Leith, Shepherd and Duff are petitioning Wilkinson to allow a trading house to remain in the Ottawa towns. The current clerk at the town, James McDonald, has been charged with dishonorable conduct, and the petitioners offer that Leith shall oversee the trading house until a suitable replacement is found. The three men realize they do not possess the necessary license from the government, and so they enclose a receipt from the clerk of the court for said license. McDonald is charged with having bought horses from the Indians, and if true the petitioners promise they will return them.