A Collection Transcribed
and Digitized
by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.
List of Letters
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, University of Virginia Library
Summary
Letter from Robert Carter to the Earl of Orkney, August 8 and 28, 1728
Robert Carter writes to the governor of the Colony, the Earl of Orkney, August 8, 1728, to send a bill of exchange for the governor's final portion of the fees collected during Carter's administration as acting lieutenant governor. He also requests an additional letter of recommendation for his son. In a post script dated August 28th, Carter responds to a letter just received from Orkney from which he has learned that William Dawkins apparently has refused to honor a bill of exchange sent by Carter's son.
Letter from Robert Carter to the Earl of Orkney,
August 8 and 28, 1728
-1
-
Rappahannock, [Lancaster County, Virginia]
Augst. 8th: 1728
The Rt honble George
Earl of Orkney
My Lord -- --
to be Copyd
In mine of the 12th of Decrembe. I remitted to your
Lordship my bills
for your Salary to the End of my Administration and
for the Moiety
of the perquisites
then received have Since got in the remainder
According to the Enclosed Account a moiety whereof I now Send a bill of Exchange
for being £30:17:11 on Mr. Dawkins
of London and I hope your Lordship
will think I have done you Justice to a little I am not Conscious
to my Self of keeping back a farthing I was so full
I was so full of presumption in my last Letter
to beg a favour of your Lordship in a recommendatory Letter to our
Governor and I am now so Impertinent to make a Second request for
the Same favour I Shall be proud to receive your Lordship's notice of [...]
receipt of these two Letters and with the utmost Submission
Sir
Your Lordships
Most obedient
Most Obliged &
most humble Servant
[per the Car] ter
[Copy per] Captain Wilcox
[M] y Lord August the 28th. 1728
Two days ago I received the Honor of your
Lordship's kind letter
of the 30th. of March the paragraph relating
to Mr. Dawkins
is very Shocking to me
It would be vanity
to tell your Lordship how much that person is in my Debt, and
by my Endorsement that bill was my own and well as the other
& in respect to my Son, I have a great deal of reason to Conclude he had no Occa=
sion to treat his bill with so much disrespect he is a peevish Gentleman and parts with our
money with as much reluctance as if it were his own, All that I shall add I think
he [illegible]
would not be so inconsiderate
to Suffer that bill to be protested I beg your Lordship not to Entertain
any harsh thoughts of my Son on this Account I am as before
NOTES
Source copy consulted:
Robert Carter Letter Book, 1727 April 13-1728 July 23, Carter Family Papers, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond. There is a 19th-century transcript of the letter in the Minor-Blackford Papers, James Monroe Law Office and Museum, Fredericksburg, Virginia. The leaf bearing this letter has suffered some marginal damage. The post script was written into the letter book beside and below the complimentary close of the letter itself.
A different clerk as entered the words "to be Copyd" at the head of the letter as is indicated by the use of italics.
Robert Carter generally used a return address of "Rappahannock" for the river on which he lived rather than "Corotoman," the name of his home, on his correspondence, especially to merchants abroad. The county and colony have been added for clarity to the heading on the draft.
[1] A bill of exchange is a kind of check or promissory note without interest. It is used primarily in international trade, and is a written order by one person to pay another a specific sum on a specific date sometime in the future. If the bill of exchange is drawn on a bank, it is called a bank draft. If it is drawn on another party, it is called a trade draft. Sometimes a bill of exchange will simply be called a draft, but whereas a draft is always negotiable (transferable by endorsement), this is not necessarily true of a bill of exchange. ( "Dictionary of Financial Scam Terms,"
8/22/2005
)
[2] A moiety is "a half, one of two equal parts." ( Oxford English Dictionary Online
)
[3] Perquisities are "any casual profit, fee, remuneration, etc., attached to an office or position in addition to the normal salary or revenue." ( Oxford English Dictionary Online
. Oxford University Press.
)
[4] No information about Captain Wilcox has been located.
This text, originally posted in 2004, was revised December 5, 2014, to add footnotes and strengthen the modern language version text.