamin Sheldon . . . you are hereby commanded to take the Body of the said Benjamin Sheldon and him commit unto the Keeper of the Gaol in Hartford [and] within the said Prison [and] safely keep until he pay the Select-Men of the said Town of Suffield the full Sums of above mentioned." Docketing on the reverse shows that while Sheldon was incarcerated, he made payments to refund the money he embezzled and that by the 25th of November 1786, he was released having made full restitution. "Recd the full of this Execution as will appear by my book J Lawrence Treasurer" At the bottom the form, Lawrence has indicated that some of the missing funds were "to be paid in hard money, [some] in Bills of this State, [some] in Pay Table Orders, [and the] Remainder in Certificates." . The certificates noted in the letter (but no longer present) would have been "United States Loan Office" financial documents, signed by William Imlay, Connecticut s commissioner of loans from 1780 until 1807, directly related to the state s assumption of a share of federal Revolutionary War debt. (For more information, see notes accompanying Imlay correspondence held by the National Archives.) Very scarce. At the time of listing, nothing similar is for sale in the trade. The Rare Book Hub shows that one other similar warrant signed by Lawrence sold at auction in 2021. OCLC shows no executed forms are held by institutions; however Brown University and the Library Company of Philadelphia hold blank forms. .