30th January 1813: William Cartwright tells General Acland that Joseph Mellor is lying

Rawfolds January 30 ’13

Sir

I omitted to inform you in the Hurry of my last seeing you that on reading the paragraph in the Mercury of last Saturday respecting the outrage at Mellor’s of Lockwood, I sent over to ascertain the Fact & find the thing altogether contemptible;—Mellor up to the Night of this affair had not dared to sleep at Home, when he only did so but left a piece of Cloth upon his Tenter all Night in the Morning it was found to have had cut in it about 4 yards from one End the shape of a Heart which yet however was hanging in the Pine & above it the Letters BBL were chalked; The Foot Marks of 2 men were visible in the Snow near the Tenter.

He having his Cloth upon his Tenter knowing himself to be obnoxious & the Thing’s occuring in the very first Night of his sleeping at Home are circumstances which compel me to suspect that it is a notable Contrivance of his own—

I remain respectfully—

Sir—

Your most obedient
and very humble Servant

Wm. Cartwright

[To] Major General Acland
&c &c
Wakefield

---

This letter can be found at HO 40/2/3. The article about the incident was in the Leeds Intelligencer, not the Leeds Mercury as Cartwright states.