Robert Carter writes to London merchant William Dawkins, February 13, 1724, to enclose a bill of lading for 50 hogsheads of tobacco. He comments on freight rates, the quality of his tobacco, and on 3 hogsheads that are poor because of a "Notorious rogue" of an overseer. He turns to the misfortune of Captain Adam Graves who has been ill and unable to seek cargo for his ship although he has now recovered, and notes that he has made two large sloops available to Graves for moving tobacco to the ship. In conclusion, he adds that all the planters in the colony are expecting very good prices for their last shipments of stemmed tobacco.
I have been pretty plentiful to You already
Shall say the less now herein You have a bill of Lading for fifty hhds.
of my Crop Tobacco which I have shipped upon Your Charter, Keiling
would
not Sign his bills under Eight pound Ten, although he did my other
Bills at Eight pound, In Yours of the 2d. of August You tell me You were
to have the freight as the rest of the Ship went, I hope You will Set this
Matter to rights with Mr. Perry
& do me justice, As I am not for
Sinking the freight too low, So I am as unwilling to give too much,
You may remember how Baily Kent
fared by exacting 20 shillings upon his
freight which I am sure proved to the damage of the Carter some hundreds
of pounds, This Tobacco in general I have taken all Imaginable care
to manage in the Best manner, & I hope will rise as well as the Year
Affords, but I must Advertise You of three hhds. No. 32. 33. 34. that
are but Indifferent & as indifferently managed My overseer was a Notori
=ous rogue & passed this Tobacco upon his Oath, I discoverd not his Villany
until the Tobacco was marked & ordered away, You must do the best with
it You can, but pray let it not discredit the rest of my Goods.
Poor Adam Graves
has had the Misfortune to be taken [
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]
[most grave]
=ly ill at York which kept him from his ship I think abov[
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]
[e a fort]
=night, I saw him Yesterday, he had abundance of blood ta[
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]
[ken]
from him and looks very pitiful, You may be sure this p[
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]
[uts]
no Small disadvantage to Your Concern they have but sixty [
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]
hhds. Yet on board, -- We have had a very wet Spell there is n[
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]
[o]
rolling Tobacco , and he tells me a great many peoples Tobacco that [
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]
[he]
Sends for are not ready & upon One pretence or another not t[
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]
[o]
be got, what the Event of these difficulties will be I Shall not
foretell, I am Sending Out a Sloop and hands that carries
70 hhds. to fetch Tobacco for him, I have another Sloop of the Same
bigness that he may have at an hours warning but he
protests to me he does not know where to Send her as Yet.
I tell both the Master and Mate, they must double their diligence
If they intend to do any thing considerable, & I will not fail to
Spirit them every time they come cross me, & they Shall want
no Assistance of mine that I am able to give them, thus You
have a short sketch of Your Affair here Graves has underta=
=ken to sail by the 20th of March, herein You have a bill of
exchange
on Your self Drawn by John Hudnal for £ [omission in text]
which I desire you'll Either credit me for
or Protest --
Since the Above I had been on board of Captain Graves he is grown
pretty brisk reckoned up to me promises that he has for [sic
]
more Tobacco than his
Ship can carry, If Men will be but as good as their words.
We flatter our selves with mighty hopes of wonders from our
stemmed Tobacco
this Year it being the last we are to make, & all the merchants
Your Self Especially encouraged us to Send off all we could of that Sort
now it lies at Your door to answer Your promises, certainly if the consider
=able men of Your Number will Agree together to set it up at a good
price You will be Able to bring the smokers into a yielding Temper
I am Sir -- --