Robert Carter writes to London merchants Micajah Perry and his grandson of the same name, January 17,1721, conerning his recent acquisition of the lease of the Virginia agency for the Northern Neck proprietary, the financial hardship he anticipates from it, and the poor condition of the records he has received from the agent of Edmund Jenings, the former holder of the lease. He asks the Perrys to persuade Lord Fairfax and Colonel Cage to enter a correspondence with him regarding the affairs of the propriety, and to attempt to have these men bring influence on the Crown to direct the governor of Virginia to be friendly to the proprietary's affairs. He needs a much stronger "power" concerning the granting of lands from the proprietary, and directs the Perrys to obtain one for him similar to the one he had had from Lady Fairfax when he had been agent before.
I have already advisd You of the receipt of the Northern
Neck Lease & gave You my Thanks for Yor. diligence in that affair
& tht. You had not in any respect Exceeded my ordrs., however that
now upon the fall of the
Tobo. twas like to prove a very hard
bargain to me, & indeed So It appears every day more & more
I fear I shall be a Considerable looser by It, & all my
labr. & Trouble wch. I do assure You is not a little, will be lost
into the bargain= but I am bound & must go through.
Tis but a few days agon Since I have gott the Deeds and
paprs. from Collo. Jennings's
Agent whatever they have done
wth. all their gains is in a great measure a Secrett but they
have taken care to leave the office in as much darkness &
Confusion as possible, So that their Methods are not to be
Traced out, Twill be very well if in
a twelve months time
after my Lease is prov'd, If
I can bring things to a tollerable
Clearness, I desire You will Spirit up the Lord Fairfax
& Collo.
Cage
, to Enter into a Correspondence wth. Me by frequent Lett [ers]
for I Shall have a great many things to Say to them tha [t]
One great perquisite of this Estate for my own and
is the granting
away the lands that are untaken up of wch. there is a very larg[e]
quantity & I doubt not they intended me the power of doing
this & I shall proceed accordingly me
however power of doing
I must Entreat
You not to lett them rest until You have obtain'd from thm.
a fuller power for all purposes, Such a one as I had from my
Lady Fairfax in 1710. a Copy of which I now send You which
will be a good forme to draw another by with Suitable
alterations according to the Circumstances of the Case
Estate
as It
now Stands.
I might Say abundance to You of the difficultys
that are upon me by the management of Collo. Jennings's Agent
& I'm affraid there will be a necessity for me to go into a Lawsuit
wth. him but that must be the last remedy, as You ha [ve] bin the
Instrument in reviveing upon me [ . . . ]
I hope You will be in negotiating that part of It which is to
be manag'd in England.