To the Honorable the Municipal Court of the City of Hancock County & State of Illinois—

Your Petitioner respectfully represents that he is now held in Custody by one Samuel Waterman a Constable in and for said <​​> in this — Your further represents that on the 4th Inst. a Justice of the Peace Issued a State Warrant against your Petitioner upon the affidavit of one charging your with the crime of Perjury upon which Warrant your was arrested and held in custody until the 9th Inst. when an Examination was had of the case before the said but your was not discharged but is still in the custody of the said Samuel Waterman in this the

Your further represents that he is Innocent of the crime with which he stands charged. that the preceedings against him were instituted through malice, private pique & corruption— further state that his said arrest was Illegal in this the affidavit & Warrant of arrest <​which are hereunto annexed as copies of <​a copy of​> [illegible]​> do not state <​which​> that a crime has been committed neither does it show in any way that a crime has been committed in the County of <​neither does the writ used in the name of the People of the State of as the statute [illegible] law require​> therefore the said Writ is Illegal & void— Your further states that he was deprived from having a fair & impartial Examination of said case in this that he was prepared to prove beyond a doubt that the Testimony that was brought against your [p. [1]]