away from Baltimore. Many would therefore be unable to vote for their own town's government. The Assembly decided to swing around its power and ordered all the signers to come to Annapolis to explain their signatures on what they called a "false and scandalous Petition that reflected on the Honour, Justice and Impartiality of the House and highly derogatory of its Rights and Privileges." One decided to go and say "not me I was in Pennsylvania at the time," while another said he was in bed sick and the wife brought the petition for his signature and signed it because others had signed it first. Jonathan Plowman apparently did not go, at least not at the time ordered and what happened to this warrant is still being investigated by a genealogist, but we do know that he would continue on to yet another confrontation with Britain and have George Washington's help. George Washington helps Jonathan Plowman In 1771 the British would take one of Jonathan's ships for an infraction most likely involving the importation of items that hadn't been "stamp" taxed or one of the many items the British prohibited the colony's to import or export. George Washington was asked to intercede on Jonathan Plowman Jr's behalf by the Honorable Daniel Dulany Esq, who had been mayor of Annapolis from 1764-1765. The letter to Neil Jameson reads: Original copy of the letter may be seen at http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw8a/124/0000/0011.jpg Justice of the peace Another passage found in the Maryland archives tells the story of Robert Moreton, a customs/tax collector. Apparently the merchants of Baltimore did not like the fact that he seized the cargo and ship Speedwell. The story is that the ship Speedwell came up from Turk Islands and apparently against Moreton's order began to unload, because of the merchant's insistence to get the goods ashore. Moreton then informed the Captain that he had just forfeited the ship and cargo and went to Annapolis to file the papers. Upon Moreton's return a great number of merchants and masters of vessels came down to the boat with clubs and staves with intention to kill, and on that night tarred and feathered two men, who occasionally worked with Moreton, and brought them to Moreton's door with torches in their hands, and made them damn all custom house officers. At the same time the mob broke the door down, broke the windows, and forced