I received the Letter your Excellency did me the honour of writing to me the 15th of December last, relating to Mr. Elam; and I thereupon gave him a Note directed to the Managers of the Hospital, requiring them, that if he were again brought to be confined as insane, they should acquaint me before they receiv’d him; that I might inquire into the Case, of which before I had never heard any thing. Some time after, several of the Heads of the Society of Quakers came to me with a Complaint that he frequently disturb’d their religious Meetings; and inform’d me that his Confinement in the Hospital was obtain’d for him as a favour by his Friends on Account of his Insanity, he being at that Time imprison’d in the common Goal for Breach of the Peace, and for insulting the Magistrate before whom he was brought, by spitting in his Face; that his Friends were still of Opinion, the Confinement and Treatment of the Hospital for some time might be advantageous to him, but they had continu’d to bear with the Disturbances he occasion’d after his Escape from thence, and had not replac’d him there, through Respect to your Letter, which had been communicated to them. Upon this I sent for him, acquainted him with the Complaint, and represented to him the Impropriety of his Conduct in disturbing any religious Society in their Meetings, which I told him the Government could not suffer, and advis’d him to behave more prudently. He did so, as I was inform’d, for some time; but renewing his Offences, which became intolerable, the Managers of the Hospital took him up as an escap’d Patient, and again confin’d him. But he broke out and escap’d a second time; and obtain’d a Protection from the Chief Justice. The Physicians of our Hospital, who are the principal of the City, have given it as their Opinion under their hands, that he is really insane, and I have been shown several of his Letters which mark strongly that State of Mind, yet as often as I have seen him he discours’d rationally; so that I take it to be a temporary occasional kind of Madness; which in some Constitutions is produc’d by even a few Glasses of Wine. In these Fits he has however been very troublesome to the Quakers, as your Excellency will see by the enclos’d Paper, which they have given me to send to you. I also enclose a Letter just receiv’d from him in which he mentions my having laid horrid Crimes to his Charge. I know not what this means, having only acquainted him in mild Terms with the Complaints of the Quakers as above: And the Petition of which he sends me a Copy dated the 21st of October said to be annex’d to a Letter from Wm Pollard, never came to my hands, neither the one nor the other.

I have been thus particular, as your Letter mentions, a Desire of obtaining full Information. Your Excellency may depend on my showing every Respect in my Power to any Interposition or Recommendation of yours in favour of any of your Citizens; but this Gentleman’s excentric Conduct has brought him into Difficulties which I could not prevent. With great and sincere Esteem, I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant