It was because of this letter that Joseph Howe was tried for libel. Libel is when something is written or published that that hurts somebody’s reputation. This letter asked the Governor to prosecute the person (Joseph Howe) who made the charges against the magistrates that were published in the Novascotian newspaper. It is interesting to note that Joseph Howe’s half-brother John Howe Jr. was one of the people who signed the letter. (NS Archives RG 1 Vol. 237 No. 141.)