A Collection Transcribed
and Digitized
by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.
List of Letters
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Summary
Letter from Robert Carter to Edward Tucker, August 16, 1731
Robert Carter writes to Weymouth merchant Edward Tucker, August 16, 1731, to remind him of an order for Dorset ale; he adds comments on the effect of the tobacco inspection law in the colony.
Letter from Robert Carter to Edward Tucker,
August 16, 1731
-1
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Rap[pahannock, Lancaster County, Virginia]
August 16. 1731
Edward Tucker Esqr.
Sir
I have already writ to you at large by Sever=
al ways and Advis'd you of the drafts I have this year made
upon you and if I forget not in a former letter sent for a
hogshead of your Dorset ail to be put into Bottles as usual However
for fear I have omitted it I now repeat that desire to you
We are now under the power of the tobacco law
which hath put the Ships in a great deal of hurry to get their
tobo on board in time and yet our latest advices out of England
speak very doubtfully whether twill be allow'd to stand or no
indeed it will create such abundance of trouble to us Planters
and heave the country into such great Charges that abundance
wish it had never been made but we must submit to the directions
of our Legislators Unless a Controul comes from your side I am
Sir Your most Humble Servant
NOTES
Source copy consulted:
Letter book, 1731 July 9-1732 July 13 , Robert Carter Papers (acc. no. 3807), Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
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.
[1] The tobacco inspection act of 1730 was introduced and steered through the legislature by Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch. " The "bill called for the inspection and bonding at public warehouses of all tobacco shipped abroad; for the destruction of all unacceptable tobacco; for standardization of the size of hogsheads . . . ; for maintenance of detailed records to prevent smuggling; and for the circulation of warehouse receipts as legal tender in lieu of tobacco iteself. . . ." Gooch also managed to obtain approval of the act in England. It went into effect August 1, 1731.(Billings. et al.
Colonial Virginia: A History.
pp. 236-39.)
This text, originally posted in 2006, was reviewed February 23, 2016.