Letter : 1785.

            Sampson Salter Blowers, born in Boston, Massachusetts, was the son of John Blowers, a lieutenant who died at the siege of Louisbourg. He was raised by his grandfather Sampson Salter, graduated from Harvard with a Master of Arts degree in 1765, studied law in the office of Thomas Hutchinson, and became a successful barrister in the Massachusetts Superior Court. During the American Revolution he went to England for a short period, and when he returned to America he was employed in the Vice-Admiralty Court in New York. In September 1783, he sailed for Halifax where he resumed his law practice. Many political appointments were to follow: Attorney-General of Nova Scotia and Speaker of the House of Assembly in 1785; first Loyalist member of the Legislative Council in 1788; Chief Justice as well as President of the Legislative Council in 1797; and Judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court, 1821-1833. In 1833 he retired from public life and died in Halifax on 25 October 1842.            

            A letter from Sampson Salter Blowers, Attorney-General of Nova Scotia, to Ward Chipman (1754-1824), Solicitor-General of New Brunswick, discussing prize ships and other Admiralty cases dealing with captured shipping, providing a personal account of the intricacies and complication of prize courts.  Forgery, libel, and the Solicitor General are mentioned, and the letter closes with personal sentiments.
             

            See Electronic Finding Aid field for electronic copy of letter.  No microfilm version.            

Image of letter posted with the permission of the Nova Scotia Archives.