17. There was testimony at the trial on appeal in the Superior Court that this was a common
practice. See Depositions of Jonathan Mason and Nathaniel Libbee, 3 March 1778; John
Parrot, Joseph Pierpoint, and Richard Salter, 31 Aug. 1778.
DNA Microcopy 162, Case 30, Nos. 143, 144, 147, 139, 131, 138. Compare
Statement of the M'Clary Owners 22. For a
JA case under the British customs acts in which Doane seems to have attempted to alter
a vessel's papers, see No.
52.