A rare first edition of this lengthy petition by John Crawfurd Balfour (d. 1827) which adds to the Library's collection of works recording Scots' involvement with slavery. The petition is addressed to the French National Assembly to which Balfour outlines his residence as a planter on Tobago for some twenty years. He makes mention that ever since France was ceded the island by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783, he has been in Europe putting his accounts in order and dealing with his creditors. He cites his correspondence with Arthur Dillon, governor of the islands of St. Christopher and Tobago, and protests specifically against Philippe Rose Roume de Saint-Laurent who was ordonnateur of the French colony of Tobago. The 'pieces justificatives' on pages 17-30 include copies of the author's letters to Ce?sar-Henri, comte de La Luzerne.