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On or about the 18th of February I put a package of papers into the hands of Dr. Bates, which were addressed to the President of the United States, requesting him to forward them as they were directed. He took them, and said that he would look at them and see if they were such as were proper to send him. I demanded of him to send them without looking at them, as they were sealed, and told him that he had no right to break them open; that it was none of his business what the purport of them might be; that the President was the Chief Magistrate of the nation, and I was a citizen deprived of my liberty without the sanction of any law whatever, human or divine, and I demanded my right to have them sent, and let the President be judge whether their contents were of such a nature that he ought to take any notice of them or not. He replied that he should not send any papers away from that institution without knowing their contents. I replied that it was none of his business what the purport of them was, and again demanded of him to send them as they were. He said he should not do it, but offered to let me submit them to D. Bronson, Esq., and if he said they were proper papers to be sent to the President, he would send them. I replied that I would not give one cent for the council of any lawyer in the State of Maine, for they were all leagued or conspired against me, for my destruction. Well, said he, then I shall not send them.

In the letter which I addressed to the President I asked if I were any the less entitled to the protection of my country because I had been abused by my own neighbors, and those who had falsely professed to be my friends, that their perfidy might be more sure, than I should be were I incarcerated in a Mexican or Algerine prison, a French Bastile or the Spanish Inquisition; where, if I were thug confined and abused, and could make my situation known to him, he would employ all the military and naval force of the country for my release, and to obtain redress for my abuse, were it necessary so to do.

I will ask now the humane and philanthropic citizens of the United States, whether they are in places of honor and power or private citizens, whether there are any among them professing to have the souls of brave and patriotic men, who dare and will advocate and espouse my cause against those who have so inhumanly maltreated and abused me, and against the Government of the State which sanctions and upholds such monstrous cruelty. If there are any such, and they will address me to that effect, I will give them the details of the abuse which it is not proper to put in this little book.

After having the before mentioned conversation with Dr. Bates, he said that if I thought I was unjustly deprived of my liberty I might have a trial before two Justices of the Peace and Quorum, and they might judge whether I was a sane man or not. I replied by saying if I were to appeal to them I supposed he would go forward and swear that I was a crazy man. He said of course he should. I then asked of what use it would be to me when I was already condemned, sentenced and executed. He replied it would be of no use whatever. I then said to him that if my life or liberty were at stake, upon any accusations whatever, whether it might be for the crime of insanity, if that were a crime, or for any other crime which I might commit, I would not put myself upon trial by pleading guilty or not guilty, or I should be sure to be condemned whether I were guilty or innocent, for a jury would be packed, and judge and attorney bribed, and I should submit to any sentence they might pass without any efforts to clear myself.

The next day I asked him if he was willing that I should send the papers to the Hon. Samuel Hoar, of Concord, Mass., with a letter to him which he, Dr. Bates, might read, and leave it to the decision of Mr. Hoar whether they were such papers as were proper to send to the President. He asked me if I were acquainted with Mr. Hoar. I told him that when I was about twenty years old I had a little business at his office, and he being an eminent lawyer, a citizen of my native town, and a gentleman that I had known from my youth, that this was all the acquaintance I could claim with him. Well, replied Dr. Bates, I know Mr. Hoar and shall not send it to him. I then asked him if he was willing that I should send it to Hon. Thomas H. Benton, for his decision upon it. He replied that he knew Mr. Benton, and had a reputation at stake with him and the President, and they would think him a most egregious fool if he should send papers to them from that institution, without knowing what their contents might be. I told him I thought be was drawing his lines rather tight to deprive me of every right and chance to obtain my liberty; that the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Maine say that no person shall be deprived of his liberty and property except for crime; and trial by a jury of his peers; and that no cruel or unusual punishments should be inflicted upon a condemned criminal; that I had been abused with the most inhuman and barbarons -sic- cruelty, and deprived of my liberty and property without being accused of any crime but that of insanity, if that was a crime, and had not been condemned by any jury, or sentenced by any judge of any Court whatever. He afterwards told me that if I would give him my word of honor that I would so amend them as to strike out his name wherever I had used it, and if I wished to allude to him, to speak of him as the present Superintendant of that Hospital, then I might send them to the President, Tom Benton, Mr. Hoar, or Madame W-e, or wherever I pleased for ought that he cared. I accordingly so amended them in that respect, and then directed them to Hon. James K. Polk, President of the United States, with the request that he, Dr. Bates, would forward them according to his engagement, but I presume that they were never sent from Augusta, as Dr. Bates is not the man to keep his word with any one who may stand in his light; and especially a crazy man, whom he has in his clutches, and is poor and without friends.