.MTA1Nw.NzExOTI

National Committee. 1829. Wednesday 28th Oct. Met according to adjournment. The following Memorial was recd from Ias? Martin. “To the Honorable National Committee, the pelition of Jas Martin, Sheweth, That he had prosecuted a certain James Pettitt for the crime of Bigamy, in the Judiciary of the Cherokee Nation, and the said Courts not having ample jurisdiction to fix the amount of the fine of said Pettitt, as appears by the law of Nov 2. 1819, - he now comes before your honorable bodies for redress: Therefore your petitioner prayers you to grant him a warrant directed to the National Marshall to bring the body of James Pettitt before the General Council, to answer the following charges - to wit: I hereby charge him with a violation of the law of the 2nd November, 1819, in parting from his wife Elizabeth Pettitt, and that he, at the time of being a married man, married the above woman; these facts I have ample proofs: Your petitioner also prayeth that a fine of two thousand dollars may be assessed on the said Pettitt, for the said breach of marriage, and such other punishment as the General Council may deem expedient & lawful to inflict on the delinquent; as a lasting testimony of the virtues in the laws of this nation, and an abiding example that the wicked shall not prosper in a Christian land: And your petitioner will ever pray: I. C. Martin Agent for Elizabeth Pettitt. Upon the reading of this petition a warrant was issued to the National Marshall, to cause the said Pettitt to appear before the National Committee