Robert Carter writes to London merchant William Dawkins, May 25, 1728, to report some bills of exchange, and then to solicit Dawkins' support for the colony's effort to have the prohibition against the importation of stemmed tobacco into England repealed. In a post script dated July 8th, Carter advises Dawkins of more bills of exchange, and reports on the bad time that Captain Thomas Dove and the Carter are having in the colony.

     I have already advised you of a bill of
Exchange I drew on you at Williamsburgh for £22"12S:2 -- -
payable to Mrs. Stith; herein send you three Small Bills of
Exchange John Troad on George Strange of Biddeford payable
in London £1"15" Elias Edmonds on your Self £5" and
Elizabeth Grant on Richard Yeoward of the City of York for £5
which must desire you to get for me or if refused to return
me protested, Captain Dove no doubt writes his own Story
he has been up the river near a fortnight his Success
I know not yet am in hopes he will do a great deal better
than he Expected Last week the Mate told me they had about
two hundred hogsheads on Board

     It is the General Opinion of most of
the Consigners among us that the Great evil of Shipping
of so much of our under Trash Tobacco is owing to the prohibition
we are under of not Stemming our Tobbo for by this
means all the Trash goes is tied up & put to Sale and it is become a Trade among
the Outport & Scotch Merchants to buy up all this under
Tobacco at half price and none is hardly so bad but what
some or other will give something for whatever be=
comes of it when it comes home w h ether it is run or Ex
ported to be sure it very much Affects the Trade of the good
we are made to hope that the London Merchants & as also those in
the Outports nay the Scotch even tell us they are willing
to join their Strength to get the Clause in the Act of