[From Atholl Papers - AP 33(B)(2nd) 11]

Letter from John Quayle to Duke of Atholl re Mr Searle

Castletown April 9th 1768

My Lord

I had the Honor of Your Grace's Letter of the 24th Ult, and am sorry to give Your Grace this Trouble about Mr Searle - About three weeks ago, a Gentleman in Dorking sent down a bill in Chancery against Mr Searle to an Attorney in Douglas, relative to some Title Deeds : and I had a Letter about the same time from Mr Winckley of London (who is my particular Friend in all my little affairs there) to furnish this Attorney with money upon his Account ; And I accordingly advanced him a few pounds.

I remember being in Company with this Dorking Gentleman in December 1764 And that he after mentioning many extraordinary Circumstances, relative to Mr Searle's Conduct, declared that he would prosecute him here - But by starting[sic stating?] Difficulties which would [?word omitted] his proceeding, I dissuaded him from it.

Mr Searle, conscious of his unprovoked & abominable Behaviour to myself and Family, may entertain his own Conjectures and apprehensions; But I hope that Envy, persecution or intermedling with other people's Suits will never be any part of my private character. What the Duty of my Office requires should surely give no Umbrage.

I have the Honor etc signed John Quayle

The letter in the archive would appear to be a fair hand copy by Quayle that seems to miss a key word. Mr Winckley was a lawyer in London - in 1776 John Quayle's son Thomas, then aged 17, was indentured to him to train as a lawyer.

Charles Searle was appointed Attorney-General following the death of John Quillin in 1768 the official notification being dated 10 August when Lord Weymouth wrote to Governor John Wood that Searle had been appointed Attorney-General and Daniel Mylrea, Deemster - Searle being the first Attorney-General to be appointed by Westminster following the Revestment in 1765. He died 29th April 1774 leaving more debts than assets and is buried in Onchan - there would not appear to be any family on Island.

The circumstances around his appointment and his background seem very unclear - John Quayle's letter only adds to the mystery but would appear to confirm that Searle was on Island prior to the Revestment and the publication of his pamphlet in 1767. However an account of a court case in Lib Canc supplies more details though not explaining Quayle's complaint against Searle's conduct.

The "Dorking Gentleman" was a Mr Henry Newnum (Newman in some documents) who filed a suit against Charles Searle dated 12th February 1768 from Westminster - his local Attorney McNaughton started an Action in the Chancery Court on 12th March 1768 against Searle to recover £152 4s 6d, which provoked Governor Wood on 16th March to write to Westminster stating "that Mr. Searle, a gentleman who hath resided here for some years, yesterday presented a petition, setting forth that he had been arrested upon an action issued out of the Court of Chancery of this Isle, alleging that he had received an account of his being appointed Attorney General of the Isle, claiming certain privileges, particularly the protection of his person, and praying to be discharged from this arrest. Mr. Searle has given bail to this action...As such privileges are new here, would be glad to know what protection and immunity the Attorney General and other H.M.'s servants in the Civil and Revenue departments are to be entitled to in the Island".

The basis of Newnum's claim was that Searle had in 1747 borrowed £100 from a Mary Angle (spinster,Dorking) giving her as security the title deeds to some land of about 1 acre near the long bridge in Farnham - Newnum appeared to be the broker who arranged the loan. Searle would pay interest on the loan but in 1756 Searle claiming to be about to be married and wanting to arrange a settlement on his intended wife requested a loan of the title deeds. Newnum, trusting him, borrowed of the deeds from Angle (giving her his security for safe return) - Searle never returned the deeds, left the country, being "beyond the seas" and didn't pay the interest - Angle filed suit for return of the deeds and unpaid interest in 1762 which Newnum had to pay. It would seem that news of Searle's appointment as Attorney-General provoked Newnum to enter his suit. The case, documented in Lib Canc for 1768/9 was postponed several times and had still not been resolved by March 1769. It would appear that Newnum died in 1769 so the case was not continued.

The Brief of this Action identified Charles Searle who, in 1747, was noted as the only son and heir-at-law of John Searle, late of Farnham, deceased and of Mary Searle, widow also of Farnham. A matching baptism of a Charles son of a Mr John Searl was noted as at St Andrews, Farnham on 28 June 1725. The London Magazine 25 p195 1756 has notice of a marriage of Charles Searle of Farnham in Surry to Miss Swinhoe of Brompton-Park on 17 March 1756 - her name was given in the will of her father as Hortensa - a further document gives the information that there was a marriage settlement involving considerable property in trust for her children but no children were named. They did have two children Charles and Olivia and his wife was alive at the time of Searle's death.

Searle is noted in one document as of the Inner Temple (hence a lawyer) and it would appear that Searle had moved to the Island prior to 1764, possibly to escape his creditors, possibly also acting as a spy for the British Revenue service which might explain a connection with Charles Lutwidge, appointed Receiver-General in 1765 by the British Treasury and who was for many years until his death in 1784 effectively in charge of the Island. However in AP_35-1 a letter from Governor Wood to the 2nd Duke of Athol dated 6 March 1762 he notes Searle's arrival a few days earlier with some form of introduction from the Duke such that Wood writes "that nothing (in my Power) shall be wanting, where it can in the least contribute to Mr Searle's happiness in this part of the World".

References

Calendar of Home Office Papers (George III) 1768
Lib Canc p65 et seq 1768/9
Several legal documents in the G125/1 archive at the Surrey History Centre, Woking esp #46,48 & 51 add the occasional detail to the story but nothing else re Charles Searle can be located.

Acknowledgements

Euan McArthur for pointing me towards the non_Manx references.