St Helena Records 1716-1717

Introduction: This is the thirteenth volume in the series St Helena Records. The series includes the official minute books of the island’s Governor and Council, which recorded their meetings, deliberations and decisions, with abstracts of correspondence, proclamations and regulations, judicial proceedings and financial business. The volumes served as the principal administrative record of government on St Helena and were often titled “Consultations”. Its authority was derived from the EIC, with final decisions directed by instructions issued from London.

Source: Images of the original records can be viewed on the British Library’s website: https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1364-1-1-14.

Text Transcription This transcription was produced by AI from handwritten document images held on the British Library's website, at about thirty pages per hour. Given the limitations described below, the text should be regarded as unreliable and used only as a search-and-find shortcut: once a relevant section has been located, it must always be checked against the source image via the hyperlinked Film Numbers listed in the main transcription table below.

Three specific problems affected the work. First, AI tends to prioritise meaning and readability at the expense of fidelity to the original, with a strong disposition to normalise spellings, expand abbreviations, and adjust grammar. It is particularly weak with unfamiliar surnames, and scrawled signatures often resist accurate transcription entirely. Transcriptions by eye of documents spanning four centuries have also shown that a single surname could be written in a wide variety of ways: the Crowie family name appears under six different spellings, and the Isaacs family name under sixteen. Searches for surnames are therefore hindered both by genuine variations in the originals and by mistranscriptions introduced by AI, and for this reason are best run phonetically. Second, the AI struggled with the late secretary hand, the script commonly used from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, in which the letter S appears in a form closely resembling a trailing L. Third, occasional passages in these volumes are written in a hand so obscure or poorly formed as to be difficult to read even by eye, sometimes compounded by heavy ink bleed-through from the reverse side or by the loss of sections of pages.

To mitigate these difficulties, a strict protocol was applied to each image, requiring the AI to rely solely on clearly visible ink strokes and to flag any uncertain reading, thereby reducing the risk of inferred or invented text. Two conventions are used. [...] marks text that could not be read with confidence; this may represent a single unreadable word, a full sentence, or occasionally an entire paragraph. Square brackets around letters or words indicate a conjectural reading supplied by the transcriber: brackets around a whole word, for example [Bazett], mean the entire word was unclear and a probable reading has been supplied, while brackets around individual letters within an otherwise readable word, for example B[a]z[e]tt, mean only those specific letters were unclear in the source and the unbracketed letters were legibly present.

Modern Summary and Analysis Each section of text was submitted for AI analysis in order to explain the archaic language in clear, modern UK English. These are not direct sentence by sentence replacements, but explanatory interpretations intended to clarify meaning while preserving the substance of the original. Where a specific individual is named within a section of the original text, that person will generally also be identified within the explanatory interpretation. However, where the original consists largely of lists of names, these are not usually repeated in the explanatory text.

Each text modern summary is followed by two forms of AI-generated analysis. The first, an Interpretations section, draws on wider information located on the internet to provide additional commentary on the material. The second, a Speculations section, offers one or more possible reflections on what the document might further suggest. The value of these notes ranges from the profound to the trivial or self-evident; time did not permit deletion of the latter.

Referencing Text Locations: A dual numbering system has been adopted, combining the British Library film number with the manuscript’s original page number. These are presented in the format: British Library Film No. / Document Page No.

Pagination: The page numbering begins with page 1 on film No. 6 (6/1) and continues sequentially, but pages 115-126 are missing. At this point, the sequence runs as 118/113, 119/114, 120/127, 121/128, and so forth. The numbering then continues in order until the section between 275/282 and 294/301, where a mistake appears to have been corrected by overwriting the figures, creating confusion. There is no page 304, but since pages 303 and 305 are the reverse sides of the same sheet, this is regarded as a numbering error rather than a missing page. The numbering then continues sequentially, although none of the pages between film Nos. 336 and 342 are numbered; these are assumed to correspond to pages 344-350. Two pages are both marked as page 350 (342/350 and 343/350). A page inserted between pages 362 and 363 has been assigned as 363a and 363b. Consequently, the pagination becomes irregular, running as follows: 355/362, 356/363, 357/363a, 358/363b, 359/364, and so forth.

Dates: During the period covered by this volume, England and its colonies followed the Old-Style Julian calendar, under which the legal new year began on 25 March (Lady Day). The earliest date recorded in this volume is a consultation held on 24 July 1716 and the latest is a consultation on 3 September 1717.

All the Council meetings were held during the administration of Captain Isaac Pyke (1714-1719).

AI Generated Summary

Introduction

The record runs from the consultation of 24 July 1716 to the business of September 1717. It comprises the consultations of Governor Isaac Pyke and his council, held chiefly at Union Castle in James Valley and occasionally at the plantation house or Tombstone Wood, together with monthly store, stock and gunner's accounts, invoices, indents, probate testimony, public advertisements, a full census and the parish levies. George Haswell served as deputy governor, with Matthew Bazett third, Antipas Tovey fourth and Edward Byfield fifth in council until Byfield sailed for England aboard the Catherine in January 1716/17. The bench ruled for the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, which held the island as Lords Proprietors, and its book was dated in the Old Style. [Film No. 6-55, 106, 156, 208, 306]

The island was a small Company settlement still recovering from a cattle famine said to have destroyed some 2,500 head, and it existed to refresh Company ships on the long passage between India and England. The period caught it at a telling moment: trade disputes with passing captains, a season of litigation, fresh slave cargoes from Madagascar, the island's first smallpox, and a persistent rumour that a new governor was coming. The record is the council's own, written and certified by the men it describes with one eye on the directors in Leadenhall Street. Almost every entry served a double purpose, settling island business while building a defensive file for London, so its statements deserve scrutiny as well as use and its silences matter as much as its entries. [Film No. 56-105, 210-211, 269-270, 356-405]

Governance and Administration

Government ran through consultations held most Tuesdays under a fixed routine. Each sitting opened by reading and approving the previous consultation, petitions were heard, and contested matters went to named councillors for examination before judgement. Opinion was gathered before fixing any rule that bound all, as when the fort liquor allowance was referred to every member. Absences in the country were minuted, and sickness repeatedly broke the quorum: on 27 November 1716 only three councillors sat and the bench refused to fix Renatus Snow's sentence until the full board could meet, while on 21 May 1717 only Pyke and Bazett attended, Haswell ill in the country and Tovey suspended. [Film No. 6, 10, 25, 61-62, 156, 327]

Correspondence with London was managed with method. The directors' general letters were read through, minuted for obedience and shared out paragraph by paragraph for written answer according to office: paragraphs 31 and 37 of one letter fell to Bazett as storekeeper and 52 to 54 and 57 to Haswell. Each councillor read the letter alone and answered his own part in writing, the Governor compiling the reply, and the secretary listed the previous year's packet so that nothing was duplicated or dropped. Dispatches were timed to the shipping, finished consultations went home in duplicate by separate vessels as insurance against capture or wreck, and the council withheld its letters from the Cardonnell because her captain refused to say when he would sail. When time pressed in June 1717 the bench sent a short holding letter by the Stanhope with a copy of the consultation enclosed, so London would read the delay as pressure of the Company's own business. [Film No. 23-24, 117, 120-121, 230, 239, 360-364]

Paper discipline was Pyke's chosen instrument of reform. He ordered an exact Christmas inventory of the storehouse, valued and ready by 01 March, and proposed an indent in two columns setting what the island held against what it wanted, reckoning the labour at a week of Bazett's time. A standing rule of 13 November 1716 required the secretary to give every councillor a same-day copy of any matter referred to him. Exactness was enforced: the writer Joseph Thomlinson was fined £10 for sending home an account wrong by 7s 1d, a harsh penalty for a copying slip but a logical one when the directors could not verify figures they did not hold. [Film No. 123, 149, 191-193]

In October 1716 the council catalogued the secretary's office, an inventory that doubles as a commentary on the evidence itself. Consultation books reached back to 1 August 1674, but damp had rotted leaves and rats had eaten the vellum bindings; older volumes were rebound in leather while letter books, wills from 1681/2 and the secret committee's correspondence were sorted into presses. The bench plainly treated these books as its muniments of title and authority, yet figures and whole leaves from the first decades were already lost. [Film No. 98-102]

The record was guarded and shaped as well as kept. In January 1716/17 the council resolved that any discloser of consultations was a traitor to the Company, liable to suspension until the directors decided his case, and confined the office books to the Governor, council and clerks. An order of 13 January 1716/17 giving Bazett notice to put off his plantation, prompted in part by a complaint Gabriel Powell had sent home, was struck through with a large cross yet left legible, a reminder that the fair copy was an edited one. In 1717 a marginal instruction kept the overseer Worrall's petition about the succession rumour out of the copy sent to London, and a fencing report touching councillors' own bargains was adjourned until all were present. The Governor repeatedly used the book as a defensive instrument, entering the hiring of Joshua Johnson's house so the directors could see why their order to buy had not been obeyed, and minuting his public rebuke of Haswell for a fortnight's absence that had stalled the store books. [Film No. 210, 212, 263, 334, 346, 354, 436]

Relations with other settlements could be equally calculated. Stung by a letter from Bencoolen judged uncivil or rather rude, the council resolved that no part of it deserved an answer and addressed its reply to the Bencoolen Governor alone, cutting his council out of the correspondence while still sending the shipping intelligence on which every station's safety depended. [Film No. 364-365]

Trade and Shipping

The cargo laden by the Court of Directors for the account of the United Trade arrived aboard the Katharine under Captain John Hunter, its invoice closing at a prime cost of £3,325 18s 3d. Every line carried two figures, the prime cost recording what the Company had paid and the selling price fixing what the island stores would charge, the margin later admitted to run from under 18 per cent on coals to 50 per cent. The contents served every need of an isolated settlement: anchors, cordage and oars for refitting ships, cloth from coarse fustians to scarlet broadcloth at 18s the yard, stationery and ink powder for the administration, prayer books and bibles for the church, and a salt pan with 32 bushels of seed peas and beans answering the famine directly. Cordage even carried two prices, a bulk rate for ships and a dearer rate for the single island buyer. [Film No. 11-18, 22, 44]

The council checked the cargo against its papers with notable rigour, recording 64 deals wanting, a missing quire of paper, an ink glass short, and mohair light because the wrappers had been counted in the marked weight. One haberdashery case arrived with no itemised invoice, so the council opened it, appraised the contents and entered a frank doubt about its own exactness. Such entries shielded the storekeeper from blame for losses he had not caused and reveal an audit culture in which every shortfall had to fall on the right account. [Film No. 17, 20-21]

The departure of the Queen under Captain John Martin exposed the limits of the island's commercial power. Martin acknowledged receiving stores worth a balance of £113 17s 7½d but refused to sign bills of exchange, attacking the beef price as contrary to his charter party and calling other articles as dear as theft. The Governor answered point by point: the charter obliged ships to take 300 pounds of beef for every 20 men yet the council had not enforced the full quantity, four fifths of the island's cattle had died, beef at 25s the hundredweight stood below what the Company itself had paid the planters, and everything but flesh meat was cheaper than at the Cape. No commander had ever flatly refused to pay before. The council charged the sum as if lent on respondentia at 20 per cent sea interest, raising the debt to £136 13s 4d payable in England out of the ship's freight and demurrage, drew a formal protest, and ordered that no commander should ever again receive store credit without signing bills for each article as received. [Film No. 42-46, 54]

The bench's restraint had a franker explanation. Martin was the son of Sir Joseph Martin, who sat often on the Court of Directors, and the council stated openly that this regard alone kept the ship from being stopped. A later memorandum reckoned the Company's whole clear profit on the visit at £16, fresh beef going to the ship at a loss of 2¼d per pound, while the Governor had given green ginger, pumpkins, red ochre and plantain trees, lent his own chair and charged no customs on Martin's private parcels. The tally of courtesies reads less as neutral account than as a defence prepared in advance for the directors. Goods from the ship were also run ashore by night without customs, prompting an enquiry with summonses. [Film No. 42-46, 56-57, 59-60]

Shipping defined every season. The Catherine, an Indiaman from Bombay that had supplied Goa arrack since 08 April 1712, swelled one month's store turnover to £911 10s 7½d; she sailed for England on 13 January 1716/17, followed within weeks by the Cardonnell from Madras, the Arabella and the Sarah Galley from Madagascar. Invoices laden at Fort St George under President Edward Harrison and at Fort William under President Robert Hedges travelled with the Indiamen, each presidency reckoning in its own money, pagodas and fanams at Madras against rupees and annas in Bengal. Captain Mawson of the Cardonnell refused to name a sailing day, sent word that the council had no business with him, delivered a fraudulent powder barrel and still kept his customs exemption. [Film No. 106-108, 211, 222, 225, 239-240, 249-250, 253]

In June 1717 Captain Benjamin Graves of the Success delivered coals about 3 chaldrons short. The council demanded £27 at the island's selling rate of 5s per bushel; Graves stood on his charter party, which capped liability for undelivered goods at prime cost plus 50 per cent, and since the directors had invoiced coals at roughly 11d per bushel the island's rate ran several times the contractual measure. The council retreated, ordering the deficiency endorsed on the bill of lading for the directors to pursue out of the ship's freight in England, and entered both letters whole in the book, a documentary tactic that protected the bench either way. The related demurrage question was settled by mutual waiver. Captain John Misenor of the Princess Emilia, in from Bombay on 10 July 1717, had his private cargo of coffee, cardamoms, myrrh and aloes entered before sale, the oyster shells and rangoes among his goods pointing his venture toward slaving markets; when he and Pyke could not agree a tea price he settled his account in Batavia arrack at the fixed wholesale rate of 4s per gallon. Tea prices were pegged to the last known rate, and no commander could sail with his store account open. [Film No. 365-367, 387, 392-394, 404]

The invoice of the Success's cargo, totalling £2,001 8s 2d, reveals the pricing system entire. Selling prices were reasoned line by line: tallow and seed at prime cost as establishment stores, paper and moth-threatened broadcloth at 25 per cent, nails and pickaxes at 100 per cent, useful pewter at 50 per cent, decorative toys at double that, and coals to shipping at over five times prime cost. The margins mapped who could pay rather than what things cost. [Film No. 386-392]

Supply, Provisioning and the Store Economy

The Company store stood at the centre of the economy as the settlement's only lawful shop, draper, haberdasher, chandler, ironmonger and bookseller. Monthly accounts divided issues among the inhabitants, the garrison at Union Castle and the plantation, keeping old stock and fresh consignments in parallel columns, each cargo under its own ledger head until sold through. Turnover ran from £243 15s 9¾d in the month to 25 July 1716, through £911 10s 7½d in the Catherine month and £391 9s 9¾d in a quiet one, to £858 for the two months to 25 May 1717, an annual pace above £5,000 and more than double the rate of two years before. [Film No. 26-30, 106-108, 376-386, 417-422]

Arrack dominated every heading. In July 1716 some 203½ gallons sold to the inhabitants at 7s 6d the gallon, more than half the month's retail value flowing through a single spirit; the price later fell to 6s 3d against a wholesale cost near 4s, and single months saw 426½, 530 and 735⅝ gallons sold, in one account supplying nearly four fifths of sales to the inhabitants. Tobacco and pipes formed the second pillar. The stock itself maps a society: Indian piece goods from fine longcloth, gurrahs, baftas, ginghams, neilaes and a painted Patna chintz at over £7 sold beside English druggets, kerseys, shalloons and mourning crape; hats ran from gold-and-silver-laced pieces at 27s to cheap boys' grades, and stockings were sorted across 15 lines by age, sex and quality. Tens of thousands of pins and needles point to clothing kept alive by repair, locks sold in quantity to a community of repeated house-breaking, and island-made shoes at 4s the pair passed through the Company counter, the store acting as middleman in an economy without coin. Tea, weighed in Chinese catties, spread from the senior establishment to general sale, with brass kettles stocked to serve the new habit. [Film No. 26-30, 110-114, 160-164, 213-217, 285-291, 341-343, 376-386, 417-420]

Scarcity shaped the island's standing on the homeward route. Captain Martin of the Queen had provisioned at the Cape of Good Hope because he heard there was nothing at St Helena, and a vessel that wanted little also bought little, so the famine cost the stores their custom as well as their stock. A standing concession let the council requisition cloth from returning ships, but its invocation on 8 August 1716 for half a bale of coarse cotton yarn for lamp wicks collapsed when Captain Martin's 50 bales proved to hold carmania wool from Persia. Indents to London pegged qualities to retail prices, named bread and flour as immediately wanting, ordered dressed leather because ships now consumed the island's hides for rigging, asked China-bound ships for tea and about 90 catties of sewing silk, and requested convex lamps so ships arriving by night could recognise the fort. The July 1717 indent itemised wants line against stock, from gun-carriage trucks and elm pumps to kerseys for 400 slaves and 500 pairs of shoes, with furze seed for living hedges and grass seed for dry soil. Leather grew so scarce that most of the garrison went barefoot, driving the purchase of 100 large hides from the Mercury for the island's own tannery; with no coarse thread in store the council ordered new worsted stockings unravelled to mend the Company slaves' clothes; souring Madeira was priced down to 4s per gallon to move before the profit spoiled, and lime was offered at 2s 6d per bushel to get the town pointed and decent. [Film No. 31-34, 206-209, 350-351, 375-376, 392-393, 402-404]

Landing goods carried its own risks in an open roadstead without a harbour. The Arabella's rice and sugar were soaked when a boat was staved in heavy surf, and the council ordered the damaged stock sold before any sound goods. The greatest surf in living memory then broke the crane and ruined the new wharf at James Valley, the single point for landing cargo, at a cost reckoned near £100, and a later sea stove in the Company's only yawl. An advertisement of 29 October 1716 had already closed the path to Munden's Point while a broken ledge was brought down and ordered all boats to the west side of the bay. [Film No. 125-127, 241-242, 256, 258, 345]

Land, Settlement and Agriculture

Land policy aimed at fuller settlement and balanced it against engrossment. Ralph Orme surrendered 10 of his 20 acres at Tombstone Wood because he could not work them without a slave, Pyke welcoming the release because the acres could carry one or two more small families, while Bodley's plantation, well sited but empty with its house fallen, prompted a recommendation that the Company send out an industrious couple skilled in gardening; Samuel Price, a 14-year Company servant about to marry the widow Sarah Sinsnick, later sought its lease. Letting conditions tied every holding to the capacity to manure it and keep at least one slave, and the directors' rule of a white man able to bear arms to every 20 acres armed the island. John Goodwin's attempt to register 30 acres bought from John Keeling met sharp resistance because he would then enjoy 183 acres that had once supported 6 families, with no white man on the land but himself; his counter of registering the land in his son's name met the rule's letter while defeating its purpose. Grants of waste passed to sons and neighbours under the usual tests, a survey found John Nichols's lawful 20 acres measuring only 15 and folded the shortfall into a family scheme, and registration in the council books was the working proof of title, a disputed deed proved by its entry at folios 164 and 165 of the island register. [Film No. 117-119, 156-157, 181-182, 186-191, 196, 229, 280-282, 330]

The Company estate was managed as a forward schedule of yams, the staple food of the enslaved and a victualling stock for ships. Byfield's survey of October 1716 counted 100,000 roots fit to dig on Lufkin's plain alone, with parcels timed to mature at 3, 15 and 18 months and around 200,000 yams wanting weeding. When rumour spread in early 1717 that the plantations were neglected, Thomas Cason's survey returned 326,000 yams at the Hutts, 227,000 at Lufkins and 180,000 at Perkins, the council pronouncing the rumour groundless while ordering Bazett to verify within the month; Cason conceded that nearly all the walls needed repair. By 28 February 1717 Bazett reckoned about 879,000 yams across all plantations, 339,000 already fit to dig, graded from six to twenty months to maturity. [Film No. 119-124, 237-238, 292-293]

Livestock returns chart recovery from the famine. Neat cattle rose from 136 in June 1715 through 147 on 1 August 1716 and 172 by 1 September 1716 to 201 on 1 January 1716/17, helped by the order of 7 June 1715 against killing cows, heifers and calves, though the book's own figures sometimes fail to agree. Hogs alone collapsed, from 214 to 72, dying of the lung disease called the pant. Every loss was assigned a cause, a beast fallen from the Fort hill, a mad cow with a broken leg, attribution that protected the overseer as much as it informed the bench. Cultivation was pressed: the overseer William Worrall set 1,860 plants on Company ground in a single month, including 800 gumwood trees against timber depletion, 650 fig trees, 200 rushes for the cheapest candles and 100 lemon trees. Timber rules were enforced and softened together, George Sanders's £16 penalty for cutting 16 Company trees abated to £2 on his plea of ignorance, and John Robinson's girder granted only on condition his land stayed planted. The census of 1717 then turned counting into a property register: 556 white people, of whom 140 were the garrison entered as a single block, 327 black people held as private property excluding the Company's own slaves, 1,689 neat cattle and 3,033½ occupied acres, 2,067½ freehold against 966 hired. Gabriel Powell headed the roll with 153 cattle and 255 acres; Martin Norman appeared exactly as the courts had left him, 12 cattle and not one acre. [Film No. 10-11, 37, 48-50, 64, 66, 96-97, 157-158, 220-221, 252, 259-260, 317-324]

The season's most vivid land case concerned trees. Ripin Wills, enraged at neighbours eating his fruit, took an axe to 40 large bearing lemon trees on his own ground. Citrus was a public resource on an island that sold lime juice to scurvy-ridden shipping, so the bench treated the destruction as legal waste and fined him £40, 20s a tree and about four times a surgeon's yearly salary, expressly in terrorem, to be abated if he planted double the number within the season. Wills planted 110 young trees inside a week, yet the fine was kept alive until he also met his statutory quota of wood. Weather pressed on buildings throughout: the rains left the Plantation House roof ready to fall, Worrall rising at night in fear of it, and great winds brought part of it down in August 1716 along with part of the black house at Sandy Bay, the Governor tracing the rot to a site where the seasonal soak destroyed the lower storey. Improvement ran beside decay, Pyke reporting a new watercourse brought over two hills and standing 94 feet higher than any before. [Film No. 34-35, 47-48, 65, 97, 190-191, 327-329, 335-336]

Slavery and Coerced Labour

Slavery underpinned the whole settlement and grew markedly across the period. The Hutts were worked by a mixed force of the Company's 7 slaves, slaves hired from planters at 1s 6d a day and 2 wage-paid white men, and Thomas Leech's slave worked 128 days against his master's store debt, the Company deducting 3s a week for diet and 20s for clothing, arithmetic that treated the enslaved as ledger entries. Discipline mixed legal form with severity: the runaways Peter and Moll were sentenced to 40 lashes apiece, 17 below the tariff fixed by settler law expressly because no witnesses appeared, procedure extended even to the enslaved yet 40 strokes still falling on an unproved charge. Housing protected the workforce as capital, the decayed slaves' house at Perkins rebuilt on drier ground after a new house for 70 was begun at the Hutts. [Film No. 121, 123-124, 131, 143, 146-148]

The register of the Company's blacks sent home by the Katharine in January 1716/17 listed 60 men and youths, 11 boys, 21 women and 8 girls by descending age, name and employment, counting decline: deaths, lameness, weak eyes and the recurring verdict that a man or woman was worn past labour. Built to support Pyke's argument that the directors held far fewer serviceable hands than the headcount suggested, it still lets individuals surface: Will, aged 71, a carpenter noted as having served well; Jacob the tailor and his wife Mercy, a married pair traceable since 1710; and John Batavia, once kept in irons for thieving and for claiming power to bewitch, entered simply as dead. Clothing was itemised like inventory, 41 jackets, 18 shirts, 9 shifts and 30 caps made up, 20 gross of brass buttons ordered specifically for the slaves, and knit caps specified of the kind worn by charity children in England. [Film No. 176-177, 197-201, 205-207]

From early 1717 fresh cargoes arrived from Madagascar, part of the Company's wider Indian Ocean slave traffic. The Sarah Galley suffered a serious rising in the road on 2 February 1716/17, suppressed with difficulty by Sergeant Southen and soldiers in the Company's long boat; the entries never state plainly whether those who rose were the enslaved cargo or the crew, though a slave rising is the likelier reading. Ten slaves came ashore for the Company with 57 more expected, and the councillors costed the labour need like a stores requisition, Bazett reckoning 56 hands wanting for the plantations and Tovey setting the full need at 200. Captain William Mackett of the Drake was then licensed to sell to the freemen, and about 60 people were sold by public auction at the Sessions House on 6 March 1717, the advertisement grading them by age, sex and bodily condition, buyers advancing 2s at each bidding. By island custom the planters paid nothing for newly bought slaves until they had held them a year, the grace answering the risk of early death, and every purchase was entered in the annual census. The Hamilton Galley under Captain Burnham supplied the Company itself, Haswell sent aboard to choose ten men and four women, good and serviceable, and the Mercury landed about 30 more on 28 April 1717; the five slave children of the Coals estate had meanwhile been sent to Bencoolen by the Cardonnell, the traffic running in both directions. [Film No. 225-232, 255-256, 261, 265, 268, 302-303]

The newly landed resisted almost at once. The Governor's own slave Stepney informed that slaves of Wrangham, Powell and Francis, all bought out of the Drake, had plotted to steal a Company boat and return to Madagascar, correction left to their masters; Stepney's loyalty was later recalled as having cost the Governor dear. An advertisement of 07 May 1717 created a salaried slave-catcher by open tender against runaways living by theft in the outer parts, and a second notice ended the hiring of inhabitants' slaves for Company works from 25 June 1717, owners warned to find employment for hands discharged with no work at home. Everyday entries show what enslavement meant in practice: a planter and the surgeon disputed a £4 cure fee like a repair bill; seamen found with women enslaved to the Company were pardoned while the women alone were whipped; after sentries nearly burned the castle the soldiers rode the wooden horse but the boy slave who lent his candle was whipped; and the dangerous path from Rupert's Valley was mended expressly for fear of blacks breaking their necks under loads of firewood. The death roll from 25 March 1717 listed 9, five aged slaves past labour, three new Madagascar arrivals and the infant Hagar, dead at about 10 months and accounted Company property from birth. A guardian's account showed a single enslaved man valued at £30 earning about £129 in eight years of hired labour, and orphans' inheritances were settled partly in human beings at about £25 a head. [Film No. 222, 227, 254, 275, 311, 314-316, 332-333, 338, 395, 408, 427, 433]

Justice, Crime and Social Order

The autumn of 1716 was dominated by the litigation of Martin Norman, an illiterate freeman near 70. He petitioned on 28 August 1716 for his bills of credit and for destroyed yams, declaring himself on the 11th day of a fast he vowed to keep until justice was done. The council refused to be coerced, allowed him daily tea and milk, and converted his grievances into Westminster forms: case, trespass, and trover and conversion against the chaplain for seized cattle. Norman then drove his cattle down from the hills with hired soldiers, argued the chaplain's seizure void because the writing was never registered within 6 months and no written order of council authorised it, and withdrew that action. On 17 September 1716 the council sat as a Court of Judicature with a sworn jury of 12 under John Coles and dismantled his claims one by one: one expired lease only, a sealed paper falsely called a lease fobbed off on him by the late councillor Griffith, £400 demanded of Tovey dissolving into bills worth £31 on paper and £3 recoverable, and the loss against Free and Marsh thrown back on his own broken fences. The jury found for every defendant; the court remitted his fees for poverty and age. The bench candidly minuted that it allowed the suit against Tovey because Norman had told visiting sailors the whole bench were rogues, so the trial before almost the whole island was staged to kill that slander, and the court that cleared the government was the government itself. [Film No. 68-91, 96]

Theft from the stores produced the gravest cases. Pyke discovered that the writer Joseph Thomlinson had broken into the store about 15 months earlier and that Bazett had settled the matter privately. Thomlinson's long written defence recast the taking of blue drugget as deferred bookkeeping; Pyke sprang a trap, observing that so long a prepared preamble proved advance warning, and committed him for breach of trust. The case exposed the soldier-tailor Renatus Snow, who had offered stolen breeches for a bottle of arrack, pleaded drunkenness and was sentenced to run the gauntlet, but only once recovered from the flux, the penalty timed to his health. Punishment elsewhere was discretionary and weighed knowledge against station: the marshal Joseph Bates fined 40s for knowingly buying run wine, the gardener Henry Harman 40s for making away with Company tools, Nichols junior 40s to his victim with 10s to the church and 5s to the poor for a wounding, Eleanor Doveton 40s for striking out 2 of Henry Batchellour's teeth, and the drunkard Nicholas Sherriffe 40s for accosting the Governor in the street. Henry Batchelor recovered 10s from the widow Grace Coulson for publicly calling him pocky, the sworn marshal's evidence breaking her careful retreat to the harmless word rogue. Military justice mixed severity with reintegration, Francis Cullum, degraded a year earlier for words tending to mutiny, readmitted as a soldier on his penitence. [Film No. 8, 66, 95, 149-155, 186, 221, 237, 253, 263-264]

The bench policed the colour line as firmly as property. William Huff, found hidden in the bed of the Company slave Betty and acknowledged father of her child, was ordered to pay 12d a week, to ride the wooden horse publicly for an hour with his face blacked, and thereafter to be reckoned a black, a shaming punishment bent into racial degradation; judged incorrigible, he was later sentenced to fourteen days of unpaid labour for foretelling that freemen and soldiers would shortly be at blows. In 1717 a jury asked that no black testify against a white man, and Jonathan Doveton's paternity charge against Henry Batchellour over his slave Pegg's child was dismissed without weighing her credibility at all. In the Whaley bastardy case the midwife swore that Mercy Whaley had named John Hoskison during her labour pains, and the Governor adjudged him putative father with £10 to the woman's father, stating the tariff openly: an unblemished woman would have cost marriage or £30, but her admitted connection with a slave cut the compensable damage to a third. [Film No. 120, 131-132, 267-268, 411, 414-415]

Desertion from the Queen tested recovery methods. When the boatswain's mate William Parsons and the quartermaster Robert Clark vanished, the bench published a £5 reward within 30 hours; Captain Martin declared he would rather lose any four other men than these two skilled officers, and the planter John Robinson delivered both the same evening and took his £5, the Governor recording his fear that the bounty would teach men to desert and share the proceeds. A persistent fear that disaffected men might seize a thinly crewed ship governed security thereafter. Punch-house talk among Arabella and Sarah Galley men of seizing a ship to free themselves, reported by the bound licensee William Beale, brought captains to the castle and soldiers aboard, proportionate alarm in the piracy-prone years after the Peace of Utrecht with Madagascar itself a notorious pirate haunt. An advertisement of 6 March 1717 ordered every boat hauled ashore under the guns whenever such a vessel lay in the road. Even the castle proved fragile: the sentries Roulston and Mutton were found asleep at 1 in the morning, their gaming candle setting the floorboards alight before the secretary's office, and rode the wooden horse with 4 muskets tied at each heel, spared worse expressly because little damage was done. [Film No. 39-41, 49-50, 226-227, 254, 257]

The council sat as the island's only probate court. The estate of Thomas Gargen, dead near insolvent about 15 January 1714, came to a head when George Sanders, husband of the widow, won letters of administration on 12 February 1716/17 under the Company's seal, the bench tracking contemporary English practice on creditors' administrations with striking fidelity; Sanders then petitioned for an action of debt against Haswell himself, the deputy's time for payment long expired, and the inventory was completed once Haswell paid £440. The verbal will of the orphan soldier Joseph Cotgrove, who died on 25 November 1716 leaving all to his 2 little cousins before seven witnesses, was contested by his guardian John Alexander on the grounds that the boy was under age and his goods should count as real estate; the Statute of Frauds of 1677 expressly excepted soldiers, and in 1717 the jury split the fund, goods passing under the verbal will while the maternal portion fell as intestacy. John Coles had Alexander arrested in £500 to compel his account; within a fortnight Alexander rendered a sworn account reaching back to 1706, the girls Ann and Mary shipped to Bencoolen, and closed owing only about £70, the willed contest turning at last on six pounds and a ring. Guardianship accounting appeared in settled form across the Greentree, Steward, Leech, French and Beale estates, boarding an orphan costing about £7 a year, an 11-year-old penal bond enforced for a £10 legacy, and Gabriel Powell finally undertaking to pay £50, fence the land and replant 19,000 yam suckers by Lady Day. The Beale orphans' bullock claim fared worse, deferred as too old ever to settle although the store books showed a 310 lb beast killed with no credit entered. A balanced account once registered could not be reopened, and a Court of Judicature for Orphans sat on 29 July 1717 with twelve sworn planters. [Film No. 168-175, 178-180, 183-185, 232-236, 240-241, 264, 277-279, 325-327, 336-337, 405-413, 423-434]

The most revealing judicial business of 1717 was the case of Sergeant Thomas Southen, the veteran who had suppressed the Sarah Galley rising. Letters forwarded through the Company from Susanna Southen of London, supported by marriage certificates from New St Michan's, Dublin, charged him with denying their marriage of 1699, burning the marriage articles, fabricating a letter under the name Joseph Gunstone to persuade the Company she was dead, and keeping a second wife and children at the island while blocking her pension. The Dublin dossier was formidable, minister, churchwardens and the man who gave the bride away all certifying the marriage. The hearing was execution rather than judgement, since the directors had already paid her arrears: the council charged him £15 for those arrears and £10 a year from 25 March 1717, called his threat to quit the service by charging his island account, and prudently declined to try the bigamy the papers implied. [Film No. 367-373]

Religion, Education and Health

Established religion was present, modest and entangled in the island's quarrels. The chaplain Joshua Thomlinson appears as creditor and trader more than as pastor: he sold arrack against the Company monopoly until made to promise to stop, pressed a disputed account of about £19 on the widow Sarah Sinsnick, who signed by mark and petitioned with a sucking child to be released, and seized Norman's cattle without authority. When he demanded that every paper against him be torn before his face, the court found his petition verbose and some expressions seditious, the Governor saying the parson's own paper better deserved tearing for dragging his sacred function into a brawl. Poor relief ran through the parish in the English manner, the churchwardens allowing the aged Martin Norman 2s 6d a week even though he was able to work but unwilling. The Sabbath order of 11 December 1716 forfeited Sunday fish, wood, salt, eggs and yams to the soldiers of the garrison, complaining that masters worked their slaves harder on the Lord's day than on others; it wears the language of piety yet reads chiefly as labour regulation. Head money fell at a flat half-crown on every white and black of 16 and above, the one levy rating slaves and free on equal terms, two years' arrears raising about £89 against a church in debt to the Company by about £18. The calendar was England's, muskets fired at the bonfires of 05 November 1716 keeping Gunpowder Treason Day until Giles Smith's overcharged piece burst and shattered his hand. Bibles, prayer books, Playford's psalms, Testaments, horn books, spelling books and copy books made up the island's printed culture, sold beside soap and nails. [Film No. 25, 58-59, 77-80, 107, 111, 135, 145, 176-178, 449-452]

Medicine rested on the surgeon Joseph Du May alone. His January 1716/17 indent ordered the whole apparatus of an early eighteenth-century dispensary, distilled waters, laudanum and diascordium, mercury and antimony preparations, arsenic and lunar caustic, and New World drugs including ipecacuanha, sarsaparilla and Virginia snakeroot, with capital instruments for major surgery. His monopoly was defended, Sanders ordered to pay the disputed £4 for a slave's cure and the irregular healers Sutton Isaack junior and the victualler William Beale warned off, while the stranded physician Thomas Hopkins of the Borneo was refused a salary to test his treatments on the islanders. Smallpox, never before known on the island, arrived with the Madagascar slaves of the Mercury in late April 1717; an advertisement of 19 June under the Governor's sole hand barred all persons from Lemon Valley, where by mid-July eight lay ill with Du May visiting almost daily and two sentries sealing the valley both ways. Slaves sent to Lemon Valley and Egg Island recovered, though one of the Governor's own, set to fish for them, was washed off the rocks and drowned. [Film No. 186, 202-205, 222-224, 237, 353, 359, 393, 441-442]

Military Affairs and Defence

Defence in these months was routine rather than urgent, a garrison consumed by housekeeping in the peace after 1713, with outworks named at Munden's Point and Banks's and militia duty binding every able man to muster at an alarm. The gunner John French's accounts form a maritime diary written in powder: 25½ gallons spent in July 1716 on the Governor's flag, an alarm, a salute and the firing for an Ostender, 7 guns for the Queen's arrival standing beside her silent unsaluted departure, salutes graded by standing at 9 lbs for the Dartmouth and Grantham against 5 for the Success, and the largest single expenditure honouring Edward Harrison, the homeward Madras governor, on 22 April 1717. April 1717 burnt 133 falcon and 11 minion rounds on 199 lbs of powder, almost all ceremony and caution, and 300 lbs of gunpowder was issued to Captain Mackett of the Drake. [Film No. 16, 36, 59, 65, 71, 346-347, 351]

Inspection found neglect. Hearing of slackness at Munden's Point, Pyke went himself one morning and found two soldiers where three and an officer were required, then sent the gunner after dark, who found one; Sergeant Simpson's excuse proved false, the sergeant having been out in a boat all night, and he was suspended on 04 December 1716. After Smith's accident the gunner revived a control from Governor Roberts's time, anyone holding powder from ships to show and account for it or be treated as a thief. The customary levy of a powder barrel from each calling ship was abused when Captain Mawson sent in a barrel of only 90 lb filled with powder-room sweepings, coffee berries and unhusked rice, the council keeping the worthless barrel because it could not compel a departing master. Indents ordered grenadier caps, 100 belts, pouches and swords and demi-cannon carriage parts for a notional establishment of about 100 men, and in answer to the directors' rebuke over the longboat deserters of 1715 the council conceded that men were held against their will, counted 21 garrison deaths since 1714 and asked for 25 more men. [Film No. 144-146, 158-159, 180-181, 205, 253, 362-363]

Economy, Finance and Accounting

The island ran on Company book-keeping in pounds, shillings and pence, struck transaction by transaction, in an economy almost without coin. Bills of credit, promissory notes, set-offs and damages claimed in replanted yam suckers all appear in Norman's affairs alone, yams and beasts working as means of payment. Credit practice was cautious and layered: the dead soldier John Sinsnick's estate was credited only with debts judged good, and maritime finance carried sea interest at 20 per cent against the island's ordinary 8 per cent. When Abraham Melando, noted in the book as a Jew, presented £8 or £9 of the Company's bank bills, the council paid him at once to preserve the credit of the paper, convertibility on demand being all that sustained a local note issue. The store charged the Governor's own establishment at full retail, a bookkeeping circle that inflated the island's apparent costs while the profit stayed in the Company's takings, one cause of the accounts' notorious opacity; the Company's own complaint that the island's accounts looked like shop books had forced a fuller method that by Haswell's reckoning took twelve times the labour. [Film No. 6-8, 46, 68-69, 241-242, 360-361, 376-386]

By 1717 the drawing of bills on London became the central anxiety. Governor Harrison warned that the directors were displeased with the volume of bills and the size of the indent sent by the St George. The council resolved to draw no further bills except for arrack, rice, wheat and live cattle delivered, proposed that resident remitters wait while the council wrote home for leave, routed trade with India ships through barter, and capped each ship's account at the value of the stores it took. The slave auctions strained the rule, buyers without credit borrowing from those who held it and every sale ultimately drawing on London, the bench recording its hope that the Drake sale would be the last; the £142 6s paid to the departing William Fairfax for three slaves, 15 cattle and 23 sheep still went by bill despite the standing rule, the only way to pay a family whose wealth lay in stock and book credit. Tovey's demand of a 2 per cent commission on Mackett's sale, defended by appeal to the perquisites of the Company's Indian factories, was called extortion; he was suspended from the secretaryship, abandoned the defence, confessed his fault in writing and was restored on probation on 05 June 1717. Pyke meanwhile twice sold his own property to the Company, 30 pieces of cambay cloth and later his enslaved gardener and the man's wife, each time surrendering the valuation wholly to the council. [Film No. 261-262, 273-275, 297-299, 303, 315-316, 348-349, 351, 398-399]

Labour was priced without a market. The carpenter Richard Swallow sought higher pay for three trained servants whose wages he received himself, and with the barracks unfinished and no other carpenters' shop his power to withdraw all three hands at once forced the Company's hand, the Governor answering with requests for four or six carpenters from England at half a crown a day. Fencing was let by the rod at valued prices after slave hire ended, one craft priced at four rates from 5s for rebuilding to 18s for an exposed ridge, Powell held to his own valuations when he demanded more, and Walter Morris, who had once led a stone-layers' combination, returned as a piece-rate contractor bearing the weather risk himself. The shoemaker Samuel Price was set to train 2 boys, and free labour was governed by retention, four soldiers and the former soldier Bregger refused passage in the Success for debt, unexpired covenant or indispensable trades, while the writer William Fairfax was released the moment his bargained condition, copying the book of the laws of St Helena, was met. The highway levy conscripted statute labour from every household in His Majesty's name, each inhabitant and his slaves working between two and seven days, the enslaved outnumbering the free five to two across the divisions, the bench taxing itself first and a new south division carved out around Sandy Bay. [Film No. 37-38, 113, 339-340, 349-350, 358-359, 396, 437-440, 443-448]

The Rumour of a New Government

Through 1717 a report that a new government was coming from England ran about the island like wildfire. Pyke complained that the rabble had such correspondence in England, recited his pains for the island, protested that the Company would be unworthy of his service if supersession were his reward, and sought a house in the valley fitted up against a successor's arrival, framing the work as provision for another rather than conceding his removal. A letter from Captain Clark of the Stringer Galley showed the Cape believing the island in confusion, which Pyke answered by recalling that the rogues of the Eagle Galley two years earlier had achieved nothing, insisting the island stood quiet and flourishing. The rumour emboldened critics: John Long, already indicted for wounding the gunner with a sword, walked seven miles to shake his fist in Haswell's face, believing the coming change would make him the deputy's equal, and was imprisoned until his submission. In June 1717 Sarah Price was committed for slander after a chain of women's talk alleged that Lieutenant Cason was hoarding accusations against Worrall for the new governor's arrival, punishment of the repeater conveniently discrediting the rumour itself. The census, the pointing of the town and the curation of the homeward record all read in part as the administration's answer to the same talk. [Film No. 269-270, 284, 294-295, 314, 353-355]

Personalities

Isaac Pyke emerges as a methodical, combative and self-protective governor, arguing prices line by line, springing forensic traps, inspecting his forts by night, carrying water over two hills, bargaining fences in person, entering his parting gift of 6 turkeys and 2 geese to Byfield with an offer to repay if disallowed, and pruning the London copy of his own book. George Haswell appears as the harried, quarrelsome and often absent deputy, threatening a neighbour in passion, holding roughly a third of the £1,200 Steward estate in right of his wife, slow with the store books and shielding himself behind the directors' own instructions. Matthew Bazett kept immaculate columns while once hushing a theft from his own stores; Antipas Tovey, suspended once for stabbing Francis Wrangham and again over the auction fee, rose each time, the second by total submission, and ended the period reporting on the island's most powerful planter while standing the worst defaulter on the highway roll. [Film No. 128-132, 142, 149-155, 210, 261-262, 348, 360-361, 374-375, 443, 448]

Around the bench move sharply drawn figures: Captain John Martin of the Queen, a man set on having his way in all things yet open-handed over the deserters' reward; Captain Mawson of the Cardonnell, defiant to the last barrel; Captain Graves, who out-lawyered the bench with his charter party; Captain Mackett of the Drake, who left behind a market in human beings and the dispute that toppled the secretary. Martin Norman turned a hunger strike into a season of lawsuits and lost them all, yet kept his cattle and escaped his fees. John Robinson fell from £5 bounty-hunter to public apologiser within months. John Alexander defended his guardianship as the island's most relentless litigant and demolished Thomas Free's character with documentary precision, Free standing as the settlement's cautionary figure, once cut down from his own rope by an enslaved man. Gabriel Powell, the planter magnate with 153 cattle and 255 acres, was outmanoeuvred over the fences and held to the council's terms over the orphans. Ripin Wills swung from axe-wielding fury to over-performing penitence in a fortnight. William Worrall, the careful chief overseer, converted his whole position into portable capital and asked leave to sail for India because his never-settled salary could not keep his family. Susanna Southen, the one persistent voice from outside the official world, turned the Company's pay office into her enforcer across an ocean. The widow Sinsnick, Mary Snow and the enslaved informer Stepney stand at the other end of the island's order, people whose claims the record left pending, buried under abuse, or priced. [Film No. 37-41, 56-57, 68-91, 127-130, 186, 194-196, 239-240, 253, 261-262, 275, 327-329, 335, 348-355, 367-373, 374-375]

The Departure of the Queen and the Snow Scandal

A graver charge followed the Queen out of the road. On 28 August 1716 the soldier and tailor Renatus Snow petitioned that Captain Martin had carried off his wife Mary, to the ruin of himself and her parents Orlando and Ann Bagley. Seven witnesses placed Mary Snow at the chaplain's back door where the captain lodged, walking with him in the valley and receiving mangoes and two letters from a ship's servant; a sentry challenged a night boat hours before sailing and later inferred that the third figure carried down was her, others saw a woman in man's dress drinking with the mates and a face at the great cabin window as the ship left without saluting the fort, and the crew asked onlookers to say nothing. The evidence sits awkwardly with the husband's framing, the read letters, the disguise and the sociable drinking pointing to an arranged departure rather than an abduction, and the sentry admitted he named her only after hearing she was gone. The Governor grouped Mary Snow with four other women he wished the island rid of, the council disparaged her character, declared the island well rid of her and noted she might otherwise have been shipped to Bencoolen, and an anonymous paper later mocked the complaint as an elopement, its author having made Snow too drunk to attend the consultation called for his case. Her own account appears nowhere, so whether she was taken or fled cannot now be settled, and the kidnapping entered the record less as a wrong to a wife than as one more breach of custom by a protected man. [Film No. 50-54, 57, 65, 67]

Conclusion

Across 14 months St Helena appears as a warehouse, a farm, a garrison and a courtroom run in the Company's interest, governed above all by paper. Invoices, consultations, surveys, registers, bonds, rosters, advertisements and protests did the work that scarce coin and weak force could not, and the same pages built a defensive file for the directors who would read them. The famine's shadow lay over prices, charter obligations and the island's reputation at the start of the period; by its end the settlement was rebuilding itself on enslaved labour shipped from Madagascar and priced like stores, while smallpox, surf and the rumour of a new governor tested its order. The bench was procedurally careful and often humane, abating fines, feeding a hunger striker, remitting a loser's costs and sparing an old man the lash, yet it was also self-interested, defending its profit to London, blackening a woman it failed, clearing councillors in their own court and registering the enslaved chiefly as property. [Film No. 6-105, 255, 359]

The evidence is rich but one-sided and imperfect. Figures sometimes fail to agree, totals were miscopied, the Katharine's commander is named Tucker in one entry and Packer in another, one summary kills Thomas Free while the surrounding record shows him alive, and at least one petition was deliberately withheld from the copy sent to London. Such faults do not destroy the material's value, but they demand the habit the bench itself preferred, trusting nothing to memory or gloss that can be checked against the page. Read critically, the record still yields an unusually intimate anatomy of a small slave society at work, counting itself for its distant masters while the enslaved, the women and the debtors speak only through the council's pen. [Film No. 159, 189, 192-198, 252, 354-355, 452]

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Modern Summary with Analysis

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EAP 1364 St Helena

Document Name and Date
SC. HELENA RECORDS 1716–17

Photographer
PETER

Date photographed
2 NOV 2021

Additional comments

2

Book cover

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Blank page

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Blank page

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1

Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 24[th] day of July 1716. At Union-Castle in James Vally - Isaac Pyke, Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Haswell Matthew Bazett. 3[d] Dept[y] - Present Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Absent in the Edw[d] Byfield, 5[th] in Council: Country

Read Over the Last Consultation in the Last book (N[o] 13.) which was Approved of: M[r] Tovey brought in an Inventory of Jn[o] Sinsnick[s] Estate, according to the Order of Consultation of y[e] 10th Inst[d]

Inventory of the Goods of Jn[o] Sinsnick deceased. taken y[e] 10[th] of July. 1716. as foll[ws] [Vizt] Impr[s] 1. House in James Vally to be Sold to y[e] best Bidd[r] Item 1. Planting Bed, Blanket, Bolster & Pillow.

  1. Long Table & Frame 1[l] Yarn Tray
  2. Old Small d[o] 1. Iron Candlestick.
  3. Formes. 1. Pewter Dish
  4. Casks. 1. Doz[n] plates.
  5. Old Trunk. 1. pole Hooks & Lines.
  6. Catt & Cards 1. Small pole Shoemakers
  7. Yarn pott & Hooks 1. Spit tools
  8. parcell Wareing Apparel 1. pole of quart bottles. = Viz[t] 3. Coats. 1. Slate.
  9. Westcoat.
  10. p[r] Breeches.
  11. pair Shoes. Debt.

Margin Notes:

Jsl[d] St Helena

Jn[o] Sinsnick[s] Inventory

Island of St Helena.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 24 July 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council. George Haswell, deputy, was absent in the country.

The last consultation in the previous book, number 13, was read over and approved.

Antipas Tovey brought in an inventory of the estate of John Sinsnick, deceased, in accordance with the order of the consultation of 10 July 1716.

The inventory of the goods of John Sinsnick deceased, taken 10 July 1716, was as follows.

Implements:

1 house in James Valley, to be sold to the best bidder

1 planting bed, blanket, bolster and pillow

1 long table and frame

1 old small table

2 forms

2 casks

1 old trunk

1 cot and cord

1 yam pot and hooks

1 parcel of wearing apparel, namely 2 coats, 1 waistcoat and 2 pairs of breeches

1 pair of shoes

1 yam tray

1 iron candlestick

1 pewter dish

1 dozen plates

1 parcel of hooks and lines

1 small parcel of shoemaker's tools

1 spit

1 parcel of quart bottles

1 plate

Debts.

Interpretations

The estate belonged to John Sinsnick, the soldier and part-time stone-layer who had taken his name through several entries of the record. He was allowed 4 shillings per day for stone-laying at the Prosperous Bay house on 3 November 1713, and on 2 December 1714 he registered a bill of sale for a house in Southwark Street, James Valley, bought from Septha Fowler. The house now ordered sold to the best bidder was probably that same dwelling.

The shoemaker's tools and the parcel of hooks and lines point to the dead man's trades beyond soldiering. The fishing tackle reflects the Lords Proprietors' relief scheme of 9 July 1715, under which the directors sent over boats and distributed hooks and lines to inhabitants during the cattle shortage.

The instruction to sell the house to the best bidder marks the standard conciliar method for realising a deceased debtor's estate. The Company took first claim on the proceeds against any debt owed, exactly as ordered for the Bodley estate on 18 January 1715 and for the goods of the three drowned men sold at outcry on 30 December 1714.

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July 1716

Debts Due to Jn[o] Sinsnick (Viz[t]) Andrew Bergh 3 11 9 Francis Cullum 11 3 Joseph Dawes 3 - Samuel Dufton 13 6 Humphry Edwards 1 1 Serj[t] Tho[s] Fairfax 12 - Aptha Fowler 10 - Thomas Tice 3 - Robert Gurling 2 6 6 Isaac Hugerdon 7 - Giles Hayes 4 18 6 Joshua Johnson 4 6 Sutton Isacke Sen[r] 5 6 Isaac Leech 12 - Thomas Leech 7 9 John Long 1 3 6 Christopher Kell 9 - James Kyon 5 - Serj[t] Wm Slaughter 15 - Joseph Thomlinson 3 - John Worrall 5 - Robert Wallington 1 -

Total of Debts 21 5 10

Order[d]. That the Accounts of Debts be delivered Capt. Bazett and that whose Debts w[ch] are good, y[e] Estate have Credit for

The following Petitions were presented Viz[t] To the Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council The most humble Pet[n] of Jonath[n] Higham Overseer: That whereas yo[r] Petit[r] having lent his Son-in-Law John Sinsnick three pounds to help

Margin Notes:

Estate to have C[r] for good Debts.

Island St Helena

Jon[a] Higham[s] pet[n] thereon.

July 1716.

Debts due to John Sinsnick, namely:

Andrew Bergh

£3 11s 9d

Francis Cullum

£0 11s 3d

Joseph Dawes

£0 3s 0d

Samuel Dufton

£0 13s 6d

Humphrey Edwards

£0 1s 1d

Sergeant Thomas Fairfax

£0 12s 0d

Septha Fowler

£0 10s 0d

Thomas Free

£0 3s 0d

Robert Gurling

£2 6s 8d

Isaac Hugerdon

£0 7s 0d

Giles Hayes

£4 18s 6d

Joshua Johnson

£0 4s 6d

Sutton Isaacke senior

£0 5s 6d

Isaac Leech

£0 12s 0d

Thomas Leech

£0 7s 9d

John Long

£1 3s 6d

Christopher Hell

£0 9s 0d

James Kyon

£0 5s 0d

Sergeant William Slaughter

£0 15s 0d

Joseph Thomlinson

£3 5s 0d

John Worrall

£0 5s 0d

Robert Wallington

£0 1s 0d

Total of debts

£21 5s 10d

The council ordered that the account of debts be delivered to Captain Bazett, and that the estate have credit for those debts which were good.

The following petitions were presented.

Jonathan Higham, overseer, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that he had lent his son-in-law John Sinsnick three pounds to help

Interpretations

Several debtors named here appear on John Sinsnick's own list of obligations, which points to the ordinary cross-lending among soldiers and planters on the island. Andrew Bergh the cooper, convicted of assaulting Jeptha Fowler on 13 August 1715, owed the largest single sum after Giles Hayes. Francis Cullum, degraded for inciting the garrison on 25 August 1715, and Sergeant William Slaughter, whose deposition had degraded him, both stand on the same sheet as creditors and debtors of one dead man.

The order distinguishing good debts from the rest defines the practical limit of what the estate could realise. Credit was entered only for sums the council judged recoverable, the doubtful balances written down rather than carried at face value. The same caution governed the Mortimore receivables on 4 January 1715, when a dead sergeant's account book was credited only with what could be collected.

Septha Fowler appears here as a debtor to the estate. The house John Sinsnick had bought in Southwark Street came from Septha Fowler by the bill of sale registered on 2 December 1714, so the two men had a continuing financial connection beyond this single debt.

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July 1716.

help pay for y[e] house he bought of Jeptha Fowler Therefore humbly prays the said house may not be Sold, till he is Secured how he shall be repaid the money. And as in Duty bound Shall ever pray &c. his July 24. 1716. Jona[h] H Higham marke

Order[d]. That all matters relating to that Estate be referd to Cap[t] Bazett & M[r] Tovey to Settle the same & that the House be not Sold till the Debts depending thereon be adjusted.

Island St Helena To the Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] & Council. The most humble Petition of Francis Cullum.

Humbly Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] (now above twelve Months ago (was by the Deposition & Oath of Serj[t] Slaughter convicted of rash unadvised words for which he was justly degraded from bearing Arms. humbly hopes yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council will readmitt him to Serve y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[ny] having ever Since his dismission felt all the remorses ca- pable of making for, y[e] future a Sincere Penitent And farther most humbly offers to yo[r] Consideral[n] the great want J have been Sensible of thro the Stoppage of my Pay, w[ch] J wish all due respect oc- sure may be allowed mee. And (as in outy bound) shall e[v]er pr[a]y &c. (Signd) his Francis + Cullum mark.

Order[d] That he be Once more permitted to Enter as a Soldier.

Edmond Nichols appeard before the Council.

Margin Notes:

Fra: Cullum to be a Sold[r]

July 24. 1716.

July 1716.

Jonathan Higham continued his petition, explaining that the three pounds had helped pay for the house John Sinsnick bought from Septha Fowler. He asked that the house not be sold until he was secured how he should be repaid the money. The petition was dated 24 July 1716 and signed by his mark.

The council ordered that all matters relating to that estate be referred to Captain Bazett and Antipas Tovey to settle, and that the house not be sold until the debts depending on it were adjusted.

Francis Cullum petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that more than twelve months earlier he had been convicted of rash and unadvised words on the deposition and oath of Sergeant Slaughter, for which he was justly degraded from bearing arms. He hoped the council would readmit him to serve as he had formerly. He had felt all the remorse possible since his dismissal, and was capable of making a sincere repentance for the future. He further offered for the council's consideration the great want he had endured through the stoppage of his pay, which he hoped might be allowed him with all due respect. The petition was dated 24 July 1716 and signed by his mark.

The council ordered that he be once more permitted to enter as a soldier.

Edmond Nichols appeared before the council.

Interpretations

Jonathan Higham's request reveals how an informal family loan secured a claim against an estate ahead of the public sale. By asking that the house not be sold until his repayment was settled, he sought to convert a private debt into a charge on the property itself. The council's referral to Captain Bazett and Antipas Tovey held the sale until the competing claims on the house could be ranked, the same two officers already charged with the estate on 24 July 1716.

Francis Cullum's readmission closes a disciplinary thread running from 25 August 1715, when Sergeant Slaughter's deposition led to his degrading, the gauntlet and hard labour until his Company debt was cleared. His earlier plea of 15 November 1715 had freed him from his irons but kept him to labour. The stoppage of pay he complained of was the financial arm of that sentence, a soldier degraded losing both rank and wages until restored.

The council's treatment of rash words as a punishable military offence shows the bench drawing a firm line around anything that touched mutiny. Cullum's words on 23 August 1715 had been read as a combination tending to mutiny, a charge the bench pursued hard across the garrison, yet penitence and time opened the way back to service.

9

4

July 1716.

Council (according to Sumons) & being deman[d] ed why he held correspondance with the Hon[ble] Compa[s] Blacks. Sayed. He did not. but that he gave to Black Antony, the Hog as menti[on] in Consultation of y[e] 17. Instant. but received Fowls. The Black fellow named Antony being calld. Sayes. He did give him five Small fowls for the Hog Being withdrawn, every One present were askt their Opinions whether the s[d] Bartering & Trafficking with the said Black is proved. The Govern[r] Sayes, He is of Opinion That the giving a Hog & receiving of Fowls is a proof that they have a Correspondancy with on[e] another Cap[t] Bazett Sayes He thinks it not fully proved, but that it looks very Suspicious. M[r] Tovey Sayes, He thinks Edmond Nichols. Owning he gave the Hog to the Black is a full proof of a correspondance together M[r] Byfeld Sayes he thinks it proved suffici[ ent. The Blacks being very Old were not pu- nished. And this being y[e] first time he was found Guilty of such a Fact. Order[d]. That the said Edmond Nichols be Fined Forty Shillings to the Use of the Hon[ble] Compa[ny] but Excused being punished according to the Law of the Country.

[signature]

[signature] Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

Margin Notes:

Edm[d] Nichols for Corresponding w[th] Blacks

Fined 40[s]

July 1716.

Edmond Nichols appeared before the council on summons and was asked why he had dealt with the Honourable Company's slaves. He answered that he had not, but that he had given the slave Antony the hog mentioned in the consultation of 17 July, and had received fowls in return.

The slave named Antony was called and questioned. He said he had given Nichols five small fowls for the hog.

Antony was then withdrawn, and everyone present was asked their opinion whether the bartering and trafficking with the slave was proved.

The Governor said he was of the opinion that the giving of a hog and the receiving of fowls was a proof that they had a dealing with one another.

Captain Bazett said he thought it not fully proved, but that it looked very suspicious.

Antipas Tovey said he thought that Edmond Nichols, in owning he gave the hog to the slave, was a full proof of a dealing together.

Edward Byfield said he thought it proved.

The slaves, being very old, were not punished. This was the first time Nichols was found guilty of such an act.

The council ordered that Edmond Nichols be fined 40 shillings to the use of the Honourable Company, but excused being punished according to the law of the country.

Signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The case turned on the standing prohibition against private trade with Company slaves, a rule the bench enforced to stop the garrison and planters siphoning off Company labour and property through barter. The same offence had been pressed against John Orchard, whose licence was withdrawn on 5 July 1715 for dealing in goods brought by slaves, and against Renatus Snow, fined on 2 December 1714 for bartering with Thomas Frey's slave for lemons. Direct exchange with a slave bypassed the stores and undercut the Company's monopoly on supply.

The bench's practice of polling each councillor in turn shows a deliberative method that recorded individual positions rather than a single collective finding. The Governor and Tovey held the dealing proved, Bazett thought it only suspicious, and Byfield agreed it was proved, the spread of opinion entered on the record before the order. This is the same individual-opinion procedure used at the storekeeper interrogations and the libel inquiry of 21 June 1715.

The fine to the use of the Company, with corporal punishment excused, marks a graduated penalty calibrated to Nichols being a first offender. The money went to the injured party, the Company, exactly as with Greentree's £2 0s 0d fine to the poor on 20 September 1715, while the physical penalty available under the law of the country was held back for a repeat offence.

Speculations

The decision to spare the two slaves rested on their great age rather than any doubt of their part in the exchange. The bench probably judged that whipping aged and unfit slaves would damage Company property for little deterrent gain, the labour value already near exhausted. The slave roster of 21 November 1710 had carried a whole class of old or unfit slaves, and Antony may have been one long past useful service.

10

5

Island St Helena July 1716.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 31 of July 1716. At Union Castle in James Talley. Isaac Pyke, Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Present. Matth[s] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw. Byfeld 5[th] in Council

Last Consultation Read & Approved of Finding great Inconveniency in Sundrie Persons Marking their Cattle with One & the Same Mark. It is Order[d]. That the Marks be Regulated. And every One in Council is desired to consider well of it against this day Seven-night. The following Petition was presented.

Island St Helena To the Worsh[s] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council The most humble Petition of Tho: Swallow Planter.

Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] petit[r] did Supply the Hon Compa[s] Blacks in Sandy bay with Yams. to the amount of near Eight Pounds for part of which Cap[t] Mashborne in his Life time was ready to Signe the Accounts & if hasty Death had not prevented, would have done it, an Unquestionable Witness can Assure yo[r] Worsh[s] y[e] to be Fact. Wherefore yo[r] petit[r] humbly desires leave of yo[r] Worsh[s] &c. to make his s[d] acc[t] appeare to which if required will take his Oath to be justly his Due, which as it can be proved he does think yo[r] Worsh[s] &c. would desire y[e] Hon Compa[s] should gain any Sum of mony of which belongs to another. Yo[r]

Margin Notes:

marking of Cattle to be considered.

Island St Helena

Tho: Swallow[s] pet[n]

for mony due

Island of St Helena. July 1716.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 31 July 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The council found great inconvenience in several persons marking their cattle with one and the same mark. It ordered that the marks be regulated, and every councillor was asked to consider the matter well against this day seven-night.

The following petition was presented.

Thomas Swallow, planter, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that he had supplied the Honourable Company's slaves in Sandy Bay with yams to the amount of near eight pounds. Captain Mashborne had been ready to sign the account in his lifetime, and would have done so had his sudden death not prevented it, as an unquestionable witness could assure the council was a fact. Swallow asked leave to make his account appear, and offered, if required, to take his oath that it was justly due. Since it could be proved, he did not think the council would wish the Honourable Company to gain any sum of money which belonged to another.

Interpretations

Thomas Swallow's claim reopens a long-running effort to settle his Company dealings through yams rather than cash or stock. His son had petitioned on his behalf for payment in yams on 24 May 1715, which the bench refused, accepting only cattle or slaves. A scheme was finally settled on 29 September 1715 by which the Company bought his surplus yams to resell to the garrison at 2 shillings per hundredweight. The present claim runs the other way, Swallow seeking payment for yams already delivered to the slaves in Sandy Bay.

The death of Captain Mashborne on 31 March 1715 left the account unsigned and so unprovable on its face, which is the difficulty the petition turns on. An officer's signature was the ordinary proof of a delivery to the Company, and Swallow offered his own oath and an unnamed witness to supply what Mashborne's death had removed. The same gap had complicated other dealings settled out of Mashborne's papers, such as the Samuel Price rate fixed on 12 April 1715 from a written agreement found among them.

The marking of cattle was regulated to stop the confusion and fraud that arose when several owners used one mark. A shared mark made theft and false claims impossible to resolve, since no beast could be traced to its true owner. The same concern lay behind the ruling of 20 December 1715 that all unmarked goats were the Company's, the brand being the proof of ownership across the island's open grazing.

11

6

July.

Yo[r] Petit[r] would not So Strenuously endea[ to Aseit his Own Right w[ch] hopes that he should live many Days to Benefitt thereby did not his neigh permitt his family to Share in y[e] greater los & him only blame worthy which he is Assured yo[r] Worsh[s] will not deprive of what they may presume to ex- pect from Justice; & yo[r] favourable accordance Yes in Duty bound Shall ever pray (Signd) Tho Swallow.

Order[d] That y[e] consideracon of the said Petition be referd to y[e] Gov[r] & C[a] Haswell

Having Settled the prices of y[e] Cargoe by the Ship Katharine Cap[t] John Hunter Comand[r] Order[d] That the Inventory & Prices Sett on each Sort of Goods & Entred into the this afternoon & to good of th[ng] Council. the next Consultation Day Consultation Book. M[r] Worrall Overseer of the Hon Compa[s] Plantations Says it has been Such Rainy weather lately that he could not pound the Goats & being in the Monthly Account of Cattle.

Invoice of Goods and Merchandi[ze] Laden by the Court of Directors for the Account of the United Trade to the East Indies in and Upon the good Ship called the Katharine Cap[t] John Hunter Comander The Particular Sorts of Goods, the Prime Cost & Selling prices on each Sort are as followeth Viz[t]

Selling price

Margin Notes:

referd.

Prices on y[e] Kath[e] Goods to be Entred as foll[ws].

July.

Thomas Swallow closed his petition, explaining that he would not press his own right so strenuously did he not hope to live many days to benefit by it. He did not wish his neighbour to share in greater loss and trouble only because he was blameworthy, and he trusted the council would not deprive his family of what they might expect from justice. The petition was signed by Thomas Swallow.

The council ordered that consideration of the petition be referred to the Governor and Captain Haswell.

Having settled the prices of the cargo brought by the ship Katharine, Captain John Hunter commander, the council ordered that the inventory and the prices set on each sort of goods be entered into the consultation book the next consultation day. This was agreed that afternoon by the Governor and council.

William Worrall, overseer of the Honourable Company's plantations, reported that the weather had lately been so rainy that he could not pound the goats, and so they were wanting in the monthly account of cattle.

Invoice of goods and merchandise laden by the Court of Directors for the account of the United Trade to the East Indies in and upon the good ship called the Katharine, Captain John Hunter commander. The particular sorts of goods, their prime cost and selling prices on each sort were as follows.

Selling price.

Interpretations

The reference of Swallow's claim to the Governor and Captain Haswell shows the bench splitting off a disputed account for separate examination rather than ruling on it in full council. Two officers were charged with testing the proof Swallow offered, the same method applied to the Sinsnick estate referred to Bazett and Tovey on 24 July 1716. A claim resting on a dead officer's unsigned account needed scrutiny that a single consultation day could not give.

The invoice distinguishes prime cost from selling price, which is the mechanism by which the Company set its fixed markup on imported goods at the island. The prime cost was the price paid in India or at the source, the selling price the rate charged at the St Helena stores, the margin covering freight, risk and profit. This is the same two-column structure that governed earlier cargoes, the directors' letter carried by the Toddington and Thistleworth having fixed a markup on piece goods under its thirty-seventh paragraph.

The reference to the United Trade marks the institutional identity of the Company at this date. The old and new East India companies had been brought together under the United Trade, and goods were now laden for the account of that combined body, the Court of Directors acting as the governing authority that despatched the cargo.

The rainy weather that stopped the pounding of the goats explains a gap in the monthly stock account rather than any loss of animals. Worrall had been excused the same way on 3 January 1716, when a pounding day too wet to drive in more than half the flock left his account short. The monthly census depended on driving the goats into the pound to count them, and weather alone could break the routine.

12

7

Selling Price The Particular Sorts of Goods. prime 8 2 8 3

Coales (We rec[d] 20 Chaldron Exactly & no more which according to y[e] Invoice cost in London 51 3 9

To Charges in geting y[m] on Shoare 8 16 3

These 20 Chaldron of Coales is by w[t] 20 Tons. each. Chald[r] weigh upwards of 30[c]w[t] Exactly (because We Weighd & Measurd these to make the Experiment) One Chaldron is 34 96[th]

We compute y[e] Deviation & Demur- age for Goods to amount to about y[e] s[d] For. But Coales being carried as Ballast We compute them but 3[s] y Ton, So, that the freight of all these Coales am[ts] 90 -

Coales. 20 Chald[r] cont. 720 ¼ [bu] Bushells prime Cost & charges am[ts] to 150 -

Pork

Beef & 49. Cask. y[e] 333 1. 25 @ 25/4 [ll] [p] Suit 422 8 -

But by y[e] Cask to be Sold to Ships

Pork &

Beef

Ironmongers Ware. 3. Cask. (Viz[t]) N[o] 1. 12. Plate & Lond[n] Stock-Locks. N[o] 1. 2 0 13 0 12. ditto 2. 19 4 0 12. ditto 3. 1 8 - 12. ditto 4. 1 19 6 12. ditto 5. 2 6 - 6. ditto 6. 1 9 8

  1. doz Square Staples Sorted 2 8 3
  2. doz[n] Box 3 3
  3. Cask with Iron Hoops. 7 -
  4. 6 Large Stock & Spring Locks N[o] 7. 1 19 - at y[e] 6/4 6 8
  5. Box Staples 3 3
  6. doz Stopping & felt Nails N[o] 2. 218/8 3 14 8
  7. doz ditto 3 23/ 4 19 0
  8. doz Splinter Padlocks N[o] 1. 4 4
  9. doz ditto 2. 12 -
  10. doz d[o] 3. 1 3 -
  11. doz ditto 1 9 8 Ironmongers Ware Carr. Over 24 0 1 Carried over 5 2 8 -

Margin Notes:

N.B. 1 Bush[ll] is by w[t] 96[th]

00 05 00 p[r] Bushell

7 ½ y[e] [p]

6

5

2 4 each

3 6 -

5 -

7 6 -

10 -

10 -

To goe with the Locks

14 -

To goe with y[e] Locks

0 3 4 ea

9 -

7 6 -

1 6 -

1 8

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Coals:

20 chaldron received exactly and no more, which according to the invoice cost in London

£51 3s 9d

To charges in getting them on shore

£8 16s 3d

These 20 chaldron of coals were by weight 20 tons each chaldron, weighing upwards of 80 hundredweight exactly. Because the coals were weighed and measured to make the experiment, one chaldron was found to be 34 hundredweight. The deviation and demurrage for goods was computed to amount to about £90 0s 0d. The coals being carried as ballast, the freight of all these coals was computed at no more than 3 shillings per ton.

Coals, 20 chaldron, containing 720 [...] at 4 shillings per bushel, equal to prime cost and charges

£150 0s 0d

Pork, and beef and suet:

49 casks at 333 pounds, at 25 shillings per [...], at 4 shillings per [...]

£422 8s 0d

Some of the casks were to be sold to ships, namely the pork and the beef.

Ironmonger's ware, 3 casks, namely:

12 plate and London stock locks, number 1, selling price 13 shillings each

£2 13s 0d

12 ditto, number 2, selling price

£1 19s 0d

12 ditto, number 3, selling price

£1 8s 0d

12 ditto, number 4, selling price

£1 19s 6d

12 ditto, number 5, selling price

£2 6s 0d

6 ditto, number 6, selling price

£1 9s 8d

5 dozen square staples sorted, to go with the locks

£0 8s 3d

2 dozen box ditto

£0 3s 3d

1 cask with iron hoops

£0 7s 0d

2 large stock and spring locks, number 7, at 6 shillings each

£1 19s 0d

6 box staples, to go with the locks

£0 3s 3d

4 dozen lapping and felt nails, number 2, 218 per [...]

£3 14s 8d

4 dozen ditto, number 3, 213 [...]

£4 19s 0d

1 dozen splinter padlocks, number 1

£0 4s 4d

2 dozen ditto, number 2

£0 12s 0d

2 dozen ditto, number 3

£0 13s 0d

3 dozen ditto, number 3

£1 9s 8d

Ironmonger's ware carried over

£24 0s 1d

Carried over

£572 8s [...]

Interpretations

The coal entry sets out the directors' own reasoning on why a cheap bulk cargo could carry so high a charge against the account. Coal was laden as ballast, so its freight was reckoned at only 3 shillings per ton, but the deviation and demurrage attached to the wider cargo added about £90 0s 0d. The clerk recorded a measuring experiment that found one chaldron to weigh 34 hundredweight, the gap between the London measure and the actual weight being the point of the note.

A chaldron was the standard English measure for coal, a volume rather than a weight, which is why the cargo had to be weighed and measured to fix its true content. The variation the experiment exposed, one chaldron coming out at 34 hundredweight, explains why coal was sold on at a flat rate per bushel rather than by the nominal chaldron of the invoice.

The note that some casks of pork and beef were to be sold to ships marks a distinct channel of supply running alongside the island stores. Provisions sold to passing Indiamen earned the Company a direct return in a port where fresh victuals were scarce, the cattle famine framed by the loss of 2,500 head in the Governor's letter of 30 January 1715 having made salt provisions the more valuable.

Ironmonger's ware covered the worked iron goods of the cargo, the locks, staples, padlocks and nails listed here. The staples and box staples were entered as going with the locks, sold as matched sets rather than singly, which is why their prices were tied to the lock numbers they served. London stock locks were a recognised quality grade, the better sort of door lock made in the capital.

13

8

The Particular Sorts of Goods Prime Co[st] Selling price 8 3

Ironmonger[s] Ware. Bro[t] over 24 0 1 572 8

  1. doz[n] Splinter padlocks N[o] 5. 0 13 2
  2. doz ditto 6. 0 16 6
  3. doz ditto 7. 1 2 -
  4. Cask w[th] Iron hoops. 6 6
    1. doz Files, Sorted N[o] 1. @ 22. 11 -
  5. ditto 2. 1 6 6
  6. ditto 3. 19 10
  7. ditto 4. 1 6 6
  8. ditto 5. 1 6 4
  9. ditto largest 6. 1 15 -
  10. doz Rubber d[o] N[o] 72. 2 6 -
  11. doz file hafts Sorted 6 6
  12. Case w[th] Iron Hoops. 5 6 36 14

Anchors, 8. (Vizt)

  1. Anch[r] weight 12: 0: 11
  2. ditto 13: 2: 0
  3. ditto 13: 3: 21
  4. ditto 14: 1: 26
  5. ditto 15: 0: 4
  6. ditto 15: 3: 0
  7. ditto 16: 0: 17

7 (@ 30/10 [p]) 100: 3: 23 155 12 0

  1. Ditto wt. 26: 3: 14 @ 31/10. 32 - 8 187 13 4

Iron Potts 60. (Viz[t]) 40. Iron potts Small wet. 09: 0: 22. @ 30/10 [p] C[t] 14 3 6 20. d[o] Large 14: 1: 18 27/6 19 16 3 33 19 9

Cordage 107. Coiles (Viz[t]) N[o] 1. 1. Coil 4 ½ Inch. @ 5: 1: 21 2. ditto 5 1 4 3. ditto 4 ½ 4 3 14 4. ditto 4 3 7 5. ditto 4 2 0 6. ditto 4 1 21 7. ditto 4 1 14 8. ditto 4 1 7 8 Coiles Carried over wt. 38 0 4

Carried over 830 2 0

Margin Notes:

0 2 4 ea

3 -

4 -

30 [p] C[t]

50 [p] C[t]

0 0 7 [p] [ll]

0 0 6 -

To Ships 0 0 6 [p] [ll]

Singles 1 0 -

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Ironmonger's ware brought over

£24 0s 1d

1 dozen splinter padlocks, number 5

£0 1s 3d

1 dozen ditto, number 6

£0 1s 6d

1 dozen ditto, number 7

£1 2s 0d

1 cask with iron hoops

£0 6s 0d

6 dozen files sorted, number 1, at 22

£0 11s 0d

6 ditto, number 2

£1 6s 6d

4 ditto, number 3

£0 19s 10d

2 ditto, number 4

£1 6s 6d

2 ditto, number 5

£1 6s 4d

2 ditto, largest, number 6

£1 15s 0d

2 dozen rubbers, ditto, number 72

£0 2s 6d

6 dozen file hafts sorted

£0 6s 0d

1 case with iron hoops

£5 6s 0d

Total of ironmonger's ware

£36 1s 4d

Anchors, 8, namely:

1 anchor, weight 12 hundredweight 0 quarters 11 pounds

£23 0s 9d

1 ditto, 13 hundredweight 2 quarters 0 pounds

£16 6s 8d

1 ditto, 13 hundredweight 3 quarters 21 pounds

£17 3s 2d

1 ditto, 14 hundredweight 1 quarter 26 pounds

£6 5s 2d

1 ditto, 15 hundredweight 0 quarters 4 pounds

£14 7s 6d

1 ditto, 15 hundredweight 3 quarters 0 pounds

£14 8s 2d

1 ditto, 16 hundredweight 0 quarters 17 pounds

£22 6s 9d

Total weight, at 30 shillings per hundredweight, 100 hundredweight 3 quarters 23 pounds

£155 12s 0d

1 ditto, weight 22 hundredweight 3 quarters 14 pounds, at 31 shillings per hundredweight

£32 8s 0d

Total of anchors

£187 13s 4d

Iron pots, 60, namely:

40 iron pots, small, weight 9 hundredweight 0 quarters 2 pounds, at 30 shillings per hundredweight

£14 3s 6d

20 ditto, large, 14 hundredweight 1 quarter 18 pounds, at [...] per hundredweight

£19 16s 3d

Total of iron pots

£33 19s 9d

Cordage, 107 coils, namely:

coil number 1, 4½ inch, at [...]

£5 1s 0d

1 ditto, number 2

£5 1s 4d

1 ditto, number 3, 4½ inch

£4 3s 4d

1 ditto, number 4

£4 3s 7d

1 ditto, number 5

£4 2s 0d

1 ditto, number 6

£4 1s 1d

1 ditto, number 7

£4 1s 4d

1 ditto, number 8

£4 1s 7d

8 coils carried over, weight

£38 4s 0d

Carried over

£830 2s 0d

Interpretations

The anchors and cordage point to the island's standing function as a refit and resupply station for the homeward and outward fleets. Anchors of twelve to twenty-two hundredweight and coils of four-and-a-half-inch cable were ship's chandlery, held against the wants of vessels touching at James Bay. The Kent had arrived on 28 December 1715 in great want of cordage, pitch and tar, and the marginal note marking cordage as sold to ships single confirms the stores supplied passing Indiamen directly.

The hundredweight, quarter and pound notation fixes the basis on which heavy iron goods were priced and charged. Anchors and iron pots were sold by weight at a flat rate of 30 shillings per hundredweight, the individual pieces totted to a single tonnage before the rate was applied. The hundredweight ran to 112 pounds in four quarters of 28 pounds, which is why each anchor carries a three-part weight before its money value.

The marginal selling prices set against the cordage distinguish the rate to ships from the rate single, the same coil carrying two prices. Cordage sold to a ship in bulk went at one figure, while a single coil sold to an inhabitant or planter went at another, the Company holding a higher retail rate for the small buyer than for the fleet customer taking quantity.

14

9

The Particular Sorts of Goods. Prime Co[st] Selling price

Cordage. (Viz[t]) [p] 2[s] Brought Over 830 2 6 N[o] 8. Coil. Bro[t] over wt. 38 0 4 9. 1. ditto 3 ¾ Inch 3 3 14 10. 1. ditto 3 3 11 11. 1. ditto 3 3 11 12. 1. Warp 3 ½ 3 1 0 13. 1. ditto 3 1 14 14. 1. ditto 3 1 14 15. 1. Coyle 3 2 3 0 16. 1. ditto 2 3 16 17. 1. ditto 2 3 14 18. 1. ditto 2 ¾ 2 0 7 19. 1. ditto 2 0 21 20. 1. ditto 2 0 2 21. 1. Warp 3 2 2 22 22. 1. Ditto 2 2 16 23. 1. ditto 2 2 25 24. 1. Coyle 2 ½ 1 3 16 25. 1. ditto 1 3 8 26. 1. ditto 1 3 12 27. 1. ditto 2 0 11 28. 1. ditto 1 3 15 29. 1. ditto 2 0 8 30. 8. ditto 2 ¼ 4 3 2 33. 3. ditto 4 3 11 36. 6. ditto 2 7 2 24 42. 6. ditto 7 2 22 48. 12. ditto 1 ¾ 12 0 4 60. 12. ditto 1 ½ 10 3 4 72. 12. ditto 1 ¼ 8 2 24 84. 12. ditto 1 6 1 14 96. 12. ditto 4 0 24 107. Coyles Cordage 101 0 26 at 28[s] [p] C[t] 225 14 6

Vinegar. 12. Casks am[t] to 30 16 0 Oyle. 8. Jars of Linseed Oyle q[t] 271. Gall[s] @ 4/8 [p] gall 63 4 8

Carried Over 1149 17 8

Margin Notes:

N[o] 1. 10 12

  1. to 20

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Cordage, namely, brought over

£830 2s 6d

8 coils, brought over, weight

£38 0s 4d

coil number 9, 3¾ inch

£3 3s 14d

number 10

£3 3s 11d

number 11

£3 3s 11d

number 12, warp, 3½

£3 1s 0d

number 13

£3 1s 4d

number 14

£3 1s 4d

number 15, coil, 3

£2 3s 0d

number 16

£2 3s 16d

number 17

£2 3s 14d

number 18, 2¾

£2 0s 7d

number 19

£2 0s 21d

number 20

£2 0s 2d

number 21, warp, 3

£2 2s 22d

number 22

£2 2s 16d

number 23

£2 2s 25d

number 24, coil, 2½

£1 3s 16d

number 25

£1 3s 8d

number 26

£1 3s 12d

number 27

£2 0s 11d

number 28

£1 3s 15d

number 29

£2 0s 8d

30, 3 ditto, 2¼

£4 3s 2d

33, 3 ditto

£4 3s 11d

36, 6 ditto, 2

£7 2s 2d

42, 6 ditto

£7 2s 2d

48, 12 ditto, 1¾

£12 0s 4d

60, 12 ditto, 1½

£10 3s 4d

72, 12 ditto, 1¼

£8 2s 24d

84, 12 ditto, 1

£6 1s 4d

96, 12 ditto

£4 0s 24d

107 coils, cordage, weight 161 hundredweight 0 quarters 26 pounds, at 28 shillings per hundredweight

£225 14s 6d

Vinegar, 12 casks, numbers 1 to 12, amounting to

£30 16s 0d

Oil, 8 jars of linseed oil, numbers 13 to 20, quantity 271 gallons at 4 shillings 8 pence per gallon

£63 4s 8d

Carried over

£1,149 17s 8d

Interpretations

The cordage schedule is built around rope thickness, the inch measure running from three-and-three-quarter down to a single inch as the coil numbers rise. The thicker cable carried the higher price per coil, the thinnest the lowest, so the falling money values down the column track the diminishing diameter of the rope rather than any change in length. Warps and coils were distinguished within the list, a warp being a lighter rope for hauling or mooring.

The whole parcel of 107 coils was reduced to a single weight of 161 hundredweight before pricing, then charged at a flat 28 shillings per hundredweight. This is the same weight-based method used for the anchors and iron pots on the preceding sheet, the Company pricing heavy cordage by the hundredweight regardless of the individual coil. The flat rate let the storekeeper value a large and varied parcel without separate negotiation on each piece.

The linseed oil was priced by the gallon while the vinegar went by the cask, the two liquid stores handled on different bases. Linseed oil was a worked product used in paint, putty and the dressing of timber and leather, valuable enough to charge by volume at 4 shillings 8 pence per gallon. The vinegar, a bulk preservative and cleaning agent, was charged by the cask as a rougher commodity.

15

10

The Particular Sorts of Goods. Prime Co[st] Selling Price 8 3 N[o] 21. to 33. Brought Over 1149 17 8

Soap. 13. Chests y[e] 26[c] 3 82/0 [p] C[t] 107 5 -

Tobacco. 10. Casks. (Viz[t]) N[o] 1. 1. Cask q[t] 518[c] 2. 1. Ditto 548. 3. 1. ditto 503. 4. 1. ditto 531. 5. 1. ditto 575. 0 2 0 6. 1. ditto 520. 7. 1. ditto 587. 8. 1. ditto 592. 9. 1. ditto 526. 9. q[t] 4900. @ 15[s] [p] C[t] 306 2 6 10. 1. Ditto 100. @ 18[s] 7 19 - 10. Casks 3 - 317 1 6

N.B. y[e] 4900 (in y[e] Inv[ce] from England at 15[d] [p] [ll] amounts to amount to £ 306 5 0

0 7 6 ea. Oars. 100. of 17 & 18. Long @ 34/ [p] Doz 14 3 4

Thicksetts, 1 Case. (Viz[t]) N[o] T. 0 1 8 [p] q[t] 1. 10 peices Thicksetts q[t] 10 wose £ 11 - 0 1 9 - 2. 21. ditto 20-20/ 24 3 - 0 2 0 - 3. 9. ditto 20-26/8. 13 7 - 0 2 2 - 4. 16. ditto 24-31/01. 25 9 4 0 2 4 - 5. 4. ditto 24-33/6. 6 14 0

  1. Case 0 7 6 81 0 10

Fustians, 1 Case. (Viz[t]) N[o] F. 0 1 0 - 1. 9. peis Fustians 20-11/6. 5 3 6 0 1 2 - 2. 10. ditto 20-13/9. 6 17 6 0 1 4 - 3. 11. ditto 20-15/4. 8 8 8 0 1 8 - 4. 11. ditto 20-19/3. 10 11 9 0 1 10 - 5. 10. ditto 20-21/2. 10 11 8 0 2 0 - 6. 4. ditto 20-21/6. 4 6 - 0 2 0 - 7. 8. ditto 20-22/. 8 16 - 0 1 4 - 8. 15. ditto 20-16/9. 12 11 3 0 2 0 - 9. 8. ditto 20-22/. 8 16 - 0 2 2 - 10. 9. ditto 20-22/8. 10 13 - 0 2 4 - 11. 3. ditto 20-26/4. 3 19 - 0 2 6 - 12. 2. ditto 24-27/. 2 4 -

  1. Case 0 7 - 93 15 4

Carried Over 1763 3 8

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£1,149 17s 8d

Soap, 13 chests, numbers 21 to 33, weight 20 hundredweight 3 quarters 82 pounds, at [...] per hundredweight

£107 5s 0d

Tobacco, 10 casks, namely:

cask number 1, quantity 518 pounds

cask number 2, 548

cask number 3, 503

cask number 4, 531

cask number 5, 575

cask number 6, 520

cask number 7, 587

cask number 8, 592

cask number 9, 526

9 casks, quantity 4,900 pounds, at 15 pence per pound

£306 2s 6d

cask number 10, 1 ditto, 106 pounds, at 18 pence

£7 19s 0d

10 casks

£3 0s 0d

A note recorded that 4,900 pounds came in three casks from England at 15 pence per pound, computed to amount to £306 5s 0d.

Total of tobacco

£317 1s 6d

Oars, 100, of 17 and 18 feet long, at 34 shillings per dozen

£14 3s 4d

Thicksets, 1 case, namely:

10 pieces thicksets, 9 to 9, at £11 0s 0d

21 ditto, 20 to 20, £24 3s 0d

9 ditto, 20 to 20⅝, £13 7s 0d

16 ditto, 24 to 31, £25 9s 4d

4 ditto, 24 to 33⅙, £6 14s 0d

1 case, £0 7s 6d

Total of thicksets

£81 0s [...]

Fustians, 1 case, namely:

9 pieces fustians, 20 to 11½, £5 3s 6d

10 ditto, 20 to 13⅓, £6 17s 6d

11 ditto, 20 to 15¼, £8 8s 8d

11 ditto, 20 to 19⅓, £10 11s 9d

10 ditto, 20 to 21½, £10 11s 8d

4 ditto, 20 to 22½, £4 6s 0d

8 ditto, 20 to 22, £8 16s 0d

15 ditto, 20 to 18⅔, £12 11s 3d

8 ditto, 20 to 22, £8 16s 0d

9 ditto, 20 to 22⅝, £10 13s 0d

3 ditto, 20 to 26¼, £3 19s 0d

2 ditto, 24 to 27, £2 4s 0d

1 case, £0 7s 0d

Total of fustians

£93 15s 4d

Carried over

£1,763 3s 8d

Interpretations

Thicksets and fustians were the two cloth lines of this parcel, both heavy cotton or cotton-linen weaves used for hard-wearing clothing. Fustian was a stout twilled cloth, often with a linen warp and cotton weft, made up into working garments and breeches. Thickset was a close-piled fustian of the corduroy family, heavier still, the kind of cloth that would serve soldiers, planters and slaves for durable wear in a moderate climate. Each piece was priced on a two-figure measure, the first number the count or width standard and the second the price basis per piece.

The tobacco entry shows the prime cost reckoned by weight at a fixed rate per pound, nine casks of 4,900 pounds charged at 15 pence and the odd cask at 18 pence. The marginal note repeats the calculation as a check, fixing the bulk at £306 5s 0d against the body figure of £306 2s 6d. Tobacco was a major re-export and ration good, charged by the pound because the casks varied in fill from 503 to 592 pounds.

The oars and the cordage and anchors before them confirm the cargo was weighted toward ship's stores as much as toward retail goods. A hundred oars of seventeen and eighteen feet, priced by the dozen, were boat and ship furniture, supplying the island's own boats and the vessels that called short of gear.

Soap came in chests and was priced by the hundredweight, a bulk household and laundry commodity charged on the same weight basis as the heavy iron and cordage. The washing trade that Sarah Bell carried on for the ships, the dispute over her pay entered on 14 January 1716, depended on such stores reaching the island in quantity.

16

11

The Particular Sorts of Goods. Prime Co[st] Selling price 8 3

Stuffs, 1 Case. (Viz[t]) Brought Over 1763 3 8 N[o] C. 3 6 - y[e] pe. 1. 8. peis Crape. q[t] 56. @ 43/6. £ 17 18 - 3 18 9 - 2. 6. pis ditto 56 - 52/6. 15 15 - 4 10 - 3. 6. Ditto 56 - 60/. 18 - 10. y[e] fine Flannell 10 - 1 Case 4 - 51 17 -

Match. 3. Cask. (Viz[t]) N[o] 1. to 3 5. New Match 8 16 - 30 [p] C[t] 100. Large Wood Sheep Skins 9 2 - 3 Casks 14 - 19 2 -

0 0 9 [p] [ll] Starch, 3 Casks q[t] 3[c] Amount[s] to 7 16 -

Stationary Ware, 2 Chests & 1 Bask[t] Chest R. N[o] 12 / Viz[t] 10. Reames fine fools Cap @ 15/4 7 13 4 10. d[o] 2 Sort 14/8. 6 6 8 6. d[o] fine Kings Arms 12/8. 3 16 - 10. d[o] Dagger 10/2. 5 1 8 10. d[o] 2 Lond[n] Arms 8/. 4 -

  1. d[o] fine Royal 5. 2 15 -
  2. d[o] Medium 44/ 4 8 -
  3. d[o] Demy 30/10 3 1 8
  4. d[o] Large Post 17/6. 2 12 6
  5. Leagers, 5. quires fine Royal, & ruld 6 lines bo[d] 30/ 9 - - in Vellum & headbound
  6. Journals, 3 q[r] d[o] ruld 4 lines, bound 5 19 10
  7. Book, 6 q[d] d[o] Ruld 1 line[s] bound d[o] 1 11 8
  8. d[o] 6 q[r] Demy, & unruled & bound d[o] 1 10 10
  9. d[o] 5 d[o] 1 6 9
  10. d[o] 3 d[o] 1 8 -
  11. d[o] 4 d[o] Fools Cap 18 8
  12. d[o] 3 d[o] 15 8
  13. d[o] 2 d[o] 12 8
  14. doz Ink Glases 4 4 2[lb] fine Pounce 5 10
  15. doz Ink powder 5/6 5 10 Stationary Carr. over 68 19 1

Carried Over 1841 18 8

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£1,763 3s 8d

Stuffs, 1 case, namely:

8 pieces crape, quantity 56, at 43 shillings 6 pence, number 1

£17 18s 0d

6 pieces ditto, 56, at 52 shillings 6 pence, number 2

£15 15s 0d

6 ditto, 56, at 60 shillings, number 3

£18 0s 0d

10 yards fine flannel

£0 10s 0d

1 case

£0 4s 0d

Total of stuffs

£51 17s 0d

Match, 3 casks, numbers 1 to 3, namely:

5 hundredweight new match

£8 16s 0d

100 large wool sheep skins

£9 2s 0d

3 casks

£1 4s 0d

Total of match

£19 2s 0d

Starch, 3 casks, quantity 3 hundredweight, amounting to

£7 16s 0d

Stationery ware, 2 chests and 1 basket, chest R, number 12, namely:

10 reams fine fool's cap, at 15 shillings 4 pence

£7 13s 4d

10 ditto, 2 sort, at 14 shillings 8 pence

£6 6s 8d

6 ditto, fine king's arms, at 12 shillings 8 pence

£3 16s 0d

10 ditto, 2 dagger, at 16 shillings 2 pence

£5 1s 8d

10 ditto, 2 London arms, at 8 shillings

£4 0s 0d

1 ditto, fine royal

£2 15s 0d

2 ditto, medium, at 44 shillings

£4 8s 0d

2 ditto, demy, at 30 shillings 10 pence

£3 1s 8d

3 ditto, large post, at 17 shillings 6 pence

£2 12s 6d

6 ledgers, 5 quires fine royal, double ruled, 6 lines red in vellum and head bound, at 30 shillings

£9 0s 0d

6 journals, 3 quires double ruled, 4 lines, bound

£5 19s 10d

1 book, 6 quires double ruled, 1 line, bound ditto

£1 11s 8d

2 ditto, 6 quires demy, double ruled, bound ditto

£1 10s 10d

2 ditto, 5 ditto

£1 6s 9d

3 ditto, 3 ditto, fool's cap

£1 8s 8d

3 ditto, 3 ditto

£0 15s 8d

3 ditto, 2 ditto

£0 12s 8d

2 dozen ink glasses

£0 4s 4d

2 thousand fine pounce

£0 5s 10d

20 dozen ink powder, at 5 shillings 6 pence

£0 5s 0d

Total of stationery, carried over

£68 19s 1d

Carried over

£1,841 18s 8d

Interpretations

Crape was the principal stuff of this parcel, a thin crimped silk or worsted cloth charged here by the piece at rising rates from 43 shillings 6 pence to 60 shillings. The marginal note that the stuff was used for the corps shows the cloth supplied the garrison rather than the open retail trade, crape in its plainer worsted form serving for uniform facings and mourning bands. Stuff was the general trade name for a worsted cloth without a pile, distinct from the piled fustians and thicksets of the earlier sheets.

Match was slow-burning cord used to fire the island's guns, the new match entered here by weight against the standing need of the batteries. The libel inquiry of 21 June 1715 and the gunner's accounts turned on powder and match as the consumable heart of the defences, and a cargo of 5 hundredweight kept the matchlocks and the saluting guns supplied. The wool sheep skins listed with it were probably the wadding and packing the casks were stowed with.

The stationery parcel reveals the paper basis of the whole administrative machine, the ledgers, journals and reams that the consultation book itself belonged to. Paper was graded by size and quality, fool's cap, king's arms, royal, medium, demy and large post being standard sheet sizes named from their watermarks. The marginal note that 100 of the chests was sold shows the Company retailed surplus stationery to the island as well as keeping it for the secretary's office.

Pounce and ink powder were the working materials of writing, pounce a fine powder of cuttlefish bone or gum sandarac used to size paper and blot wet ink, ink powder the dry base mixed with water to make ink. Both were sold in quantity, the office and the inhabitants alike depending on imported supply for every written instrument the bench produced.

17

12

The Particular Sort of Goods. Prime Co[st]

Selling Price

8 3

Stationary Ware bro[t] over 68 19 1

1841 18 8

3. doz Iv[ry] Handle Penknives 3 6 -

2. doz black handle ditto 1 5 -

8. doz fine Copy books 1 13 -

6. fine Sealing Wax 17 6

Bask[t] N[o] 14 1. Gallon Keding Inke & bottle 10 -

2 Chests & 1 Baskett 13 6

78 4 1

N.B. There was One Inke Glass and

1. quire of Paper Wanting (in y[e]

2. Chests of this Invoice

Hatts. 3 Cases. (Viz[t])

N[o] 1. 0 6 6 ea. 1. 24 Boys Beaver Carolina @ 4 10 -

0 7 6 - 2. 24 ditto @ 4/4. 5 4 -

0 9 - 3. 24 ditto 5/6. 6 12 -

0 13 - 2 - 4. 72 Mens Cloth Halts 8/3. 29 14 -

1 - 3 - 5. 48 Mens Beaveretts 13/. 31 4 -

Lined w[th] Silk

1 7 - 24. d[o] Laced w[th] Gold & Silv[r] 17/6. 21 -

3 Cases 1 7 6

99 7 6

Holland Duck 4 Cases (Viz[t])

HD. N[o] 1. to 4 25. peices Holl[d] Duck @ 72/ 90 -

15. ditto 41/10. 31 7 6

15. d[o] Lubecks 23/3. 17 8 9

10. d[o] Ticklenburg 47 & 13 [ll] [p] 316. 29 5 9

168 2 0

Tin Ware, 2 Casks. (Viz[t])

N[o] 1. 2. 0 4 4 each. 2 Doz Small Dripp[g] pans £ 2 12 -

4 6 - 1. d[o] Large 2 Spouted Lamps 1 6 4

1 10 - 4. d[o] Smaller d[o] 11 [p] d[o] 2 4 -

1 6 - 1. d[o] flatt Lamps 8 10

2 3 - 2. d[o] quart Coffee pots 1 6 4

1 9 - 2. d[o] pint 1 1 -

1 2 - 2. d[o] pint 9 -

9 - 2. d[o] ½ pint 8 10

9 - 2. d[o] Large porringers 8 10

7 - 8. d[o] Pudding 1 6 -

5 - 2. d[o] Small 4 4

11 - 1. d[o] Large Dripp[g] pans 6/. 3 6 -

7 8 - 1. d[o] Smaller 7 8

5 - 1. d[o] Smallest 2/6. 3 -

Tin Ware Carried over

Carried over 2187 12 3

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£1,841 18s 8d

Stationery ware brought over

£68 19s 1d

3 dozen ivory handle penknives

£3 6s 0d

2 dozen black handle ditto

£1 5s 0d

8 dozen fine copy books

£1 13s 0d

6 fine sealing wax

£0 17s 6d

1 gallon Keeling ink and bottle

£0 10s 0d

2 chests and 1 basket

£1 3s 6d

Total of stationery ware

£78 4s 1d

A note recorded that there was one ink glass, and 1 quire of paper wanting in the 2 chests of this invoice.

Hats, 3 cases, namely:

24 boys' beaver, Carolina, at 4 shillings, number 1

£4 16s 0d

24 ditto, at 4 shillings 4 pence, number 2

£5 4s 0d

24 ditto, at 5 shillings 6 pence, number 3

£6 12s 0d

72 men's cloth hats, at 8 shillings 3 pence, number 4

£29 14s 0d

48 men's beaverets, lined with silk, at 13 shillings, number 5

£31 4s 0d

24 ditto, laced with gold and silver, at 17 shillings 6 pence

£21 0s 0d

3 cases

£0 17s 6d

Total of hats

£99 7s 6d

Holland duck, 4 cases, namely:

25 pieces Holland duck, at 72 shillings

£90 0s 0d

15 ditto, at 41 shillings 10 pence

£31 7s 6d

15 ditto, Lubecks, at 23 shillings 3 pence

£17 8s 9d

10 ditto, Ticklenburg, at 7 shillings 8¼ pence

£9 5s 9d

Total of Holland duck

£168 2s 0d

Tin ware, 2 casks, namely:

2 dozen small dripping pans

£2 12s 0d

1 dozen large 2 spouted lamps

£1 6s 4d

4 dozen smaller, at 11 pence per dozen

£2 4s 0d

1 dozen flat lamps

£0 8s 10d

2 dozen quart coffee pots

£1 6s 4d

2 dozen pint

£1 1s 0d

2 dozen ½ pint

£0 9s 0d

2 dozen ¼ pint

£0 8s 10d

2 dozen large porringers

£0 8s 10d

8 dozen pudding

£0 16s 0d

2 dozen small

£0 4s 4d

1 dozen large dripping pans, at 6 shillings

£0 3s 6d

1 dozen smaller

£0 7s 8d

1 dozen smallest, at 2 shillings 6 pence

£0 3s 0d

Total of tin ware, carried over

Carried over

£2,187 12s 3d

Interpretations

The hats span a wide social range, from cheap boys' beaver at 4 shillings to gold and silver laced beaverets at 17 shillings 6 pence, the cargo serving every rank on the island. Beaver hats were felted from beaver fur, the Carolina grade naming a North American source of the pelts; beaverets were a cheaper imitation using rabbit or a beaver mix, here dressed up with silk lining and metal lace for officers and gentlemen. Cloth hats at 8 shillings 3 pence formed the bulk middle line for ordinary wear.

Holland duck was the heavy linen canvas of the cargo, named by its grades and sources. Duck was a close plain-woven linen used for sails, tents, smocks and hard service; Lubecks and Ticklenburg were coarser German linens named from Lübeck and Tecklenburg, cheaper than the fine Holland sort at the head of the list. The four grades let the storekeeper supply sailcloth, working clothes and rough wrappers from a single line at four prices.

Tin ware covered the light tinned-iron kitchen and table goods, the dripping pans, lamps, coffee pots and porringers sold by the dozen for domestic use. A porringer was a small handled bowl for porridge or broth, the staple eating vessel of the period. The two-spouted lamps and flat lamps were oil lights, the range of sizes priced down to the smallest quarter-pint coffee pot showing the cargo met a graded household demand.

The note of an ink glass and a quire of paper short in the stationery chests records a delivery shortfall checked against the invoice. The Company entered such discrepancies so the loss fell where it belonged rather than on the storekeeper's account, the same care that governed the leaked arrack at the interrogation of 1 April 1714 and Captain Pinnell's disputed barrel charge of 11 November 1714.

18

13

The Particular Sorts of Goods. Prime Co[st]

Selling price

8 3

Tin Ware Brought over

Brought over 2187 12 3

0 2 6 ea 2. doz larg[e] Squ[e] pudd[g] pans @ 1 10

2 2 - 2. d[o] Smaller 1 6 -

3 4 - 2. d[o] large Round d[o] 2 -

2 7 - 3. d[o] Smaller 2 -

2 2 - 2. d[o] Smaller 1 6 4

1 10 - 1. d[o] Smaller 2 -

2 3 - 3. d[o] 2 quart Sauce pan 11 -

1 8 - 3. d[o] 3 pinks d[o] 1 9 8

1 2 - 3. d[o] quart 2 19 10

9 - 3. d[o] pint 13 -

4 5 - 12. Large Funnells 1 6 4

2 Cask 15 -

38 1 8

Books, 1. Case. (Viz[t])

B. 1. 24 Comon pray books gilt 4/6 5 2 -

24. Small ditto 2/. 2 8 -

36. Playfords Psalm[s] & Notes

@ 3/3 5 17 -

50 [p] C[t] 36. Spelling books 1 9 6

12. ditto 5 6

24. Bibles, large @ 5/6. 6 12 -

1. Case 4 -

21 18 -

Broad Cloth, 1 Box. q[t]

N[o] 537. Cloth Scarlett 23[s] & 33 [ll] 22 10 -

Stillyards, 1 Case. y[e] 12 pair Round hed

S 5 18 -

Tobacco Pipes, 5 Cask. (Viz[t])

0 0 6 [p] doz N[o] 1 22 gross Tobacco pipes @ 2/4[d] [p] 2 - 4

2 22 d[o] 2 - 4

3 22 d[o] 2 - 4

4 22 d[o] 2 - 4

5 22 d[o] 2 - 4

5 Casks 14 -

11 5 8

Pewter. 2. Casks. (V[i]z[t])

P. 1. N. 1 66 [p] doz 1 20. doz large Sup[r] fine Hard metal

Silv[r] fashon plates @ 16/6 [p] 16 19 -

1 2 - 2 10. d[o] 2 ditto 13/9 6 17 6

0 4 6 - 12. d[o] Sup[r] fine hard metall fine

fashond Spoons @ 2/9 1 13 -

0 6 8 ea. 3 12. Basons large @ 4/4 2 12 -

Pewter Carr[d] over 27 10 6

Carried over 2287 5 7

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£2,187 12s 3d

Tin ware brought over

2 dozen large square pudding pans, ditto

£1 1s 0d

2 dozen smaller

£0 16s 0d

2 dozen large round ditto

£0 2s 0d

3 dozen smaller

£0 2s 0d

2 dozen smaller

£1 6s 4d

1 dozen smaller

£0 11s 0d

3 dozen 2 quart sauce pans

£0 19s 8d

3 dozen 3 pint ditto

£0 19s 10d

3 dozen quart 2

£0 13s 0d

3 dozen pint

£1 6s 4d

12 large funnels

£0 15s 0d

2 casks

Total of tin ware

£38 1s 8d

Books, 1 case, namely:

24 common prayer books, gilt, at 4 shillings 6 pence

£5 2s 0d

24 small ditto, at 2 shillings

£2 8s 0d

36 Playford's psalms with notes, at 3 shillings 3 pence

£5 17s 0d

36 spelling books

£1 9s 6d

12 ditto

£0 5s 6d

24 bibles, large, at 5 shillings 6 pence

£6 12s 0d

1 case

£0 4s 0d

Total of books

£21 18s 0d

Broad cloth, 1 box, number 537, quantity [...], cloth scarlet, 23 yards 3 quarters, at 18 shillings

£22 10s 0d

Steelyards, 1 case, 12 pair round head

£5 18s 0d

Tobacco pipes, 5 casks, namely:

22 gross tobacco pipes, number 1, at 2¼ pence per gross

£2 4s 0d

22 ditto, number 2

£2 4s 0d

22 ditto, number 3

£2 4s 0d

22 ditto, number 4

£2 4s 0d

22 ditto, number 5

£2 4s 0d

5 casks

£0 14s 0d

Total of tobacco pipes

£11 5s 8d

Pewter, 2 casks, namely:

20 dozen large superfine hard metal silver fashion plates, at 16 shillings 6 pence, number 1

£16 19s 0d

10 dozen ditto

£6 17s 6d

12 dozen superfine hard metal silver fashioned spoons, at 9 shillings, number 2

£1 13s 0d

12 basons large, at 4 shillings 4 pence, number 3

[...]

Total of pewter, carried over

£227 10s 6d

Carried over

£2,287 5s 7d

Interpretations

The books were almost entirely devotional and educational, the prayer books, psalters and bibles supplying the island's church and the spelling books its schooling. Playford's psalms with notes was the printed psalter set to music in the tradition of John Playford, the standard congregational singing book of the English church. The case answered the want of religious furniture that the chaplain Tomlinson had raised on 27 September 1715, when he advised on materials for pews and a pulpit.

Pewter was the principal table metal of the cargo, the plates, spoons and basins charged by the dozen as the everyday service of the better households and the Company table. The grade was described as superfine hard metal of silver fashion, hard metal being the best pewter alloyed with antimony to resemble silver and resist wear. Such ware sat a step below true plate and above the tin goods of the earlier sheets.

The steelyards were portable weighing balances, twelve pairs of round-headed beams sold to the island where every transaction in beef, yams, cordage and provisions turned on weight. The whole cargo invoice is reckoned in hundredweights and pounds, so the instruments to weigh the goods were themselves a traded line, the round head naming the counterpoise that slid along the arm.

Scarlet broadcloth was the costliest cloth on the sheet by the yard, a fine dense woollen dyed with cochineal and reserved for dress and uniform. A single box of under twenty-four yards at 18 shillings the yard answered a narrow demand for officers' and gentlemen's wear, the red coat of the garrison drawing on just such cloth, replacement coats having been supplied across 1714 at about £1 0s 8d each.

19

14

The Particular Sort of Goods. Prime Cost

Selling Price

8 3

Brought Over 2287 5 7

Pewter Brought ov[r] 27 10 6

0 5 - ea 4 12. Basons less 1 @ 3/1. 1 17 -

5 3 - 5 12. large hard Mettle Silver

fashond d[o] @ 3/3 1 19 -

4 5 - 6 12. d[o] Lesser @ 2/9 1 13 -

3 6 - 7 12. d[o] Lesser 2/4 1 6 -

1 3 - 6. doz Large porring[rs] 2/9 2 14 -

4 6 [p] doz 132. doz Large Sup[r] fine hard mett[le]

Silv[r] fashond Spoons 2/9 18 3 -

2 Casks 7 6

55 10 -

Brass & Copper, 1 Case. (Viz[t])

B. 1. N[o]

15 - ea 1 12. Copp[r] Tea Kettles, 1 qa[r]t 9/4 5 12 -

14 9 - 2 12. d[o] 3 [p]a[r]t 8/6 5 10 -

14 2 - 3 12. d[o] 5 [p]a[r]t 8/10 5 6 -

11 3 - 4 12. d[o] 2 [p]a[r]t 7/8 4 12 -

10 5 - 5 12. d[o] 3 [p]a[r]t 6/6 3 18 -

11 6 - 1 2. Copp[r] Saucepans 3 ½ [p]a[r]t 7/2 14 4

9 7 - 2 4. d[o] 5 [p]a[r]t 6/ 1 -

6 2 - 3 4. d[o] 2 ¾ [p]a[r]t 5/ 1 -

6 2 - 4 6. d[o] 3 [p]a[r]t 5/10 1 3 -

4 - 5 8. d[o] 3 [p]a[r]t 1 -

3 - 6 2. d[o] 1 [p]a[r]t 1/10 3 8

2 10 - 1 4. Large Brass Cocks 1/9 7 -

2 5 - 2 4. d[o] Midling d[o] 1/6 6 -

2 2 - 3 4. Small d[o] 1/4 5 4

5 8 - 1 8. fine Brass Candle

Sticks Square 9/6 1 8 -

5 6 - 2 8. d[o] Midling 3/4 1 6 8

4 5 - 3 8. d[o] Smaller 2/9 1 2 -

4 5 - 1 8. large Round d[o] 2/9 1 2 -

3 6 - 2 8. Midling d[o] 2/2 17 4

2 9 - 3 8. Smaller d[o] 1/8 13 4

3 6 - 1 4. Brass hand d[o] 2/2 8 8

3 - 2 4. ditto 1/10 7 4

2 5 - 3 4. ditto 1/6 6 -

8 - [p] [p]s 18. fine Square Stands

& Snuffers 5/ 4 10 -

3 6 - 42. Round ditto 1/2 4 11 -

12. Copper Lamps 1 [p]a[r]t 6 d[o] 6 12 -

1 Cask 5 -

53 18 8

Carried Over 2396 14 3

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£2,287 5s 7d

Pewter brought over

£227 10s 6d

12 basons less, at 2 shillings 3 pence, number 4

£1 17s 0d

12 large hard metal silver fashioned ditto, at 3 shillings 3 pence, number 5

£19 0s 0d

12 ditto lesser, at 2 shillings 9 pence, number 6

£1 13s 0d

12 ditto lesser, at 2 shillings 2 pence, number 7

£1 6s 0d

6 dozen large porringers, at 9 pence

£2 14s 0d

132 dozen large superfine hard metal silver fashioned spoons, at 2 shillings 9 pence

£18 3s 0d

2 casks

£0 7s 6d

Total of pewter

£55 10s 0d

Brass and copper, 1 case, namely:

12 copper tea kettles, 1 gallon, at 9 shillings 4 pence, number 1

£5 12s 0d

12 ditto, at 3 [...], number 2

£5 10s 0d

12 ditto, at 5 [...] 8 shillings 10 pence, number 3

£5 6s 0d

12 ditto, at 2 [...] 7 shillings 8 pence, number 4

£4 12s 0d

12 ditto, at 3 [...] 6 shillings 6 pence, number 5

£3 18s 0d

2 copper saucepans, 3 [...] 7 shillings 2 pence, number 1

£1 4s 4d

4 ditto, at 5 [...] 6 shillings, number 2

£1 0s 0d

4 ditto, at 2 [...], number 3

£1 0s 0d

6 ditto, at 3 [...] 5 shillings 10 pence, number 4

£1 3s 0d

8 ditto, at [...], number 5

£1 0s 0d

2 ditto, at 1 shilling 10 pence, number 6

£0 3s 8d

4 large brass cocks, at 1 shilling 7 pence, number 1

£0 7s 0d

4 ditto middling, at 1 shilling 6 pence, number 2

£0 6s 0d

4 small ditto, at 1 shilling 4 pence, number 3

£0 5s 4d

8 fine brass candlesticks, nickel, square, at 3 shillings 6 pence, number 1

£1 8s 0d

8 ditto middling, at 3 shillings 4 pence, number 2

£1 6s 8d

8 ditto smaller, at 2 shillings 9 pence, number 3

£1 2s 0d

8 large round ditto, at 2 shillings 9 pence, number 1

£1 2s 0d

8 middling ditto, at 2 shillings 2 pence, number 2

£0 17s 4d

8 smaller ditto, at 1 shilling 8 pence, number 3

£0 13s 4d

4 brass hand ditto, at 2 shillings 2 pence, number 1

£0 8s 8d

4 ditto, at 1 shilling 10 pence, number 2

£0 7s 4d

4 ditto, at 1 shilling 6 pence, number 3

£0 6s 0d

18 fine square stands and snuffers, at 5 shillings, number 1

£4 10s 0d

42 round ditto, at 1 shilling 11 pence, number 2

£4 11s 0d

12 copper lamps, 6 pence, ditto

£0 6s 0d

1 cask

£0 12s 0d

Total of brass and copper

£53 18s 8d

Carried over

£2,396 14s 3d

Interpretations

The brass and copper case held the heavier cooking and lighting metal, the tea kettles, saucepans, candlesticks and cocks that furnished kitchens above the tin-ware level. Copper carried and held heat well and so was the metal of the better kettle and pan, the gallon tea kettles at the head of the list being substantial vessels. The graded saucepans and kettles let the storekeeper meet demand from the Company table down to the modest planter household.

Brass cocks were the taps fitted to casks and cisterns, sold large, middling and small to draw off arrack, wine, water and oil from the bulk vessels that the same cargo supplied. On an island where liquid stores arrived by the cask and pipe, the cock was the working fitting that controlled the draught, the licensed houses and the stores alike needing them.

Candlesticks dominated the case by number, the square stands, round stands, hand candlesticks and snuffers running to many dozens at every size. Lighting was a constant domestic want, and brass was the durable everyday holder below pewter and silver; the snuffers sold with the stands were the scissors-like tool for trimming and pinching out the wick. The copper lamps at the foot were the cheaper oil-burning alternative.

The note of 30 per cent against the foot of the column fixes the Company's markup on this case, the rate added to prime cost to set the island selling price. A flat percentage advance on landed cost was the mechanism by which the stores turned a known profit across a varied parcel, the same principle that separated prime cost from selling price throughout the invoice.

20

15

The Particular Sort of Goods. Prime Cost

Selling price

8 3

Dram Deals Extra (N[o]) Brought ov[r] 2396 14 3

4. Yellow Drom Deals 7 3 -

26. Ditto 132 -

2. d[o] 2 Inch 16 10 -

0: 2: 20. 2 1 ¼ att 10 5 -

0: 2: - 2. Inch Dantzig[r] d[o] 29 14 -

105 12 -

Dram Balks 330. am[t] To 59 10 -

N.B. There was Wanting of these

Deals 64.

There was Wanting more (Viz[t])

Sparrs. 6. 1 9 -

Timber. 94. pe[s]. (Viz[t])

30. pe[s] Square Timb[r] 8 5 -

10. p[s] Oaken d[o] q[t] 332[ll]. 20 5 -

54. p[s] Timber being shorts

q[t] 23. & q[t] 7 foot 45 10 -

74 - -

Haberdashery Ware. (Viz[t])

The Particulars of the Goods

were not mentiond in this In-

voice. But the Cost was Opend

before the Gov[r] & Council and

the Several Articles hereafter-

mentiond being found were ap-

praised according to the best of

their Judgments to make up y[e]

Sum, tho they doubt they have

not bin so exact as otherwise

it would have been, this as

followeth (Viz[t])

Lace Edging. (Viz[t]) y[e] 8[s]

N[o] D. 75. y[ar]d 10 ¾ d 3 2 6

E. 20. d[o] 12. 1 8 -

F. 61. d[o] 1/2. 3 11 -

G. 92. d[o] 1/8. 7 13 4

H. 41. d[o] 1/8. 3 8 4

I. 20. d[o] 3/6. 3 10 -

Haberdashery carr. ov[r] 22 13 2

Carried over 2727 5 3

**Margin Notes:**

0 4 - [p] Deal

y[e] doz

30 [p] C[t]

N.B.

10[s] [p] Cent.

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£2,396 14s 3d

Dram deals, extra, namely:

4 yellow dram deals

£0 7s 3d

26 ditto

£1 32s 0d

2 ditto, 2 inch, 132

£16 10s 0d

0 quarters 2 hundredweight 20, 2 14 feet

£10 5s 0d

0 quarters 2, 2 inch Dantzig ditto, 2 9 14

£10 14s 0d

Total of dram deals

£105 12s 0d

Dram balks, 330, amounting to

£59 10s 0d

A note recorded that there were wanting of these deals 64.

There was wanting more, namely:

sparrs, 6

£1 9s 0d

Timber, 94 pieces, namely:

30 pieces square timber

£8 5s 0d

10 pieces oaken ditto, quantity 332

£20 5s 0d

54 pieces timber, length unknown, quantity 23 to 27 feet

£45 10s 0d

Total of timber

£74 0s 0d

Haberdashery ware, namely. The particulars of the goods were not mentioned in this invoice. The case was opened before the Governor and council, and the several articles hereafter mentioned, being found, were appraised according to the best of their judgement to make up the sum, though they doubted they had not been so exact as otherwise it would have been. It was as follows.

Lace edgings, namely:

D, 75 yards, at 10½ pence

£3 2s 6d

E, 20 ditto, at 12 pence

£1 8s 0d

F, 61 ditto, at 12 pence

£3 11s 0d

G, 92 ditto, at 1 shilling 8 pence

£7 13s 4d

H, 41 ditto, at 1 shilling 8 pence

£3 8s 4d

I, 20 ditto, at 3 shillings 6 pence

£3 10s 0d

Total of haberdashery, carried over

£22 13s 2d

Carried over

£2,727 5s 3d

Interpretations

Deals, balks, sparrs and timber were the building wood of the cargo, the framing and planking stock that the island could not grow for itself. A deal was a sawn softwood plank, the dram and Dantzig grades naming the Baltic ports of Drammen and Danzig through which Norwegian and Prussian fir reached England; a balk was a squared baulk of timber, a sparr a pole or light rafter. The Great Wood and the island's own timber being under pressure, named for preservation in Pyke's address of 7 February 1715, imported deal answered the constant want of construction wood.

The opening of the haberdashery case before the Governor and council records an unusual valuation procedure forced by a defective invoice. The directors had sent the case without itemising its contents, so the bench opened it, appraised what was inside, and entered their own valuation to make up the sum, noting frankly that the figure might not be exact. This is the same protective entry of a discrepancy seen with the short stationery chest, the council fixing a value on the record so the loss or shortfall could be traced.

Lace edgings were the narrow decorative trims of the haberdashery line, the bone or bobbin lace used to finish cuffs, caps and linen. Priced by the yard and graded by letter from D to I, the dearer sorts at 3 shillings 6 pence served gentlewomen's dress, the cheaper the general trade. Bone lace had been among the costliest trims per yard in the November 1714 accounts, which is why the bench took care to appraise each lettered parcel separately.

The note of 64 deals wanting against the cargo marks another delivery shortfall checked at landing. Building timber was valuable and easily diverted, so the council recorded the deficiency precisely, the same accounting discipline applied to the missing ream of paper and the short ink glass in the stationery chest.

21

16

The Particular Sorts of Goods. Prime Cost

Selling price

8 3

Brought over 2727 6 3

Haberdashery Brought ov[r] 22 13 2

Black Hoods. (Viz[t])

N[o] 1 12. Black hoods at 6/3a 3 12 -

9 0 ea 2 18. ditto 9/. 8 2 -

13 6 - 3 18. d[o] 10/. 9 - -

15 -

Buttons. (Viz[t])

A 16. gross Coat

16. d[o] Brest @ 12 both gro 9 12 -

1 0 [p] gr B 54. d[o] Coat

6 - 54. d[o] Brest @ 12[s] [p] d[o] 32 8 -

1 - C 30. d[o] Coat

6 - 30. d[o] Brest @ 9/ [p] d[o] 13 10 -

9 -

5 -

Mohair. (Viz[t])

1 8 [p] doz 41. d[o] @ 12/ [p] 24 12 -

N.B. Twas Markt for 42 but

weighd hardly 41. paper[s]

being so together

Ribbon. (Viz[t])

N[o] 1 12. pees @ 24/ [p] pa 14 8 -

1 - [p] y[d] 2 12. pees d[o] 27/. 16 4 -

1 2 - 3 12. pees d[o] 30/7. 18 4 -

1 3 - 4 12. d[o] 36/. 21 12 -

1 6 - 5 1. d[o] Bridle d[o] 2 2 -

1 9 - Skirt buttons 4 6 d[o] @ 4/ [p] d[o] 9 12 -

6 - [p] gross

Holland Tape. (Viz[t])

6 doz broad 8/. 2 8 -

1 4 - [p] piece 6 doz Midling d[o] 1/6. 4 4 -

1 - [p] piece

Combs. Viz[t]

3. doz Ivory @ 12/. 1 16 -

2 - each 3. doz d[o] @ 6/. 18 -

1 - 2 14 -

Needles. 4 M. @ 5/. 1 -

1 6 [p] 100

Threads. Viz[t]

30. Sup[r] fine @ 2/6. 3 15 -

5 - [p] [ll] 78. browned 2/. 7 16 -

4 - 108. Cole d[o] @ 2/6. 13 10 -

5 - 25 1 -

Cask and Hoops 13 10

1 Cask Haberdashery Ware am[o] To

239 - -

Carried over 2966 5 3

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£2,727 6s 3d

Haberdashery brought over

£22 13s 2d

Black hoods, namely:

12 black hoods, at 6 shillings, number 1

£3 12s 0d

18 ditto, at 9 shillings, number 2

£8 2s 0d

12 ditto, at 10 shillings, number 3

£9 0s 0d

Buttons, namely:

16 gross coat, 16 ditto breast, at 12 shillings both gross, A

£9 12s 0d

54 ditto coat, 54 ditto breast, at 12 shillings ditto, B

£32 8s 0d

30 ditto coat, 30 ditto breast, at 9 shillings ditto, C

£13 10s 0d

Mohair, namely:

41 pounds, at 12 shillings per pound

£24 12s 0d

A note recorded that it was marked for 42, but weighed hardly 41, the papers being wound up together.

Ribbon, namely:

12 pieces, at 24 shillings per piece, number 1

£14 8s 0d

12 pieces ditto, at 27 shillings, number 2

£16 4s 0d

12 pieces ditto, at 30 shillings 7 pence, number 3

£18 7s 0d

12 ditto, at 36 shillings, number 4

£21 12s 0d

1 ditto, ribbed ditto, number 5

£2 2s 0d

skein buttons, 48 ounces, at 4 shillings per ounce

£9 12s 0d

Holland tape, namely:

6 dozen broad, at 8 pence

£2 8s 0d

6 dozen middling, at 6 pence

£1 16s 0d

Total of Holland tape

£4 4s 0d

Combs, namely:

3 dozen ivory, at 12 shillings

£1 16s 0d

3 dozen ditto, at 6 shillings

£0 18s 0d

Total of combs

£2 14s 0d

Needles, 4,000, at 5 shillings per 100

£1 0s 0d

Threads, namely:

30 superfine, at 2 shillings 6 pence

£3 15s 0d

78 brown, at 2 shillings

£7 16s 0d

108 coloured, at 2 shillings 6 pence

£13 10s 0d

Total of threads

£25 1s 0d

Cash and hoops

£0 13s 10d

Total of haberdashery ware in 1 cask, amounting to

£239 0s 0d

Carried over

£2,966 5s 3d

Interpretations

The buttons and mohair belong together as the makings of coats, the metal or thread buttons sold by the gross in matched coat and breast sets and the mohair as the covering for cloth-covered buttons. Mohair was a strong lustrous yarn from the Angora goat, used here by the pound for button-making and trimming. The whole parcel served the tailoring of the garrison and inhabitants, coat and breast buttons being counted and priced as a pair because a suit took both.

Black hoods were women's head coverings, the dark veiling worn over caps for modesty, mourning and weather. Priced from 6 to 10 shillings, they answered a steady female demand on an island where imported dress goods were the only source. The hood, the lace edging and the ribbon together formed the women's haberdashery that no local manufacture could supply.

Ribbon ran to the largest money value in the haberdashery, twelve-piece parcels rising from 24 to 36 shillings the piece for the broader and finer grades. Silk ribbon trimmed gowns, hats, caps and gifts, and the skein buttons charged by the ounce alongside it were buttons worked up from twist or floss. The graded numbers let the storekeeper sell plain and rich ribbon from one line.

The note that the mohair was marked for 42 pounds but weighed barely 41, the papers wound up together, records a third weight discrepancy checked against the invoice. The packing itself had been counted into the marked weight, so the bench entered the true figure to keep the account honest, the same vigilance shown over the short deals, the missing ream and the unitemised haberdashery case.

22

17

The Particular Sorts of Goods. Prime Cost

Selling price

Brought Over 2966 5 3

Blanketts 2 Bales (Viz[t])

N[o] 1. & 2

11 6 [p] [p] 100 p[s] d[o] 1 ½ Wide y[e] Long @ 7/. 35 16 8

13 6 - 20 p[s] d[o] 1 ¾ 2 ¼ 3 10 - 9 16 8

19 - 20 p[s] d[o] 13 2 ¼ 12 - 12 - -

1 2 6 - 20 p[s] d[o] 2 ¼ 2 ¾ 14/. 14 6 8

Blanketts 2 Bales am[o] to 72 - -

72 - -

Iron Panns 2 (Viz[t])

30 [p] Cent 1. Pan for Boiling Salt ea. 2/3. 20 2 3 20

1. Ditto 4 1 17

at 27/6 [p] 7 1 9 10 1 6

10 1 6

30 [p] Cent C. Medicines 2 chests am[o] to 55 9 -

Cutlary Ware 1 Box (Viz[t])

14. Gross large Squar[e] Butchers knives 4 20 -

4. Gross ditto @ 5 14 -

2. Ditto 3 1 -

12. Curriers Knives 4 12 -

12. flesh ditto 3 - -

100 [p] Cent 11. M[r] Short Point fish hooks 3 - -

5. d[o] Large 1 18 6

Cutlary Ware 115[ll] am[o] to 41 5 6

Shoes 1 Case (Viz[t])

S. 200 p[r] Mens Shoes @ 3/10 [p] pair 38 6 8

6 2 [p] [p][r] 100 p[s] Womens Spanish Leath[r]

three Seam & pair Stitch 3/10 19 3 4

1. Case 13 -

58 3 -

Pease & Beans for Seed 4 Casks (Viz[t])

16. Bushell Seed Pease 5/6 4 8 -

30 [p] Cent 18. d[o] Beans 5/. 4 3 -

4 Casks 4 -

9 11 -

Stockings 1 Case (Viz[t])

N[o] 1. 2: 3 ½ ¼ 82 p[s] Mens Cole & Mixt 25 18 10

7 10 [p] pair 20 p[s] ditto Scarlet 9 - - 5 -

9 - 5 Stockings Carried Over 25 18 10

Carried Over 3212 15 3

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£2,966 5s 3d

Blankets, 2 bales, namely, numbers 1 and 2:

100 pieces, 1½ wide, long, at [...]

£35 16s 8d

20 pieces ditto, 2 [...]

£10 9s 168d

20 pieces ditto, 2¼

£12 0s 0d

20 pieces ditto, 2¾

£14 6s 8d

Total of blankets, 2 bales, amounting to

£72 0s 0d

Iron pans, 2, namely:

1 pan for boiling salt, at 2 hundredweight 3 quarters 20 pounds

£4 1s 17d

1 ditto, at 27 shillings 6 pence

£7 1s 9d

Total of iron pans

£10 1s 6d

Medicines, 2 chests, amounting to

£55 9s 0d

Cutlery ware, 1 box, namely:

14 gross large square butchers' knives, at 20

5 gross ditto

£5 14s 0d

2 ditto

£3 1s 0d

12 curriers' knives

£4 12s 0d

12 flesh ditto

£3 0s 0d

1 thousand short point fish hooks

£3 0s 0d

5 ditto large

£1 18s 6d

Total of cutlery ware, amounting to

£41 5s 6d

Shoes, 1 case, namely:

200 pairs men's shoes, at 3 shillings 10 pence per pair

£38 6s 8d

100 pairs women's Spanish leather, three seams, fair stitch, at 3 shillings 10 pence

£19 3s 4d

1 case

£0 13s 0d

Total of shoes

£58 3s 0d

Peas and beans, for seed, 4 casks, namely:

16 bushels seed peas, at 5 shillings 6 pence

£4 8s 0d

16 ditto beans, at 5 shillings

£4 3s 0d

4 casks

Total of peas and beans

£9 11s 0d

Stockings, 1 case, namely:

82 pairs men's coloured and mixed, at 2 shillings 3¾ pence

£25 18s 10d

20 pairs ditto scarlet

Total of stockings, carried over

£25 18s 10d

Carried over

£3,212 15s 3d

Interpretations

The iron pan for boiling salt answers a standing want that the bench had pressed home repeatedly, the island needing to make its own salt rather than buy it dear from passing ships. The request for salt-pans went home in the general indent of 15 November 1715, and Captain Hurst had sold the island 34 bushels at a dear rate that same month. A pan to boil seawater turned the island toward producing the salt that cured its beef and provisions.

The peas and beans were entered expressly for seed, a relief and self-sufficiency measure during the long provision shortage rather than goods for sale. Sixteen bushels each of seed peas and beans gave the planters a crop to set, the directors supplying seed as they had supplied fishing boats under the scheme of 9 July 1715. The famine that lost 2,500 head of cattle had pushed the Company to seed the ground as well as stock the stores.

The shoes divide sharply by sex and quality, 200 pairs of plain men's shoes against 100 pairs of women's in Spanish leather with three seams and a fair stitch. Spanish leather was a fine soft tanned hide, the better grade for women's wear, the seam and stitch count marking the standard of make. Footwear had been a recurring trouble on the island, Samuel Price's shoe contract questioned on 5 February 1712 over shoes that lasted a fortnight, so imported shoes met a real need.

Curriers' knives and flesh knives in the cutlery box point to the island's tanning trade, the tools for dressing and scraping hides. A currier finished tanned leather by paring and dressing it, and the agreement John Orchard had entered on tanning of 25 July 1709 shows leather was worked locally. The fish hooks in quantity tie back to the fishery scheme, hooks and lines having been distributed to the inhabitants on 26 July 1715.

23

18

The Particular Sort of Goods. Prime Cost

Selling price

Bro[t] Over 3212 15 3

Stockings brought Over 25 18 10

N[o] 6 6 [p] [p] 6 25 p[s] Womens Worsted d[o]

7 d[o] p[s] Ditto

8 5 p[s] Clock ditto

7 6 - 9 5 p[s] Scarlet

10 5 p[s] Ditto

5 - 11 5 p[s] Bleu

4 6 - 12 d[o] p[s] ditto

13 20 p[s] Marbled ditto

4 6 - 14 5 p[s] Knitt ditto

100 p[s] Womens Stocking am[o] to 19 4 1

6 - [p] [p] 15 25 p[s] Mens thread ditto 4 11 8

4 9 - 16 26 p[s] Womens ditto 3 19 9

1 9 17 5 p[s] d[o]

1 - 18 7 - p[s] Mens Rowling Silk ditto 7 12 4

18 19 6 - p[s] ditto

12 20 6 1 p[s] Woollen ditto 4 12 4

14 21 6 1 p[s] ditto

2 - 22 12 p[s] Childrens Spotted Worsted ditto

2 6 - 23 12 p[s] Large Spotts Bleu ditto

2 9 - 24 12 p[s] Youths Worsted ditto

3 - 25 12 p[s] Boy Knitt ditto

3 6 - 26 12 p[s] Rowling ditto

4 6 - 27 12 p[s] ditto 1

5 6 - 28 18 p[s] Large ditto

5 - 29 3 p[s] Boy Silk & Worsted

5 - 30 3 p[s] ditto

7 6 - 31 6 p[s] Large Youth Silk & Worsted

100 p[s] Childrens Stockings 12 11 7

2 2 - 32 200 p[s] Mens Bleu 13 10 5

6 6 - 33 25 p[s] fine ditto 7 1 -

Charges 97 1 10

16 1 2

Prime Totall of this Invoice 3325 18 3

The Govern[r] proposeth that every one in Council

do read over the last Generall Letter from the Hon[ble]

Company, Singley, and that Each one put in Writ-

ing a proper Answer to Such Part as relate to

them

**Margin Notes:**

Gen[ll] Letter to be read & Answerd Singly

The particular sorts of goods, with selling price and prime cost.

Brought over

£3,212 15s 3d

Stockings brought over

£25 18s 10d

25 pairs women's worsted ditto, number 6

20 ditto, number 7

5 pairs clock ditto, number 8

5 pairs scarlet, number 9

5 pairs ditto, number 10

5 pairs blue, number 11

5 pairs ditto, number 12

20 pairs marbled ditto, number 13

5 pairs knit ditto, number 14

100 pairs women's stockings, amounting to

£19 4s 1d

25 pairs men's thread ditto, number 15

£4 11s 8d

16 pairs women's ditto, number 16

£3 19s 9d

5 ditto, number 17

7 pairs men's rolling silk ditto, number 18

£7 12s 4d

5 pairs ditto, number 19

15 pairs woollen ditto, number 20

£4 12s 4d

15 pairs ditto, number 21

12 pairs children's spotted worsted ditto, number 22

12 pairs large girls' blue ditto, number 23

12 pairs youths' worsted ditto, number 24

12 pairs boys' knit ditto, number 25

12 pairs rolling ditto, number 26

12 pairs ditto, number 27

18 pairs large ditto, number 28

3 pairs boys' silk and worsted, number 29

3 pairs ditto, number 30

8 pairs large youths' silk and worsted, number 31

100 pairs children's stockings

£12 11s 7d

200 pairs men's blue, number 32

£13 10s 5d

25 pairs fine ditto, number 33

Total of stockings

£97 1s 10d

Charges

£16 1s 2d

Prime total of this invoice

£3,325 18s 3d

The Governor proposed that every councillor read over the last general letter from the Honourable Company singly, and that each one put in writing a proper answer to such part as related to them.

Interpretations

The stockings ran the full social and age range of the island, from plain men's blue at the working end to silk and worsted for boys and youths and clocked and scarlet pairs for women. A clock was the ornamental knit or embroidery running up the ankle of a finer stocking, and marbled stockings were knit from mixed-colour yarn. The graded parcels, counted to round hundreds of women's and children's pairs, let one case clothe every leg from labourer to gentlewoman.

The closing entry resolves the whole cargo into a single prime total of £3,325 18s 3d, the running carry-over figures across the sheets totting to one sum against which the selling prices would set the Company's margin. This is the accounting purpose of the two-column invoice, the prime cost fixing what the directors had laid out and the selling price what the island stores would recover, the difference the Company's return on the United Trade's goods.

The Governor's direction to read the general letter singly and answer it in writing sets a deliberate method for replying to the directors part by part. Each councillor took the portion that touched his own office and drafted an answer, so the bench's reply was built from separate responsible hands rather than one general minute. The same procedure had been ordered on 26 July 1715, when each councillor was required to bring in minutes toward answering the Company's last general letter.

24

19

July. 1716.

themselves and Deliver it to the Govern[r]: in Order to Compile a Letter thereby in Answer to said Generall Letter And that the Secretary bring in a List of the last Packet that went home this time tweve months for Memorandums that the same Lists &c. may goe home the next Shiping, And also the Military List.

[signature] Geo. Haswell

Matthew Bazett

Antipas Tovey

Edward Byfeld

Margin Notes:

Last years list of packet &c. to be brought in &c.

July 1716.

The councillors were to deliver their answers to the Governor, so that he might compile a letter in reply to the general letter. The council further ordered that the secretary bring in a list of the last packet that went home twelve months earlier, for a memorandum, so that the same lists might go home by the next shipping, together with the military list.

Signed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The call for a list of the last packet sets up a control on the Company's correspondence, the bench checking what had gone home a year earlier so that nothing was duplicated or dropped from the next dispatch. The packet was the bundle of numbered papers sent to the directors by a homeward ship, the Susanna having carried 27 such items on 12 November 1714. Keeping a memorandum of each packet let the secretary track which papers the directors had already received.

The military list named here marks a distinct return of the garrison sent home alongside the general correspondence. The strength, names and disposition of the soldiers were the Company's record of what defended its island, kept current against the deaths, discharges and transfers that ran through the garrison, and forwarded so the directors could judge the establishment they paid for.

25

20

Island St Helena. August. 1716.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 7 day of Aug[t] 1716. at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] Capt. Haswell absent in the Country Matt[w] Bazett Pres[t] Antip[s] Tovey & Edw[d] Byfield

The last Consultations were read and approved of, and the Invoice of the Goods by the Katharine with the prices we had Sett upon them Confirmed. Order[ed] That the proposalls for Marking of Cattle be Adjourned to Some other oppertunity and that Some of the Planters in the mean time be Consulted about it The Church Wardens being Sent for about Provideing for Martin Norman, agree to Allow him two Shillings and Six pence per week. This Martin Norman is an aged man but Lusty and Able to work, but unwilling and Pretends he will Sterve himself rather then do anything. Cap[t] Bazett brought in the Store Accounts for the month of July, which was Approv'd of, and Ordered to be Enterd in the fair book

M[r]

Margin Notes:

ab[t] Marking Cattle &c[t]

Martin Norman all[d] 2/6 [p] Week. y Church Wardens

able but not willt to Work

Island of St Helena. August 1716.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 7 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; Matthew Bazett; Antipas Tovey; and Edward Byfield. Captain Haswell was absent in the country.

The last consultations were read and approved. The invoice of the goods brought by the Katharine, with the prices set on them, was confirmed.

The council ordered that the proposals for marking cattle be adjourned to some other opportunity, and that some of the planters be consulted about it in the meantime.

The churchwardens were sent for about providing for Martin Norman, and it was agreed to allow him 2 shillings 6 pence per week. Norman was an aged man, but lusty and able to work, though unwilling, and he pretended he would starve himself rather than do anything.

Captain Bazett brought in the store accounts for the month of July, which were approved and ordered to be entered in the fair book.

Interpretations

The parish relief allowed to Martin Norman shows the churchwardens carrying the standing burden of poor support out of the church rate. The half-crown a week matched the rate the churchwardens already paid the widow of the surgeon William Porteous on 16 February 1716, half a crown for herself and her child. Norman's long decline runs through the record, from his debt and small farm noted on 21 December 1714 to the water-rotation hardship he pleaded on 17 May 1715 and his ejection from the Beales' house on 21 February 1716, so the parish at last took him onto weekly relief.

The bench's note that Norman was able to work but unwilling sets a moral condition on the relief that the period drew sharply. The deserving poor were the aged and incapable, and an able-bodied man who would not work sat uneasily with that, the marginal record of able but not willing to work marking the bench's reservation even as it granted the money. The half-crown was charity given despite his refusal of labour rather than because he could not labour.

The adjournment of the cattle-marking proposal to consult the planters shows the bench widening a regulation beyond its own table before fixing it. The inconvenience of shared marks had been raised on 31 July 1716 with each councillor asked to consider it, and now the planters whose beasts carried the marks were to be heard, the bench building consent before imposing a system that touched every cattle-owner on the island.

26

21

August. 1716.

An Acc[o] of Store Goods Sold and Deliverd To the

Inhabitants Allso for the use of the Hon[ble] United Comp[s]

at the Union Castle and Plantation House &c.

from June the 22. 1716. To July the 23 following.

To the Inhabitants &c. £ s d

Arrack 203 ½ Gall[s] at 7/6 [p] Gall 76 3 5 ½

Suger 28 ½ at 8 [p] [ll] 9 13 -

Flour 14 d[o] at 3 [p] d[o] 2 3 5 ½

Bread 7 d[o] at 3 ½ [p] [ll] 1 1 7

Rice 99. at 3 ½ [p] [ll] 1 8 10 ½

Vinegar 13 Gall at 4 [p] Gall 7 -

Soap 6 d[o] at 17 [p] d[o] 3 18 6

Tea 13. at 9/. [p] [ll] 5 17 -

19. Yards D[o] @ 9/. Each 8 11 - 14 8 -

Tobacco Pipes 19 ½ doz at 6 [p] doz 9 9 ½

Lime Juice 1 ½ Gallons at 5/. [p] Gall 6 3

Pepper 1 d[o] 1 -

Shirts 81. at 3/. Each 12 3 -

Neckcloths 2 d[o] 12 [p] at 32/10 [p] [p] 3 18 6 ¼

Ginghams 1 [p] 9 9

Guirhaes 1 [p] 12 6

Neaias 1 [p] 10 5

Saranoes 1 [p] 16 2

Bleu Guirhaes Out of S[t] George 2 [p] at 9/. 18 -

Druggetts viz[t]

9 Yards Cloth d[o] @ 4/. 1 16 -

13 Yards Silk d[o] @ 4/9 3 1 9

4 17 9

Carried Over 134 7 9 ¼

August 1716.

An account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, also for the use of the Honourable United Company, at the Union Castle and Plantation House, from 25 June 1716 to 25 July following.

To the inhabitants, namely:

Arrack, 203½ gallons at 7 shillings 6 pence per gallon

£76 3s 5¼d

Sugar, 289½ pounds at 8 pence per pound

£9 13s 0d

Flour, 149 pounds at 3¾ pence per pound

£2 3s 5½d

Bread, 7 pounds at 3½ pence per pound

£1 1s 7d

Rice, 99 pounds at 3¼ pence per pound

£1 8s 10¼d

Vinegar, 1 [...] gallons at 4 shillings per gallon

£0 7s 0d

Soap, [...] pounds at 9½ pence per pound

£3 18s 6d

Tea, 13 pounds at 9 shillings per pound

£5 17s 0d

19 yards ditto at 9 shillings each

£8 11s 0d

Total of tea

£14 8s 0d

Tobacco pipes, 19½ dozen at 6 pence per dozen

£0 9s 9½d

Linseed oil, 1¼ gallons at 5 shillings per gallon

£0 6s 3d

Pepper, 1 [...]

£0 1s 0d

Shirts, 81 at 3 shillings each

£12 3s 0d

Neckcloths, 2½ pieces at 32 shillings 10 pence per piece

£3 18s 6½d

Ginghams, 1 piece

£0 9s 0d

Gurrahs, 1 piece

£0 12s 6d

Neaias, 1 piece

£0 10s 5d

Saunoes, 1 piece

£0 16s 2d

Blue gurrahs, out of the St George, 2 pieces at 9 shillings

£0 18s 0d

Druggets, namely:

9 yards cloth ditto at 4 shillings

£1 16s 0d

13 yards silk ditto at 4 shillings 9 pence

£3 1s 9d

Total of druggets

£4 17s 9d

Carried over

£134 7s 8¼d

Interpretations

The Indian piece goods make up the cloth half of this retail account, the ginghams, gurrahs, neaias and saunoes being named cotton textiles imported through the Indian presidencies. Gurrahs were a plain coarse cotton calico, ginghams a checked or striped cotton, saunoes and neaias further grades of Indian cloth sold by the piece. The blue gurrahs entered as taken out of the St George show the stores drawing fresh cloth from a ship in the road, the St George having arrived from Bengal on 11 November 1715.

Druggets were a coarse woollen or wool-and-silk cloth used for cheap outer garments, entered here in both a cloth and a silk variety priced by the yard. The distinction between the all-wool drugget at 4 shillings and the silk-mixed at 4 shillings 9 pence marks two grades of the same cloth, the silk content lifting the price. Drugget served the middling wear of the island below broadcloth and above the plain cottons.

Arrack dominated the account by value, 203½ gallons at 7 shillings 6 pence making up more than half the whole sum. The rate matches the retail price set on 15 November 1714 with its credit restriction, arrack being the staple spirit of the garrison and the licensed houses. A single month's sale of this quantity shows how central the liquor trade was to the stores' takings.

The account distinguishes goods sold to the inhabitants from those delivered for the Company's own use, both run through the same monthly reckoning. This dual heading is the standard form of the storekeeper's account, the inhabitants' retail and the Company's internal consumption entered together so the stores could be balanced as a whole, the same four-part structure used across the 1713 to 1715 monthly accounts.

27

22

August. 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over 134 7 9 ¼

Durants 10 Yards at 1/2 17 6

Flannell 4 Yards Damaged @ 12 4 -

Fustians 2 ½ Yards Bedded d[o] @ 2/7 5 9 ¾

Shalloons 2 ½ Yards at 2/6 5 7 ½

Perpetts 4 Yards at 2/3 9 -

Soldiers Cloaths Viz[t]

4 p[s] Breeches at 8/3 1 13 -

1 Wastcoate 9/4 0 9 4

Bodice 2 p[s] at 10/4 2 2 4

Double House Linnen 2 Yards @ 2/3 1 8

4 6

Wooden Ware &c.

1 Bowle 1 7

1 Scumming dish 0 6

2 1

Threads Viz[t]

12. d[o] at 9/. 9 -

1 d[o] 1 1

10 1

Silk 5. d[o] at 2/6 12 6

Twine 4 M. at 1/9 7 -

Buttons 2 ½ doz Brest at 4 0 0 10

5. doz[n] Brest at 6 0 2 6

2 ½ doz[n] Coate 1/2 0 2 6

3 doz[n] Coate 1/9 0 4 9

10 7

Combs 1 box at 0 1 6

1 fine d[o] 0 2 -

1 Horne d[o] 0 0 4

3 10

Shoe Thread 2 5 -

Shoes Viz[t]

23 p[s] Hand Shoes at 4/. 4 12 -

1 p[s] English Girls d[o] 0 2 4

2 p[s] Maids Turkey Leather @ 4/9 0 9 6

5 3 10

Carried Over 147 11 4 ½

August 1716.

Brought over

£134 7s 0¼d

Durants, 10 yards at 1 shilling 9 pence

£0 17s 6d

Flannel, 4 yards damaged at 12 pence

£0 4s 0d

Fustian, 2½ yards corded at 2 shillings 7 pence

£0 5s 9¼d

Shalloons, 2½ yards at 2 shillings 6 pence

£0 5s 7½d

Perpets, 4 yards at 2 shillings 3 pence

£0 9s 0d

Soldiers' clothes, namely:

4 pairs breeches at 8 shillings 3 pence

£1 13s 0d

1 waistcoat at 9 shillings 4 pence

£0 9s 4d

Total

£2 2s 4d

Bodies, 2 pairs at 10 shillings 4 pence

£1 0s 8d

Double house linen, 2 yards at 2 shillings 3 pence

£0 4s 6d

Wooden ware, namely:

1 bowl

£0 1s 7d

1 skimming dish

£0 0s 6d

Total

£0 2s 1d

Threads, namely:

12 ounces at 9 pence

£0 9s 0d

1 ounce

£0 1s 1d

Total

£0 10s 1d

Silk, 5 ounces at 2 shillings 6 pence

£0 12s 6d

Twine, 4 thousand at 1 shilling 9 pence

£0 7s 0d

Buttons:

2½ dozen breast at 4 pence

£0 0s 10d

5 dozen breast at 6 pence

£0 2s 6d

2½ dozen coat at 12 pence

£0 2s 6d

3 dozen coat at 1 shilling 9 pence

£0 4s 9d

Total

£0 10s 7d

Combs:

1 box at

£0 1s 6d

1 fine ditto

£0 2s 0d

1 horn ditto

£0 0s 4d

Total

£0 3s 10d

Shoe thread, 2

£0 5s 0d

Shoes, namely:

23 pairs hand shoes at 4 shillings

£4 12s 0d

1 pair English girls' ditto

£0 2s 4d

2 pairs maids' Turkey leather at 4 shillings 9 pence

£0 9s 6d

Total of shoes

£5 3s 10d

Carried over

£147 11s 4½d

Interpretations

The cloth lines at the head divide into named worsted and woollen grades, each priced by the yard for the island's tailoring. Durants was a glazed hard-wearing worsted, shalloons a light twilled worsted used for coat linings, perpets a durable worsted whose name came from perpetuana, and corded fustian a ribbed cotton cloth. The flannel sold at a reduced figure was marked damaged, the account noting the defect so the lower price was justified on the record.

The soldiers' clothes and bodies show the stores supplying both garrison wear and women's dress from the same account. Bodies were stiffened bodices or stays, the structured upper garment of women's clothing, sold here in pairs as a single made article. The breeches and waistcoat entered as soldiers' clothes were the garrison's issue garments, the red-coat establishment drawing its breeches and waistcoats through the stores.

The shoe entries reach across age, sex and grade, from plain hand shoes at 4 shillings to maids' Turkey leather and English girls' shoes. Turkey leather was a fine goatskin tanned in the eastern manner, the better material for women's and children's footwear. Imported shoes met a want that local making struggled with, the trade dogged since the complaint of fortnight-life shoes against Samuel Price on 5 February 1712.

The buttons, twine, silk and shoe thread together form the mercer's and tailor's small wares of the account, the materials for making and mending clothing rather than finished goods. Coat and breast buttons were counted and priced as separate lines because a garment took both, and the thread and twine supplied the sewing, the stores serving as the island's only source of the makings of dress.

28

23

August. 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over 147 11 4 ½

Stationary Ware 4 Qu[e] pap[r] @ 16 5 4

1 Testament d[o] 1 9

7 1

Iron Mongers Ware Viz[t]

4 Harrow hoes at 2/2 8 8

Pewters 1 Porringer 1 4

Mokair 2 Ounces at 20 3 4

Totall to the Inhabitants 148 11 9 ½

Store Goods Delivered for the use of the

Union Castle from June the 25 1716 To the 25

July following

£ s d

Arrack 83 ¾ Gall[s] at 7/6 [p] Gall 31 8 1 ½

Suger 8 ½ at 8 [p] [ll] 2 15 4

Bread 60. at 3 ½ 17 6

Flour 425. at 3 ½ 6 3 11 ½

Rice 1062. d[o] 3 ½ 15 9 9

Vinegar 1 ½ Gall at 4 5 -

Soap 34. at 17 2 8 2

Oyles Viz[t]

2 Gallons Rape at 7/. 0 14 -

4 ½ Gall Sweet d[o] at 12/ 2 12 6

1 ¼ Gall Linseed d[o] 20 8/ 0 10 - 3 16 6

Tea 6. d[o] at 9 [p] [ll] 2 14 -

1 Cattie d[o] d[o] 0 9 - 3 3 -

Pepper 2 d[o] 2 -

Shoe Thread 3 d[o] at 2/6 0 7 6

1 Twine 0 2 4 9 10

Carried Over 66 19 2

August 1716.

Brought over

£147 11s 4½d

Stationery ware, namely:

4 quires of paper at 16 pence

£0 5s 4d

1 testament

£0 1s 9d

Total

£0 7s 1d

Ironmonger's ware, namely:

4 harrow hoes at 2 shillings 2 pence

£0 8s 8d

1 pewter porringer

£0 1s 4d

Total

£0 [...]

Mohair, 2 ounces at [...]

£0 3s 4d

Total to the inhabitants

£148 11s 9½d

Store goods delivered for the use of the Union Castle, from 25 June 1716 to 25 July following.

Arrack, 83¾ gallons at 7 shillings 6 pence per gallon

£31 8s 1½d

Sugar, 83 pounds at 8 pence per pound

£2 15s 4d

Bread, 60 pounds at 3½ pence

£0 17s 6d

Flour, 425 pounds at 3½ pence

£6 3s 11½d

Rice, 1,062 pounds at 3½ pence

£15 9s 9d

Vinegar, 1¼ gallons at 4 shillings

£0 5s 0d

Soap, 34 pounds at 17 pence

£2 8s 2d

Oils, namely:

2 gallons rape at 7 shillings

£0 14s 0d

4½ gallons sweet ditto at 12 shillings

£2 12s 6d

1¼ gallons linseed ditto at 8 shillings

£0 10s 0d

Total of oils

£3 16s 6d

Tea, 6 pounds at [...] per pound

£2 14s 0d

1 case of ditto

£0 9s 0d

Total of tea

£3 3s 0d

Pepper, 2 pounds

£0 2s 0d

Shoe thread, 3 at 2 shillings 6 pence

£0 7s 6d

1 twine

£0 2s 4d

Total

£0 9s 10d

Carried over

£66 19s 2d

Interpretations

The harrow hoes mark the agricultural side of the ironmongery, the worked iron tools for breaking and dressing the ground. A harrow hoe was a heavy hoe or tined implement for cultivation, supplied to a settlement that depended on yam and provision planting through the famine. The same cargo's seed peas and beans, entered for planting, point to a Company effort to put tools and seed alike into the planters' hands.

The Union Castle account separates the Company's own consumption from the inhabitants' retail, the two halves of the storekeeper's monthly reckoning. The arrack, provisions and oils delivered here went to the Company's table and establishment at the castle rather than to sale, the heavy rice issue of 1,062 pounds feeding the slaves and servants of the plantation. This is the plantation and general-charge side of the four-part account structure.

The oils divide into rape, sweet and linseed, each at a distinct rate and use. Rapeseed oil was a cheap lamp and cooking oil, sweet oil was olive oil for the table and dressing, and linseed oil served paint and timber work. The wide spread of prices, from 7 shillings the gallon for rape to 12 shillings for sweet, reflects the different sources and grades drawn through the stores.

The testament and quires of paper continue the steady demand for writing and devotional material that ran through the Katharine cargo. A testament was the New Testament sold as a single cheap volume, the religious and literate wants of the island met from imported stock, the consultation book and every instrument the bench produced resting on the same paper supply.

29

24

August. 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over 66 19 2

Combs 4 Box d[o] at 18 6 -

Thread 1. or 16 Ounces at 9/. 12 -

Saile Needles 4 6 ½

Long Cloath 2 p[s] at 24/9 2 9 6

Bleu Guirhaes 1 p[s] S[t] George 1 2 8

Dungrees 4 p[s] at 5/8 1 2 8

Shoes 2 d[o] at 3/. 6 -

Red Lead 6 d[o] at 6 3 -

Double House Linnen 2 ½ Y[ds] at 2/2 5 7 ½

Holland Duck 4 ½ Y[ds] at 4/3 19 1 ½

Pewter Buttons 9 doz[n] 3 -

Keiseys 1 p[s] q[t] 32 Yards at 2/2 3 9 4

Iron Mongers Ware Viz[t]

1 Chest Lock 4 6

1 Ditto 3 8

2 Square Staples 0 6

4 Shovells at 2/. 8 -

4 Plate Locks N[o] 8 at 1/10 7 4

2 plate d[o] @ 2/7 5 2

1 9 2

Nayles Viz[t]

2 d[o] flat Nayles at 6 d 15 2 ½

[p] Spikes d[o] 6 4 6

2 ½ Clasps 10. d[o] @ 8 ½ 14 10 ½

[p] 10 d[o] Cadenelld 3 ¼ 19 -

4. Batten Brads 1 2

2 French d[o] at 14 2 4

2 17 0 ¾

Beef 1 Pack q[t] 80 [p] at 5 [p] to the Cee[t]

is 400. d[o] 5 ½ [p] [ll] is 9 3 4

Totall to the Union Castle 90 14 6 ¾

August 1716.

Brought over

£66 19s 2d

Combs, 4 box ditto at 18 pence

£0 6s 0d

Thread, 1 [...] or 16 ounces at 9 pence

£0 12s 0d

Sail needles, 4

£0 0s 6½d

Long cloth, 2 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence

£2 9s 6d

Blue gurrahs, 1 piece, St George

£0 9s 0d

Dungarees, 4 pieces at 5 shillings 8 pence

£1 2s 8d

Shovels, 2 ditto at 3 shillings

£0 6s 0d

Red lead, 6 ditto at 6 pence

£0 3s 0d

Double house linen, 2½ yards at 2 shillings 2 pence

£0 5s 1½d

Holland duck, 4½ ditto at 4 shillings 3 pence

£0 19s 1½d

Pewter buttons, 9 dozen

£0 3s 0d

Kerseys, 1 piece of 32 yards at 2 shillings 2 pence

£3 9s 4d

Ironmonger's ware, namely:

1 chest lock

£0 4s 6d

1 ditto

£0 3s 8d

2 square staples

£0 0s 6d

4 shovels at 2 shillings

£0 8s 0d

4 plate locks, number 8, at 1 shilling 10 pence

£0 7s 4d

2 plate ditto at 2 shillings 7 pence

£0 5s 2d

Total

£1 9s 2d

Nails, namely:

20 [...] flat nails at 6 pence

£0 15s 2½d

[...] spikes ditto at 6 pence

£0 4s 6d

1½ [...] sharps ditto at 8½ pence

£0 14s 10½d

10 [...] scupper nails ditto at 3½ pence

£0 19s 0d

4 batten brads

£0 1s 2d

2 French ditto at 14 pence

£0 2s 4d

Total of nails

£2 17s [...]

Beef, 1 cask of 80 pounds at 5 pence to the bill, is 400, and at 5 pence per pound, is

£9 3s 4d

Total to the Union Castle

£90 14s 6¼d

Interpretations

The dungarees, long cloth, kerseys and gurrahs continue the mixed cloth supply for the Company's own use, drawing on both Indian and English weaves. Dungaree was a coarse blue Indian cotton, long cloth a fine plain Indian calico sold by the piece, and kersey a coarse ribbed English woollen used for hard wear and slave clothing. The kersey piece of 32 yards at 2 shillings 2 pence answered the standing need to clothe the plantation slaves, whose suits had run at about 14 shillings each across the earlier accounts.

The nails are graded by form and use, the flat nails, spikes, sharps, scupper nails, batten brads and French nails each cut for a different fastening. Scupper nails had broad heads for fixing the leather and canvas of a ship's scuppers, batten brads were thin nails for fixing laths, and spikes were the largest for heavy timber. The range shows the stores supplying both building and ship repair, the same dual function seen in the cordage, oars and anchors of the cargo.

Red lead and sweet oil tie the account to maintenance work, red lead being the pigment ground into linseed oil to make the protective paint for iron and timber. On an island where iron rusted and wood decayed in the sea air, red lead and oil were the materials that preserved guns, fittings and structures, the ruinous state of King William's fort reported on 19 July 1715 showing how fast the defences failed without such care.

The beef entry records an internal pricing oddity, the cask of 80 pounds reckoned at 5 pence to the bill to give 400, then valued at the same 5 pence per pound. The clerk worked the cask to its money value through a notional bill figure, the beef supplied to the Company table charged against the establishment exactly as the provisions and arrack were, so the castle's own consumption was costed and entered like any sale.

30

25

August. 1716.

Store Goods Deliverd for the use of Plan-

tation House, from June the 25 1716. To the

25. July following Viz[t]

£ s d

Arrack 3 Gall at 7/6 [p] Gall 1 2 6

Sugar 9. at 8 [p] [ll] 6 -

Flour 6. at 3 ½ [p] [ll] 1 9

Soape 6. at 17 [p] [ll] 8 6

Iron Mongey Ware 5 Spades @ 6/8 1 13 4

Nayles 18. 10. Clasp at 8 ½ 12 9

8. 30. d[o] at 7 4 8 17 5

Totall to Plantation House 4 9 6

Union Castle 90 14 6 ¾

Inhabitants 148 11 9 ½

The whole Totall am[o] To 243 15 9 ¾

[signature] Antipas Tovey

Ed[w] Byfeld

Island.

August 1716.

Store goods delivered for the use of the Plantation House, from 25 June 1716 to 25 July following, namely:

Arrack, 3 gallons at 7 shillings 6 pence per gallon

£1 2s 6d

Sugar, 9 pounds at 8 pence per pound

£0 6s 0d

Flour, [...] pounds at 3½ pence

£0 1s 9d

Soap, 6 pounds at 17 pence

£0 8s 6d

Ironmonger's ware, namely:

5 spades at 6 shillings 8 pence

£1 13s 4d

Nails:

18, 10 clasp at 8½ pence

£0 12s 9d

8, 30 ditto at 7 pence

£0 4s 8d

Total of nails

£0 17s 5d

Total to Plantation House

£4 9s 6d

Union Castle

£90 14s 6¼d

Inhabitants

£148 11s 9½d

The whole total amounted to

£243 15s 9¾d

Signed by Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Island.

Interpretations

The three-way total resolves the month's stores into its standing institutional divisions, the Plantation House, the Union Castle and the inhabitants. The Plantation House figure was the smallest, covering the spades, nails and provisions for the upland farming establishment, while the castle carried the Company's main table and the inhabitants the open retail. This is the four-part account structure in practice, the plantation, fortifications and general charge against the inhabitants' sales, drawn to a single monthly total of £243 15s 9¾d.

The spades and clasp nails delivered to the Plantation House mark it as the working farm of the Company, supplied with the tools of cultivation rather than the goods of trade. Clasp nails had a head that gripped flush into timber, used in building and fencing, the same fencing discipline that ran through every plantation grant on the island. The spades served the yam grounds that fed the Company's slaves and stock.

31

26

Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 8 of August 1716. At Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] Geo: Haswell D[p]ty Matth[w] Bazett 3 Pres[t] Antip[s] Tovey 4[th] & Edward Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c]

The last days Consultation was read and approved of by all present. Yesterday afternoon a Single Alarm was made and about Six Arrived the Queen Capt John Martin Commander from Bombay. but last from the Cape of Good Hope. He Says he wants very little, being Supplyd at the Cape, because he heard there was nothing upon the Island to Supply a Ship with all, and he intends to Saile hence a Saturday next at furthest. Resolved That a Small Letter be prepaird to Acquaint Our Hon[ble] Masters in as Consice a Manner as may be of the State of this place. Ordered That an Inventory be taken by the Accomptant and the Store keeper of what Goods we now have in the Hon[ble] Comp[s] Store House in Order to prepair an Indent by, and that the Said Inventory be Sent home along with the Indent

Margin Notes:

Queen Cap[t] Martin Arrives

wants little

Small Gen[ll] Lett[r] to be Sent

Inventory to be taken of y[e] Goods in y[e] Stores

Island of St Helena.

At a consultation held on Wednesday 8 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The last day's consultation was read and approved by all present.

A single alarm was made the previous afternoon, and about six o'clock the Queen, Captain John Martin commander, arrived from Bombay, but last from the Cape of Good Hope.

Captain Martin reported that he wanted very little, having been supplied at the Cape because he had heard there was nothing on the island to supply a ship with at all. He intended to sail home on the following Saturday at the latest.

The council resolved that a short letter be prepared to acquaint the Honourable Masters, in as concise a manner as possible, of the state of the island.

The council ordered that an inventory be taken by the accountant and the storekeeper of what goods were then in the Honourable Company's storehouse, in order to prepare an indent, and that the inventory be sent home along with the indent.

Interpretations

Captain Martin's report that he had stocked at the Cape because he expected nothing at St Helena records the island's reputation for scarcity reaching the homeward route. The famine that lost 2,500 head of cattle, set out in the Governor's letter of 30 January 1715, had become known to masters who now provisioned elsewhere, depriving the island of the ship custom its stores depended on. A ship that wanted very little bought very little.

The inventory and indent ordered here form the standing mechanism by which the island restocked from London. An indent was the formal requisition listing what the stores needed, drawn against a current inventory of what remained, so the directors could send the right goods by the next shipping. The general indent of stores had gone home on 15 November 1715 with requests for salt-pans and marked small arms, and the same disciplined stocktaking governs this order.

The short letter prepared for a fast-departing ship shows the bench seizing each passing vessel as a chance to reach the directors. Captain Martin meant to sail within days, so a concise account of the island's state was readied to catch him, the correspondence timed to the shipping rather than the shipping waiting on the correspondence.

32

27

August. 1716.

Indent that our Hon[ble] Masters may See the Occasion

we have for the Stores we desire.

And that it be begun next Monday

morning Ordered That the Govern[r] be

desired to Repair the Letter to be Sent to Our

Said Hon[ble] Masters by this Ship.

The Capt. of this Ship reports that the Emelia

Capt: Misner Comander was Arrived at the Cape

the 20. of July last.

The Govern[r] asketh Capt Haswell if he

has yet Prepaird the Military List.

Capt: Haswell Says it has been Such very

Wett weather that he could not Possibly goe to

the Severall Posts but will do it as Soon as there is

fair weather.

We being informed that this Ship having fifty

Bales of Cotton yarn on board, and there being

great want thereof, upon this Island having

nothing to make Wicks for Lamps & Candles.

Resolved that we write a Letter

to the Capt. To Send a Small quantity a Shoar

Persuant to the Hon[ble] Comp[s] Orders by their Letter

of Mead and Shittlecoeth and to desire him to Send

half a Bale of the Coarsest Sort.

Copy of the Letter as followeth

Capt. John Martin

We being at this time in Great

want of Cotton Wick on this Island for using in Lamps

and

**Margin Notes:**

Gov[r] to prepare y[e] Gen[ll] Lett[r]

Emelia and at y[e] Cape

Cap[t] Haswell not yet done y[e] Mil[y] L[s]t

Lett[r] to Cap[t] Martin for Cotton Yarn.

August 1716.

The inventory and indent were to be prepared so that the Honourable Masters might see the reason for the stores the council desired, and the work was to begin the following Monday morning.

The council ordered that the Governor be asked to prepare the letter to be sent to the Honourable Masters by this ship.

The captain of this ship reported that the Emelia, Captain Myiner commander, had arrived at the Cape on 20 July last.

The Governor asked Captain Haswell whether he had yet prepared the military list. Captain Haswell answered that the weather had been so very wet that he could not possibly go to the several posts, but he would do it as soon as the weather was fair.

The council was informed that this ship had fifty bales of cotton yarn on board, and that there was great want of it on the island, having nothing to make wicks for lamps and candles. It resolved to write a letter to the captain asking him to send a small quantity ashore, in accordance with the Honourable Company's orders by their letter carried by the Mead and the Thistleworth, and to ask him to send half a bale of the coarsest sort.

A copy of the letter followed.

The Governor and council wrote to Captain John Martin, setting out that there was at that time great want of cotton wick on the island for using in lamps and

Interpretations

The request for cotton yarn turns on a precise material need, the island having nothing to spin into wicks for its lamps and candles. Cotton yarn was the twisted thread that formed the burning core of a candle or the wick of an oil lamp, and without it the settlement could not light itself. The bench grounded the request on a standing Company order carried by the Mead and the Thistleworth, the directors having anticipated the want in an earlier letter.

The bench asked only for half a bale of the coarsest sort from fifty on board, a modest claim pitched to what a passing ship could spare. The coarsest grade suited wick-making, where fineness was wasted, so the council took the cheapest cotton that met the purpose rather than pressing for better. This is the same restraint shown toward the Eagle Galley's cooper and other ship's stores, the bench asking what it could fairly get.

Captain Haswell's repeated failure to deliver the military list, again blamed on wet weather, shows a return that could not be made from the castle alone. The list required visiting the several posts to record the men actually on station, the same posts whose duty rosters and decayed forts run through the record, so foul weather that kept him from the batteries also held up the return the directors expected.

33

28

August 1716.

and for making of Candles, and Understanding you

have fifty Bales of Such Goods belonging to the

East India Company on board We desire you to

Deliver to us about half a Bale of the Coarest

Sort that you can come at for that use. And as a

reason for this request to you We have Sent you

a Copy of a Clause in the Generall Letter from the

Hon[ble] Court of Directors that Impowers us to make

Such a Demand. Viz[t]

We have Considered your desires

for Liberty to take Necessary Supplys out of Our re-

turning Ships for the Service of the Island, and in Answer

thereto Say.

We hereby permitt and allow you to take out of

any of Our Ships any Sort of Cloth proper for Shiping

or Household Linnen or Neckcloths and of Coloured

Goods or Stuff proper for Outward Garments when and as

often as the Island is in want of Such Goods, not Exceeding

five or Six Bales in a year in the whole. The midling or

Ordinary will do very well, and which is the one or the

other the Capt. Can tell you by the Marks in the Bills of

Lading, and do you Show the Comander this Clause

for their Information and observance.

Union Castle St We are.

Helena Aug[t] 8. 1716. Yo[r] Humble Servants

In case your Bales be

Large as Some are of 13 maunds a peice [signature]

then we do not desire to have So much Geo. Haswell

as half a Large Bale, but about 100 and

a half or 200. wat. But not to Exceed 200 [ll]

To Capt John Martin Comander Antipas Tovey

of the Queen in St Helena road. Edward Byfeld

Thus far is as Copyd and Sent y[e] Ship. Thes[o] Island.

August 1716.

The Governor and council continued their letter, explaining that the cotton was wanted for making candles. Understanding that the captain had fifty bales of such goods belonging to the East India Company on board, they asked him to deliver about half a bale of the coarsest sort that he could spare for that use. As a reason for the request, they had sent him a copy of a clause in the general letter from the Honourable Court of Directors that empowered them to make such a demand, as follows.

The directors had considered the island's request for liberty to take necessary supplies out of the returning ships for the service of the island, and in answer to it they had set out their terms. They permitted the council to take out of any of the Company's ships any sort of cloth proper for shirting or household linen or neckcloths, and any coloured goods or stuffs proper for outward garments, when and as often as the island was in want of such goods, not exceeding five or six bales in a year in the whole. The middling or ordinary sort would do very well, and that was the one the captain could identify by the marks in the bills of lading. The council was to show the commander this clause for his information and observance.

The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 8 August 1716. It added that, in case the bales were large, as some were of 18 maunds apiece, the council did not wish to have so much as half a large bale, but about 100 and a half, or 200 pounds weight, and not to exceed 200 pounds.

It was signed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield, and addressed to Captain John Martin commander of the Queen in St Helena Road. Thus far was copied and sent by this ship.

Island.

Interpretations

The directors' clause sets a firm annual ceiling on what the island could requisition from passing ships, not exceeding five or six bales of cloth in a year. This was a controlled licence rather than an open right, the Company permitting the bench to draw shirting, linen, neckcloths and coloured stuffs from the returning fleet only up to a fixed quantity. The mechanism let the island meet genuine want without letting the council strip cargoes bound for London.

The maund fixed the weight by which Indian bales were reckoned, the council noting that some bales ran to 18 maunds apiece. A maund was the standard Indian unit of weight, varying by region but substantial, so an 18-maund bale was a heavy package. The bench converted its need into English pounds, asking for about 200 pounds and no more, so the claim was measured precisely against the ship's own weights.

The instruction to take the middling or ordinary sort, identifiable by the marks in the bills of lading, shows the requisition tied to the ship's own paperwork. The bill of lading listed each bale by mark and grade, so the captain could pick out the ordinary cloth the directors had specified without opening the fine goods. This is the same reliance on the bill of lading seen in the Cardonnell cargo dispute, where the captain's failure to endorse the bill made him debtor on 1 July 1715.

34

29

Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday

the 14 of August 1716 At Union Castle

in James Vally. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r]

Geo. Haswell Dep[ty]

Matth[w] Bazett 3[d]

Pres[t] Antipas Tovey 4[th] &

Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c]

The Last Consultation was read and

approved of.

The Gov[r] Reports y[t] Since y[e] Writting

y[e] Letter to Cap[t] Jn[o] Martin, about y[e] Cotton

Yarn, y[e] Capt. tells him, y[t] the mistoke for

his Carmena Wooll, that he has on board

& not Cotton Yarn.

The following Petition were Presented.

Island St Helena. To the Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r]

Govern[r] &c. Council.

The Most humble Petition of William

Worral, Overseer of y[e] Hon Compa[s]

Plantations, &c.

Humbly Sheweth. That yo[r] petit[r] these last Rains

Finding y[e] plantation house Wherein he

now dwells in danger of falling. Humbly

Represents to yo[r] Worsh[s] & Coun[c] that un less

Some Speedy care be taken to prevent it, y[e]

Said Plantation house must Soon become a

heap of Rubbish, for yo[r] petit[r] has been forc[t]

to gett Up in y[e] night time for fear y[e] Roof

should fall, that he would be glad to have a

Secure Room to lye in any where else, every

high Wind y[e] whole house Shakes & Rocks

very much, all y[e] Upper Timbers being

rotted, The Therefore

**Margin Notes:**

Cap[t] Martin has no Cotton Yarn

Plantat[n] Reap[r] very bad.

Island of St Helena.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 14 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor reported that since the writing of the letter to Captain John Martin about the cotton yarn, the captain had told him he was mistaken, since he had carmania wool on board and not cotton yarn.

The following petition was presented.

William Worrall, overseer of the Honourable Company's plantations, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that these last rains had left the plantation house, where he then dwelt, in danger of falling. He warned that unless some speedy course was taken to prevent it, the plantation house must soon become a heap of rubbish. He had been forced to get up in the night time for fear the roof should fall, and he would be glad to have a secure room to lie in somewhere else. Every high wind the whole house shook and rocked very much, all the upper timbers being rotted.

Interpretations

The captain's correction from cotton yarn to carmania wool turns the whole requisition on a misidentified cargo. Carmania wool was a fine soft fleece or hair from the Kerman region of Persia, valued for shawls and fine cloth, an entirely different commodity from the coarse cotton the bench wanted for wicks. The directors' clause permitted taking cloth and stuffs, not raw Persian wool, so the mistake quietly ended the claim made on 8 August 1716.

The decay of the plantation house repeats a pattern of failing Company buildings across the record, the upper timbers rotted and the roof threatening to fall. This was the new plantation house at which Mary Mashborne had been allowed to remain on 5 April 1715 after her husband's death, now Worrall's dwelling as overseer. The same neglect appears in King William's fort, reported ruinous on 19 July 1715, and the slaves' house rebuilt at the Hutts, the island's structures decaying fast under weather and want of upkeep.

The overseer's plea for a secure room to sleep in shows the danger had reached the point of personal risk, not mere inconvenience. Worrall rose in the night for fear of the roof, and the house rocked in every high wind, so the petition sought immediate shelter rather than a full repair, the bench's response turning on whether it would mend the house or move the man.

35

30

August 1716.

Therefore ye Petit[r] humbly desires he may (for y[e] Safty of himself and wife). If this House cant be repaird as he is informd it canot.) That he may be permitted to lye in Some other place & Yo[r] petit[r] as in duty bound shall ever pray &c (Signd) W[m] Worrall The Gov[r] Sayes that Since he has bin here the Plantation house has been Twice filld & repaird & Ones y[e] Gutters new Leaded. All the floars to the Wind- ward part of the house has bin twice new layd & is now quite rotted & wants new flooring again. He has provided Cutt Stones from Sandy bay to pave the Room with. But if y[e] house is in such a dangerous condicon as it is represented He thinks it not worth while to do it. Order[d] That Cap[t] Haswell & M[r] John Bagley Carpenter to goe with him, & that the rest of y[e] Council meet them at Plantation house next Monday in case y[e] weath[r] breaks up So that 'tis fair weath[r] to goe & view y[e] house all over & make a Survey thereof. M[r] Byfeld brought in his Month- ly Acc[t] of Expence (at y[e] Gen[d] Table) for y[e] Month of July amounting to Seventy Nine Pounds three Shillings & two pence half Penny. The Gun[r] brought in his Month- ly Acc[t] of Expence as foll[s] (Viz[t]) An

Margin Notes:

ye 14[th] Aug 1716.

Gov[rs] report thereon

to be Viewed by all y[e] Council & Jn[o] Bagley

Gun[rs] Acc[t] for July

Island of St Helena.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 14 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor reported that since the writing of the letter to Captain John Martin about the cotton yarn, the captain had told him he was mistaken, since he had carmania wool on board and not cotton yarn.

The following petition was presented.

William Worrall, overseer of the Honourable Company's plantations, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that these last rains had left the plantation house, where he then dwelt, in danger of falling. He warned that unless some speedy course was taken to prevent it, the plantation house must soon become a heap of rubbish. He had been forced to get up in the night time for fear the roof should fall, and he would be glad to have a secure room to lie in somewhere else. Every high wind the whole house shook and rocked very much, all the upper timbers being rotted.

Interpretations

The captain's correction from cotton yarn to carmania wool turns the whole requisition on a misidentified cargo. Carmania wool was a fine soft fleece or hair from the Kerman region of Persia, valued for shawls and fine cloth, an entirely different commodity from the coarse cotton the bench wanted for wicks. The directors' clause permitted taking cloth and stuffs, not raw Persian wool, so the mistake quietly ended the claim made on 8 August 1716.

The decay of the plantation house repeats a pattern of failing Company buildings across the record, the upper timbers rotted and the roof threatening to fall. This was the new plantation house at which Mary Mashborne had been allowed to remain on 5 April 1715 after her husband's death, now Worrall's dwelling as overseer. The same neglect appears in King William's fort, reported ruinous on 19 July 1715, and the slaves' house rebuilt at the Hutts, the island's structures decaying fast under weather and want of upkeep.

The overseer's plea for a secure room to sleep in shows the danger had reached the point of personal risk, not mere inconvenience. Worrall rose in the night for fear of the roof, and the house rocked in every high wind, so the petition sought immediate shelter rather than a full repair, the bench's response turning on whether it would mend the house or move the man.

36

31

August 1716.

An Acc[t] of Gun[rs] Stores, Expended from

y[e] 1[st] of July 1716. to the 31[st] following Inclusive

(Viz[t]) Powder

Gallons

July y[e] 4 To y[e] Worsh[s] y[e] Gov[r] 3

11 An Alarm 4 4

An an Ostender 9 9

21 Cap[t] Haswell 1

y[e] Guard 7

Bankes, & Munden[s] point 7 ½

Sheep Skins 3

Spung Staves 1

Iron Crows 4

Axel Trees 1

m[d] 2

Cartridge Paper 3

Muskett Balls 3

Flints 30

Rames Heds 12

Match 2 ¼

24 12 30 3 2 1 4 1 3 ½ 3 - 25 ½

(Signd) Jn[o] French

M[r] Worral Overseer at Plantation

house brought in his Acc[t] of the Hon[ble]

Companys Stock of Cattle. &c.

An Acc[t] of y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] Neat Cattle Sheep

Hoggs Goats, &c. taken y[e] 1[st] August 1716.

64. Cows

Bought last Month.

11. Bullocks. 4. Cows

4. Bulls. 3. Calves

6. Heifers. 1. Yearling

52. Calves

37. Yearlings 8

147. In all

Killd None

Increased 2.

170. Ewe Goats. 49. Ewe Sheep

38. Wethers. 35. Wethers.

68. Ewe Kidds 18. Lambs

44. Ram d[o] 1. Ram.

5. Rams

325. Great & Small 103. Great & Small

10. Sows

30. piggs

24. Shoats

4. Barrows.

3. Boars.

80. Hoggs Gt & Small

**Margin Notes:**

July y[e] 4

Plantat[n] House Acc[t] for July

August 1716.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 July 1716 to the 31st following inclusive.

Powder, in gallons:

4 July, to the hoisting of the Governor's [flag]

3

11 July, an alarm

4

an Ostender

4

21 July, Captain Haswell's [salute]

9

the guard

7

Banks's and Munden's Point

7½

Total powder

25½

Sheep skins

3

Spring staves

1

Iron crows

4

Axletrees

2

Cartridge paper

3

Musket balls

30

Flints

12

Rammer heads

24

Match

24

The columns totalled: 24, 12, 30, 3, 2, 1, 4, 1, 3 and 3, amounting to 25½.

Signed by John French.

William Worrall, overseer at the Plantation House, brought in his account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals.

An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and other stock, taken 1 August 1716.

Neat cattle:

64 cows

11 bullocks

4 bulls

6 heifers

52 calves

37 yearlings

147 in all

Bought last month:

4 cows

3 calves

1 yearling

8

Killed: none

Increased: 2

Sheep:

49 ewe sheep

35 wethers

18 lambs

1 ram

103 great and small

Goats:

170 ewe goats

38 wethers

68 ewe kids

44 ram ditto

5 rams

325 great and small

Hogs:

10 sows

39 piggs

24 shoats

4 barrows

3 boars

80 hogs, great and small

Interpretations

The gunner's account ties every charge of powder to a specific event, the salutes, alarms and guard fire that consumed the island's munitions. The hoisting of the Governor's flag, Captain Haswell's salute and the firing for an Ostender each drew a measured quantity, the Ostender being a ship of the Ostend Company whose arrival was marked by ceremonial fire. Powder was the costliest consumable of the defences, so each round was justified against the occasion that spent it.

The cattle account records a recovering herd held steady through the famine years, 147 neat cattle with two increased and none killed in the month. The cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 had forbidden killing any cow, heifer or calf until July 1716 except by warrant, and this return shows the policy working, the stock building by birth and purchase rather than falling to slaughter. Worrall's earlier counts had climbed from 136 in June 1715 toward this figure.

The monthly stock return was the overseer's standing duty, the whole Company herd and flock driven, counted and entered under each class of beast. Worrall had rendered such accounts repeatedly across his time as overseer, the pounding of the goats that wet weather had lately prevented being the means of mustering them. The detailed breakdown by sex and age let the bench track breeding, loss and increase across the plantation.

The gunner's stores beyond powder list the working parts of the artillery, the rammer heads, spring staves, iron crows and flints that served the guns. Flints fired the muskets, iron crows levered the heavy pieces, and cartridge paper made up the powder charges, the whole forming the consumable and minor equipment of a battery, signed off by the gunner John French as the officer accountable for them.

37

32

August 1716.

  1. Geese Great & Small, 1 Killd, Increased None
  2. Turkies, great & Small. 2. Killd
  3. Exchange for 2 Gan[d] None Increased 7. Bought
  4. fowles Great & Small.
  5. Bought 9. Killd 6. Bought
  6. Increased 1. Killd
  7. Ducks Great & Small, 6. Increased
  8. Asses Great & Small, 7. Male & 4 female Asses. this Month Planted, in the New Ground. Viz[t]
  9. Gum Wood Trees.
  10. figg Trees
  11. plants. of Rushes
  12. figg Trees Planted Round y[e] Vineyard
  13. Lemon Trees planted Round y[e] Garden
  14. plants this Month (Signd) W[m] Worrall.

Island St Helena. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council. The humble Petition of William Fairfax Writer. Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] Petition late belonging to y[e] Ship Thistleworth did w[th] y[e] Consent of Cap[t] Smell Accept of a Tryall. in y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] Service when he received yo[r] Worsh[s] promise to discharge him when either y[e] Interest of Friends in England or his Own dislike should induce him to request it. Yo[r] Petit[r] has just Reason to Say his two Articles are now become forcible, for He is well Assured of Such Interest at home as will answer Moderate desires. And as all Writers, y[t] yo[r] petition has either

Margin Notes:

W[m] Fairfax pet[n] to be discharged

August 1716.

Geese, great and small:

31, 1 killed, increased none

Turkeys, great and small:

55, 2 killed, 2 exchanged for 2 geese, 7 bought, none increased

Fowls, great and small:

56, 24 bought, 12 increased, 9 killed, 6 bought, 1 killed, 6 increased

Ducks, great and small:

15

Asses, great and small:

11, 7 male and 4 female asses

Planted in the new ground this month, namely:

800 gumwood trees

650 fig trees

200 plants of rushes

110 fig trees planted round the vineyard

100 lemon trees planted round the garden

1,860 plants this month

Signed by William Worrall.

William Fairfax, writer, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that, when belonging to the ship Thistleworth, he had with the consent of Captain Small accepted a trial in the Honourable Company's service, on which he had received the council's promise to discharge him whenever either the interest of friends in England or his own dislike should induce him to request it. He now had good reason to say his two articles had become forcible, for he was well assured of such interest at home as would answer moderate desires. As all writers, he had either

Interpretations

The planting record shows a deliberate programme of reforestation and cultivation on Company ground, 1,860 plants set in a single month. The 800 gumwood trees answer the long concern over timber depletion, the Great Wood and the island's native trees having been named for preservation in Pyke's address of 7 February 1715, so the Company replaced felled wood with new planting. The fig and lemon trees round the vineyard and garden mark an attempt to establish fruit and orchard crops.

The rushes planted in quantity served a practical manufacturing need, rushes being soaked in fat to make rushlights, the cheapest form of household lighting. The same cargo's want of cotton wick and the bench's appeal for cotton yarn on 8 August 1716 show how short the island was of lighting material, so growing rushes offered a local alternative to imported wick.

William Fairfax's petition turns on a conditional engagement, a trial in Company service with a standing right to discharge on request. The bench had promised when he left the Thistleworth that he could leave the service whenever his friends' interest in England or his own wish required, so the petition invokes a contractual term rather than asking a fresh favour. Such trial engagements with an exit clause let the Company test a writer while leaving him free to go.

The vineyard named here confirms the Company's continuing effort to grow wine on the island, the fig trees set round it as a boundary planting. The upland slopes had been proposed for vineyards in the earlier surveys, and the moderate climate suited the vine, the planting round it showing the venture was still maintained in 1716.

38

33

August. 1716.

either known or heard of in India have access to a Creditable Table & otherwise accom- modated as Gentlemen, Yo[r] Petit[r] also thinks he has Sufficient cause of dislike to this place which admitts neither to y[e] Hon Company[s] Writers. Wherefore hopes yo[r] Worsh[s] & Coun[c] will Admitt his taking passage in y[e] Queen (y[e] Ship now in the Road & bound for England) & as in Duty bound shall aug[t] 14[th] 1716. ever pray (Signd) W[m] Fairfax. Order[d] That as Soon as he has finished y[e] Book of the Laws of S[t] Helena w[ch] he is Copying Out, that then he shall have his Discharge. Serj[t] Southen deliverd y[e] Gov[r] a Letter w[ch] he desires may be Sent the Hon[ble] Compa[s] in their Pacq[t] by this Ship now in the Road. Order[d] That it be Sent as he desires.

[signature]

Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

Margin Notes:

Granted when y[e] Law book is finished.

Serj[t] Southen[s] Lett[r] to y[e] home

August 1716.

William Fairfax concluded his petition, explaining that all writers either known or heard of in India had access to a creditable table and were otherwise accommodated as gentlemen. He also thought he had sufficient cause of dislike to this place, which suited neither him nor the Honourable Company's writers. He therefore hoped the council would permit his taking passage in the Queen, then in the road and bound for England. The petition was dated 14 August 1716 and signed by William Fairfax.

The council ordered that, as soon as he had finished copying out the book of the laws of St Helena, on which he was then engaged, he should have his discharge.

Sergeant Southen delivered to the Governor a letter which he asked might be sent to the Honourable Company in their packet by this ship now in the road. The council ordered that it be sent as he desired.

Signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

Fairfax's complaint that writers in India dined at a creditable table as gentlemen sets the social rank of a Company clerk against the meaner conditions at St Helena. A writer was the lowest covenanted civil rank, but in the Indian presidencies he sat at the Company table and held a gentleman's standing, so Fairfax measured the island and found it wanting in the dignity his office carried elsewhere.

The discharge made conditional on finishing the book of the laws shows the bench securing a needed task before releasing the man. Fairfax was copying out the island's laws into a fair book, a record of standing value, so the council tied his freedom to the completion of that work rather than letting him leave it half done. The same conditional release governed Andrew Bergh the cooper, kept until a replacement could be found on 11 June 1715.

The forwarding of Sergeant Southen's private letter in the Company packet records the bench acting as the channel for personal correspondence home. The packet carried the official papers, but the council allowed a soldier's letter to travel with it, the ship in the road being the only means of reaching England, so private and official mail went together by the same vessel.

39

34

Island St Helena. Aug[t] 1716.

At a Consultation held on Friday the 17[th] day of August 1716. At Union Castle in James Vally. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Matthew Bazett 3[d] Present. Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c]

Cap[t] Jn[o] Martin Com[d] of y[e] Ship Queen being now ready to Sail, Complains that Two of his Men named William Parsons Boatswaines Mate & Robert Clark Quart[r] Master are not to be found & Desires y[t] We will endeavour to gett them. We Say that in thirty hours time We believe We can Send hands to all or most parts of y[e] Island. Order[d] That if any Person will discover them So as they may be taken or brought to y[e] Gov[r] or Capt[n] in 30. hours time after the Publication of an Advertizement they shall have five Pounds reward for both, or fifty Shilling for any One of them. And That an Advertizement be Published imediatly accordingly. Wherein the Gov[r] engages (as the Cap[t] has also promised him) that they shall not be punished if they come in of themselves in that time. Copy

Margin Notes:

Cap[t] Martin[s] couple of 2 Men run away

Island of St Helena. August 1716.

At a consultation held on Friday 17 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

Captain John Martin, commander of the Queen, being now ready to sail, complained that two of his men, named William Parsons, boatswain's mate, and Robert Clark, quartermaster, were not to be found. He asked the council to endeavour to get them.

The council answered that in thirty hours time it believed it could send word to all or most parts of the island.

The council ordered that if any person would discover the two men, so that they might be taken or brought to the Governor or Captain Martin within thirty hours after the publication of an advertisement, they should have five pounds reward for both, or fifty shillings for one of them, and that an advertisement be published immediately accordingly. The Governor engaged, as the captain had also promised, that the two men should not be punished if they came in of themselves within that time.

A copy followed.

Interpretations

The desertion of two ship's men sets up a recovery mechanism worked through a public reward rather than a search. The council reckoned it could reach most of the island in thirty hours by spreading word, so it fixed a bounty and a deadline, the five pounds for both or fifty shillings for one designed to turn the inhabitants into informers. This is the same method used against the Eagle Galley deserters and the longboat thieves, the bench mobilising the population for a price.

The promise of pardon to men who returned of their own accord within the time shows the bench balancing recovery against discipline. Both the Governor and the captain undertook that voluntary return would carry no punishment, an inducement to bring the men back without the cost and uncertainty of capture, while the reward stood ready if they were taken instead. The two offers ran together, one to the deserters and one to the island.

The boatswain's mate and quartermaster were both petty officers whose loss would hamper the ship, which is why the captain pressed the bench to act before sailing. A homeward Indiaman short of skilled hands faced real difficulty, so the recovery of named warrant-level men mattered more than that of common sailors, the bench responding with a structured advertisement to a master ready to weigh anchor.

40

35

August 1716.

Jsl[d] St Helena. By y[e] Worsh[ll] y[e] Gov[r] &c. Council. an Advertizement. These are to give Notice, that Whereas W[m] Parsons Boatswains Mate & Robert Clarke Quarter Master belonging to y[e] Ship Queen are not to be found now the Ship is ready to Sail. If any person or Persons will discov[r] or apprehend them So as they may be brought to the Govern[r] or Capt[n] of y[e] Said Ship in thirty hours after the Publication hereof they shall have Five Pounds reward, for both, or fifty Shillings for One. And the Govern[r] promiseth they shall not be punished if they Surrender themselves within the Said time Dated at Union Castle in James Vally at ten a Clock in the Morning this 17 day of August 1716. Signd by Order of Gov[r] & Council Antipas Tovey Secr[y]

The Cap[t] Sayes he is willing to pay this Reward (or more if could) for not have them else) because he is Resolved not to Sail without them, for that he had rather Lose any four. of his other Men. It being proposed to Offer a less Reward He Sayed Noe He was Resolved to make a Large offer because He believed those who knew where they were would the more willing- ly discover them the

Margin Notes:

Advertizemt thereupon.

y[e] reward to take y[m]

the Gov[r] proposeth &c.

August 1716.

The Governor and council issued an advertisement.

This gave notice that William Parsons, boatswain's mate, and Robert Clark, quartermaster, belonging to the ship Queen, were not to be found now the ship was ready to sail. If any person would discover or apprehend them, so that they might be brought to the Governor or the captain of the ship within thirty hours after the publication of the advertisement, they should have five pounds reward for both, or fifty shillings for one. The Governor promised that the men should not be punished if they surrendered themselves within the same time.

The advertisement was dated at Union Castle in James Valley at ten o'clock in the morning on 17 August 1716, and signed by order of the Governor and council by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

The captain said he was willing to pay this reward, or more if he could, since he could not have the men otherwise, because he was resolved not to sail without them, for he would rather lose any four of his other men. When it was proposed that he offer a smaller reward, he said no, he was resolved to make a large offer, because he believed those who knew where the men were would the more willingly discover them.

Interpretations

The captain's refusal to lower the reward reveals a deliberate calculation about informers' incentives. He held that a large offer would draw out those who knew where the men were hidden, where a small one might not, so the size of the bounty was itself the instrument of recovery. The bench recorded his reasoning when it pressed him to economise and he declined, the higher sum judged the surer means.

The captain's statement that he would rather lose any four other men marks the two deserters as exceptionally valuable to the ship. A boatswain's mate and a quartermaster held skilled posts that ordinary sailors could not fill, so their loss threatened the safe handling of a homeward Indiaman more than the loss of several common hands. This is why he would not sail without them and would pay heavily to get them.

The advertisement timed precisely to ten o'clock fixes the start of the thirty-hour window the reward depended on. The deadline ran from publication, so the hour was entered on the record to mark when the clock began, both the bounty and the promise of pardon expiring together at a known point, the bench giving the document the precision of a legal instrument.

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36

August. 1716.

The Same Evening M[r] John Robinson One of y[e] Planters came down with the Two men Viz[t] W[m] Parsons & Rob[t] Clarke & deliverd them to the Cap[t] in the Pres[t]. & the Cap[t] told M[r] Robinson he would freely pay him the Money.

[signature]

Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

August 1716.

That same evening John Robinson, one of the planters, came down with the two men, namely William Parsons and Robert Clark, and delivered them to the captain in the fort. The captain told Robinson he would freely pay him the money.

Signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The swift recovery of both men within the day vindicates the captain's reasoning that a large reward would draw out those who knew their whereabouts. John Robinson brought in the pair the same evening the advertisement was published, the bounty working exactly as the captain had predicted when he refused to lower it. The planter who knew where they hid found the fifty shillings a pair worth the trouble of delivering them.

John Robinson appears here as the informer who collected the reward, a planter already known to the bench across the record. He had been the surveyor of highways removed for sixteen months' neglect on 18 April 1715, and had offered cattle and yams toward his Company debt on 2 August 1715, so the reward for the two deserters fell to a man with standing debts of his own. The bounty offered a ready way to set against what he owed.

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37

Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Saturday the 18[t] August 1716. At Union Castle in James Vatty. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Matthew Bazett 3[d] Present. Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Council.

Mett to pull Up y[e] Packett w[ch] was Examind by Cap[t] Haswell. But when Cap[t] Martin was to Signe his Bills w[ch] he deferd & pull off from time to time, He at last made Exceptions to the price of Beef as not agreable to his Char- ter party. & Objected against the Price of Coles & Sayed Some other Articles were as Dear as theif & that he had been wrongly charged & Demanded to See the Invoice which We Shewed him. Then He Sayd the Goods were bought to Dear & the Compa[s] were cheated, but the would not pay till he come Home. Order[d] That this Cap[t] being S[r] Jos[e] Martin Son, that he should not be Stopt here for this Mony which is One Hundred & thirteen Pounds Seventeen Shillings & Sevenpence half Penny & That his Paper be Answerd in Writting and in Case he still refusith to Signe his Bills, that then We make a Protest against him & Represent the Case Matter to the Hon[ble] Company Copy Cap[t] Martin[s] Paper. (Viz[t]) S[t] Helena. 17. August 1716. J Acknowledge to have Received all y[e] Goods mention'd

Margin Notes:

packt to be pull[t] up.

Cap[t] Martin won't pay the Debt &c[t] w[ch] is y[e] H. C. Stor[e]

p[er]mitted however to Sail.

Island of St Helena.

At a consultation held on Saturday 18 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The council met to make up the packet, which was examined by Captain Haswell.

When Captain Martin was to sign his bills, which he deferred and put off from time to time, he at last made exceptions to the price of beef as not agreeable to his charter party. He objected against the price of coals, and said some other articles were as dear as theft, and that he had been wrongly charged, and demanded to see the invoice, which was shown him. He then said the goods were bought too dear and the Company were cheated, but that he would not pay until he came home.

The council ordered that the captain, being Joseph Martin's son, should not be stopped here for this money, which was £113 17s 7½d, and that his paper be answered in writing. In case he still refused to sign his bills, the council would make a protest against him and represent the case to the Honourable Company.

A copy of Captain Martin's paper followed.

Captain Martin, writing at St Helena on 17 August 1716, acknowledged that he had received all the goods mentioned

Interpretations

Captain Martin's dispute turns on the same charter-party objection raised against Captain Mawson of the Cardonnell on 11 June 1715, a master challenging the terms charged against his account. He attacked the beef and coal rates and called the whole reckoning a cheat, yet refused to pay until he reached home, so the bench faced a debt it could not collect from a departing ship. The figure of £113 17s 7½d hung unsettled on his refusal to sign.

The council's decision not to detain him because he was Joseph Martin's son shows personal and family standing weighing in a commercial dispute. The bench chose to let him sail rather than hold the ship, the connection to Joseph Martin tempering the strict enforcement that an unpaid bill might otherwise have drawn. The debt would instead be pursued by written answer and, if needed, formal protest to the directors.

The protest the bench threatened was the standing legal remedy against a master who would not honour his obligations. A protest formally recorded the refusal and laid the matter before the Company in London, exactly as Captain Mawson was made debtor on 1 July 1715 when he failed to endorse the bill of lading. The instrument converted a disputed island charge into a claim the directors could enforce at home.

The demand to see the invoice and the charge that the goods were bought too dear strike at the Company's markup between prime cost and selling price. Martin questioned the very margin the Katharine invoice had been built to record, the difference between landed cost and island price that he read as overcharging, so the dispute exposed the pricing mechanism to a hostile customer's challenge.

43

38

August 1716.

mentiond in my Acc[t] Signd by Cap[t] Haswell & Cap[t] Bazett, for y[e] Service of y[e] Ship Queen being in great Necessity of them for y[e] benefitt of Ship & Cargoe, y[e] prices of Severall Articles in that Accompt are so very Dear & the Article of Beef is contrary to my Charterparty, That J cannot without prejudicing my Owners give Bills of Exchange for y[e] Ballance of that Account And J am Resolved not to doe it. But shall refer it to the Hon[ble] Compa[s] & my Owners in England (Signd) Jn[o] Martin

The Answer (Viz[t]) Cap[t] Martin S[r] The Gov[r] has Received of You a Paper Dated y[e] 17[th] day of Aug[t] Anno 1716. Wherein You Acknowledge the Receipt of Severall Goods, Stores Credits & Provisions that are mentiond in a Bill Signd & Deliverd to You by Mess[rs] Cap[t] Geo. Haswell & Cap[t] Matthew Bazett But You Say that you canot without prejudic- ing yo[r] Owners give Bills of Exchange for the Ballance due on that Account because of the Dear Price of Severall Articles & particularly of Beef, w[ch] you Say is Contrary to yo[r] Charter party. To which We Answer. That your Charterparty does Sometimes Say that for pro- moting y[e] good Estate of this Island You shall be Obliged to take three Hundred Weight for every twenty Men. But of late We had a great Dearth among the Cattle on this Island in which Dyed four fifth parks of all the Cattle, And We are not Yett fully recruitted, Tho Blessed be God We dont want. And this Beef We have bought of the Planters at a higher rate then We have charged You Wherefore

Margin Notes:

his Acknowledgm[t]

Letter to him thereupon

August 1716.

Captain Martin continued his paper, acknowledging that the goods were mentioned in his account signed by Captain Haswell and Captain Bazett, for the service of the ship Queen, being in great necessity of them for the benefit of ship and cargo. He set out that the prices of several articles in the account were so very dear, and the article of beef was contrary to his charter party, that he could not without prejudicing his owners give bills of exchange for the balance of that account. He was resolved not to do it, but would report it to the Honourable Company and his owners in England. The paper was signed by John Martin.

The answer followed.

The Governor wrote to Captain Martin, setting out that he had received a paper from him dated 17 August 1716, in which he acknowledged the receipt of several goods, stores, credits and provisions mentioned in a bill signed and delivered to him by Captain Haswell and Captain Matthew Bazett. The captain had said that he could not without prejudicing his owners give bills of exchange for the balance due on that account, because of the dear price of several articles, and particularly of the beef, which he said was contrary to his charter party.

To this the Governor answered that the charter party sometimes said that, for promoting the good estate of the island, the captain should be obliged to take 300 pounds weight for every twenty men. But of late there had been a great dearth among the cattle on the island, in which four fifth parts of all the cattle had died, and the island was not yet fully recruited, though, God be blessed, they did not want. The beef they had bought of the planters at a higher rate than they had charged him.

Interpretations

The charter-party clause requiring a ship to take 300 pounds of beef for every twenty men reveals a fixed victualling obligation imposed on the Company's vessels. The directors bound each ship to draw a set quantity of provisions at the island, both to feed the crew and to support the settlement's trade, so Martin's refusal struck at a term written into his contract. The same beef demand had been pressed under the Aurengzebe's charter party on 16 January 1715, when the council declined fresh beef on grounds of the cattle shortage.

The Governor's statement that four fifths of the cattle had died gives the sharpest figure yet for the famine's scale. Earlier accounts had framed the loss as 2,500 head in the letter to Le Blanc of 30 January 1715, but here the bench reckons it as a proportion, four parts in five of the whole stock gone. This explains why beef stood so dear and why the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 had forbidden any killing until July 1716.

The Governor's defence that the island sold beef below its own buying price answers the charge of overcharging directly. The Company had bought from the planters at a higher rate than it charged the ship, so the price reflected genuine scarcity rather than profit, the beef supplied at a loss to meet the charter obligation. This turns Martin's accusation of a cheat back on the facts of the famine market.

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39

Wherefore Since We have no end of Our owne to Serve, but have taken a great Deale of trouble to Oblige You, there ought to be no complaint esp[e]cially because You are y[e] next Ship, y[t] has had it at that Low rate of twenty five Shillings & two w[t]: & We have had difficulty with the Planters, to fix it at that Price. Where fore to that We shall Say no more, But if you will please to buy. Such a quantity of any body We are willing to take it Lett it come to You At what Price it will. Besides We have not Obliged You to take that Quantity your Charterparty mentions, tho Some Ships no bigger then Yours would if could have had it, have taken twice y[e] quantity. As to every other Article We need Say no more then that You have been at the Cape of Good hope, and We are convinced that flesh Meat only Excepted, every thing that is Sold here is much cheaper than what is Sold there, You have Some things So low that You are not Charged 18 [p] C[t] as We will make appeare to You by Our Invoice & that is Coles One of the things You seem to be dis- satisfied At. And We know of nothing of value that is above 50 [p] C[t] and are Assured that some Ships would be glad to have Such Stores, tho at a higher rate, But it being Our chief care to bring all things to So low a Rate as may rather be an encouragement then a hardship to any Ships that come here Therefore We are y[e] less concernd at that com plaint. As to yo[r] quick refusing to pay tho it be what no comander of any Ship ever did before Yett We will not Stop You nor the Ship here, which We might doe, But only make

The Governor continued his answer, setting out that, since the council had no end of its own to serve but had taken great trouble to oblige the captain, there ought to be no complaint, especially because the captain's ship had had its beef at that low rate of twenty-five shillings per hundredweight, and the council had had difficulty with the planters to fix it at that price. The council would say no more on the matter, but if the captain pleased to buy such a quantity of anybody, it was willing to let it come to him at whatever price it would. Besides, the council had not obliged him to take the quantity his charter party mentioned, though some ships no bigger than his would, if it could have been had, have taken twice the quantity.

As to every other article, the Governor said he need say no more than that the captain had been at the Cape of Good Hope, and the council was convinced that, flesh meat only excepted, everything sold at the island was much cheaper than what was sold there. Some things were so low that the captain was not charged 18 per cent, as the council would make appear to him by the invoice, and that was the coals, one of the things he seemed to be dissatisfied at. The council knew of nothing of value charged above 50 per cent, and was assured that some ships would be glad to have such stores, though at a higher rate. It being the council's chief care to bring all things to so low a rate as might rather be an encouragement than a hardship to any ships that came there, the council was the less concerned at the complaint.

As to the captain's flatly refusing to pay, though it was what no commander of any ship had ever done before, the Governor said the council would not stop him nor the ship there, which it might do, but only

Interpretations

The Governor's defence of the coal price exposes the actual markup the stores applied, the coals charged at under 18 per cent above prime cost. The note of 30 per cent against the brass and copper case earlier in the Katharine invoice, and this admission of nothing above 50 per cent, fix the range of the Company's advance on landed cost. The bench answered the charge of overcharging by opening its own pricing, the coals being among the lowest-margined goods of the whole cargo.

The beef rate of twenty-five shillings per hundredweight stands below the thirty shillings set in the beef-supply advertisement of 1 June 1715, which confirms the Governor's claim that the island sold at a loss. The council had wrung the lower price from the planters with difficulty, so the figure reflected the scarcity market rather than profit, the same famine pressure that the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 had answered.

The Governor's point that some ships would take twice the beef their charter required reframes the obligation as a benefit the island could not always supply. Where Martin resented the demand, other masters competed for provisions, so the bench presented its victualling not as an imposition but as a service that scarcity now rationed. The charter quantity of 300 pounds for every twenty men became a ceiling the famine made hard to meet.

The remark that no commander had ever flatly refused to pay marks Martin's conduct as a breach of an established norm. Masters disputed prices and protested, as the Cardonnell captain had done before 11 June 1715, but signing the bills and settling at home was the expected course, so the bench recorded the refusal as exceptional to support any later protest to the directors.

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40

August. 1716.

make a Protest against You for refusing to Signe the proper Bills for the mony Owing by You to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] for your Supplyes Yett We must Say that y[e] Compa[s] proffitt being very little, it is but an Ill returne to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] for their care of Ships, & We fear t will hinder them Venturing their moneys abroad for the Supply of other Ships, All which We leave to yo[r] consideracon and hope a chearfull compliance, but if you are Resolved not We desire your Speedy Answer, for As We intend no force So We would not hinder yo[r] Sailing hence in yo[r] Own time least you Should Suffer more by the Loss of Demurrage than by pay- ing y[e] Small differance of y[e] Price you complain of. We are S[r] Yo[r] humble Servants Union Castle Isaac Pyke in St Helena. Geo. Haswell 17. Aug[t] 1716. (Signd) Matth[w] Bazett Edw[d] Byfeld

Copy of the Protest (Viz[t]) Cap[t] Jn[o] Martin S[r] Whereas you have rec[d] at the Hon[ble] Compa[s] Store house, Sundrie Goods Stores & provisions for the Use of your Ship the Queen And Whereas as the Ballance due on yo[r] Account Amounts to the Sum of One Hundred & Thirteen pounds Seventeen Shillings & Sevenpence half penny & doe acknowledge Receipt of S[d] Goods & have refused either to pay for them or to give Your Bills to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] for the Money due to them for said Goods. We therefore the Gov[r] & Council of this Island being unwilling to Stop You or retardy[r] voyage, Doe in the name of the Hon[ble] United Company

Margin Notes:

Protest ag[t] Cap[t] Martin

August 1716.

The Governor concluded his answer, setting out that the council would make a protest against the captain for refusing to sign the proper bills for the money owing by him to the Honourable Company for his supplies. He added that the Company's profit being very little, it was but an ill return to the Company for their care of ships, and the council feared it would discourage them from venturing their money abroad for the supply of other ships. He left all this to the captain's consideration and hoped for a cheerful compliance. If the captain was resolved not to comply, the council desired his speedy answer, for as it intended no force, so it would not hinder his sailing in his own time, lest he should suffer more by the loss of demurrage than by paying the small difference of price he complained of.

The letter was signed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett and Edward Byfield, and dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 17 August 1716.

A copy of the protest followed.

The Governor and council addressed a protest to Captain John Martin. Since he had received at the Honourable Company's storehouse sundry goods, stores and provisions for the use of his ship the Queen, and since the balance due on his account amounted to £113 17s 7½d, and he acknowledged the receipt of the goods but had refused either to pay for them or to give his bills to the Honourable Company for the money due for them, the Governor and council of the island, being unwilling to stop him or retard his voyage, did in the name of the Honourable United Company

Interpretations

The Governor's reasoning about demurrage exposes the practical leverage that kept the bench from detaining the ship. Demurrage was the charge a vessel incurred for delay beyond its allowed time, so holding Martin would cost him more than the disputed price, and the council framed its forbearance as a kindness that left him no grievance. The argument turned the threat of detention into a reason for him to settle quietly.

The protest itself is the formal legal instrument the bench had been building toward, recording Martin's refusal in set terms for the directors. It named the exact balance of £113 17s 7½d, recited his acknowledgement of the goods and his refusal to pay, and entered the council's reservation in the Company's name. This is the same remedy applied to Captain Mawson, made debtor on 1 July 1715 for cargo he had not endorsed, the protest preserving the claim for enforcement in London.

The Governor's plea that small profit made refusal an ill return frames the dispute as a threat to the whole system of victualling ships abroad. If masters would not pay, the directors might cease supplying the fleet at the island, so Martin's conduct endangered a service the homeward ships depended on. The bench cast his stand not as a private quarrel but as a danger to the standing arrangement that provisioned the trade.

46

41

August 1716.

Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, Protest against You the s[d] Capt Jn[o] Martin, for refuseing to pay y[e] s[d] Principal Sum of 113. 17. 7 ½ d & Doe hereby charge You as Debtor for the Principal Sum & alsoe for the Sea Interest or Respendentia of y[e] same which You are & Ought to pay to y[e] s[d] Hon[ble] Compa[s] East India Compa[s] their Agents or Assignes in y[e] Same manner as if You had borrowed the Sum of 113. 17. 7 ½ d of Us, which Respendentia or Sea Interest with Risque on the said Money, We value at 20[d] [p] 100. which makes the said Debt at yo[r] Arrival in England to be One hundred thirty & Six pounds thirteen Shillings & four pence, dree to y[e] Hon[ble] United East India Compa[s] of England & to be paid Out of Your Freight & Demrage for said Ship Queen by yo[r] Self and Owners thereof Witness Our hands this 17[th] day of August Anno 1716. Upon the Island of St Helena.

[signature]

Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

August 1716.

The protest continued, the Company being the Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies. The Governor and council protested against Captain John Martin for refusing to pay the principal sum of £113 17s 7½d, and charged him as debtor for that principal sum, and also for the sea interest or respondentia on it, which he was and ought to pay to the Honourable East India Company, their agents or assigns, in the same manner as if he had borrowed the sum of £113 17s 7½d. The respondentia or sea interest, with the risk on the money, was valued at 20 per cent, which made the debt at his arrival in England £136 13s 4d, due to the Honourable United East India Company of England, to be paid out of the freight and demurrage for the ship Queen by himself and the owners. In witness whereof the Governor and council set their hands on 17 August 1716 upon the island of St Helena.

Signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The charge of respondentia transforms the unpaid bill into a maritime loan secured on the ship and its earnings. Respondentia was money lent on the security of a ship's cargo, repayable with a high rate of interest only if the voyage succeeded, the lender bearing the sea risk. By treating Martin's debt as if he had borrowed the sum on respondentia, the bench attached it to the ship's freight and demurrage, so the directors could recover it from the voyage's proceeds in England.

The 20 per cent sea interest reflects the heavy premium that maritime risk commanded, far above the 8 per cent that governed ordinary credit on the island. Land lending ran at the standard 8 per cent confirmed across the record, but money ventured on a ship carried the danger of loss at sea, so the rate rose to match the hazard, lifting the £113 17s 7½d principal to £136 13s 4d on arrival.

The recital of the Company's full legal title, the Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, gives the protest the formal standing of an instrument enforceable at home. The protest named the precise sum, the rate, the security and the date, and was signed by the council, so it functioned as a binding charge rather than a mere complaint. This is the developed form of the remedy first applied to Captain Mawson, made debtor on 1 July 1715, the bench now adding sea interest to press the claim harder.

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Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 28 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Vally. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Cap[t] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Absent Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] being in y[e] Country. Pres[t] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c]

The three Last Consultations were read & approved of. Cap[t] Bazett Sayas he went y[e] 20. instant (according to an Order of y[e] 14. last) to meet the Gov[r] & Council at Plantation house. But no body was there being very Rainy Weather, Yett he thinks he Saw the Defects of the House & badness thereof better then if he had gone in Dry Weather. He Sayes further that it Rains in almost all Over & y[t] y[e] ends of y[e] Girders & Joice are rotted thereby, So that if not Soon prevented he believes the House. it Self will fall inn, in a very little time. The Gov[r] Sayes he went last Tuesday to See it & finds y[e] Situation of it being just at y[e] foot of a hill the great Soak that comes down in Rainy Seasons has made it not only Damp but has destroyed the Lower part of it So that the Lower part has been twice floard Since We have been here &

Margin Notes:

Reports upon viewing plantat[n] House

y[e] Cap[t] Bazett

the Gov[r]

Island of St Helena.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 28 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council. Captain George Haswell, deputy, was absent in the country.

The three last consultations were read and approved.

Captain Bazett reported that he went on 20 August, in accordance with the order of 14 August, to meet the Governor and council at the Plantation House. Nobody was there, the weather being very rainy, but he thought he saw the defects of the house, and that the badness of it was better seen than if he had gone in dry weather.

He reported further that it rained in almost all over, and that the ends of the girders and the joists were rotted by it, so that, if not soon prevented, he believed the house itself would fall in a very little time.

The Governor reported that he went the previous Tuesday to see the house, and found its situation to be just at the foot of a hill. The great soak of water that came down in rainy seasons had made the house not only damp but had destroyed the lower part of it.

The lower part had been twice floored since the council had been on the island.

Interpretations

The diagnosis of the house fixes its decay on its siting at the foot of a hill, where rainwater soaked down and rotted the structure. The Governor identified the cause as the situation itself rather than mere age, the great soak in rainy seasons destroying the lower part faster than repair could keep pace. This points the bench toward abandonment over repair, since no amount of new flooring could cure a fault built into the ground the house stood on.

The reports gathered here follow the survey ordered on 14 August 1716, the bench acting on inspection before deciding the house's fate. Bazett, the Governor and others viewed it separately and entered their findings, the same considered method applied to King William's fort surveyed on 19 July 1715. The rotted girders and joists carried more weight than the overseer's plea because they came from the councillors' own viewing.

Bazett's remark that rainy weather showed the defects better than dry weather would reveals a shrewd point about inspection. The damage was clearest when the rain was driving in, so his fruitless journey on 20 August 1716, when the others stayed away, at least let him see the house at its worst. The wet that prevented the joint survey also exposed the very faults the survey was meant to find.

48

43

August 1716.

And now all the Boards of the floare are rotten again The principall Rafters are all rotted. The Window frams in y[e] same condicon The Girders & Joice on the South East Side of the house are rotted thro & ready to fall from y[e] Walls, So that We think it dan- gerous to lye in, unless it be in Calme Weath[r] for in Blowing Weather the house being built high Shakes & Rocks & the walls are almost Crackt thro in Severall placks. The house looks well on the Out Side but can be of noe Use in y[e] inside, while every body is afraid to lye in it. The Secr[y] & M[r] Byfeld were also there to view it & think it dangerous in Windy y[e] unhealthy in Wett weather because it Rains all over. The following Petitions were presented Jsl[d] St Helena Viz[t] To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council The humble Petit[n] of Geo. Sanders. Sheweth That yo[r] petit[r] being wholly ignorant of y[e] penalty of Cutting Wood as Likewise of his Black fellows going to Cutt any on y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] Land but thought he would have Cutt none but what grew on y[e] Land yo[r] petit[r] lives on to Fence part thereof. Most humbly prays Yo[r] Worsh[s] &c. to Release him the said penalty, he being a Young beginner not able to bear so great a Loss, resolving

Margin Notes:

Mess[rs] Tovey & Byfeld.

Geo. Sanders pet[n] to beg off his fine of 16[ll] for Cutting Tres &c.

August 1716.

The Governor and council continued their report on the Plantation House. All the boards of the floor were now rotten again, and the principal rafters were all rotted. The window frames were in the same condition.

The girders and joists on the south-east side of the house were rotted through and ready to fall from the walls, so that the council thought it dangerous to lie in unless in calm weather. In blowing weather the house, being built high, shook and rocked, and the walls were almost cracked through in several places.

The house looked well on the outside, but could be of no use inside while everyone was afraid to lie in it. The secretary and Edward Byfield had also been there to view it, and thought it dangerous in windy weather and unhealthy in wet weather, because it rained all over.

The following petition was presented.

George Sanders petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that he was wholly ignorant of the penalty for cutting wood, and likewise of his slaves going to cut any of the Honourable Company's land, but had thought he would have cut none but what grew on the land he lived on to fence part of it. He most humbly prayed the council to release him from the penalty, being a young beginner not able to bear so great a loss, resolving

Interpretations

The survey's final verdict condemns the house as sound in appearance but useless in fact, the outside well enough while no one dared sleep inside. The bench drew the distinction sharply, since a building that could not be lived in safely served no purpose however it looked, the danger in blowing weather and the wet in rain together making it unfit. This judgement, gathered from the secretary, Byfield, Bazett and the Governor across the survey ordered on 14 August 1716, pointed toward giving the house up.

George Sanders fell foul of the standing penalty for cutting the Company's wood, the same offence that ran through the timber-preservation policy. The concern over depletion had been pressed in Pyke's address of 7 February 1715, and Harmon the gardener had taken 40 lashes for carrying wood from the Company's garden on 26 April 1715, so the bench enforced the protection of the island's trees with fixed penalties. Sanders pleaded ignorance and inexperience against the charge.

Sanders's defence rested on a claimed mistake about the boundary, that he believed he cut only on his own ground to fence it. Fencing was a duty laid on every planter as a condition of his lease, so he framed his cutting as lawful improvement gone astray rather than theft of Company timber. His plea as a young beginner unable to bear the loss sought mercy on the penalty rather than denying the act.

49

44

August 1716.

to take care for y[e] future not to Trespass in any manner which was now thro y[e] careles- ness of his Slave unknown to him. & Yo[r] petit[r] as in duty bound aug. 28th shall ever pray &c. 1716 (Signed) Geo. Sanders

Referd till all y[e] Council are present.

Jsl[d] St Hel[a] To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] & Coun[c] The humb[le] petic[n] of Jn[o] Robinson Plant[r] Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] petit[r] did persuant to a proclamat[n] of y[e] 17[th] just Search for y[e] two Seamen who had absented from their duty in endeavouring to run away from y[e] Ship Queen (to w[ch] they belong) by concealing themselves amongst the Rocks in y[e] Country & yo[r] petition having dis- coverd their place of retirement, Secur'd & brought them to Cap[t] Martin their Comand[r] who promised there upon yo[r] petic[n] y[e] reward of Five pounds according to Publication Wherefore yo[r] petic[n] humbly hopes yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council will please to Order him y[e] payment of y[e] s[d] five pounds (already allowd for y[e] purpose by Cap[t] Martin to y[e] Store Account) as an encouragment for his Pains & care in the recovery of Run y[e] does. & Yo[r] petition (as in duty aug. 28[th] 1716. bound) shall ever pray &c. (Signed) Jn[o] Robinson The Gov[r] Sayes he is afraid y[t] more people will be persuaded to run away upon this

Margin Notes:

Jsl[d] St Hel[a]

Jn[o] Robinson pet[n] for y[e] 5[ll] for tak[g] Cap[t] Martin[s] Men

Gov[rs] opinion ab[t] it

August 1716.

George Sanders closed his petition, resolving to take care for the future not to trespass in any manner, which was now done through the carelessness of his slave, unknown to him. The petition was dated 28 August 1716 and signed by George Sanders.

The council referred the matter until all the council were present.

John Robinson, planter, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that, in accordance with a proclamation of 17 August, he had searched for the two seamen who had absented themselves from their duty and tried to run away from the ship Queen, who belonged to it, by concealing themselves among the rocks in the country. Having discovered their place of retirement, he had secured them and brought them to Captain Martin their commander, who promised him the reward of five pounds according to the advertisement.

He therefore hoped the council would order him the payment of the five pounds, already allowed for the purpose by Captain Martin to the store account, as an encouragement for his trouble and care in the recovery of runaways. The petition was dated 28 August 1716 and signed by John Robinson.

The Governor said he was afraid that more people would be encouraged to run away upon this

Interpretations

John Robinson's petition turns the captain's verbal promise into a formal claim against the store account. He had delivered the two men on the evening of 17 August 1716, and Captain Martin had told him he would freely pay the money, but Robinson now sought a conciliar order to make the payment secure. The five pounds had been allowed to the store account, so the bench's order would convert the captain's word into a recoverable credit.

The Governor's fear that the reward might encourage desertion exposes a hazard in the bounty system itself. A standing payment for recovering runaways could tempt men to run in the expectation that confederates would bring them in and split the reward, so the very mechanism that recovered Parsons and Clark might breed the conduct it punished. The bench weighed the precedent against the immediate recovery.

The reward of five pounds for both men matches the sum fixed in the advertisement of 17 August 1716, the fifty shillings a head that Captain Martin had refused to lower. Robinson's claim rested on the published terms, so the bench faced a debt grounded in its own advertisement, the bounty already charged to the store account against the captain's undertaking to pay.

50

46

Aug. 1716.

this Acc[t] that they may have an high reward for the taking of them. And so We told y[e] Capt. when he Satt with Us in Consultation. But We found him a Man not easily to be perswaded but Resolved to have his Own way in every thing. Order[d]. That Jn[o] Robinson have y[e] Credit of the Said Five pounds.

Jsl[d] St Helena. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Coun[c] the humb[le] petit[n] of Jn[o] Robinson Plant[r] Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] petic[n] intends to make an Addition of building to that house he now lives in being too Small for his Family & wanting as much Timber as will make a Girder, humbly requests he may have Yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council leave to Cutt down One of y[e] Trees now growing on part of y[e] Hon Compa[s] Land he Rents. As (in duty bound) shall ev[r] pray &c. aug[t] 28. 1716. (Signd) Jn[o] Robinson. Order[d] That if his Land be kept planted with Trees (according to Law) his petic[n] be Granted.

Island St Helena. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Co[y] the Most humb[le] Petic[n] of Renatus Snow Soldier & Tayler. Humbly Sheweth. That yo[r] petic[n] Wife Mazy Snow being carried off this Island by Cap[t] Jn[o] Martin in the Ship Queen as yo[r] petic[n] is ready to make appeare by y[e] testimony of Several Witnesses who now attend to give a more particular Acc[t] of his said poor Wife being Kidnapped and Spir

Margin Notes:

to Cap[t] y[e] 5[ll]

Jn[o] Robinson pet[n] for a peice Timber

Granted.

Renatus Snow[s] pet[n] ab[t] his Wive[s] run away w[th] Cap[t] Martin

August 1716.

The Governor continued, explaining that more people might run away upon this account, so that they might have a high reward for the taking of them. The council had told the captain so when he sat with it in consultation, but found him a man not easily persuaded, resolved to have his own way in everything.

The council ordered that John Robinson have the credit of the five pounds.

John Robinson, planter, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council a second time. He set out that he intended to make an addition of building to the house he then lived in, it being too small for his family, and wanted as much timber as would make a girder. He humbly requested leave to cut down one of the trees growing on part of the Honourable Company's land he rented. The petition was dated 28 August 1716 and signed by John Robinson.

The council ordered that if his land were kept planted with trees according to law, his petition be granted. It was granted.

Renatus Snow, soldier and tailor, petitioned Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that his wife Mary Snow had been carried off the island by Captain John Martin in the ship Queen. He was ready to make this appear by the testimony of several witnesses who now attended to give a more particular account of his poor wife being kidnapped, and

Interpretations

The grant of timber to John Robinson, conditioned on keeping his land planted according to law, applies the same balance that governed George Sanders's offence earlier this day. Robinson was permitted to fell one tree for a girder only on terms that his ground stay wooded, so the bench supplied a genuine building need while upholding the timber-preservation policy pressed in Pyke's address of 7 February 1715. The condition let the Company allow cutting without weakening the rule.

The bench's recorded misgiving about the reward, repeated to the captain in consultation, shows the Governor's foresight set against Captain Martin's obstinacy. The council had warned that a high bounty might tempt men to run, but Martin would not be moved, so the order to credit Robinson the five pounds was made under a reservation the bench had stated in advance. This protected the council's judgement should the desertion problem grow.

Renatus Snow's complaint that his wife was carried off raises a grave charge against the departing master, the kidnapping of an inhabitant. Snow appears across the record as the soldier and tailor fined on 2 December 1714 for bartering with a slave and ordered to ride the wooden horse on 14 January 1716 for abusing Tovey, so the bench knew him as a troublesome man, yet the loss of his wife to a homeward ship was a serious matter he offered to prove by witnesses.

The timing of Snow's complaint against the same Captain Martin already under protest sharpens the bench's difficulty with a ship about to sail. Martin had refused to sign his bills and now stood accused of carrying off a man's wife, so the council faced two grievances against a master it had chosen not to detain, the witnesses attending to press the second before the Queen could clear the road.

51

46

August 1716.

Spiritted away w[ch] is likely to be his intire ruin & the affliction of this Loss is not only insupport- able to himself But to Orlando & Ann Bagley the Father & Mother of his said Wife who are oppressed & Sunk down with the Grief of this Mis- fortune Wherefore yo[r] distressed petic[n] humbly begs Yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council will please to repres[t] his Case to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] So that the said Cap[t] may be Obliged to returne his said Wife by the next Store Ship & make yo[r] petic[n] Such Satisfac- tion for his great Loss as their Hon[rs] in their Wisdom shall think fitt. & Yo[r] petic[n] as in duty bound shall ever the 28. Aug[t] 1716. pray &c. (Signd) R. Snow The Examinations are as followeth Viz[t]

Jsl[d] St Helena. Thomas Watts Montross Sayeth that on the Tuesday before the Ship Queen Sailed hence he Saw Mary y[e] Wife of Renatus Snow Taylor goe the backway by y[e] Water run to the Ministers back door (were Cap[t] Jn[o] Martin Lodged) & meeting w[th] a Black Servant to whome the Spoke he went in y[e] Soon after he Saw y[e] said Cap[t] of y[e] Ship come & talk with the said Mary Snow, but what their discourse was he knows not, in Some little time he Saw her returne Up the Vally y[e] Same way hed (Signd) Tho[s] W Watts mark W[m] Worrall y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] Overseer Sayeth That the day before the Ship Queen Sailed hence he Saw Cap[t] Jn[o] Martin y[e] Comander walking

Margin Notes:

the 28. Aug[t] 1716.

Examind thereupon

Jsl[d] St Helena.

Tho[s] Watts.

The conclusion of Renatus Snow's petition set out that the loss of his wife threatened his complete ruin. The grief of it fell not only on him but on Orlando and Ann Bagley, the parents of his wife, who were crushed and brought low by the misfortune. Snow asked the Governor and Council to represent his case to the Honourable Company, so that Captain John Martin might be obliged to return his wife by the next store ship and make him such satisfaction for his great loss as their wisdom should think fit. The petition was dated 28 August 1716 and signed by Renatus Snow.

The examinations taken upon the complaint followed.

Thomas Watts of St Helena stated that on the Tuesday before the Queen sailed he saw Mary, the wife of Renatus Snow the tailor, go by the back way along the watercourse to the chaplain's back door, where Captain John Martin lodged. She met a black servant there and spoke with him. Soon afterwards the captain of the ship came out and talked with Mary Snow. Watts did not know what passed between them. A little while later he saw her return up the valley the same way. The deposition was signed by the mark of Thomas Watts.

William Worrall, overseer to the Honourable Company, stated that the day before the Queen sailed he saw Captain John Martin, her commander, walking.

Interpretations

The chaplain's back door served as Captain Martin's lodging while the Queen lay in the road, which placed the alleged meeting at the same minister's door already familiar from the libel posted on the night of 20 June 1715. The location mattered to the complaint, since it set Mary Snow's movements at the captain's own quarters rather than anywhere innocent.

The petition sought a remedy directed not at Martin in person but at the Company, asking that the directors compel his return of the wife by a later ship and exact damages. Martin was the son of Joseph Martin, and the council had already declined to detain him over his refusal to sign the Queen's cargo bills at the consultation of 18 August 1716, so a complaint routed through the Company in London was the only practical avenue left to Snow.

The depositions were built to establish a sequence of movement and contact rather than any direct proof of wrongdoing. Watts could attest only that Mary Snow went to the captain's lodging, spoke with a servant, was joined by the captain and later returned, his account stopping short of their conversation.

Speculations

The complaint was timed to the eve of the ship's departure, which suggests Snow moved only once the kidnapping he alleged could no longer be undone by persuasion on the island. With the Queen about to sail and his wife already aboard or beyond recall, a documented complaint preserving witnesses was the device best suited to support a later claim against Martin and his owners in England.

52

47

August. 1716.

walking with Mary (the Wife of Renatus) Snow Taylor before the house of Sutton Isacke in this Vally talking as he Supposed together; but that he being Up y[e] hill in the path going into the Country could not hear them. (Signd) W[m] Worrall. Jn[o] Gibbs Soldier Sayeth that on Friday y[e] day before the Ship Queen Sailed from hence He Saw a Black fellow y[t] waited upon the third Mate of said Ship come to Mary y[e] Wife of Renatus Snow of this Island Taylor & give her Something which he thinks were Mangoes & two Letters, w[ch] he Saw her read & then putt Up in her pockett. (Signd) John Gibbs. Michael Allen Soldier Sayeth that the Negt[t] before the Ship Queen Sailed between Eleven & One in y[e] Night time he was Sentry at y[e] Water Coarse at y[e] West end of the Line, when a boat came on Shoare from y[e] Said Ship & two Men came up going towards the Town when he this depo[t]. challenged them who told him their Cap[t] Sent them on Shoare to fetch off their third Mate Upon w[ch] One went Up y[e] Vally & Soon return'd with a another person with him each having a bundle or two along with them & this Depon[t] doth believe (Since he has heard of Mary Snow going off) that the third person who went down was Mary Snow. (Signd) his Mich[l] + Allen mark.

Margin Notes:

W[m] Worrall

Jn[o] Gibbs

Mich[l] Allen

William Worrall continued his deposition, stating that he saw Captain John Martin walking with Mary, the wife of Renatus Snow the tailor, before the house of Sutton Brack in the valley. The two appeared to be talking together. Worrall was up on the hill on the path going into the country and could not hear what passed between them. The deposition was signed by William Worrall.

John Gibbs, soldier, stated that on the Friday before the Queen sailed he saw a black fellow who attended the third mate of the ship come to Mary, the wife of Renatus Snow of the island, the tailor. The man gave her something which Gibbs thought were mangoes and two letters. He saw her read them and then put them up in her pocket. The deposition was signed by John Gibbs.

Michael Allen, soldier, stated that the night before the Queen sailed, between eleven and one in the night, he was sentry at the watercourse at the west end of the line. A boat came ashore from the ship and two men came up going towards the town. Allen challenged them, and they told him they were the captain's men, sent ashore to fetch off their third mate. One went up the valley and soon returned with another person, each of them carrying a bundle or two. Allen stated that, since he had heard of Mary Snow going off, he believed the third person who went down was Mary Snow. The deposition was signed by the mark of Michael Allen.

Interpretations

The three depositions were arranged to build a chain across separate days, each witness supplying one link toward the conclusion that Mary Snow left aboard the Queen. Gibbs placed the delivery of mangoes and letters on the Friday, Worrall and Watts placed her with the captain in the valley, and Allen placed a woman carried off by boat on the final night, his identification resting on inference rather than recognition.

The black servant who attended the third mate functioned as the go-between in the alleged arrangement, carrying both the gift of fruit and the two letters that Mary Snow read and concealed. The detail of the letters mattered to the complaint, since correspondence implied a planned departure rather than a sudden seizure, though it cut against Snow's framing of the affair as a kidnapping.

Allen's account turned on his station as sentry at the watercourse at the west end of the line, the fixed night-guard post covering the approach from the sea. His challenge to the boat's crew, and their answer that they were the captain's men come for the third mate, gave the council a sworn record of the ship's people landing under cover of darkness at the hour the woman was taken off.

Speculations

Allen openly grounded his identification on having since heard of Mary Snow going off, which marks his naming of her as reconstruction after the fact rather than direct observation in the dark. The bench would have weighed this honest qualification against the firmer evidence of the daytime sightings, since a conviction of kidnapping turned on whether she was carried against her will or went by her own arrangement.

The gift of mangoes and two concealed letters points to courtship or collusion preceding the departure, which sat awkwardly with the husband's claim of abduction. The witnesses recorded what they saw without resolving that tension, leaving the council to judge whether the documented contacts supported Snow's complaint or undercut it.

53

48

August 1716.

Island St Helena. W[m] Green Soldier Sayth that on Saturday y[e] day y[e] Ship Queen Sailed hence he heard One of the Pinnace Crew of the Said Ship Say that there was a Woman On board which he Saw Standing between two Men on board y[e] s[d] Ship at which he was Surprized but desired y[e] Company he Spoke to that they wou[d] not Say any thing of it. & Likewise that he this Depon[t] Saw a Woman as he thinks it was Mary Snow looking Out of y[e] great Cabbin Window, Just as the s[d] Ship was undersail as he with others were looking after the Ship expecting to See her Salute the Fort but they did not. (Signd) his W[m] + Green mark.

George Lendon Drumer Sayth that One of the Pinnaces Crew belonging to the Ship Queen Capt Jn[o] Martin Com[d] Sold this Depon[t]. That he Saw Mary the Wife Renatus Snow of this Island on board the Said Ship Queen Drinking with two or three of y[e] Mates of y[e] said Ship upon y[e] Quarter deck y[e] night before the Ship Sailed She being then in a Mans Dress, & had a Sea Jackett On. (Signd) George Lendon Christopher Kell Gunn[r] Mate Sayeth that on Saturday y[e] day the Ship Queen Sailed hence he was going Up the Castle path (into the Country) and with Serj[t] Simpson & W[m] Green Stood to look after the Ship, to See her Salute Some time but She

Margin Notes:

W[m] Green

Geo. Lendon

Chr. Kell.

William Green, soldier, stated that on the Saturday, the day the Queen sailed, he heard one of the pinnace crew of the ship say that there was a woman on board. Green saw her standing between two men on board the ship, which surprised him, but the men he spoke to asked the company present not to say anything of it. He thought the woman he saw was Mary Snow, looking out of the great cabin window just as the ship got under sail. Green and others were watching the ship, expecting to see her salute the fort, but she did not. The deposition was signed by the mark of William Green.

George Lendon, drummer, stated that one of the pinnace crew belonging to the Queen, Captain John Martin commander, told him that he saw Mary, the wife of Renatus Snow of the island, on board the ship. She was drinking with two or three of the mates of the ship on the quarter deck the night before the ship sailed. She was then in a man's dress and had a sea jacket on. The deposition was signed by George Lendon.

Christopher Kell, gunner's mate, stated that on the Saturday, the day the Queen sailed, he was going up the castle path into the country. He stood with Sergeant Simpson and William Green to watch the ship and see her salute for some time, but she did not.

Interpretations

Green's account turned on the missing salute, since the ship's failure to fire as she got under sail was noted by several men watching the fort. A departing vessel commonly saluted on leaving, so its omission read to the witnesses as a sign that Martin meant to slip away without ceremony while the woman was aboard.

The pinnace crew supplied the bench with admissions made by the ship's own people, both to Green directly and to Lendon at second hand. Their request that the bystanders say nothing of the woman gave the complaint its strongest material, since it showed the crew treating her presence as something to be hidden.

The detail of Mary Snow in a man's dress with a sea jacket pointed to a deliberate disguise for going aboard unremarked. This sat with the earlier evidence of letters and concealment, building toward an arranged departure rather than the seizure by force that Snow's petition of 28 August 1716 alleged.

Speculations

The convergence of the witnesses on the great cabin and the quarter deck placed Mary Snow among the ship's officers rather than confined or hidden below, which suggests she was received aboard with the mates' knowledge and consent. Her drinking with two or three of them on the night before sailing reads against the husband's framing of an abduction and toward willing departure.

The crew's plea that onlookers keep silent indicates the ship's people understood the carrying-off to be irregular and likely to draw complaint on the island. Their caution suggests an awareness that taking a soldier's wife off St Helena without leave would expose the captain to exactly the proceeding Snow afterwards brought.

54

49

August 1716.

She did not & that there was One lookt out of the great Cabbin Window in Womens apparell which he thinks was Mary Snow. (Signd) Chr[o] Kell The Gov[r] Sayes he wonders the Cap[t] should carry off that Woman So privately & when he had gott her on board go away. Without Signing his Bills or paying his Debt here. Taking his Leave. Saluteing the Fort, Or performing any other Acts of Civility. As to the Woman We have four more Such upon the Island & We wish he had y[m] all & those are Jeptha Fowlers Wife, Thomas Swallows Wife & his two daughters. And We think if We were rid of them We should be all very honest. Since Cap[t] Martin has gone away, after Such a manner, without Signing Bills, Wee think it of bad consequence for fear others should do so to. Therefore, Order[d] That no Comander for the future have Credit in the Stores without Signing bills for every particular Article as they Receive them. We hope Our Hon[ble] Masters will ex- cuse Us not Stopping Cap[t] Martin here which We would have done but in respect to S[r] Joseph Martin who is so often One of the Hon[ble] Court of Directors. Ship

Margin Notes:

Gov[rs] opinion ab[t] the Cap[t]

No Comand[rs] to have Cred[t] of y[e] Stores w[th]out Signing of Bills as they receive Goods.

Christopher Kell concluded his deposition, stating that the ship did not salute and that someone looked out of the great cabin window in women's apparel, whom he thought was Mary Snow. The deposition was signed by Christopher Kell.

The Governor gave his opinion concerning Captain Martin. He said he wondered that the captain should carry off the woman so privately, and that once he had got her on board he went away without signing his bills or paying his debt on the island, without taking his leave, and without saluting the fort or performing any other act of civility.

As to the woman, the Governor observed that the island held four more such, and wished it were rid of all of them. These were Septha Fowler's wife, Thomas Swallow's wife and his two daughters. He thought that if the island were rid of them all, the place would be the more honest for it.

Since Captain Martin had gone away in such a manner without signing his bills, the council judged it to be of bad consequence, for fear others should do the same.

The council therefore ordered that no commander in future should have credit in the stores without signing bills for every particular article as he received it.

The council expressed the hope that the Honourable Masters would excuse the failure to stop Captain Martin, which it would otherwise have done, but for the regard owed to Sir Joseph Martin, who was so often one of the Honourable Court of Directors.

Interpretations

The council recorded its restraint toward Captain Martin as a matter of patronage rather than law. Martin was the son of Sir Joseph Martin, a frequent member of the Court of Directors, and the bench made plain that this connection alone explained its decision not to detain him over the unsigned bills, a forbearance already shown at the consultation of 18 August 1716.

The standing order that no commander should have credit in the stores without signing bills for each article as received was framed as a direct lesson from Martin's conduct. The bench moved from a single default to a general rule of supply, closing the gap that had let a captain take goods on the island and then dispute the charge once safely at sea.

The Governor's wish to be rid of the four named women marked the kidnapping complaint as part of a wider concern with disorder among certain island households. Septha Fowler's wife and the Swallow women were grouped with Mary Snow as troublesome residents, and the Swallow family had already been before the bench over the abuse of Elizabeth Swallow at the consultation of 23 July 1715.

Speculations

The Governor's catalogue of Martin's omissions reads less as grievance over the woman than as a record of every breach of custom the departure involved. The private carrying-off, the unsigned bills, the unpaid debt, the want of leave-taking and the silent fort together built a documented case of misconduct for the directors, with the kidnapping set among commercial and ceremonial slights the Company would recognise.

The decision to bear the loss rather than detain the ship suggests the bench weighed the small sum in dispute against the cost of offending a director's family and the demurrage a stopped ship would incur. By converting its forbearance into a permanent rule on store credit, the council protected itself for the future while sparing itself a confrontation with Sir Joseph Martin's son in the present.

55

50

August 1716.

Per Contra Cr £ s d

Proffitt

4 3 6 By Jon[o] Doveton 2 10 -

1 6

9 12 - By M[r] Bazett 2 10 -

16 11

9 3 By 536. Sugar at 4. [p] 8 18 6

1 - By Gen[ll] Charges (Viz[t])

14 7 ½ 2. Barrells Tarr £ 6 0 0

16 8 2. d[o] Pitch 7 17 6

9 8 1. d[o] Rosin 13 15 -

1 9 1 18. Bushells Wheat 5 10 -

1 24 1. Long Boat 16 - -

39 2 6

2 2 By Jsa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] 20 -

1 6 By Ballance 113 17 7 ½

186 18 7 ½

2 6 ½

18 2

1 4 ½

3 16 -

6 17 10

Loss 6 ½

16 6

Loss

Loss

Memorand[m]

The credit side of the account stood as follows.

By Jonathan Doveton

£2 10s 0d

By Mr Bazett

£2 10s 0d

By sugar

536 pounds at 4d per pound

£8 18s 6d

By general charges, namely:

tar

2 barrels

£6 0s 0d

pitch

2 barrels

£7 17s 6d

rosin

1 barrel

£13 15s 0d

wheat

18 bushels

£15 10s 0d

long boat

1

£16 0s 0d

sum of general charges

£39 2s 6d

By Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor

£20 0s 0d

By balance

£113 17s 7½d

Total

£186 18s 7½d

The profits standing against the entries on the debit side were a column of separate figures, the largest £9 12s 0d, £9 3s 0d, £8 16s 0d and £6 17s 10d, with several smaller sums and several entries marked as loss.

Interpretations

The balance of £113 17s 7½d carried to this account is the same sum Captain John Martin refused to settle by signed bill at the consultation of 18 August 1716. The figure shows the Queen's outstanding debt entered into the Company's books as a formal charge, so that the unpaid balance stood on record against the ship whether or not Martin acknowledged it.

The general charges set out the bulk goods supplied to the Queen for her onward voyage, priced for recovery rather than internal use. Tar, pitch and rosin were the standard materials for paying a ship's seams and rigging against water, the long boat was a substantial item of ship's equipment, and the wheat was victualling stores, the whole forming the chargeable supply Martin disputed as too dear.

The profit-and-loss column against each entry shows the Company tracking the margin on every line of supply rather than its cost alone. Items marked as loss recorded goods sold below what they stood the Company, consistent with the bench's repeated claim to Martin that the island priced its stores low to encourage shipping rather than to burden it.

Speculations

The rosin charged at £13 15s 0d for a single barrel stands far above the tar and pitch beside it, which points either to a scarce commodity priced high or to a much larger quantity than the single-barrel entry suggests. The disparity within a short list of similar naval stores may lie behind Martin's complaint that particular articles were charged as dear as theft.

The decision to strike the balance and carry it as a debt, rather than leave the matter open, fixed the Company's claim at a precise sum before the protest went home. By entering £113 17s 7½d in the books at the moment of departure, the bench gave the directors a settled figure on which to pursue Martin and his owners through the freight and demurrage of the Queen.

56

51

August 1716.

Per Contra Cr £ s d

Proffitt

4 3 6 By Jon[o] Doveton 2 10 -

1 6

9 12 - By M[r] Bazett 2 10 -

16 11

9 3 By 536. Sugar at 4. [p] 8 18 6

1 - By Gen[ll] Charges (Viz[t])

14 7 ½ 2. Barrells Tarr £ 6 0 0

16 8 2. d[o] Pitch 7 17 6

9 8 1. d[o] Rosin 13 15 -

1 9 1 18. Bushells Wheat 5 10 -

1 24 1. Long Boat 16 - -

39 2 6

2 2 By Jsa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] 20 -

1 6 By Ballance 113 17 7 ½

186 18 7 ½

2 6 ½

18 2

1 4 ½

3 16 -

6 17 10

Loss 6 ½

16 6

Loss

Loss

Memorand[m]

The credit side of the account stood as follows.

By Jonathan Doveton

£2 10s 0d

By Mr Bazett

£2 10s 0d

By sugar

536 pounds at 4d per pound

£8 18s 6d

By general charges, namely:

tar

2 barrels

£6 0s 0d

pitch

2 barrels

£7 17s 6d

rosin

1 barrel

£13 15s 0d

wheat

18 bushels

£15 10s 0d

long boat

1

£16 0s 0d

sum of general charges

£39 2s 6d

By Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor

£20 0s 0d

By balance

£113 17s 7½d

Total

£186 18s 7½d

The profit column on the debit side carried a run of separate sums against the several entries, the largest £9 12s 0d, £9 3s 0d, £8 16s 0d and £6 17s 10d, together with smaller figures and several entries marked as loss.

57

52

August. 1716.

Memorand[m] That y[e] 859 of Fresh Beef cost y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] here when bought about 6 Months since 30/ [p] 400. So that there is los upon y[e] meal 2[d] [p] [ll]. On the Whole y[e] Hon[ble] Company have made but 16[ll] [p] C[t] clear proffitt & he was charged nothing for Customes for Severall Small parcels of Goods y[t] he brought on shoare with him & y[e] Gov[d] gave him four Basketts of Green Trade, forty pumkins, two Baggs of Red Oaker, such as grows here on the Hills & about a load of Plantain Trees besides lending him the Use of his Chair the whole time of his being here. So that noe man could have less reason to goe away without Signing his Bills then Capt Martin had. And his carrying away of Snow y[e] Soldiers Wife from Us as in this present Consultation is but little amends, tho the was a great Whore, for if she had continued to live after her Scandalous rate We could have rid our Selves of her by Sending her to Bencoolen

Jsl[d] St Helena

A memorandum on the foregoing account followed.

The 859 pounds of fresh beef had cost the Honourable Company on the island about six months earlier at the rate of 30 shillings per 100 pounds. The Company therefore took a loss of 2¼d per pound on the meat supplied to the Queen.

On the whole the Honourable Company had made only £16 clear profit on the dealings with Captain Martin. He was charged nothing in customs for the several small parcels of goods he brought ashore with him. The Governor gave him four baskets of green ginger, forty pumpkins, two bags of red ochre such as grew on the hills of the island and about a boat load of plantain trees. He also lent Martin the use of his chair for the whole time of his stay. No commander therefore had less reason to leave without signing his bills than Captain Martin had.

The council added that Martin's carrying away of Snow the soldier's wife, the subject of the present consultation, was small amends, though she was a great whore. Had she continued to live on the island at her scandalous rate, the place might have rid itself of her by sending her to Bencoolen in any case.

Interpretations

The memorandum laid out the Company's true margin on the Queen to show how slight a return Martin had disputed. After the loss on the beef and the free gifts of ginger, pumpkins, ochre and plantain, the clear profit came to only £16, which the bench set against his refusal of bills to mark his conduct as the more unreasonable for the favours he had received.

The red ochre noted as growing on the island's hills was a natural iron-oxide earth, used as a pigment and a protective coating for timber and ships' work. Its mention among the Governor's gifts records a local material the island could supply freely, alongside the green ginger and plantain that marked St Helena's role as a refreshment station for outbound and homebound ships.

The waiving of customs on Martin's private parcels of goods formed part of the same reckoning of indulgence shown to him. The bench treated the uncharged duty, the gifts and the lent chair as a tally of courtesies that made his departure without signing bills a clear breach of the obligation those favours implied.

The council's reframing of the kidnapping as a deliverance reduced Snow's complaint to a matter of small consequence. By calling Mary Snow a great whore whom the island would have sent to Bencoolen in any event, the bench recast the carrying-off as no real loss, which sat at odds with the formal complaint Renatus Snow had lodged at the consultation of 28 August 1716.

Speculations

The memorandum reads as the Company's defence prepared in advance for the directors rather than a neutral note of account. By totting up every loss and gift against the bare £16 profit, the bench built the case that Martin had been treated generously and had still refused his bills, arming London with figures to press the protest entered on 17 August 1716.

The dismissal of Mary Snow served the council's interest as much as any judgement on her conduct. Treating her removal as a benefit relieved the bench of pursuing a difficult complaint against a director's son, since a wife the island was glad to lose gave little ground for demanding her costly return by a later ship.

58

53

August. 1716.

Island St Helena To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council. The Humb[le] petit[n] of Sar Sinsnick Wid[o] Most humbly Sheweth That yo[r] petic[n] coming down last Thursday at y[e] request of D[r] Thomlinson (who Sent into y[e] Country for her) with her Broth[r] in Law in Company, when y[e] s[d] D[r] shewed her, her late Husbands Acc[t], w[ch] was for Arrock & Tamarines, & tho She does not remember to have had a quarter of the Arrack charged at y[e] Gallon Nine Shillings, when others Sold at Seven Shil- lings & Sixpence [p] Gallon (p[ar]ticularly at y[e] Stores) Yett he perswaded her to Signe y[e] s[d] Acc[t] (when her Broth[r] was Out of y[e] house) for y[e] ballance he made due, being Nineteen pounds odd mony and she hears Since, theres added a promisery Article for yo[r] petit[r] to pay. Notwithstanding her resigning Up all her Husbands Effects to the Creditors, having nothing but the Labour of her Own hands to maintain her Self and a Sucking Child. Wherefore she most humbly prays she may be discharged of y[e] s[d] engage- ment so ignorantly Signd, & As in duty bound shall ever pray &c. (Signd) her Sarah S Sinsnick. mark.

Margin Notes:

Sar Sinsnick ag[t] her pray D[r] Thomlinson

The petition of Sarah Sinsnick, widow, was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Sarah Sinsnick set out that she came down on the previous Thursday at the request of Doctor Thomlinson, who had sent into the country for her, with her brother-in-law in company. Thomlinson then showed her her late husband's account, which was for arrack and tamarinds. She did not remember that a quarter of the arrack had been charged at 9 shillings per gallon, when others sold it at 7 shillings and sixpence per gallon, particularly at the stores. Nonetheless he persuaded her to sign the account, her brother being out of the house at the time, for the balance he made due, being nineteen pounds and some odd money. She had since heard there was added a promissory article binding her to pay, notwithstanding her giving up all her husband's effects to the creditors. She had nothing but the labour of her own hands to maintain herself and a sucking child. She therefore asked that she might be discharged from the engagement she had so ignorantly signed. The petition was signed by the mark of Sarah Sinsnick.

Interpretations

The petition turned on a price difference in the arrack charged to the dead man's account. Thomlinson had set a quarter of it at 9 shillings per gallon against the 7 shillings and sixpence per gallon then current at the stores, and the widow's complaint was that she had signed for a balance inflated above the going rate without understanding what she did.

The promissory article was the legal device that gave the account its bite. By adding a written promise to pay, Thomlinson converted what might have been a claim against the husband's estate into a personal obligation binding the widow herself, which survived her surrender of all her husband's effects to the creditors.

The widow's position as a signatory caught without her brother-in-law present marked the moment the engagement became enforceable against her. Her brother-in-law had come down with her for support, and his absence from the room when she signed was set out to show that she had been brought to commit herself while unprotected and unadvised.

The estate of John Sinsnick was already before the bench, his inventory brought in at the consultation of 24 July 1716 and the house in James Valley held from sale until the debts upon it were adjusted, with the whole referred to Bazett and Tovey. The widow's plea to be released from her separate promise bore directly on that settlement, since it set her own labour and a nursing child against a debt of about nineteen pounds.

Speculations

The petition was framed to separate the widow's personal liability from the estate's, which suggests she or her advisers grasped that the promissory article was the one charge surrender of the effects would not extinguish. By stressing her ignorance at signing and her brother's absence, she built the ground for setting aside a private undertaking while leaving the estate to answer the creditors in the ordinary course.

The detail of the overcharged arrack served less as the heart of the claim than as evidence of the dealing's bad faith. By showing that Thomlinson had priced a quarter of the drink well above the store rate, the widow cast the whole transaction as one she had been led into, strengthening her case that an engagement obtained in such terms ought not to stand.

59

54

August. 1716.

Order[d], That unless y[e] Parson come in within y[e] time Limited for y[e] Creditors to prove their Debts (as by Order of Council) by the 31[st] Instant & fourteen days more (which We doe now allow him to prove his Debt Jn[o] & y[e] particular Articles) he be excluded a Dividend. The Gov[r] Sayes y[e] Parson has engaged himself to him never to Sell any more Arrac to any body, & y[e] Gov[d] is Resolvd he never will look upon him nor his Wife niether if ever he does. We think it a foolish thing to Suffer any body to Sell Arrack y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] having en[o] to Supply every One. But 'tis worse then foolish for y[e] Parson to do it. Cap[t] Haswell has Sent y[e] Gov[r] word that y[e] Military List shall be ready a gainst next Tuesday. The Gov[r] Sayes y[t] unless he has the Inventory of y[e] Store goods against next Tuesday he shall not be able to gett ready y[e] Indent against next Shipping. The Gov[r] is informd that Notwithstand- ing he Sufford Cap[t] Martin to bring abun- dance of Small things on shoare of Sundry Sorts

Margin Notes:

Ord[r] thereupon

Reports on D[r] Tomlinson[s] Selling Arrack.

Military List to be gott ready.

also Inventory at y[e] Stores.

Cap[t] Martin Red[s]

The council ordered that unless the parson came in within the time limited for the creditors to prove their debts, set by an earlier order of council at the 31st of the month and fourteen days more, he should be excluded from any dividend. The bench now allowed him that further time to prove his debt and its particular articles.

The Governor reported that the parson had bound himself never to sell any more arrack to anyone. The Governor was resolved that he would never look upon the parson nor his wife either, if he ever did so again.

The council judged it a foolish thing to allow anyone to sell arrack while the Honourable Company had enough to supply everyone. It was worse than foolish for the parson to do it.

Captain Haswell had sent the Governor word that the military list would be ready by the next Tuesday.

The Governor reported that unless he had the inventory of the store goods by the next Tuesday, he would not be able to get the indent of stores ready against the next shipping.

The Governor was informed that, despite his having allowed Captain Martin to bring ashore an abundance of small things of various sorts, including socks.

Interpretations

The order on the parson's debt set a strict cut-off for proof against the estate then in settlement. The creditors had been given until the 31st of the month under an earlier order, and the bench extended the parson fourteen days beyond that to lodge his claim and itemise it, failing which he lost his share of any dividend.

The Governor's threat to cut the parson socially carried real weight in a settlement this small. With the chaplain dependent on the goodwill of the bench, a resolve never to look upon him or his wife again was a sanction of standing and exclusion, used to enforce the promise to stop selling arrack outside the Company's monopoly.

The bench's objection to private arrack sales rested on the Company's control of supply rather than on drink itself. Since the Company held enough arrack to furnish the whole island, a clergyman undercutting that trade was both a loss of revenue and a breach of the supply monopoly the stores existed to protect, an offence the bench had already pursued against Benjamin Greentree by warrant of 20 September 1715.

The Governor's repeated reliance on the military list and the store inventory being ready by Tuesday shows the indent of stores as the central task of the season. The annual order to London depended on a true reckoning of what the garrison and the warehouse held, so the deadlines pressed on Captain Haswell and the storekeeper governed whether the requisition could go home by the next shipping.

Speculations

The decision to grant the parson extra time while threatening him over the arrack suggests the bench separated his standing as a creditor from his conduct as a trader. He was allowed his fair claim on the estate, yet warned that his private dealing in drink would cost him the Governor's countenance, the two handled as distinct matters within the same entry.

The Governor's insistence on the inventory by a fixed day points to the indent as a document that could not be assembled piecemeal. Without a settled count of store goods the requisition could not be balanced against need, so the deadline was less administrative habit than a real constraint on catching the shipping season then at hand.

60

55

August. 1716.

Sorts without reckning one farthing Custom Yett he is Since informd, that there was a- bundance of things run ashoare in y[e] night time. Order[d]. That enquirey be made thereinto & that y[e] persons concernd be Sumond against next Consultation Day The Gov[r] Sayes We have bought Severall Large quantity of Strong liquor, & We have written to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] y[t] y[e] proffit thereof would turne to their Acc[t]. But if We are not very exact & carefull, y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] will have a very little proffit by it, if every body y[t] will, may be Sufford to Sell it. He is Resolvd y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] shall be at noe charge for any Wine or Arrack &c. that is Drunk at y[e] fort, For he hopes y[e] proffit of what We Sell will a great deal more then pay it. The Gov[r] Sayes farther y[t] he thinks it proper to come to a certain allowance of what Liquors We Spend at y[e] Fort & that a certaine quantity be allowed, if more is expended y[e] Governo[r] to pay it Out of his own Pockett. Therefore.

Margin Notes:

Goods run

to inq[r] ab[t] it

with care shall Live by Strong Liquors.

H.C. to b[e] at noe Charge in Strong Liq[rs]

to come to allowance

The Governor's report concluded that Captain Martin had brought ashore goods of various sorts without paying one farthing in customs. The Governor had since been informed that an abundance of things had been run ashore in the night.

The council ordered that enquiry be made into the matter, and that the persons concerned be summoned to appear at the next consultation day.

The Governor observed that the Company had bought a large quantity of strong liquor, and had written to the Honourable Company that the profit of it would go to their account. He warned that unless the bench was very exact and careful, the Company would have very little profit by it, if everyone who wished were allowed to sell it.

The Governor was resolved that the Company should be at no charge for any wine or arrack drunk at the fort. He hoped that the profit on what was sold would more than pay for it.

The Governor proposed further that it might be proper to fix a set allowance of the liquor spent at the fort. A certain quantity should be allowed, and if more were used the Governor would pay for it out of his own pocket.

Interpretations

The Governor's offer to bear any excess liquor consumption himself converted a loose charge on the Company into a capped allowance with personal liability beyond it. By promising to pay out of his own pocket for anything drunk at the fort above the fixed quantity, he removed the open-ended drain that fort consumption placed on the stock the Company meant to sell at profit.

The order for night-time running of goods turned Martin's uncustomed parcels into a matter of enforcement against those on shore who received them. The bench summoned the persons concerned to the next consultation, treating the evasion of customs as an island offence to be answered locally, distinct from the protest already sent home against the captain.

The whole entry rested on the Company's strong-liquor monopoly as a source of revenue written into the directors' expectations. The Governor had told London the profit would go to their account, so loose selling at the fort, free consumption by the garrison and uncustomed private imports each threatened a return the bench had already promised home.

Speculations

The Governor's resolve to police fort consumption so closely suggests the liquor account had become the season's most watched source of profit. Having committed the gain to the directors in writing, he treated every avenue of leakage as a personal risk, going so far as to pledge his own purse rather than let the promised return slip through unchecked drinking.

The pairing of the customs enquiry with the liquor question points to a single concern with control of supply running through the entry. Goods run ashore at night and arrack sold loosely at the fort were two forms of the same problem, and the bench addressed both by tightening the points at which goods entered and left the Company's hands.

61

56

August. 1716.

Sorts without reckning one farthing Custom Yett he is Since informd, that there was a- bundance of things run ashoare in y[e] night time. Order[d]. That enquirey be made thereinto & that y[e] persons concernd be Sumond against next Consultation Day The Gov[r] Sayes We have bought Severall Large quantity of Strong liquor, & We have written to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] y[t] y[e] proffit thereof would turne to their Acc[t]. But if We are not very exact & carefull, y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] will have a very little proffit by it, if every body y[t] will, may be Sufford to Sell it. He is Resolvd y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] shall be at noe charge for any Wine or Arrack &c. that is Drunk at y[e] fort, For he hopes y[e] proffit of what We Sell will a great deal more then pay it. The Gov[r] Sayes farther y[t] he thinks it proper to come to a certain allowance of what Liquors We Spend at y[e] Fort & that a certaine quantity be allowed, if more is expended y[e] Governo[r] to pay it Out of his own Pockett. Therefore.

Margin Notes:

Goods run

to inq[r] ab[t] it

with care shall Live by Strong Liquors.

H.C. to b[e] at noe Charge in Strong Liq[rs]

to come to allowance

The Governor recommended that every member of the council consider the matter before the next consultation day, and then give their opinions on what the allowance of liquor at the fort ought to be.

The consultation was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The referral of the fort allowance to each councillor for an opinion at the next meeting followed the bench's settled practice of building agreement before fixing a rule that bore on every member. The same method had been used over the cattle-marking question, adjourned at the consultation of 7 August 1716 so the planters might be consulted first, and it placed the liquor allowance on the same footing of collective assent.

The three signatures of Pyke, Tovey and Byfield, without Haswell or Bazett, recorded the councillors present rather than the full board. Haswell was absent in the country at the consultation of 28 August 1716, and the reduced subscription marks the entry as the act of those who sat that day.

62

57

Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Wednesday y[e] 29 August 1716. at Union Castle in James Vally. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Cap[t] Geo. Haswell & abs[t] Cap[t] Matth[w] Bazett Pres[t] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & being in y[e] Country. Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c] The following Petit[n] was presen- ted, (Viz[t]) Island St Helena. To the Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] &c. Council. The Humble Petit[n] of Edmond Nichols Freeman. Most humbly Sheweth That Yesterday he finding in Mannatee Bay a parcel of Fatt which takes to be Ambergrise & Judges to weigh near four hundred Weight, Upon which he acquainted Rob[t] Gurling planter of it, and others who went to See it, He asking them what it was. But this morn by Moon light Said Rob[t] Gurling w[th] Jn[o] Knipe Planter came & take away a great quantity thereof, he believes Two hundred Weight Wherefore yo[r] petic[n] humbly prays he may have an Order to have the same restord to him again, till Yo[r] Worsh[s] & Coun[c]

At a consultation held on Wednesday 29 August 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, Antipas Tovey fourth in council and Edward Byfield fifth in council. Captain George Haswell and Captain Matthew Bazett were absent, being in the country.

The following petition was presented.

The petition of Edmond Nichols, freeman, was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Nichols set out that the previous day he had found a parcel of fat in Manatee Bay, which he took to be ambergris, and which he judged to weigh near four hundredweight. He told Robert Gurling, planter, of it, and others who went to see it, asking them what it was.

Nichols added that this morning by moonlight Robert Gurling, with John Knipe, planter, came and took away a great quantity of it. He believed they took two hundredweight.

Nichols therefore asked that he might have an order to have the same restored to him, until the Governor and council should determine the matter.

Interpretations

The dispute turned on ambergris, a waxy substance formed in the gut of sperm whales and cast up on shores, prized in Europe as a fixative for perfume and valued very highly by weight. A find of near four hundredweight would be a windfall of great worth, which explains both the haste of the night-time removal and the petitioner's urgency in seeking the bench's protection.

The petition sought interim restoration rather than final title, asking only that the substance be returned to Nichols until the council decided ownership. This put the bench in the position of holding the find pending judgement, a familiar protective step that preserved the matter for orderly determination rather than letting possession be settled by whoever carried it off first.

The removal by moonlight marked the manner of the taking as the heart of the grievance. Gurling and Knipe had come in the night and carried away perhaps two hundredweight of a thing Nichols had openly shown them, so the complaint rested on a covert seizure of what the finder had treated as his own discovery.

Speculations

Nichols framed his claim on the strength of first finding and open disclosure, which suggests he anticipated a contest over title to so valuable a windfall. By recording that he had shown the find to Gurling and others and asked them what it was, he built evidence of prior possession against men who might otherwise claim an equal right to a substance lying on the open shore.

The Governor and council would likely have to weigh whether ambergris cast up on the island's coast belonged to the finder, to the landholder or to the Company as lords proprietors. The petition's silence on that question, asking only for return until determination, suggests the point of ownership was unsettled and that Nichols preferred to secure the substance first and argue the right afterwards.

63

58

August 1716.

Council shall Order the Desposal thereof Yo[r] Petit[r] being y[e] only person who found y[e] Same & has y[e] right to the Accustomed Share for finding Such things here. & Yo[r] petit[r] as in duty bound shall ever pray &c. (Signd) Edm[d] Nicholls

The petition of Edmond Nichols continued, asking that the substance be restored to him until the council should order its disposal. Nichols set out that he was the only person who had found it, and that he had a right to the customary share for finding such things on the island. The petition was signed by Edmond Nichols.

Interpretations

The petition rested its claim on a customary share for finders of such windfalls on the island, which points to an established local rule governing valuable matter cast up on the shore. Nichols did not assert outright ownership of the whole, but a recognised entitlement as discoverer, leaving the council to order the disposal of the rest.

The concession that the council should order the disposal acknowledged a superior right in the Company over so valuable a find. By claiming only the finder's share and submitting the remainder to the bench, Nichols framed his case to fit a system in which ambergris belonged in the first place to the lords proprietors, with the discoverer rewarded by custom rather than owning the find entire.

64

59

Island St Helena.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 4 of Septemb[r] 1716. At Union Castle in James Vally. Isaac Pyke, Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Present. Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Councile. The Last Consultation read & Approvd M[r] Worrall Overseer brought in y[e] Monthly Acc[t] of Live Stock &c. as foll[s] Viz[t] An Acc[t] of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] Neat Cattle Sheep Hoges, Goats, &c. taken Sept[r] 1[st] Anno 1716. 64. Cows. Killd Since 10. Bullocks Last Acc[t] 3. Bulls. 1. Bullock. 6. Heifers. 1. Bull 52. Calves 37. Yearlings 2 None Jncr[d] 172. In all

  1. Geese, great & Small Turkies, G[t] & Small
    1. Killd, Since last acc[t] None Increased
  2. fowls great & Small
  3. Sows. 5. Killd, Since last acc[t]
  4. Piggs. 2. Sent to y[e] Cas- tle alive
  5. Shoats. 7. fowls great & Small
  6. Barrows. 7. Increased. 7. Killd, last mo[s]
  7. Boars. 12. Increased
  8. In all
  9. Ducks, great & Small
  10. Ewe Goats. 2. Killd, None Jncr[d]
  11. Wethers. 1. Killd Since last Acc[t]
  12. Ewe Kidds 5. He Asses.
  13. Ram d[o] 12. Increased. 4. She Ditto
  14. Rams 11. In all
  15. In All

Sheep

Margin Notes:

plant[n] House Acc[t] for Aug[t] 1716.

Neat Cattle

Hoggs

Goats

At a consultation held on Tuesday 4 September 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell Deputy Governor, Matthew Bazett third in council, Antipas Tovey fourth in council and Edward Byfield fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

William Worrall, overseer, brought in the monthly account of livestock. It was an account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the rest, taken on 1 September 1716, being the plantation house account for August 1716.

The neat cattle stood as follows:

cows

64

bullocks

10

bulls

3

heifers

6

calves

52

yearlings

37

total neat cattle

172

Killed since the last account: 1 bullock and 1 bull, 2 in all. None increased.

The hogs stood as follows:

sows

9

pigs

46

shoats

18

barrows

5

boars

2

total hogs

80

Killed since the last account: 5. Sent to the castle alive: 2. Increased: 7.

The goats stood as follows:

ewe goats

170

wethers

37

ewe kids

70

rams

54

rams

6

total goats

337

Killed since the last account: 1. Increased: 12.

The geese stood at 31, great and small. Killed since the last account: 4. None increased.

The turkeys stood at 51, great and small. Killed since the last account: 4. None increased.

The fowls stood at 61, great and small. Killed since the last month: 7. Increased: 12.

The ducks stood at 7, great and small. Killed: 2. None increased.

The asses stood as follows:

he asses

7

she asses

4

total asses

11

The sheep account followed.

Comparison with the earlier returns shows the herds holding firm or rising slightly across the season. The neat cattle had stood at 136 in William Worrall's first detailed return of 18 June 1715, then 147 in the stock taken on 1 August 1716, and now 172 on 1 September 1716, a recovery of some weight against the heavy losses of the famine years when about 2,500 head had been reckoned lost. The goats had risen from 243 in June 1715 to 325 on 1 August 1716 and now 337. The sheep had grown from 34 in June 1715 to 103 a month earlier. The hogs, by contrast, had fallen from 214 in June 1715 to 80 a month before and held at 80 now, a marked and lasting drop. The geese stood near their earlier level of 43, the turkeys had risen from 59 to a recent 55 and now 51, and the fowls newly appeared at 61.

Interpretations

The monthly account functioned as the standing instrument by which the bench tracked the recovery of the Company's stock after the cattle deaths that underlay the famine. The steady climb in neat cattle from 136 in June 1715 to 172 now gave the council a measurable record of herds rebuilding, the same concern that had driven the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 forbidding the killing of cows, heifers or calves until after 20 July 1716.

The collapse of the hogs from 214 in June 1715 to 80 marks the one category moving sharply against the general recovery. The fall sits with the hogs' disease of the Pant, enquired into on 30 August 1715 and reported by Bazett on 4 October 1715 as a corruption of the lungs found on opening dead animals, which points to disease rather than slaughter behind the lasting drop.

The breakdown of each herd into breeding females, young and males allowed the bench to judge the stock's capacity to reproduce rather than its bare numbers. Recording cows, heifers and calves apart from bullocks and bulls, and ewe goats and kids apart from wethers and rams, showed the council how much of each herd was breeding stock and how much was held for slaughter or labour.

Speculations

The near-static hog count against rising cattle, goats and sheep suggests the disease of the Pant had left a constraint the council could not quickly mend by husbandry alone. With the lung corruption identified the previous autumn and the numbers still flat a year later, the bench appears to have been unable to rebuild the hogs at the pace it managed with the grazing herds.

The plant figures that accompanied the August stock return, with 1,860 trees set in new ground that month, point to a deliberate pairing of livestock recovery with timber and orchard planting on the Company's plantations. The bench seems to have treated the rebuilding of herds and the replanting of wood and fruit as parts of a single programme to restore the island's stock after the lean years.

65

60

Septemb[r] 1716

Sheep 49. Ewes 35. Wethers Increasd 18. Lambs None, Killd

  1. Ram None
  2. In all (Signd) W[m] Worrall

S[r] By y[e] Great Winds & Rains this Month y[e] suffish house, is part of it downe & most of y[e] oth[r] houses is unco verd by y[e] like Weather.

The Gunn[r] brought in his Monthly Acc[t]

An Account of Gunn[rs] Stores expended from y[e] 1[st] August 1716. to y[e] last day Inclusive (Viz[t]) Gall[s] Pint[s] 1716 Aug[t] 7 An Alarm 4 4 And y[e] Queen, Cap[t] Martin, ab[t] India 7 7 17 to y[e] Worsh[s] y[e] Gov[r] 2 18 To Cap[t] Haswell 3 M[r] Byfeld 4 Mundens point & Bankes 3 the Guard 5 ½ Muskett Balls, to y[e] W[d] Gov[r] 4 to y[e] Guard 4 Hand Spiks expended 3 Spunge Staves, for y[e] Kidg Hag 1 Flints for y[e] Guard 36 Trucks deli[d] at Swallows 2 Match expended 24 24 2 36 1 3 5 11 25

(Signd) J[no]

The Counc[l] being all p[rese]nt, y[e] petit[n] of Geo. Sanders was taken into consideral[n] according to y[e] Order last Consultation day. The

Margin Notes:

Geo. Sanders form[r] pet[n] considred

The sheep account stood as follows:

ewes

49

wethers

35

lambs

18

rams

1

total sheep

103

None increased and none killed. William Worrall noted that the great winds and rains of the month had left the plantation house where he dwelt with part of it down, and most of the other houses uncovered by the same weather. The account was signed by William Worrall.

The gunner brought in his monthly account.

The account of gun stores expended ran from 1 August 1716 to the last day of the month inclusive, set out by the falcon and the demi-cannon.

powder for an alarm

4 falcons, 4 demi-cannon

powder for the Queen, Captain Martin, from India

7 falcons, 7 demi-cannon

powder to the Governor on the 17th

2 demi-cannon

powder to Captain Haswell on the 18th

3 demi-cannon

powder to Mr Byfield

[...]

powder at Munden's Point and Banks's

3 demi-cannon

powder for the guard

5½ demi-cannon

musket balls to the Governor

[...]

musket balls to the guard

4

hand spikes expended

3

sponge staves for the King's flag

1

flints for the guard

36

trucks delivered to Swallow

2

match expended

24

The totals of the several columns came to 24, 2, 36, 1, 3, 5 and 11, making 25 in all.

The account was signed by the gunner.

The whole council being present, the petition of George Sanders was taken into consideration according to the order of the last consultation day.

Interpretations

The gunner's account divided every charge of powder between the falcon and the demi-cannon, the two natures of gun on the island's batteries. The falcon was a light piece firing a ball of two or three pounds, suited to salutes and alarms, while the demi-cannon was a heavy gun of the main defence, so the twin columns recorded both the ceremonial and the defensive expenditure of powder through the month.

The salute of seven guns to the Queen on her arrival from India marked the largest single charge of the month, fired before the dispute with Captain Martin soured his departure. The powder spent in greeting the ship stood in the same account that would shortly record her leaving without the answering courtesy of a salute to the fort, noted in the kidnapping examinations of 28 August 1716.

William Worrall's note of the plantation house part down and the other houses stripped by wind and rain confirmed in plain terms the decay reported across August 1716. The survey of 28 August 1716 had already judged the house dangerous in windy weather, and the overseer's account now recorded the storm damage that the bench had feared, the structure failing under the very weather it could not withstand.

The trucks delivered to Swallow record small carriage wheels issued from the Company's stores, the trucks being the low wooden wheels on which a gun carriage ran. Their appearance in the gunner's account among powder and match shows the ordnance store supplying carriage parts as well as munitions, a single account covering the whole material of the batteries.

Speculations

The heavy charge of powder for the Queen's salute, set against her silent departure, reads in hindsight as the council's case against Martin building from the moment of his arrival. The bench recorded its own civility in full, so that the captain's failure to return the salute on leaving would stand the more plainly against the courtesies the island had shown him.

The storm that stripped the houses appears to have settled the question hanging over the plantation house since the survey of 28 August 1716. With part of the overseer's dwelling already down, the bench could no longer treat repair as a live option, and the weather seems to have forced the decision that the council had deferred until all its members were present.

66

61

Septem[r] 1716.

The Fact was Cutting down Sixteen of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] Trees proved by R[t] Swallow Sayes & W[m] Portley Overs[r]. the Settled Penalty for Such offences is twenty Shillings each Tree Cap[t] Bazett Sayes he believes the man did it ignorantly, not knowing but he might Cutt wood any where, And believes it will be a Warning to him Order[d], That the Rigour of y[e] Penal- ty be abated w[ch] is 16[ll] But that he pay a fine of Two Pounds to the Hon[ble] Comp[s] and pay five Shillings to W[m] Portley for his time Lost to give an Acc[t] of y[e] Fact. with w[ch] s[d] G. Sanders was thankfull & promises never to Cutt any more wood off of y[e] H[t] Compa[s] Plantation The Marsh[ll] Jos. Bates having bo[t] Some Wines that there was no Acc[t] off given to y[e] Customett[r] quantity about 20. Gallons w[ch] he knew to be run Order[d], That he find forty Shillings to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] This being y[e] first Fact of this nature he has been found Guilty of. The following paper has been handed

Margin Notes:

his fine abated to 40[s]

Jos: Bates for runing Goods

fined 40[s]

The offence was the cutting down of sixteen of the Honourable Company's trees, proved by Richard Swallow, carpenter, and William Portley, overseer. The settled penalty for such offences was twenty shillings for each tree.

Captain Bazett said he believed the man had done it in ignorance, not knowing but that he might cut wood anywhere. He believed the penalty would be a warning to him.

The council ordered that the rigour of the penalty, which came to £16, be abated. Sanders was instead to pay a fine of £2 0s 0d to the Honourable Company, and to pay 5 shillings to William Portley for the time he had lost in giving an account of the offence. George Sanders was thankful for this, and promised never to cut any more wood off the Company's plantation.

The marshal Joseph Bates had bought some wine for which no account had been given to the customs officer, the quantity about 20 gallons, which he knew to have been run.

The council ordered that Bates be fined 40 shillings to the Honourable Company. This was the first offence of this nature of which he had been found guilty.

The following paper was handed in.

Interpretations

The abatement of the penalty from £16 to £2 0s 0d turned a strict tariff into a discretionary fine fitted to the offender's ignorance. The settled rate of twenty shillings a tree would have charged Sanders the full sixteen, but the bench treated his not knowing the rule as ground to reduce the sum, while keeping a penalty large enough to serve as the warning Bazett urged. This followed the referral of his plea at the consultation of 28 August 1716, held over until all the council were present.

The 5 shillings ordered to William Portley for his time lost recorded the principle that an informant or officer who proved an offence was compensated for the trouble of bringing it. The payment came from the offender rather than the Company, so the cost of enforcement fell on the man who broke the rule, a structure that gave overseers reason to report waste of the Company's wood.

The fine of 40 shillings on the marshal Joseph Bates for buying run wine marked the bench applying the customs rule against its own officer. Bates had been appointed marshal on 27 September 1715, yet his knowing purchase of some 20 gallons that had escaped duty drew the same penalty as any other, the council noting it as a first offence to fix his standing for the future.

Speculations

The proceeding against Bates suggests the bench meant its enquiry into goods run ashore from the Queen to reach buyers as well as the captain. By fining its own marshal for taking uncustomed wine, the council showed that the order of the previous consultation to summon the persons concerned was no empty threat, and that office gave no shelter from the duty all owed the customs.

The leniency to Sanders against the firmness to Bates points to the bench weighing knowledge and station in fixing each penalty. Sanders was a young beginner who pleaded ignorance of the rule, while Bates knew the wine was run and held an office of trust, so the council appears to have judged the marshal's informed breach the graver despite the smaller sum at stake.

67

62

Septemb[r] 1716.

handed about by some bussie people here w[ch] We alsoe insert because, it Seems to make something for Cap[t] Martin[s] advan- tage (Viz[t]) "Somebody Deposes, and is of Opin[on] "that if Cap[t] J. Mart[n] knew any thing "of y[e] Elopement of M[s] Sn[ow] y[e] Ship "Staid long En[o] after her being mist "to have been Searcht. And the Slug- "gish Husband not desiring a Warrant "to endeavour recovering her will no "doubt indemnifie the Ship, if she was "therein conceald. So that any share in "y[e] 100. expected is all delirious. But We think that this same Some body is much to blame for going to Renatus Snow[s] when he had missed his Wife & making him so Drunk that he could not go down to y[e] Govern[r]. to complain when he had a consultation on purpose. The following Petitions & Papers being Presented to the Gov[r], he deliverd them this day into Council & Martin Norman appeard & Owned them, Viz[t]

Margin Notes:

a paper ab[t] Mary Snow & Cap[t] Martin

opinion thereon

Martin Norman pet[n] & papers.

The paper handed about by some busy people on the island was inserted by the council because it seemed to make something to Captain Martin's advantage.

The paper set out that somebody deposed, and was of opinion, that if Captain John Martin had known anything of the elopement of Mary Snow, the ship would have stayed long enough after she was missed to have been searched. The sluggish husband had not sought a warrant to try to recover her, which would no doubt clear the ship if she was concealed aboard. The paper concluded that any share in the hundredweight expected was all nonsense.

The council observed that this same somebody was much to blame for going to Renatus Snow when he had missed his wife, and making him so drunk that he could not go down to the Governor to complain, when a consultation had been held on purpose for the matter.

The following petitions and papers were presented to the Governor, who delivered them this day into council. Martin Norman appeared and owned them.

Interpretations

The inserted paper was an anonymous riposte to the Snow complaint, written to defend Captain Martin by ridiculing the case against him. Its argument was that the ship would have lain to be searched had Martin known of the elopement, and that the husband's failure to seek a warrant showed the affair was no abduction, so the council preserved it as evidence of the island talk surrounding the matter.

The reference to a share in the hundredweight ties the libel to the ambergris dispute of 29 August 1716, in which Edmond Nichols claimed a finder's share of near four hundredweight found at Manatee Bay. The anonymous writer used the expected share to mock those who hoped to profit, linking the two affairs then before the bench in a single piece of derision.

The council's note that the writer had made Renatus Snow drunk turned the paper from a mere libel into evidence of interference with the complaint. By plying the husband with drink so that he could not come down to lodge his grievance on the day set for it, the somebody had obstructed the very proceeding the bench had convened, which the council recorded as conduct much to blame.

Speculations

The pairing of the Snow and ambergris matters in the anonymous paper suggests both were the talk of the island, drawn together by a writer who scorned the hopes of profit each raised. The libel's tone points to a faction sympathetic to Martin and contemptuous of Snow, using the ambergris share to cast every claimant before the bench as a chancer after easy gain.

The detail that Snow was made too drunk to complain hints at a deliberate effort to defeat his case while the ship could still sail. By keeping the husband from the consultation called on purpose, the somebody may have hoped the want of a timely complaint would let the Queen leave unsearched, the same point the libel pressed in arguing the ship would have stayed had there been substance to the charge.

68

63

Sept[r] 1716.

Island St Helena. To the Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council. The most humb[le] Petition of Martin Norman. Humbly Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] Petic[n] con- ceivs y[t] his present State which now Seems most despicable, would be very much changed for the better, if his Acc[t] were ballanced not doubting but his Credit thereon would be con- siderable en[o] to give a New Face to his af- fairs, Wherefore earnestly but humbly desire Your Worsh[s] & Council would Order all his Bills of Credit to be Entred in y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] Store Book of Accompts & y[t] he may be also paid for those Yams y[t] have been destroyd on y[e] Land he Leasd & Lived Upon. Yo[r] petic[n] has bin so extreamly reduced by his necessity & little hopes of amendment that it has even forc[t] him to a Resolution of Shortning his Own days, Jf he cant have Justice shewn to his wants this being the Eleventh day of his Abstinence from any nourishment. Therefore humbly recomends his poor case to yo[r] just & hope favour able con- sideracon, & as in duty bound &c. his Martin N Norman mark

Margin Notes:

Aug[t] 28. 1716.

The petition of Martin Norman was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Norman set out that his present state, which then seemed most wretched, would be much improved if his account were balanced. He did not doubt that the credit due to him would be enough to give a new face to his affairs. He therefore asked that the Governor and council order all his bills of credit to be entered in the Honourable Company's store book of accounts, and that he might also be paid for the yams that had been destroyed on the land he had leased and lived upon.

Norman added that he had been so reduced by his want and his slight hope of any remedy that it had driven him to a resolve to shorten his own days, if he could not have justice shown to his needs. This was the eleventh day of his abstinence from any nourishment. He therefore asked that his poor case be given just and favourable consideration. The petition was dated 28 August 1716 and signed by the mark of Martin Norman.

Interpretations

The petition sought two distinct remedies that together would settle Norman's standing with the Company. The first was the formal entry of his bills of credit in the store book of accounts, which would convert scattered paper claims into a recognised balance on the Company's own ledger. The second was compensation for yams destroyed on his leasehold, a claim of the same kind the bench had repeatedly faced from planters whose growing crops were dug up or lost.

The destruction of yams on leased Company land echoes the grievance that ran through Gabriel Powell's petition of 18 October 1715, in which about 400,000 yams growing on the seized Hoskison land had been dug up for the Company. Yams were the island's staple root crop and the basis of subsistence and of debt payment alike, so their loss on a tenant's ground struck directly at his means of living and of clearing what he owed.

Norman's threat to end his life, framed as a demand for justice to his wants, gave the petition the character of pressure as well as plea. By recording the eleventh day of his refusal of food, he set his survival against the balancing of his account, putting the bench on notice that the delay he complained of had brought him to extremity.

Speculations

The petition reads as a calculated escalation rather than a simple request for audit, anchoring a routine claim for credit and crop loss to a declaration of self-starvation. Norman appears to have judged that an ordinary plea would meet the same delay he already complained of, and that only by binding his life to the outcome could he force the bench to act on an account it had left unsettled.

The pairing of the bills of credit with the destroyed yams suggests Norman believed the two together would clear or reverse his debt to the Company. By asking that his credits be entered and his crop loss paid in one motion, he framed his case so that recognition of what the Company owed him would offset what he owed it, giving the new face to his affairs that he sought.

69

64

Septemb[r] 1716.

Annexed was another pap[r] Copy as foll[s] Viz[t] Memorand[m]. Whereas Tho[s] Free & Rob[t] Marsh did Suffer their Hoggs to destroy those Yams J had planted at y[e] Pursley beds & expected to receive y[e] benefitt of my Labour, but being prevented as aforesaid ought & doe think, in Justice y[t] s[d] Tho[s] Free & Rob[t] Marsh should re- pair y[e] damage Sustained by their Cattle in planting as many Suckers as shall be adjudged equal to y[e] Number of Yams rooted Out. Further as J had Suffecent Yams, and Suckers when J was Order'd from my house to have replenished y[e] ground, but thereby Lost consequently y[e] last Years term of their growth if not hindred & in all probability must be another Yeare ere J can expect to have any more Yams or Suckers. To make me ample Satisfaccon the Heirs of that Estate should continue the Lease had of Gov[r] Roberts Two Year longer My Cattle J have also reason to expect should be restored J also desire a Jury of 12 Men may be Sumond to consider of the Lease J had of Cap[t] Hoskison of which J have had no fruits these Seven Years past J have only One thing more to offer y[e] w[ch]

Annexed to the petition was another paper, set out as follows.

The memorandum recorded that Thomas Free and Robert Marsh had allowed their hogs to destroy the yams Norman had planted at the parsley beds, from which he had expected to receive the benefit of his labour. Being prevented in this way, Norman held it just that Free and Marsh should repair the damage their cattle had done by planting as many suckers as should be judged equal to the number of yams rooted out.

Norman set out further that he had held sufficient yams and suckers when he was ordered from his house to have replenished the ground. By that removal he lost the last year's term of their growth, if the growth was not hindered altogether, and in all probability another year must pass before he could expect any more yams or suckers. To give him full satisfaction, the heirs of that estate should continue the lease he had held of Governor Roberts for two years longer.

Norman added that he had reason to expect his cattle should also be restored to him.

He desired further that a jury of twelve men be summoned to consider the lease he had held of Captain Hoskison, of which he had received no benefit for the past seven years.

Norman set out that he had only one thing more to offer.

Interpretations

The memorandum advanced a claim in damages measured not in money but in replanted stock. Norman asked that Free and Marsh repair the loss by setting as many yam suckers as a valuation judged equal to those their hogs had rooted out, a remedy in kind that restored the growing crop rather than its price, and one fitted to an economy in which yams were both food and currency.

The demand for two further years on the Roberts lease rested on the argument that Norman's removal had cost him a full growing cycle of the crop. Yams took the better part of a year to mature, so a tenant ordered off the ground lost not only the standing plants but the season's growth, and the extra term was framed as the time needed to recover what the eviction had destroyed.

The call for a jury of twelve men to consider the Hoskison lease invoked the island's practice of referring contested title and long grievance to a sworn panel of inhabitants. Norman had held that lease without benefit for seven years, a period reaching back into the disordered tenures of the Roberts and Hoskison years, and a jury was the recognised instrument for settling such old and tangled claims to land.

The straying hogs of Free and Marsh place the complaint within the island's recurring contest between livestock and crops, the same nuisance the bench had addressed against John Harding on 12 July 1715, whose hogs damaged a neighbour's ground and whose fences were found lying to the ground. The duty to fence and the liability for animals that broke into planted land ran through these disputes, and Norman's claim turned on the owners' failure to keep their hogs from his beds.

Speculations

The annexed paper reframes Norman's distress as a structured set of property claims, which suggests the threat of self-starvation in the petition was the spur and the memorandum the substance. Having seized the bench's attention by binding his life to the outcome, he set out in this paper the precise reckoning, replanted suckers, two more years of lease, restored cattle and a jury on the old grant, by which he meant his affairs to be put right.

The reach back to leases held of Governor Roberts and Captain Hoskison points to grievances rooted in the seizures and disorder of those administrations, never since made good. Norman appears to have treated the present bench as the forum to reopen losses seven years old, casting his current want as the consequence of wrongs done under earlier governments that the Company had a standing duty to remedy.

70

65

Sept[r] 1716.

w[ch] is to acquaint yo[r] Worsh[s] that if you please to accord with my desires, J must beg you'd please to Supply me dayly with a little Tea & Milk having fully & fixedly resolvd not to receive any other kind of Sustenance till all my hopes shall be ac- complished, nay unless the whole purpose demanded is granted J will even refuse all other kind of comfort but what J shall pa- tiently wait for from Almighty Providence in whom J trust for all relief. (Signd) his Martin M Norman mark Upon w[ch] it was Order'd That he have an Acc[on] of the Case against M[r] Gab. Powell. Cap[t] Hoskison. Successor. An Acc[on] of Trespass against M[r] Tho[s] Free for y[e] damage he has Sustained by his Hoggs. An Acc[on] of Trespass ag[t] Rob[t] Marsh for the same. An Acc[on] of Trover & conversion ag[t] M[r] Joshua Thomlinson for the Cattle, Viz[t] 2. Cows 1. Heifer and two Calves An Acc[on] of the Case ag[t] Rich[d] & Ant[o] Beale for turning him out

Margin Notes:

Martin Norman to have an Acc[on] ag[t] Gab. Powell Tho[s] Free Rob[t] Marsh Josh[a] Thomlinson Rich[d] & Ant[o] Beale & Antipas Tovey.

Norman concluded the paper by setting out the one thing more he had to offer. He asked the Governor that, if the council would agree to his desires, it would supply him daily with a little tea and milk. He had fully and firmly resolved to take no other kind of sustenance until all his hopes were accomplished. He declared that unless the whole of what he demanded was granted, he would refuse every other kind of comfort, and would wait patiently for relief from Almighty Providence, in whom he trusted for all relief. The paper was signed by the mark of Martin Norman.

Upon this paper the council made its order.

The council ordered that Norman have an action of the case against Mr Gabriel Powell, as Captain Hoskison's successor.

He was to have an action of trespass against Mr Thomas Free for the damage he had sustained by his hogs.

He was to have an action of trespass against Robert Marsh for the same.

He was to have an action of trover and conversion against Mr Joshua Thomlinson for the cattle, namely two cows, one heifer and two calves.

He was to have an action of the case against Richard and Anthony Beale for turning him out.

Interpretations

The council's order sorted Norman's tangled grievances into five named forms of action at common law, each matched to the wrong complained of. The hog damage by Free and by Marsh became trespass, the taking of his cattle became trover and conversion, and the loss of his lease through Powell and through the Beales became actions on the case, the bench framing his complaints in the precise legal categories an English court would recognise.

The action of trover and conversion against Joshua Thomlinson named the exact stock at issue, two cows, one heifer and two calves, as the device for recovering the value of goods wrongfully taken and kept. Trover lay where a defendant had converted another's chattels to his own use, so the bench gave Norman the means to recover his beasts or their worth from the man who held them.

The action against Gabriel Powell as Captain Hoskison's successor carried Norman's old leasehold claim against the present holder of the Hoskison interest. Since the original grantor was long dead, the bench directed the suit at Powell as the party who had stepped into Hoskison's estate, so that the seven-year grievance over the lease could be tried against someone answerable in his place.

The provision of daily tea and milk against Norman's vow of total abstinence was the bench's practical response to a man starving himself on its doorstep. By granting that single sustenance while referring his claims to suit, the council kept him alive without conceding the whole of his demand, separating the question of his survival from the question of his right.

Speculations

The bench's decision to grant the tea and milk while sending every substantive claim to a separate action suggests a deliberate refusal to be coerced by the hunger strike into settling the merits. Norman had demanded that the whole of his case be granted before he would eat, yet the council answered by keeping him alive and giving him his day in court on each head, neither yielding to the threat nor leaving him to die of it.

The splitting of one petition into five distinct actions points to the bench imposing legal order on a claim Norman had presented as a single moral grievance. Where he had bundled hog damage, lost cattle and broken leases into one plea for justice, the council separated them into the forms each required, which both gave his complaints a regular path to trial and ensured that no single sweeping order could carry them all at once.

71

66

Sept[r] 1716.

out of the Pursley Beds. And like- wise that he have an Acc[on] of the case against for M[r] Tovey for his not giving him Credit for all the Debts y[t] were referrd to him to Settle. After Council he Sent the following Notes. (Viz[t]) 1[st] Note. Concerning y[e] Pursly beds, if you will Lett me have it for two Years to y[e] wate[r] so well & good, Since y[e] Cows were taken J will not be a farthing at expence for a gallon of Arrack & Six pound of Flouer J had of Cap[t] Bazett, J will not pay any- thing for it, what J have been Out of Pockett Since the Cows were taken from me, Five pounds will not Answer for it But J will take Five pounds for it, J had Nine Hogs but J do hear there is not One of them left, which J will be paid for Seventy three fowls which are dead & gone three New Blankets J will have for my bed- ing & Blankets, For Alarms to be excused & for what Bills J have, to be entred. J have a Dropsie & y[t] J may have it cured for nothing, & that M[r] Dutch may be paid for my being there y[e] 2[d] Note. Right Worsh[s] M[r] Normans desire is, you will Order M[r] Worrall to send all his Cattle down, which is eight head and if they goe to the Pursley beds, J desire

Margin Notes:

2 More Notes from Martin Norman

The council further ordered that Norman have an action of the case against Mr Tovey for not giving him credit for all the debts that had been referred to him to settle.

After the council had risen, Norman sent in the following two notes.

The first note concerned the parsley beds. Norman set out that if the council would let him have the beds for two years with their water, so well and good. Since his cows had been taken from him, he would not be a farthing out of pocket for a gallon of arrack and six pounds of flour he had received of Captain Bazett, and would not pay anything for them. He reckoned that what he had been out of pocket since the cows were taken from him, five pounds, would not answer for it, but he would take five pounds for it. He had held nine hogs, but heard there was not one of them left, for which he would be paid. He would be paid for seventy-three fowls which were dead and gone. He would have three new blankets for his bedding, and blankets. He asked to be excused from alarms, and that the bills he held be entered. He had a dropsy, and asked that he might have it cured for nothing, and that Mr Dutch be paid for his attendance on him there.

The second note set out Norman's desire that the council order Mr Worrall to send down all his cattle, which were eight head. He desired that if they went to the parsley beds [...].

Interpretations

The action of the case against Tovey for withholding credit placed a sitting councillor as defendant to the very debtor whose accounts he had been trusted to settle. Tovey had been referred Norman's debts to adjust, and Norman now charged that he had not entered all the credits due, so the bench allowed a suit against its own fourth member on the same footing as against the planters and landholders.

Norman's dropsy, a swelling caused by the retention of fluid in the body, brought a claim for medical relief into the schedule of demands. By asking that it be cured for nothing and that the practitioner Dutch be paid for attending him, Norman sought to lay the cost of his treatment on the Company, treating his sickness as one more head of the satisfaction he was owed.

The first note recast Norman's grievances as a running set-off, in which the value of his lost stock would cancel what he owed for goods received. He refused to pay for the arrack and flour had of Bazett, reckoning the five pounds he was out of pocket since his cows were taken as answer enough, and ran his lost hogs, dead fowls and wanted blankets into the same account, so that the Company's debt to him would absorb his debt to it.

The request to be excused from alarms sought relief from the standing militia duty that bound the island's men to muster when the guns gave warning. Every able inhabitant owed attendance at an alarm, as the bench had enforced against John Hoskison on 12 July 1715 with a fine for neglect, so Norman's wish to be released marked a claim to set aside an ordinary obligation of settlement on the ground of his distress.

Speculations

The two notes sent after the council rose suggest Norman seized on the bench's partial concession to press a far longer list of demands than the petition had carried. Having won his actions and his tea and milk, he appears to have read the council's attention as an opening to itemise every loss and want he could muster, from blankets to the curing of his dropsy, in the hope that the same pressure would carry the smaller claims.

The detailed set-off in the first note points to Norman treating the whole of his dealings with the Company as a single unsettled account rather than a series of separate debts and credits. By refusing payment for the arrack and flour and folding his lost cattle, hogs and fowls into the reckoning, he framed his position so that nothing was owed by him until everything owed to him had been counted, a stance that turned each fresh loss into a further argument against his own liability.

72

67

Sept[r] 1716.

J desire they may not be hurt, & y[e] liberty of Milking in the Goat pound. (Signd) his Martin N Norman mark Upon this Note the Gov[r] Sent him word he could deliver none, but that Old Norman might do as he would Whereupon he Sent again to desire the Gov[r] would not hinder him if he went & fetched them himself, who told the messen- ger that He would not concerne himself what he did & that no body by his Order should hinder him Upon which the next morning the Old man went up the Hills with some Souldiers that he had hired & drove down all his Cattle and he has those Cattle now in his possession Order[d]. That next Monday come Seven night a Jury be Sumond purposely to hear Martin Normans causes.

[signature]

Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

Margin Notes:

about his Cattle.

a Tryal ord[r]

Norman concluded the second note by desiring that his cattle might not be hurt, and that he might have liberty of milking in the goat pound. The note was signed by the mark of Martin Norman.

Upon this note the Governor sent Norman word that he could deliver none of the cattle, but that Norman might do as he would.

Norman then sent again, desiring that the Governor would not hinder him if he went and fetched them himself. The Governor told the messenger that he would not concern himself with what Norman did, and that nobody by his order should hinder him.

The next morning Norman went up the hills with some soldiers he had hired and drove down all his cattle. He now had those cattle in his possession.

The council ordered that on the Monday week following a jury be summoned, purposely to hear Martin Norman's causes.

The consultation was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The Governor's answer that Norman might do as he would was a careful withdrawal rather than a grant. He declined to deliver the cattle himself, yet undertook that nobody by his order should hinder Norman from taking them, which left the recovery to Norman's own hand while keeping the Company clear of having either restored the beasts or resisted their seizure.

The driving down of the cattle by hired soldiers turned the Governor's neutrality into a self-help recovery carried out under colour of his licence. Norman took men of the garrison up the hills and brought the whole herd into his own possession, so that the disputed stock changed hands by his own act before any jury had pronounced on the right to it.

The order for a jury to be summoned a week later, purposely to hear Norman's causes, channelled the whole tangle of his claims into the island's standing tribunal for contested matters. The bench had already framed his grievances as five named actions, and now fixed a day for a sworn panel to try them, converting his hunger strike and his self-help into a regular legal proceeding.

Speculations

The Governor's studied refusal to order either the delivery or the hindrance of the cattle suggests a deliberate placing of the act and its consequences on Norman alone. By granting bare licence rather than restitution, the bench avoided endorsing Norman's title to beasts that Thomlinson was said to hold, while sparing itself the odium of denying a starving man the means to recover what he claimed.

The recovery accomplished before the jury sat may have shifted the burden in the coming trial onto those who would dispute Norman's possession. With the cattle now in his hands by the Governor's leave, any party claiming them would have to make good their right against a holder who could point to the bench's own licence, which suggests the day's events strengthened Norman's position ahead of the hearing the council had set.

73

68

Septemb[r] 1716.

Island St Helena. At a Consultation held on Monday the 17[th] of September 1716 At Union Castle in James Vally. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Present. Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c]

M[r] Byfeld brought in the Monthly Account of Dyett expence for the last month which amounted unto £ 87 10 8 ½ Martin Norman presented the following Petition to discharge M[r] Joshua Thomlinson y[e] Parson from his Compl[t] or action at his Suit which was Granted. To the Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council. The humble Petition of Martin Nor- man, Freeman Most humbly Sheweth That yo[r] Petic[n] having had his Cattle Seized on by M[r] Joshua Thomlinson the Chaplain which has been so great a los to him that he has been ruinated thereby, & having desired Justice of yo[r] Worsh[s] &c. Council, in order to have his Cattle rest.

Margin Notes:

Dyett Expence for August.

Normans pet[n] to discharge D[r] Thomlinson

Island St Helena

At a consultation held on Monday 17 September 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell Deputy Governor, Matthew Bazett third in council, Antipas Tovey fourth in council and Edward Byfield fifth in council.

Mr Byfield brought in the monthly account of diet expense for the last month, which came to £87 10s 8½d.

Martin Norman presented the following petition, to discharge Mr Joshua Thomlinson the parson from the complaint or action at his suit. The petition was granted.

The petition of Martin Norman, freeman, was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Norman set out that he had had his cattle seized by Mr Joshua Thomlinson the chaplain. This had been so great a loss to him that he had been ruined by it. He had therefore sought justice of the Governor and council in order to have his cattle restored.

Interpretations

The petition reversed Norman's own action of trover against Thomlinson, the suit the council had granted him at the consultation of 4 September 1716 over two cows, one heifer and two calves. Having recovered his cattle by driving them down from the hills under the Governor's licence, Norman now asked to discharge the parson from the very proceeding brought to recover them, since the object of the suit was already in his hands.

The recasting of Thomlinson as the man who had seized the cattle, rather than merely held them, set the chaplain at the centre of the loss Norman blamed for his ruin. The same Joshua Thomlinson appears across these weeks as a creditor and dealer, the man who pressed the disputed arrack account on the widow Sarah Sinsnick and who claimed to keep the Company slave Will, and here he stood as the holder of the beasts whose loss Norman made the root of his distress.

The bench's grant of the discharge closed one of the five actions it had framed without a trial of its merits. Because Norman had achieved by self-help what the suit was meant to secure, the council let him withdraw the action against Thomlinson, leaving the remaining claims against Free, Marsh, Powell and the Beales to go forward to the jury it had summoned.

Speculations

The discharge suggests the recovery of the cattle had settled the one grievance Norman cared most to resolve, the loss he named as his ruin, so that the suit against Thomlinson had served its purpose before it could be heard. By dropping it once the beasts were back, Norman appears to have treated the action as a lever rather than an end, abandoned the moment direct possession made it needless.

The timing points to the Governor's licence of the previous week having quietly resolved the cattle dispute in Norman's favour without a verdict. With the herd driven down and held, and the parson now released from the action, the matter that had begun with a hunger strike and a claim in trover ended in a withdrawal, which suggests the bench preferred a settled possession to a contested trial over the chaplain's conduct.

74

69

Sept[r] 1716.

Restord to him again, You were pleasd to Order a day should be appointed for hearing my complaint & redressing all y[e] wrongs y[t] J have Sustaind by him or any others, but yo[r] Petic[n], being unwilling to goe to Law & being informed by my Friend y[t] y[e] Parson could not Justify Seizing of my Cattle by his Own Autho- rity & that all such Seizure is void by the Law of this Island because he did never Register that writing that he Obliged me to Signe which J am told he ought to have done in Six months or else 'tis to be of no force but he being a Rich man J am not able to goe to Law with him & Therefore by y[e] advice of my said friends who has Assured me that his taking my Cattle from me without the Order of yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council in Writing is contrary to Law and that J had a better Authority to take my Own Cattle againe Whereever J found them then he had to take them from me J have followed their advice & taken my own Cattle again into my care & Possession w[ch]. J hope yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council will not take ill because by this J shall be enabled to pay y[e] said M[r] Thomlinson & any other to whom J stand indebted

The petition of Martin Norman continued, recalling that the council had been pleased to order a day appointed for hearing his complaint and redressing all the wrongs he had sustained by Thomlinson or any others. Norman, being unwilling to go to law, had been informed by his friends that the parson could not justify seizing his cattle by his own authority. They advised him that all such seizure was void by the law of the island, because Thomlinson had never registered the writing he had obliged Norman to sign, which he was told ought to have been registered within six months or else be of no force.

Norman set out that, being a poor man, he was not able to go to law with Thomlinson. He had therefore taken the advice of his friends, who assured him that the parson's taking of his cattle without the order of the Governor and council in writing was contrary to law, and that he had a better authority to take his own cattle again wherever he found them than Thomlinson had to take them from him. Norman had followed this advice and taken his own cattle back into his care and possession. He hoped the Governor and council would not take it ill, because by this he should be enabled to pay Thomlinson and any others to whom he stood indebted.

Interpretations

The petition rested Norman's self-help on a defect in registration that voided the parson's claim. Norman had been advised that the writing Thomlinson obliged him to sign was of no force, because it had never been entered within six months as the island's law required, so the seizure founded on that unregistered instrument was itself unlawful and gave Norman the better right to retake his beasts.

The six-month registration rule invoked here is the same standing requirement that underlay the island's long struggle to record its deeds and bonds, the successive Company directives that culminated in the register book and the beat-of-drum quieting procedure operationalised on 30 March 1711. An instrument left unregistered fell void by that regime, and Norman's friends turned the rule to his advantage, making the parson's failure to register the writing the ground for setting the whole seizure aside.

The petition framed Thomlinson's taking of the cattle as unlawful for want of the council's order in writing, drawing the same principle the bench itself had pressed in the Snow affair and elsewhere, that seizure required the authority of the Governor and council rather than a creditor's private act. By this argument Norman cast his own recovery as the lawful step and the parson's original taking as the trespass.

The plea that recovery would enable Norman to pay his debts tied the self-help to the Company's own interest. By recovering the cattle he could satisfy Thomlinson and his other creditors, so Norman presented his retaking not as defiance but as the means by which the debts he owed, including those the bench had referred for settlement, might at last be cleared.

Speculations

The shift from the council's grant of an action in trover to this argument of void seizure suggests Norman's friends had found firmer ground than a contested suit. Rather than try the parson's conduct before a jury, they rested on a clear technical failure, the unregistered writing, which let Norman justify a recovery already accomplished and avoid the cost and risk of the law he said he could not afford.

The careful presentation of the retaking as lawful and as serving his creditors points to Norman seeking the bench's retrospective blessing for what he had already done. Having driven the cattle down under the Governor's bare licence, he now built the legal case that the act was rightful, which suggests he wanted not merely to hold the beasts but to be confirmed in holding them, so that no later proceeding could unwind the recovery.

75

70

Septemb[r] 1716.

indebted much better then by letting One man run away with all. And therefore having now Obtaind a full & Lawfall Possession of my Own Cattle without any Law, but the Law of nature which is agreeable to the Law of God J desire Liberty to withdraw my action against y[e] Parson, because J would live quie- ly with all men, & not be vexed with the charge of following the Law, which is not the way to pay my Debts. But Yett J hope if yo[r] Worsh[s] & Coun[c] will give me a years time J shall not only pay my Debts but have Suffecient left for my Self. & yo[r] Pet[r] as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c. (Signd) Martin his M Norman mark Then y[e] Gov[r] & Coun[c] adj[d] & went to y[e] Sessions house according to their Publick appoint m[t] of y[e] 4 Instant September where they heard & Examined the following causes. M[r] Tovey Reports that he had Copied Out the Last Gen[ll] Lett[r] At

Margin Notes:

adj[d] to Session[s] house.

Lett[r] Copyed to go home

Norman concluded the petition by setting out that to pay his creditors was much better than to let one man run away with everything. Having now obtained full and lawful possession of his own cattle, without any law but the law of nature, which he held agreeable to the law of God, he asked liberty to withdraw his action against the parson. He wished to live quietly with all men, and not to be troubled with the charge of going to law, which was not the way to pay his debts. He hoped that if the Governor and council gave him a year's time, he would not only pay his debts but have enough left for himself. The petition was signed by the mark of Martin Norman.

The Governor and council then adjourned and went to the sessions house, according to their public appointment of 4 September 1716, where they heard and examined the following causes.

Mr Tovey reported that he had copied out the last general laws.

Interpretations

The appeal to the law of nature and the law of God set Norman's self-help above the formal law he declined to use. He cast his recovery of the cattle as justified by a higher right than the courts could give, which let him present the withdrawal of his suit not as surrender but as a preference for natural justice over the costly machinery of litigation.

The request for a year's time to pay reframed the whole dispute as a question of forbearance rather than right. Having taken back his cattle, Norman now asked only for time, undertaking to clear his debts and keep enough to live on, which turned his earlier extremity into a plea for the indulgence the bench commonly extended to debtors who offered a credible path to payment.

The bench's move from the consultation table to the sessions house marked the shift from administrative business to judicial proceeding. The council sat as a court of judicature on the day appointed at the consultation of 4 September 1716, hearing and examining causes, the same dual capacity in which it had tried matters at earlier general sessions, so that the morning's petitions gave way to the formal trial of the island's pending causes.

Speculations

Norman's repeated insistence that litigation was not the way to pay his debts suggests he had grasped that a year's forbearance served him better than any verdict. With the cattle recovered and the parson's claim weakened by the registration defect, a trial could only delay and cost him, so he appears to have aimed throughout at withdrawal on terms, trading his actions for time and quiet possession.

The framing of self-help as the law of nature may have been pitched to a bench reluctant to disturb a settled possession. By dignifying his recovery with a higher authority and renouncing further suit, Norman gave the council an easy course, to let the matter rest, which suggests he read the bench as wanting the affair closed as much as he did, and shaped his final plea to meet that wish.

76

71

Sept. 1716.

At a Court of Judicature held on Monday y[e] 17[th] day of September 1716. At y[e] Sessions house in James Valley near Union Castle, for the Tryal and Decision of Several causes then depend- ing. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] & Judge Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Present. Matth[w] Bazett Antipas Tovey & Assist[s] Edw[d] Byfeld Then the Court was Opend according to the Usual manner, & those persons ap- pointed for Jurors are as followeth. (Viz[t])

  1. Jn[o] Coles Foreman
  2. Orlando Bagley.
  3. John Bagley.
  4. Rich[d] Gurling.
  5. Henry Francis.
  6. Joshua Johnson.
  7. Rich[d] Swallow Sen[r]
  8. Francis Wrangham
  9. John Robinson
  10. John Twaits.
  11. James Vesey.
  12. John Long Who were all Sworne Where

Margin Notes:

Jurors Sworne

At a Court of Judicature held on Monday 17 September 1716 at the sessions house in James Valley near Union Castle, for the trial and decision of several causes then pending, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor and Judge, with George Haswell Deputy Governor, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield as assistants.

The court was opened in the usual manner. The persons appointed for jurors were as follows:

1: John Coles, foreman

2: Orlando Bagley

3: John Bagley

4: Richard Gurling

5: Henry Francis

6: Joshua Johnson

7: Richard Swallow senior

8: Francis Wrangham

9: John Robinson

10: John Thwaites

11: James Vesey

12: John Long

The twelve were all sworn.

Interpretations

The court convened as a distinct judicial body from the consultation, the same council sitting in its higher capacity to try and decide pending causes. Pyke presided as Governor and Judge while Haswell, Bazett, Tovey and Byfield sat as assistants, the bench formally reconstituting itself as a Court of Judicature with a sworn jury, the procedure developed across the island's earlier trials such as the Bever trial of 24 January 1715 and the Toby trial of 10 May 1715.

The jury of twelve drew the panel from the substantial planters and freemen of the island, the same names that recur as parties, witnesses and officers across the records. John Coles served as foreman in the role he had filled at the general sessions of 7 February 1715, and the panel included men with their own matters before the bench, among them John Robinson, lately rewarded for recovering the Queen's deserters, and Richard Gurling, a party to the very causes the court was to hear.

The presence of jurors who were themselves litigants in the pending causes marks the close interlacing of the island's small community with its courts. Richard Gurling had taken away the ambergris Edmond Nichols claimed, and several panel members appear elsewhere as creditors or neighbours of the parties, so the jury that would judge the causes was drawn from the same circle whose disputes it sat to determine.

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72

Sept. 1716.

Where appeared M[r] Joshua Thomlinson Chaplain w[th] a pap[r] in his hand w[ch] he deliv[d] to y[e] Govern[r] & desired to have it read, w[ch] was Publickly read & is as follows, (Viz[t]) Island St Helena. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council. The humble Petit[r] of Joshua Thomlinson Chaplain to y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] & Minister of y[e] Island. Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] Petition has rec[d] some papers containing a Charge ag[t] him of an Odious & Scandalous nature & understands that last Friday in y[e] After- noon was drawn up & worded to his great prejudice (as he conceives) Signed by Martin Norman & deliverd to y[e] Gov[r] a petition to have y[e] charge or Acc[on] with drawn, and Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] has been told y[t] y[e] said Charge & Petit[r] must be sent home to the Hon[ble] Compa[s] & also stand here upon Record, which by reason of y[e] Sly & False insinuations therein contain may tend highly to y[e] detriment of his Own reputatio[n] & that of his Sacred Function except he

Margin Notes:

Chaplain Thomlinson pet[n]

Mr Joshua Thomlinson, chaplain, then appeared with a paper in his hand, which he delivered to the Governor and desired to have read. It was read publicly and ran as follows.

The petition of Joshua Thomlinson, chaplain to the Honourable Company and minister of the island, was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Thomlinson set out that he had received some papers containing a charge against him of an odious and scandalous nature. He understood that on the previous Friday afternoon a petition had been drawn up and worded to his great prejudice, as he conceived, signed by Martin Norman and delivered to the Governor, which sought to have the charge or action withdrawn. He had also been told that the charge and petition must be sent home to the Honourable Company and would stand upon record on the island. By reason of the sly and false insinuations contained in them, this might tend greatly to the detriment of his own reputation and of his sacred function, unless he [...].

Interpretations

The chaplain's petition shifted the contest from the cattle to his good name, treating Norman's papers as a libel against his office rather than a mere dispute over property. Thomlinson's concern was that the charge of odious and scandalous conduct would be transmitted to the Honourable Company and entered on the island's record, so he sought to answer not the loss of the beasts but the lasting injury to his reputation as minister.

The double jeopardy Thomlinson feared lay in the charge being both sent home and kept upon record on the island. A complaint against the chaplain would reach the directors in London and remain in the consultation book at St Helena, so an unanswered imputation would follow him in both places, which gave him reason to appear in court and have his defence entered alongside Norman's accusation.

The reference to Norman's petition of the previous Friday to withdraw the action ties this proceeding to the discharge granted at the consultation of 17 September 1716. Norman had asked to drop his suit once he recovered his cattle, but the chaplain now treated that very withdrawal as part of the injury, since a charge left on record without trial would stand unrefuted, the imputation surviving the abandonment of the formal action.

The invocation of his sacred function placed the chaplain's clerical standing at the heart of his plea. Thomlinson argued that the insinuations touched not only his private character but his ministry, drawing on the special regard owed his office to press for the charge to be cleared, lest the record carry an unanswered slur against the island's minister to the Company at home.

78

73

September 1716.

he may have Liberty to defend himself Altho yo[r] Petic[n] has never Yett in his Life time been Sued in any Acc[on] whatsoev[r] & trusting to his own Innocency & y[e] good Character he has always borne did hope never to have his name upon record w[th] any Suspicion of blemish. Yo[r] Petit[r] desires either to have fair Li- berty (on this present Monday y[e] 17[th] Sept 1716) before y[e] Court of Judicature when & where the charge aforesaid was designd to be brought on. To plead in defence of himself his Function his Reputation his Interest or what any way concerns him against all & every such indit- ment, Information, charge, Acc[on], Petition or any thing else which concerns him, or else that every Such Indictment, charge, Acc[on] Petition may be Torne before his Face, Erased & never to appear any where against him & yo[r] Petit[r] shall ever pray &c. (Signd) Joshua Thomlinson The Court considerd his petit[n] which was something Verbose & Stuffed w[th] evil Cha- raitors as if he had rec[d] some great injue- ry, but he could make Out None, for he had

Margin Notes:

Sept 17. 1716.

reply, & Opinion thereon

The chaplain's petition continued, asking that he might have liberty to defend himself.

Thomlinson set out that he had never in his life been sued in any action whatever. Trusting to his own innocence and the good character he had always borne, he had hoped never to have his name upon record with any suspicion of blemish.

Thomlinson asked for one of two remedies. He desired either fair liberty, on the present Monday 17 September 1716, before the Court of Judicature where the charge was intended to be brought, to plead in his own defence, for his function, his reputation and his interest, against every such indictment, information, charge, action or petition that concerned him. Otherwise he asked that every such indictment, charge, action or petition be torn before his face, erased, and never to appear anywhere against him. The petition was dated 17 September 1716 and signed by Joshua Thomlinson.

The court considered the petition, which was somewhat verbose and stuffed with strong terms, as if he had received some great injury. The court found that he could make out none, for he had [...].

Interpretations

The chaplain framed his demand as a strict alternative, either a hearing or the destruction of the record, allowing no middle course in which the charge might lie unanswered. He sought to plead in his own defence before the court that very day, or else to have every accusing paper torn before his face and erased, so that no imputation against him would survive in any form.

The court's blunt assessment that the petition was verbose and stuffed with strong terms, and that Thomlinson could make out no real injury, marked a sharp turn against the chaplain. Where Thomlinson presented himself as gravely wronged, the bench treated his complaint as overstated, finding that the great injury he claimed had no substance behind it, which signalled that his appeal to his sacred function had not moved the court in his favour.

The boast that he had never in his life been sued in any action, and his hope to keep his name clear of any blemish on the record, rested the whole plea on reputation rather than right. Thomlinson's concern was the permanence of the written record, both at the island and with the Company, so his remedy of erasure aimed less at the merits of Norman's claim than at expunging the very existence of the charge.

Speculations

The court's impatience with the chaplain's language suggests the bench had already weighed the underlying conduct and found Thomlinson's grievance hollow. The same Joshua Thomlinson appears across these weeks pressing a disputed arrack account on the widow Sarah Sinsnick and holding cattle that Norman recovered as unlawfully seized, so the bench may have viewed his demand for vindication with the skepticism of men who knew his dealings.

The insistence on either a hearing or erasure points to Thomlinson grasping that a withdrawn action could leave him worse placed than a tried one. With Norman's suit dropped, the charge would stand on record untested, neither proved nor disproved, so the chaplain sought a formal clearing precisely because the abandonment of the action denied him the acquittal a verdict might have given.

79

74

Sept[r] 1716.

had Seized a poor mans Cattle for Debt th[r]ou[t] any Authority for so doing & y[e] man Mart[n] Norman had desired Justice against him for it, but afterwards was advised y[t] y[e] par- sons Seizure was irregular & therefore he went & toke his Own Cattle again as he mentions in his Petition & when he had his Cattle a- gain desired y[e] Parson might not have any trouble on his Acc[t]. The Parson than as is also expressed in his Petit[n] desired all pa- pers written or intended against him might be publickly torne & Erazed in his presence but y[e] Court did not think pro- per to grant his Petition which contained Severall Seditious Expressions, and y[e] Gov[r] who was Judge was of Oppinion that his Own Petit[n] (as he calld it) ought rath[r] to be torne, because he hauls in all his Sacred Function to y[e] Scrape & to help Out with his Clamour but so it has been too much of late when a Churchman cant Justify his Acc[ons]. then he cryes Out there will be a reflection on y[e] Function & makes his Church in danger & y[e] Gov[r] Sayes He thinks if y[e] parson were as Just as he desires

The court's finding continued, that Thomlinson had seized a poor man's cattle for debt without any authority for doing so. Martin Norman had sought justice against him for it, but was afterwards advised that the parson's seizure was irregular, and so went and took his own cattle back, as he mentioned in his petition. Once Norman had his cattle again, he asked that the parson might not have any trouble on his account.

The parson then, as also set out in his petition, asked that all papers written or intended against him might be publicly torn and erased in his presence. The court did not think it proper to grant the petition, which contained several seditious expressions. The Governor, who sat as judge, was of the opinion that the parson's own petition, as he called it, ought rather to be torn, because he dragged in his sacred function to scrape and help out with his clamour.

The court observed that it had become too much the practice of late that when a churchman could not justify his actions, he cried out that there would be a reflection on his function, and made his church to be in danger. The Governor said that he thought, if the parson were as just as he [...].

Interpretations

The court's ruling reversed the moral position the chaplain had claimed, finding that he, not Norman, was the wrongdoer in the seizure. Thomlinson had taken a poor man's cattle for debt without authority, the same defect of want of the council's order and of registration that Norman had urged, so the bench held the parson's original act irregular and Norman's recovery justified.

The refusal to tear the papers on the ground that the petition itself contained seditious expressions turned the chaplain's remedy against him. Far from erasing the charge, the court judged Thomlinson's own document the more fit for destruction, the Governor declaring that the parson had abused his sacred function by dragging it in to bolster his complaint, which inverted the very appeal to office on which Thomlinson had relied.

The Governor's rebuke of churchmen who cry that their function is reflected on, and that the church is in danger, whenever they cannot justify their conduct, set the bench's secular authority firmly above the chaplain's clerical pretension. The remark generalised Thomlinson's case into a standing complaint against clergy who invoke their office to escape accountability, marking the council's refusal to let sacred function shield irregular dealing.

The whole entry confirmed the lawfulness of Norman's self-help that the bench had licensed at the consultation of 17 September 1716. By finding the parson's seizure irregular and Norman's recovery proper, the court placed its judicial seal on the retaking the Governor had earlier permitted by bare licence, so that the possession Norman had seized stood vindicated in law.

Speculations

The Governor's sharp words suggest a settled exasperation with Thomlinson reaching beyond this single cause. The chaplain appears across these weeks as a hard creditor, pressing the disputed arrack account on the widow Sarah Sinsnick and holding cattle seized without warrant, so the bench's readiness to call his petition seditious and fit for tearing may reflect a broader judgement on a minister who used his office to press private advantage.

The court's framing of the matter as a recurring abuse by clergy points to a deliberate statement of principle rather than a mere ruling on the facts. By turning Thomlinson's case into an occasion to denounce churchmen who plead the danger of the church to evade scrutiny, the Governor seems to have meant to set down a marker for the island, that clerical standing would not exempt its holder from answering for his conduct before the bench.

80

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Septemb[r] 1716.

Desires to be thought Yet even for y[e] Inde- cency of his expressions in y[e] beginning of his paper as well as for Lugging inn his Church into y[e] braul or Contest it ought to be disregarded. Yet y[e] Court told him that tho they would Examine nothing there but what came regularly before them, he should have a Consultation when he would, could on purpose to hear all his Allegations or if he had any Just cause of Acc[on] ag[st] any One, the Gov[r] would at any time call a Court on purpose & do him right, but could not Spend y[e] time of y[e] Court now to hear him exclaime for fear of a complaint y[t] was not made but only intended to be made against him & now discharged, neither would the Court tare any papers. Martin Norman y[e] Old man stood by & Sayd his case would be known at y[e] day of Judgment Then the Court Examind into Mart[n] Normans Cases, a Copy of the first de- claration is as followeth. (Viz[t]) Jsl[d] St Helena. Martin Norman of this Island Freeman

Margin Notes:

Martin Norman[s] Speech.

proceedings foll[s] (Viz[t])

Jsl[d] St Helena.

The Governor's opinion concluded that, even setting aside whether the parson was as just as he wished to be thought, the indecency of his expressions at the beginning of his paper, and his dragging his church into the brawl or contest, were reason enough that the petition ought to be disregarded.

The court nevertheless told Thomlinson that, although it would examine nothing except what came regularly before it, he should have a consultation whenever he wished, called purposely to hear all his allegations. If he had any just cause of action against anyone, the Governor would at any time call a court on purpose and do him right. The court would not spend its time hearing him exclaim for fear of a complaint that had not been made, but only intended to be made, against him, and was now discharged. Nor would the court tear any papers.

Martin Norman, the old man, then stood by and said his case would be known at the day of judgment.

The court then examined into Martin Norman's causes. A copy of the first declaration ran as follows.

The first declaration was that of Martin Norman, freeman of the island.

Interpretations

The court's offer of a consultation called purposely to hear the chaplain, while refusing to act in the present, drew a firm line between a regular complaint and Thomlinson's anticipatory clamour. The bench undertook to do him right if he ever brought a just cause, yet declined to spend the court's time answering a charge that had only been intended and was now discharged, so the remedy was held open but the immediate demand refused.

The refusal to tear any papers settled the chaplain's alternative remedy against him as firmly as the refusal of a hearing. The bench would neither erase the record nor destroy Norman's withdrawn charge, leaving the papers to stand as they were, which denied Thomlinson the expungement he sought and kept the whole matter on the consultation book exactly as written.

Norman's retort that his case would be known at the day of judgment marked the old man's appeal past the earthly court to a final reckoning. Having recovered his cattle and withdrawn his suit, he met the proceeding with a declaration of ultimate vindication, the same cast of mind that had grounded his self-help in the law of nature and the law of God at the consultation of 17 September 1716.

The court's turn to examine Norman's causes opened the trial proper of the actions the bench had framed at the consultation of 4 September 1716. With the chaplain's petition disposed of and Norman's claims now before the jury, the first declaration began the formal pleading of the remaining suits against Free, Marsh, Powell and the Beales for the hog damage, the lost lease and the turning out.

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Septemb[r] 1716.

Freeman having Petit[d] y[e] Worsh[s] Gov[r] & Coun[c] against divers persons for redress of Injuries & wrongs done to him & being promised y[t] he shall have Justice done him by a Jury to be Appointed to Examine into y[e] cause of his com- plaint & y[e] 17 day of Sept[r] 1716. being appointed for hearing & determining y[e] Same. Doth now appeare in person in y[e] Court & charge Gabriel Powell Planter & Succes- sor to Geo. Hoskison Gent in an Acc[on] of y[e] Case He having rec[d] damage by y[e] s[d] Geo. Hoskison's means to y[e] Value of about two hundred pounds. For that Geo. Hoskison Gent having given this complainant a Lease for 20. Acres of Land (as Trustees to Sen[r] Beales Orphans) for Seven Years at y[e] Yearly Rent of fifty Shillings & Likewise as doth appeare By a Consultat[n] of y[e] 17[th] Jan 1709/10 y[t] this comp[t] was to hold y[e] s[d] Land for 7 Years from y[e] 7[th] day of y[e] s[d] Said 1709 Yet Notwith[th] standing y[e] s[d] Geo. Hoskison did not nor was he intitled ever to make good y[e] s[d] Lease for y[e] One half of y[e] s[d] twenty Acres of Land (as awarded to Gab. Powell) was taken away

Margin Notes:

Norman against Gab. Powell.

The first declaration set out that Martin Norman, freeman, had petitioned the Governor and council against several persons for redress of the injuries and wrongs done to him. He had been promised that justice would be done him by a jury appointed to examine into the cause of his complaint, and 17 September 1716 had been appointed for hearing and determining the matter.

Norman now appeared in person in the court and charged Gabriel Powell, planter and successor to George Hoskison gentleman, in an action of the case. He set out that he had received damage by George Hoskison's means to the value of about two hundred pounds.

The ground was that George Hoskison, as trustee to the orphans of John Beale, had given Norman a lease for twenty acres of land for seven years at the yearly rent of fifty shillings. This appeared by a consultation of 17 January 1709/10, by which Norman was to hold the land for seven years from the 7th day of that month. Notwithstanding this, George Hoskison did not, nor was he ever entitled to, make good the lease, for one half of the twenty acres of land awarded to Gabriel Powell was taken away [...].

Interpretations

The action of the case against Powell carried Norman's claim against the dead trustee Hoskison forward to the man who had succeeded to his estate. Norman sued not Hoskison, long dead, but Gabriel Powell as his successor, on the principle that the liability for a defective grant passed with the estate, so the present holder answered for the wrong done in the original lease.

The defect at the heart of the claim was that Hoskison had granted a lease he had no power to make good. As trustee to the orphans of John Beale, Hoskison leased Norman twenty acres for seven years, yet half the land was afterwards awarded to Powell himself, so the trustee had purported to demise ground he could not secure to the tenant, and Norman sued for the value of what he was deprived of.

The damages of about two hundred pounds set a substantial figure on the loss of half a seven-year leasehold and its crops. The sum measured not the rent, a modest fifty shillings a year, but the whole benefit Norman claimed to have lost through the failure of the grant, consistent with the heavy value he placed throughout on the yams and growing stock the disputed ground would have carried.

The reliance on the consultation of 17 January 1709/10 as proof of the lease shows the council's own record serving as the muniment of title. Norman pointed to the entry by which the grant was made as the evidence of his term, so that the consultation book stood as the register of the very lease whose breach he now sued upon, the document of government doing the work of a deed.

Speculations

The framing of the suit against Powell as Hoskison's successor, when Powell was also the man awarded the disputed half, suggests Norman aimed his action where recovery was both legally sound and practically possible. Powell held the very land and had stepped into the trustee's estate, so a judgment against him could be satisfied out of the ground itself, which made him the natural defendant for a loss rooted in a grant Hoskison could never honour.

The reach back to a lease of January 1709/10 points to Norman pressing a grievance that had festered through the disordered tenures of the intervening years. The twenty acres had been entangled in the Beale orphans' trust and the Hoskison estate across the seizures and disputes the records show, so Norman appears to have used the present court to bring to final reckoning a defective grant whose consequences he had borne unredressed for the better part of seven years.

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Septemb[r] 1716.

away from yo[r] complaint after he had pos- sessed it not two whole Years, So that he humbly conceives he ought to have had above Double y[e] time mentiond in y[e] Lease for but half y[e] quantity of Land to make him amends for that Los, & Yet y[e] s[d] ten Acks Singly did not remain more then five Years longer in yo[r] compl[ts] Possession y[e] right Heirs to that Land dispossesing him thereof Yo[r] complaint was at the Charge of Building a House. Fencing in y[e] Land & often repair it. Digging Up y[e] ground & planting it &c. Albo[e] the Cost y[e] compl[t] to y[e] Value of about 200[ll]. w[ch] is entirely lost to y[e] compl[t] by his having this Lease from said Hoskison who had no right to give it & therefore he was dispossessed as afores[d]. Whenfore yo[r] compl[t] humbly prays that y[e] Heirs & Successors of y[e] s[d] Geo. Hoskison may make this compl[t] full Satisfaccon for his great Loss & damage &c. To w[ch] M[r] Powell Answ[d] & provd by divers Witnesses Sworne that Norman never had but One Lease of y[e] Land called y[e] Pursley beds, w[ch] was for y[e] term of Seven Years &

The declaration continued, setting out that the land had been taken away from Norman after he had held it for not two whole years. He conceived that he ought to have had above double the time mentioned in the lease for only half the quantity of land, to make him amends for that loss. Even so, the ten acres alone did not remain more than five years longer in his possession, the right heirs to that land dispossessing him of it.

Norman set out that he had been at the charge of building a house, fencing in the land and often repairing it, and of digging up the ground and planting it. All this was entirely lost to him, to the value of about two hundred pounds. It was wholly lost through his having held the lease from Hoskison, who had no right to give it, so that he was dispossessed as set out above. He therefore asked that the heirs and successors of George Hoskison make him full satisfaction for his great loss and damage.

To this Mr Powell answered, and proved by several witnesses sworn, that Norman never had but one lease of the land called the parsley beds, which was for the term of seven years [...].

Interpretations

The declaration set out Norman's improvements as the true measure of his loss, the buildings, fencing, repairs and planting he had sunk into land he could not keep. His claim of about two hundred pounds rested not on the rent or the bare term but on the labour and capital invested in a holding that the rightful heirs reclaimed, so the damage lay in the lost value of his own improvements to ground that proved never securely his.

Powell's defence, proved by sworn witnesses, struck directly at the foundation of Norman's case by denying any lease beyond the single seven-year grant of the parsley beds. Where Norman had pleaded a lease of twenty acres of which half was lost, Powell answered that there had only ever been one lease, which reframed the dispute as a question of what Norman had actually held rather than what he claimed to have been deprived of.

The contest over the number and extent of the leases turned the trial into a question of fact for the jury sworn at the consultation of 17 September 1716. Norman asserted a twenty-acre grant maimed by the award of half to Powell, while Powell's witnesses confined him to one lease of the parsley beds, so the panel would have to decide between two accounts of the same tenure before any damages could follow.

Speculations

Powell's reliance on several sworn witnesses to confine Norman to a single lease suggests the documentary record was thin enough that oral proof would decide the matter. With title resting on consultation entries and disputed grants reaching back to 1709/10, the defence appears to have judged that establishing the bare fact of one lease, well attested by witnesses, was the surest way to defeat a claim built on a more elaborate account of lost acreage.

The gap between Norman's two-hundred-pound valuation and the modest seven-year lease he was proved to hold points to a claim inflated by the whole history of his grievances rather than the single tenure at issue. Norman seems to have loaded into this one action the accumulated loss of buildings, crops and years he attributed to every defective grant he had suffered, which a jury weighing Powell's narrower proof might well cut down to the value of the one lease he could actually establish.

83

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September 1716.

& y[e] 7 years was fully expired five Years agoe it being 12 Years Since his Lease was Signd. And Powell Says the Lease was for no more then 10. Acres & Yet Norman possessd near 20. Norman insisted he had been damaged 200[ll]. because it cost him so much in fencing in of y[e] Land. Powel provd by Jon[o] Doveton Jn[o] French Gunn[r] & Sam[ll] Pepsey that y[e] Land was fenced in before he lived on it & that he did only repair y[e] fences when he first had y[e] Land, & y[t] he often neglected repair- ing them afterwards so y[t] many great gaps & breaches were always in y[m] & y[t] y[e] house when he came into it was in good repair but almost fallen down when he left it & y[e] proof being very clear it was left to the Jury. Then came on y[e] cause of Richard & Ant[o] Beale. The Preamble of y[e] declaration the Same as in M[r] Powell Case. This Suit was for an Acc[on] of the Case ag[t] y[m] For that they y[e] s[d] Rich[d] & Ant[o] Beale did

Margin Notes:

Norman ag[st] Rich[d] & Ant[o] Beale

The defence continued, that the seven years had fully expired five years before, it being twelve years since the lease was signed. Powell said the lease was for no more than ten acres, and yet Norman had possessed near twenty.

Norman insisted that he had been damaged two hundred pounds, because it had cost him so much in fencing in the land. Powell proved by Jonathan Doveton, John French the gunner and Samuel Jessey that the land was fenced in before Norman ever lived on it. He proved that Norman had only repaired the fences when he first had the land, and that he often neglected to repair them afterwards, so that many great gaps and breaches were always in them. He proved further that the house was in good repair when Norman came into it, but almost fallen down when he left it. The proof being very clear, the cause was left to the jury.

The cause of Richard and Anthony Beale then came on. The preamble of the declaration was the same as in Mr Powell's case. This suit was an action of the case against them, on the ground that Richard and Anthony Beale did [...].

Interpretations

Powell's witnesses dismantled the factual basis of Norman's two-hundred-pound claim point by point, showing his improvements to be illusory. The land was fenced before Norman ever held it, he had merely repaired and then neglected the fences, and the house he claimed to have built up he had in truth let fall almost to ruin, so the expenditure he valued so highly was disproved by sworn testimony.

The exposure that Norman had held near twenty acres on a lease of only ten reversed the grievance he had pleaded. Where Norman complained of being deprived of half his land, Powell's proof was that he had occupied double his entitlement, which turned the alleged loss into an overholding and undercut the foundation of the damages he sought.

The court's note that the proof being very clear it was left to the jury marked the close of the evidence on each cause and the passing of the question to the sworn panel. The bench, sitting as judges with Pyke at their head, took the facts as settled by the witnesses and committed the verdict to the twelve jurors empanelled at the consultation of 17 September 1716, in the regular division of function between court and jury.

The witnesses Doveton, French and Jessey were men of standing whose testimony carried weight against the old man's assertions. John French the gunner had rendered the ordnance accounts across these months, and Samuel Jessey and Jonathan Doveton appear elsewhere in the records as established planters and parties, so their concurring proof on the state of the fences and house gave the defence the clear evidentiary footing the court acknowledged.

Speculations

The marshalling of three respected witnesses to disprove each element of Norman's claim suggests Powell's defence was built to leave the jury no room for sympathy. By proving the prior fencing, the neglected repairs, the ruined house and the overheld acreage, the defence converted Norman's tale of ruinous investment into a record of a tenant who took more than his due and maintained less than he ought, a portrait calculated to defeat the two-hundred-pound demand entirely.

The repetition of the same preamble across the actions against Powell and the Beales points to Norman's causes having been drafted as a single template applied to each defendant. The common opening suggests the declarations were prepared together as one coordinated assault on every party he blamed for his losses, which fits the pattern of a man pressing a bundle of old grievances through whatever forms the court would allow, here met defendant by defendant with particular proof.

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Sept[r] 1716.

did on or before y[e] 15[th] of Feb[ry] last 1715. by force & Violence Seize on y[e] p[er]son of this Compl[t]. in his then dwelling house at a place called y[e] Pursley beds & carried him away to the town, never Suffering this compl[t] to return & enjoy y[e] fruits of his Labour upon y[e] premises were he lived & made a good plantation, w[ch] is to y[e] compl[ts] Loss & damage ab[t] 50[ll]. Since he has been so unjustly Outed As aforesaid besides the dayly Loss he this compl[t] now does & is likely to Suffer for want thereof. Wherefore yo[r] compl[t] humbly prays y[t] y[e] s[d] Rich[d] & Beale may make this compl[t] full Satisfaccon for his great Los & Damage, &c. The said Beals proved that they were of full Age & y[e] Normans lease w[ch] had been Lett by Cap[t] Hoskison their Guardian was expired ab[t] 4 or 5 Years Since & Sayed they had givn him warning before y[e] Gov[r] & Council by Sumoning him there & y[t] he did promise to quitt y[e] Land to them, Yet he did not, then they went as Advised by their Friends and give him 6. Months warning & when 3. month[s] more were expired they went to him & told him see & gave him Notice againe that at the

The declaration against the Beales set out that on or before 15 February 1715 they had, by force and violence, seized the person of Norman in his then dwelling house at the place called the parsley beds and carried him away to the town. They never suffered him to return and enjoy the fruits of his labour upon the ground where he had lived and made a good plantation. This was to Norman's loss and damage of about fifty pounds. Since he had been so unjustly ousted, he had also suffered a daily loss, and was likely to suffer more for want of the land. He therefore asked that Richard and Anthony Beale make him full satisfaction for his great loss and damage.

The Beales proved that they were of full age, and that Norman's lease, let by Captain Hoskison their guardian, had expired about four or five years before. They proved that they had given Norman warning before the Governor and council, by summoning him there, and that he had promised to quit the land to them, yet did not. They then went, as advised by their friends, and gave him six months' warning. When three months more were expired, they went to him and gave him notice again that at the [...].

Interpretations

The action against the Beales charged a forcible ouster, the seizure and removal of Norman from his dwelling by force and violence, distinct from the defective-lease claim against Powell. The same removal that Norman elsewhere described as being ordered from his house here became the gravamen of a suit for fifty pounds, framed as an unlawful dispossession by the heirs who reclaimed the ground.

The Beales' defence rested on their having reached full age and on the lease having long since expired, which dissolved the foundation of Norman's tenure. As the orphans for whom Hoskison held the land as guardian, they could not act while minors, but on coming of age they were entitled to the reversion, and their proof that the seven-year term had ended four or five years earlier showed Norman to be holding over without right.

The Beales' careful record of repeated warning, a summons before the council, a promise by Norman to quit, then six months' notice, then a further notice, established that the ouster followed due process rather than mere force. By proving each step of formal warning before they removed him, the Beales answered the charge of violent seizure with evidence that Norman was a tenant holding over against express and repeated notice to leave.

The summoning of Norman before the Governor and council to give warning shows the bench serving as the forum for the orderly recovery of land from a tenant whose term had ended. The council functioned as the place where notice to quit was formally given and recorded, so that a landholder reclaiming his ground proceeded through the machinery of government rather than by private eviction alone.

Speculations

The Beales' decision to document every warning before removing Norman suggests they anticipated exactly the charge of forcible ouster he afterwards brought. By building a record of a summons, a promise to quit and successive notices before they acted, the heirs appear to have prepared in advance to meet any claim of violent dispossession with proof that the law and ample warning were on their side, which left Norman's tale of force and violence to rest on the bare fact of his removal after he had refused to go.

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Septemb[r] 1716.

the end of 3 months he must goe Out, but at y[e] end of y[e] last 3 months, he would not goe tho they wondered how he lived in the house, the roof being fallen inn that tho he possest the House & Land he payd them no Rent & therefore they had according to y[e] advice of their friends turnd him Out of Possession, w[ch] action they hoped would be Justified. Then Mart[n] Norman S[d] his Last Lease was not expired Yet, for he had two Leases, first One for Seven & then another for 5 Years. To which the Beals brought for Witness, Tho[s] Free who Swore that Norman had been often w[th] M[r] Griffith when O[ne] of y[e] Council to make him a New Lease, but he knowing the Heires would Soon be at Age would not do it, but he following him continually, & being very trouble- some he at Last gave him a paper Seald Up & told him 'twas a Lease & bad him lay it up carefully & shew it no body w[ch] w[ch] Norman who could not read it was contented & went away, but Since Norman had it Opend & read by Somebody, it Appeard to be only a triffling insignificant paper Wherefore the Jury had all these Evid[s]

The Beales' account continued, that at the end of three months Norman must go out, but at the end of the last three months he would not go. They wondered how he lived in the house, the roof being fallen in. Although he held the house and land, he paid them no rent, and so they had, on the advice of their friends, turned him out of possession. They hoped the action would be justified.

Martin Norman then said his last lease was not yet expired, for he had held two leases, first one for seven years and then another for five years. To this the Beales brought Thomas Free as a witness, who swore that Norman had often been with Mr Griffith, when he was of the council, to make him a new lease. Griffith, knowing the heirs would soon be of age, would not do it. But Norman following him continually, and being very troublesome, Griffith at last gave him a paper sealed up, told him it was a lease, and bade him lay it up carefully and show it to nobody. Norman, who could not read, was content with this and went away. Since then Norman had had the paper opened and read by somebody, and it appeared to be only a trifling, insignificant paper.

The jury therefore had all these [...].

Interpretations

The episode of the sealed paper exposed the second lease as a deliberate deception practised on an illiterate man. Griffith, knowing the heirs would soon come of age and unwilling to grant a fresh term, fobbed Norman off with a sealed document he falsely called a lease, telling him to keep it hidden, so that Norman's belief in a five-year extension rested on a worthless paper given only to be rid of his importuning.

The detail that Norman could not read was the hinge on which the fraud turned and the reason it endured. Unable to examine the document himself, Norman trusted Griffith's word that it was a lease and kept it sealed as instructed, so his whole claim to a subsisting term collapsed once the paper was at last opened and read by another and found to be trifling and insignificant.

The Beales' wonder at how Norman lived in the house with its roof fallen in reinforced the earlier proof that he had let the property decay. The ruined state of the dwelling, set against his claim to have built and improved it, confirmed the picture the witnesses had drawn before the court, that Norman maintained nothing and held over without paying rent, which undercut his standing as an injured tenant.

The reliance on Griffith's conduct while he was of the council shows a former councillor's private dealing coming under judicial scrutiny after his death. Daniel Griffith had sat in council until his death on 6 May 1712, and the sealed-paper stratagem he employed to manage a troublesome tenant now surfaced as the explanation for Norman's mistaken belief in a second lease, a piece of past official conduct laid bare in the trial of the present cause.

Speculations

The sealed paper suggests Griffith chose deception over refusal because an outright denial would not have rid him of so persistent a suitor. Faced with a man who followed him continually and would not be put off, Griffith appears to have calculated that a false lease, sealed and hidden, would buy lasting peace where a plain no had failed, exploiting Norman's illiteracy to settle the matter without granting anything of value.

Norman's insistence on a second five-year lease, maintained until the paper was opened, points to a genuine belief he had been wronged rather than a knowing fabrication. He seems to have built his whole claim of an unexpired term on Griffith's assurance, which casts his suit less as an attempt to deceive the court than as the consequence of a deception worked upon him years before, now unravelling under the Beales' proof to the destruction of his case.

86

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Sept[r] 1716.

Evidences also given them in Charge. The next case was M[r] Tovey[s] One of the Council for an Acc[on] of y[e] case at y[e] Suit of Old Norman for 400[d]. (The preamble of y[e] Declaration as in M[r] Powills.) Martin Norman &c. And the body of y[e] Compl[t] was That when Mart[n] Norman was Sent for by y[e] Gov[r] to know how he would pay y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] 72 10[ll] that he Owed them, he sayd he had en[o] to pay them if they would give him Credit for his bills Whereupon M[r] Tovey was Order'd by Gov[r] & Council to look over his Bills & gett those En- tred w[ch] were good as appears by Consult[n] of 17[th] May 1715. & Norman did deliver divers pap[s] to M[r] Tovey who with much trouble made Out an Acc[t] of 31[ll]. of w[ch] most of y[e] people are now Dead, insolvent or run away & of good Debts but 3[ll]. P. all w[ch] M[r] Tovey produced & Cap[t] Bazett Testifyed no Credit had Yett been given for any Whereupon M[r] Tovey deliverd back all the papers that he had before Rec[d] of Old Norman & also a fair Written List or Acc[t] of them w[ch] Norman acknowledged to be right, & this cause also was referd to the Juries

Margin Notes:

Norman ag[st] M[r] Tovey.

These pieces of evidence were also given to the jury in charge.

The next case was that of Mr Tovey, one of the council, in an action of the case at the suit of old Norman for four hundred pounds. The preamble of the declaration was the same as in Mr Powell's case. The complainant was Martin Norman.

The body of the complaint was that when Norman was sent for by the Governor to know how he would pay the Honourable Company the £72 10s 0d that he owed them, he said he had enough to pay them, if they would give him credit for his bills. Mr Tovey was thereupon ordered by the Governor and council to look over his bills and enter those that were good. This appeared by the consultation of 17 May 1715. Norman delivered several papers to Tovey, who with much trouble made out an account of £31 0s 0d, of which most of the people were now dead, insolvent or run away, and of good debts but £3 0s 0d. Tovey produced the account, and Captain Bazett testified that no credit had yet been given for any of them. Tovey then delivered back all the papers he had received of old Norman, together with a fair written list or account of them, which Norman acknowledged to be right. This cause also was referred to the jury.

Interpretations

The action against Tovey, like that against Powell, sued a sitting councillor in his own court for the conduct of business the bench had entrusted to him. Tovey had been ordered to examine and enter Norman's bills of credit, and Norman now charged that the failure to credit them had cost him four hundred pounds, so the fourth member of the council stood as defendant to a debtor over the very task the council had assigned.

The collapse of Norman's claimed credit from a demand of four hundred pounds to good debts of only three pounds laid bare the emptiness of his case. Tovey's labour produced an account of thirty-one pounds, yet most of the debtors were dead, insolvent or fled, leaving but three pounds recoverable, so the credit Norman insisted would clear his own debt of £72 10s 0d to the Company proved almost worthless.

The reliance on the consultation of 17 May 1715 as the source of Tovey's authority shows the council's record once again serving as the warrant for an officer's conduct. The order to examine Norman's bills was entered there, so Tovey could point to the consultation book as proof that he had acted under direction, and that the disappointing result reflected the state of the debts rather than any default of his own.

The whole exchange illuminated the gulf between Norman's belief in his wealth and its reality, the root of the distress that had driven his hunger strike. Norman had told the Governor he had enough to pay the Company if only his bills were credited, yet the bills resolved into debts owed by men beyond recovery, so the credit he counted on to give a new face to his affairs was an illusion the trial dissolved.

Speculations

Norman's pursuit of Tovey for four hundred pounds, when the bills yielded three, points to a man who measured his credit by the face of his papers rather than the solvency of his debtors. He seems to have believed that the mere entry of the bills would transform his fortunes, blind to the fact that debts owed by the dead and the fled were no asset at all, which casts his whole sense of being wronged as resting on a misunderstanding of what his paper was worth.

Tovey's care to return every paper with a fair written account that Norman acknowledged as right suggests the councillor meant to leave no opening for a renewed charge of mishandling. By documenting the bills, producing the account and securing Norman's own assent to the list, Tovey appears to have built a complete record of having discharged his task faithfully, so that the worthlessness of the credit could not be laid at his door when the cause went to the jury.

87

82

Sept[r] 1716.

Juries consideracon as the others. We think it proper to Sett down y[e] reason why We Sufferd M[r] Tovey One of y[e] Council to be Sued for Such an Unreasonable matter which was y[t] y[e] Old man being a little En- thusiasticall had gave Out ab[t] y[e] Island y[t] the Gov[r] & Council were all Rogues & had cheated him of near 400[ll]. by getting Cred[t] for his Bills & not placing it to his Acc[t] & y[t] he had complained to y[e] Gov[r] of it, but he would not doe him Justice because he came in with Tovey & Bazett & y[e] rest for a Snack & therefore tho We know no body in y[e] Country believed the old fellow, Yet be- cause he told it Sometime amongst y[e] Sailors y[t] came ashoare We gave him Liberty to make y[e] Suit before y[e] Country, for almost every body was downe at this Tryal. We acknowledg that y[e] man deserved punishm[t]. but being near 70. Years of Age, We thought y[e] Whiping him would not mend him & so We let him go Free. The next Causes was against Thomas Free & Rob[t] Marsh Plant[rs] at y[e] Suit of Mart[n] Norman for 150[ll]. Damages. he

Margin Notes:

Norman ag[st] Tho[s] Free & Rob[t] Marsh

This cause too was given to the jury for their consideration, as the others had been.

The council thought it proper to set down the reason it had allowed Mr Tovey, one of the council, to be sued in so unreasonable a matter. The old man, being a little carried away by his own delusions, had given out about the island that the Governor and council were all rogues, and had cheated him of near four hundred pounds by getting credit for his bills and not placing it to his account. He claimed that he had complained to the Governor of it, but that the Governor would not do him justice, because he came in with Tovey and Bazett and the rest for a share of the spoil. Although the council knew that nobody on the island believed the old fellow, yet because he had told the tale at times among the sailors who came ashore, it gave him liberty to make his suit before the country, for almost everybody was present at this trial.

The council acknowledged that the man deserved punishment, but being near seventy years of age, it thought that whipping him would not mend him, and so let him go free.

The next causes were against Thomas Free and Robert Marsh, planters, at the suit of Martin Norman for £150 0s 0d damages. He [...].

Interpretations

The council's stated reason for allowing the suit against Tovey turned the trial into a public answer to a public slander. Norman had spread among the sailors that the whole bench were rogues who had cheated him and shielded one another, so the council let him bring his charge before the assembled country precisely so that the accusation could be tried and disproved in the open, where almost everyone could see it fail.

The decision to let an old man go unpunished despite acknowledged fault rested on a frank judgement that punishment would serve no purpose. The council held that whipping a man near seventy would not mend him, so it forbore the corporal penalty his defamation deserved, treating his age and incorrigibility as reason to let the matter rest once the falsehood had been exposed.

The charge that the Governor came in with Tovey and Bazett for a share struck at the integrity of the whole bench, which explains the unusual step of trying a councillor in his own court. By submitting Tovey to suit before the country, the council answered the imputation of collusion not by suppressing it but by exposing it to open trial, a calculated vindication of the bench's honesty before the very public among whom the slander had spread.

The note that almost everybody was present at the trial marks the occasion as a public reckoning as much as a legal proceeding. The council valued the wide attendance because it made the disproof of Norman's accusations a matter of common knowledge, so that the verdict would carry the bench's vindication to the whole island rather than settling a private claim in obscurity.

Speculations

The council's willingness to expose itself to suit suggests it judged silence more dangerous than trial when its collective honesty was impugned. Having a slander circulating among transient sailors who would carry it abroad, the bench appears to have calculated that a public acquittal before the country was the surest way to kill the tale, preferring open vindication to the suspicion that suppression would breed.

The framing of Norman as a deluded old man rather than a malicious liar may have shaped the decision to spare him. By attributing his accusations to a disordered mind rather than calculated malice, the council could expose the falsehood of his charges while presenting its own forbearance as humanity toward an old and credulous man, a posture that served the bench's dignity better than the public whipping of a harmless ancient would have done.

88

83

September.

he Sufferd by their Hoggs leaping over his fences and destroying his Plantat[n] as in the foll[s] declarac[on] (The preamble of y[e] s[d] Declarac[on] y[e] same as M[r] Powells) Martin Norman &c. For that y[e] s[d] Tho[s] Free did on or before y[e] 25[th] of March last 1716 & at divers times again & again before y[e] s[d] day & even for the Space of Five Weeks together at One time Suffer his Hoggs to break into Eat up & destroy his Yams plantac[on] to y[e] Value of 100[ll] or thereabouts Notwithstanding y[e] compl[t] did in a Friendly man- ner, often warne him of & desire y[e] s[d] Free to drive y[m] away, for y[t] his Hoggs were not to be Kept out of y[e] Compl[ts] planta[n] by a Lawfull fence w[ch] friendly warning being Slighted & neglected the Compl[t] drove s[d] Hogs down to y[e] great pound Upon w[ch] s[d] Free promised to make good y[e] damage y[e] compl[t] had rec[d] by his Hoggs, upon w[ch] they were deliverd to him againe, Yet as if fully bent & Resolved wholly to ruin y[e] compl[t] they were again drove down upon his plantat[n] & did eat Up almost all y[e] little they had left before eith[r] of Yams or Suckers upon w[ch] this Compl[t] had y[m] a Second time pounded & as asur[d] bye & Obligac[on] on y[e] s[d] Free, before his Hoggs were

Margin Notes:

Free's perticul[ar]

The damages arose from the loss Norman suffered by the hogs of Free and Marsh leaping over his fences and destroying his plantation, as set out in the following declaration. The preamble of the declaration was the same as in Mr Powell's case. The complainant was Martin Norman.

The ground against Thomas Free was that on or before 25 March 1716, and at various times again and again before that day, and even for the space of five weeks together at one time, he suffered his hogs to break in and eat up and destroy Norman's yam plantation, to the value of a hundred pounds or thereabouts. Norman had in a friendly manner often warned Free of it and asked him to drive the hogs away, for his hogs were not to be kept out of Norman's plantation by a lawful fence. The friendly warning being slighted and neglected, Norman drove the hogs down to the great pound. Free then promised to make good the damage Norman had received by his hogs, upon which they were delivered to him again.

Yet, as if fully bent and resolved wholly to ruin Norman, the hogs were again driven down upon his plantation and ate up almost all of the little they had left before, both of yams and of suckers. Norman had them pounded a second time, and took an assurance and an obligation from Free, before his hogs were [...].

Interpretations

The declaration against Free turned on the failure of a lawful fence to keep out hogs that were, by Norman's account, simply uncontainable. Under the island's law a landholder had to maintain a fence sufficient to exclude straying animals, and only then could he charge their owner for damage they did, but Norman pleaded that Free's hogs could not be kept out by any lawful fence, which placed the liability squarely on their owner rather than on any defect of Norman's enclosure.

The impounding of the hogs at the great pound was the recognised self-help remedy by which a man whose crops were ravaged secured the offending beasts as a pledge for damages. By driving the hogs to the pound, Norman both stopped the destruction and held the animals until Free promised satisfaction, so the pound served as the mechanism that forced a negligent owner to answer for the harm his stock had done.

The taking of an assurance and obligation from Free on the second impounding marked an escalation from informal promise to binding undertaking. Free's first promise to make good the damage had failed, and the hogs returned, so on the second occasion Norman secured a written or formal obligation before releasing them, converting a broken friendly assurance into an enforceable commitment.

The hog damage at issue here was the very grievance the bench had directed into an action of trespass at the consultation of 4 September 1716. The declaration now set out in full the repeated incursions, the warnings, the impoundings and the broken promises behind that order, the same recurring contest between livestock and crops that the bench had addressed against John Harding on 12 July 1715.

Speculations

Norman's plea that the hogs could not be kept out by a lawful fence suggests a deliberate effort to forestall the defence that his own enclosure was inadequate. Having heard the proof in the Beale and Powell causes that he had neglected his fences and let his house fall, Norman, or those advising him, appears to have framed this claim to shift the ground from the state of his fence to the nature of Free's hogs, knowing that an owner of unmanageable stock could not escape by pointing to a tenant's poor husbandry.

The pattern of warning, impounding, promise, renewed damage and a second impounding points to Free treating the modest cost of recovering his hogs as cheaper than confining them. By repeatedly redeeming his animals with promises he did not keep, Free may have calculated that Norman's enclosure and crops would bear the loss while his own hogs ranged free, a course that the second formal obligation was designed to end by raising the cost of his neglect.

89

84

Sept[r] 1716.

were released, had from under y[e] s[d] Frees own hand a promisary Note to pay him his s[d] damage, y[e] compl[t] not careing to Trust to y[e] bare word of a Man so ready & willing to break it. & Not- withstanding these his promisses & Obligac[on] he y[e] s[d] Free never has nor never will. unless force[d] to it, make y[e] Compl[t] Satisfaccon being ready to afflict or take advantage of any others, but al- ways unwilling to make y[e] least Satisfaccon for y[e] damage or wrong he has done others As Appears by his Unjust dealings with y[e] Compl[t] in Wronging him of y[e] Share of the Water running down to his plantac[on] Wherefore y[e] s[d] Compl[t]. most humbly prays y[t] y[e] s[d] Tho[s] Free may make y[e] Compl[t] full & ample Satisfaccon for his great Los & damage accord- ing to y[e] reiterated promisses of y[e] s[d] Free. &c. The Daclarat[n] against Robert Marsh was in like Nature & Therefore Norman prayd y[t] he might be Obliged to make Satisfaccon for y[e] damage his Hoggs did this Compl[t]. They both acknowledged y[t] their Hoggs might have been sometimes in his plantat[n] & done him so little damage but said it was impossible to be avoided because his Fences were

Margin Notes:

Marsh: particul[ars]

Marsh & Frees acknowledgm[t]

The declaration continued, that before the hogs were released Norman had taken from Free's own hand a promissory note to pay him the damage, since Norman did not care to trust the bare word of a man so ready and willing to break it. Notwithstanding these promises and the obligation, Free had never made Norman satisfaction, nor ever would unless forced to it. Norman set out that Free was always ready to afflict or take advantage of others, but never willing to make the least satisfaction for any damage or wrong he had done them. This appeared by his unjust dealings with Norman in wronging him of his share of the water running down to his plantation. Norman therefore asked that Free make him full and ample satisfaction for his great loss and damage, according to his repeated promises.

The declaration against Robert Marsh was of a like nature, and Norman asked that Marsh too be obliged to make satisfaction for the damage his hogs had done him.

Free and Marsh both acknowledged that their hogs might have been at times in Norman's plantation, and done him a little damage, but said it was impossible to be avoided, because his fences were [...].

Interpretations

The promissory note taken from Free's own hand converted a defaulting promise into a written instrument of debt. Norman, distrusting a man so ready to break his word, secured Free's signature to a note for the damage before releasing the hogs, so that the obligation could be sued upon as a debt rather than resting on the bare oral assurance that Free had already broken once.

The added grievance of wronging Norman of his share of the water broadened the complaint from straying hogs to a dispute over a watercourse. Water running down to a plantation was a vital resource on the island, contested in other causes the bench had faced, and Norman cited Free's interference with his share as further proof of a settled disposition to take advantage and refuse satisfaction.

The defence advanced by Free and Marsh struck at the foundation of the claim by pleading that the damage was unavoidable because Norman's fences were inadequate. This put squarely in issue the very point the law of fencing made decisive, since an owner was liable for his beasts' trespass only where the injured man kept a lawful fence, so the defendants sought to throw the loss back on Norman's own neglect, the same neglect proved against him in the earlier causes.

The parallel declarations against Free and Marsh, of like nature and tried together, reflect the bench's framing of two separate trespass actions at the consultation of 4 September 1716. Both men had let their hogs onto Norman's ground, and both now answered the same charge with the same defence, so the court heard the joined causes as a single contest over whether the damage was the hogs' owners' fault or the tenant's.

Speculations

The defendants' plea that the damage was impossible to avoid because of Norman's fences suggests they had marked the weakness already exposed in his other causes and built their defence upon it. Having seen the sworn proof that Norman neglected his enclosures and let his property decay, Free and Marsh appear to have rested their whole answer on the law of fencing, calculating that a tenant who could not keep a lawful fence had no claim against the stock that wandered through its gaps.

Norman's insistence on a signed note, rather than another promise, points to a man who had learned from repeated betrayal to fix his claims in writing. Each broken assurance had taught him that Free's word was worthless, so he moved from friendly warning to impounding to a formal note, an escalation that suggests he understood the only security against a habitual defaulter was a document a court could enforce.

90

85

September. 1716.

were all so much Out of repaire, for a proof Whereof they Appealed to y[e] Jury themselves who must know it. And M[r] Free proved y[t] he being Sent for to y[e] Gov[r]. at y[e] Old Mans Compl[t]. proffered to make good y[e] Fences betwen them & y[e] Old man then promised if M[r] Free made good One part he would repaire y[e] other & when M[r] Free had done y[e] part he told Norman he would Compl[t]. to y[e] Gov[r] if he performed not his, y[e] Old man Sayed he did not care for his Compl[t], & if y[e] Gov[r] would have it done he must come & do it himself for he would not, & upon this y[e] Old man had nothing more to Say, than that all y[e] Witnesses were false Witnesses & y[t] tho he had not Justice here He should havent in Heaven. So the Jury withdrew & brought in their Verdicts For every One of y[e] Defendants. And the Old man Seeing himself Cast Sayed he would pay Nothing, And he being a troublesome Old Fellow We were glad to be ridd of him So And

Margin Notes:

Jury Verdicts.

The defendants' answer concluded that Norman's fences were all so much out of repair, and for proof of this they appealed to the jury themselves, who must know it.

Mr Free proved that, having been sent for to the Governor on the old man's complaint, he had offered to make good the fences between his ground and Norman's. Norman then promised that if Free made good one part, he would repair the other. When Free had done his part, he told Norman he would complain to the Governor if Norman did not perform his. The old man said he did not care for his complaint, and that if the Governor would have it done, he must come and do it himself, for Norman would not. Upon this Norman had nothing more to say, except that all the witnesses were false witnesses, and that though he had not justice on the island, he should have it in Heaven.

The jury then withdrew and brought in their verdicts for every one of the defendants.

The old man, seeing himself cast, said he would pay nothing. He being a troublesome old fellow, the council was glad to be rid of him.

Interpretations

The defendants' appeal to the jury's own knowledge of Norman's broken fences relied on the panel being drawn from the same small community as the parties. The jurors empanelled at the consultation of 17 September 1716 were neighbouring planters who could be expected to know the state of Norman's ground at first hand, so Free and Marsh could point to common local knowledge as proof rather than resting on testimony alone.

Free's account of a reciprocal fencing bargain, each man to repair one part, exposed Norman as the party who had refused his own undertaking. The law of fencing required each landholder to maintain his share of the boundary, and Free's proof that he had done his part while Norman defaulted destroyed the claim that the hogs trespassed through any fault but Norman's own.

The unanimous verdicts for every defendant disposed of the whole bundle of actions Norman had brought, against Powell, the Beales, Tovey, Free and Marsh, that the bench had framed at the consultation of 4 September 1716. The jury found against him on every count, so the elaborate structure of suits that had begun with a hunger strike collapsed entirely once the evidence was heard.

91

86

September.

And Therefore discharged him for All the Secretaries, &c. Fees. Then the Court was Adjournd

[signature]

Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

The court therefore discharged Norman from all the secretary's and other fees.

The court was then adjourned.

The proceedings were signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The discharge of Norman from all fees relieved a defeated and indigent litigant of the costs his many actions would otherwise have charged him. Having lost on every count, Norman would normally have borne the secretary's and court fees for the suits he brought, but the bench remitted them, a final act of forbearance toward the troublesome old man whose poverty and age had run through the whole proceeding.

92

87

Island St Helena. 1716.

At a Consultation held on Tues- day y[e] 25[th] of September 1716. At Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Present. Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c] The Last Consultation & Proceedings at the Court of Judicature was read & approved of. The following Petit[ns] were presented Viz[t] Island St Helena. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] & Council The humble Petition of George Sanders Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] has been Married to y[e] Wid[o] of M[r] Tho[s] Gargen deceasd near Six Months & hath a Debt due from y[e] s[d] Gargens Estate, which was not putt down in y[e] Inventory, humbly prays that y[e] s[d] Debt may be added there- unto in Order to his being paid y[e] same before any Dividend be made as Likewise any other Debts y[t] may be claimed on y[e] Estate

Margin Notes:

Geo. Sanders pet[n] for a Debt in T[s] Gargens Estate

At a consultation held on Tuesday 25 September 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell Deputy Governor, Matthew Bazett third in council, Antipas Tovey fourth in council and Edward Byfield fifth in council.

The last consultation and the proceedings at the Court of Judicature were read and approved.

The following petitions were presented.

The petition of George Sanders was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Sanders set out that he had been married to the widow of Mr Thomas Gargen, deceased, for near six months. He had a debt due from Gargen's estate, which had not been entered in the inventory. He asked that this debt be added to the inventory, so that it might be paid before any dividend was made, as with any other debts that might be claimed on the estate.

Interpretations

The petition sought to add a debt to the inventory of the Gargen estate so that it would rank for payment before the estate was distributed. An inventory governed which claims a deceased person's effects would answer, so a debt left off it risked exclusion from any dividend, and Sanders asked for its entry to secure his place among the creditors who would be paid first.

The Gargen estate had been before the bench for nearly a year, since the widow Mercy Gargen petitioned on 1 November 1715 that the Company take the whole estate to pay its debt and leave her a maintenance. On 15 November 1715 a second inventory came far short of the first, and the widow was ruled to pay interest on her late husband's debts from the day of his death, so the estate's reckoning was already contested when Sanders, now married to the widow, sought to enlarge the list of debts it must answer.

Sanders himself was the man fined 40 shillings at the consultation of 4 September 1716 for cutting the Company's wood, having earlier pleaded ignorance as a young beginner at the consultation of 28 August 1716. His marriage to the Gargen widow within the past six months placed him at the head of the household whose tangled estate and debts had occupied the bench, so his petition drew together two strands the council had been handling separately.

Speculations

The timing of the petition, near six months into the marriage and a year into the estate's settlement, suggests Sanders moved to protect a claim he feared would be lost once the dividend was struck. By pressing for the debt's entry before distribution, he appears to have recognised that the omitted debt had no standing until it appeared on the inventory, so that securing its addition was the necessary first step to recovering anything from an estate already ruled barely sufficient to pay the Company and its creditors.

93

88

September.

Estate & Humbly prays yo[r] Worsh[s] & Coun[c] will please to call in y[e] Several Debts due y[e] Estate, y[t] those charged thereon may be paid & Dividend be made (yo[r] Petit[r] who is but poor Standing in need of his mony & his Wives Share thereof) Or that yo[r] Worsh[s] will please to appoint Some One to receive & pay all as yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council shall See meet. And yo[r] Petit[r] as in duty bound shall ever Sept[r] 25[th] pray &c. (Signd) Geo. Sanders. 1716. Order[d]. That y[e] consideracon of the whole of yo[r] Petic[n] be referd to Cap[t] Bazett & M[r] Byfeld. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] &c. Council The humb[le] Petic[n] of Tho[s] Swallow Plant[r] Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] petic[n] has ac- quainted yo[r] Worsh[s] w[th] his desires & inten- tions to build a House on y[e] Land yo[r] petit[r] possesses, for his Son, &c. for y[e] furtherance of which, he shall have occasion of Mortar which may be easily had from a Rock of y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] w[ch] lyes contiguous to y[e] place designd to build on Wherefore desires leave of yo[r] Worsh[s] & Council to

Margin Notes:

Sept[r] 25[th] 1716.

referd to Cap[t] Baz[t] & M[r] Byfeld.

Island St Helena.

Tho[s] Swallow[s] pet[n] to dig Stones &c.

Sanders concluded his petition by asking that the Governor and council call in the several debts due to the estate, so that those charged upon it might be paid and a dividend made. He set out that he was poor and in need of his money and his wife's share of it. Otherwise he asked that the council appoint someone to receive and pay all, as it should see fit. The petition was dated 25 September 1716 and signed by George Sanders.

The council ordered that consideration of the whole petition be referred to Captain Bazett and Mr Byfield.

The petition of Thomas Swallow, planter, was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Swallow set out his desire and intention to build a house for his son on the land he held. For the furtherance of this he would have occasion of mortar, which might easily be had from a rock of the Honourable Company's that lay next to the place he meant to build on. He therefore asked leave of the Governor and council to [...].

Interpretations

Sanders asked the bench either to settle the estate itself or to appoint an administrator to receive and pay all, offering the council a choice of remedies. The estate had no one in clear charge of calling in its debts and paying its creditors, so Sanders sought either a court-driven distribution or the appointment of a single officer to manage the whole, the second being the institutional answer to an estate without effective administration.

The referral of the petition to Captain Bazett and Mr Byfield placed the matter with two councillors for examination before any order on the merits. This was the bench's standing practice of delegating contested or detailed claims to named members for inquiry and report, the same course it had taken with other estate and debt questions, so that the full council acted only on a considered recommendation.

Swallow's request to take mortar from a Company rock turned on access to a building material the island produced from its own stone. Mortar was made by burning limestone or similar rock to lime, and the Company controlled the rock that lay next to Swallow's intended site, so his petition was for leave to quarry on the Company's ground, a grant of access to a raw material rather than of land.

This Thomas Swallow was the ancient and sick planter at the centre of the abuse complaint his wife Elizabeth brought at the consultation of 23 July 1715, and whose surplus yams the Company agreed to buy on 29 September 1715. His present petition to build a house for his son marks a return to the bench on the ordinary business of a landholder, the son here the object of provision rather than the spy and abuser the earlier proceeding had described.

94

89

take as much Mortar from y[e] place as he shall have need of, & w[ch] taken can be noe prejudice to y[e] part of y[e] Hon Companys Enclosed Land. And as in duty bound shall Sept[r] 25[th] 1716 ever pray &c. (Signd) Tho[s] Swallow Granted. On Condicon. That he Build his House 20. fathoms distant from y[e] H[t]: Compa[s]. planta[n] Wall. And y[t] he fill up y[e] hole where he Diggs for Mortar, & Also y[t] y[e] Intended New house & ten Acres of Land be Setled after his Decease on some of his Children who do not possess y[e] bulk of his Estate or lives in y[e] House he now dwells in To all w[ch] J thankfully agree (Signd) Tho[s] Swallow Order[d]. That An Advertizement be Publishld to give Notice y[t] now Hoggs will be Sufferd to goe loose in this Vally below Mile end Stone after Christmas next. And also to give Notice that after Monday next all persons may have Liberty as Usual to fetch Eggs from the Egg Islands on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. The

Margin Notes:

Sept[r] 25[th] 1716

answer'd & y[e] condition's

advertizm[t] ag[t] Hogs going at y[e] Fort loos.

ab[t] Egg birds Eggs.

Swallow concluded his petition by asking leave to take as much mortar from the place as he should need, since what was taken could be no prejudice to that part of the Honourable Company's enclosed land. The petition was dated 25 September 1716 and signed by Thomas Swallow.

The petition was granted, on conditions. Swallow was to build his house twenty fathoms distant from the Company's plantation wall. He was to fill up the hole where he dug for mortar. His intended new house and ten acres of land were to be settled, after his death, on some of his children who did not possess the bulk of his estate or live in the house he now dwelt in. Swallow signed his agreement to all these conditions.

The council ordered that an advertisement be published, giving notice that no hogs would be suffered to go loose in the valley below the Mile End Stone after the next Christmas. The advertisement was also to give notice that, after the following Monday, all persons might have liberty as usual to fetch eggs from the Egg Islands on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Interpretations

The conditions attached to Swallow's grant turned a simple licence to quarry mortar into an instrument of Company policy on land and inheritance. The twenty-fathom set-back protected the Company's plantation wall, the order to fill the digging hole preserved the ground, and the requirement to settle the new house and ten acres on a child not already provided for used the grant to direct the descent of Swallow's estate, spreading his land among his children rather than letting it concentrate.

The settlement clause favouring a child who did not hold the bulk of the estate reflects the Company's standing interest in the wide distribution of island land. By making the grant conditional on provision for a less-favoured child, the bench attached its demographic aim to a routine building licence, the same concern for settling families on the land that ran through the Company's grants of marriage portions and conditional leases.

The hog order below the Mile End Stone extended the island's long effort to keep straying livestock out of cultivated ground, the very nuisance tried in Norman's causes against Free and Marsh at the Court of Judicature of 17 September 1716. The Mile End Stone marked the limit Pyke had cleared the way to before the general sessions of 7 February 1715, and the council now fixed it as the boundary beyond which loose hogs would not be tolerated after Christmas.

The regulation of egg-gathering from the Egg Islands on fixed days managed access to a common natural resource of the island. Seabird eggs were a food source the inhabitants drew on, and by confining the liberty to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the bench rationed the harvest, preserving the supply while granting the customary access the islanders expected.

Speculations

The bench's use of a mortar licence to impose an inheritance condition suggests it seized on each grant as an occasion to advance its land policy where a direct order might meet resistance. Swallow had earlier been a difficult subject before the council, and by tying provision for an unprovided child to the building leave he sought, the bench secured a settlement of his land that served the Company's interest in dispersed holdings without having to compel it outright.

95

90

Septemb[r].

The Gov[r]. acquainted y[e] Council y[t] Henry Harman has made away with a Spade & Several tools belonging to y[e] Hon. Compa[s] Out of y[e] Fort Garden Order[d]. That y[e] said Harmon be fined Forty Shillings to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] for his breach of Trust. And That Jn[o] Robinson planter be Sumond ag[t] next Consultat[n] day for deal- ing w[th] y[e] s[d] Harman on y[e] said Goods

[signature]

Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

Margin Notes:

H. Harmon Steals tools

Fined 40[s]

Jn[o] Robinson to be Sumond.

The Governor informed the council that Henry Harman had made away with a spade and several tools belonging to the Honourable Company out of the fort garden.

The council ordered that Harman be fined 40 shillings to the Honourable Company for his breach of trust.

The council further ordered that John Robinson, planter, be summoned to appear at the next consultation day, for dealing with Harman in the goods.

The consultation was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The framing of Harman's theft as a breach of trust rather than simple stealing marks him as a person entrusted with the Company's tools who turned them to his own use. Henry Harman the gardener had been caught carrying wood from the Company's garden into the town and given 40 lashes at the flagstaff on 26 April 1715, so this fresh charge of making away with garden tools fell on a man already known to the bench for taking from the very ground he tended.

The summons of John Robinson for dealing with Harman in the goods extended the proceeding from the thief to the man who received or trafficked in the stolen tools. The bench treated dealing in the Company's purloined property as itself an offence to be answered, the same approach it took to goods run ashore and to the marshal fined for buying run wine at the consultation of 4 September 1716, pursuing the receiver alongside the taker.

The John Robinson now summoned was very recently the planter the council rewarded at the consultation of 28 August 1716 with the credit of five pounds for recovering the two deserters of the Queen. The same man here faced a summons for dealing in tools Harman had stolen, a sharp turn from the bench's commendation of his service only weeks before.

96

91

Island St Helena. At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 2[d] day of October 1716. At Union Castle in James Valley. Cap[t] Geo. Haswell Dep[ty] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] absent Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] being in y[e] Country. Pres[t]. Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[d] Byfeld 5[th] in Coun[c]

The Last Consultation read & approvd. The Overseer of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] plantat[n] brought in his Monthly Acc[t] of their Stock. as followeth (Viz[t]) An Acc[t] of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] Neat Cattle, Sheep Hoggs, Goats, &c. taken y[e] 1[st] of Oct[r] 1716. 61. Cows. None killd 10. Bullocks. last Month. 3. Bulls. 5. Heifers. 5. Increased. 54. Calves. 36. Yearlings 169. In all

Taken by Mart[n] Norman 3. Cows. 3. Calves.

  1. Heifer
  2. Yearling
  3. In all.
  4. Ewe Goats. 6. Killd last
  5. Wethers. Month.
  6. Ewe Kidds
  7. Ram d[o] 9. Increasd
  8. Rams.
  9. In All
  10. Geese, g[t] & small
  11. Incr[d] 1. Dyed.
  12. Turkies, g[t] & sm[l].
  13. Killd
  14. Bought None Increasd
  15. Ewe Sheep
  16. Wethers None Killd
  17. Lambs. or
  18. Ram. Increasd
  19. In All Since last Acc[t]
  20. Fowls, g[t] & small
  21. Killd None Increased

Hoggs

Margin Notes:

Plantat[n] Acc[t] for Sep[r] 1716.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 2 October 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, Matthew Bazett third in council, Antipas Tovey fourth in council and Edward Byfield fifth in council. Captain George Haswell, Deputy Governor, was absent, being in the country.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The overseer of the Honourable Company's plantation brought in the monthly account of their stock. It was an account of the Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the rest, taken on 1 October 1716, being the plantation account for September 1716.

The neat cattle stood as follows:

61 cows

10 bullocks

3 bulls

5 heifers

54 calves

36 yearlings

169 in all

None killed since the last month. Increased: 5.

Of these, the following had been taken by Martin Norman:

3 cows

3 calves

1 heifer

1 yearling

8 in all

The goats stood as follows:

170 ewe goats

91 wethers

74 ewe kids

59 rams

6 rams

340 in all

Killed since the last month: 6. Increased: 9.

The sheep stood as follows:

49 ewe sheep

35 wethers

18 lambs

1 ram

103 in all

None killed or increased since the last account.

The geese stood at 37, great and small. Increased: 7. Died: 1.

The turkeys stood at 59, great and small. Killed: 3. Bought: 11. None increased.

The fowls stood at 59, great and small. Killed: 2. None increased.

The hog account followed.

Interpretations

The separate entry recording eight head of cattle taken by Martin Norman ties this account directly to his self-help recovery licensed at the consultation of 17 September 1716. Norman had driven down his cattle from the hills under the Governor's bare leave, and the overseer now recorded their removal from the Company's stock, three cows, three calves, a heifer and a yearling, the formal acknowledgement on the books that the disputed beasts had left the Company's keeping.

The neat cattle held nearly steady at 169 against 172 a month earlier, the small fall accounted for by Norman's eight head set against five increased and none killed. This continued the recovery the monthly accounts tracked across the year, the herd resilient even after the deduction of Norman's cattle, consistent with the rebuilding the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 had been designed to secure.

The purchase of eleven turkeys recorded among the poultry shows the Company buying in stock to supplement what its own birds produced. Where the cattle, goats and sheep grew by natural increase, the turkeys had none increased and three killed, so the bench made up the number by purchase, a different means of maintaining the supply of one kind of stock that bred poorly on the plantation.

97

92

October.

  1. Sows.
  2. Piggs. 8. Killd
  3. Shoats. None
  4. Barrons. Increasd
  5. Boars. Since
  6. In All last Account
  7. Ducks, great & Small None Killd nor Jncre[d]
  8. Male
  9. Female Asses.
  10. Jn all

N.B. Last Month part of Perkins Black house fell down (in Sandy bay) by Reason of hard Winds. (Signd) W[m] Worrall.

Jn[o] Robinson appeard according to Sumons for having a Spade of y[e] Hon[ble] Compa[s] in his Possession. Who Sayed Harman y[e] Gardner Lent it him but it appeard otherwise. Wherefore Order'd That Said Robinson be Fined Ten shillings to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] for dealing with the said Harman in their Goods. The following Petitions were Presented (Viz[t]) Island St Helena. To y[e] Worsh[ll] Isa[ac] Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c. Council The humb[le] Petit[r] of Jn[o] Long Planter Humbly Sheweth. That Altho yo[r] petit[r] has some Land & a Plantation on this Island, He having no House for his Family (w[ch] consists of Six Whites & three Blacks) But what he hires. Humbly pray he may have a Lease for Lives or a Terme of Years (as yo[r] Worsh[s]

Margin Notes:

Hoggs

Jn[o] Robinson ab[t] Harman[s] Stealing y[e] H. Comp[s] tools

Fined 10[s]

Island St Helena.

Jn[o] Long pet[n] to hire han[d] w[th] a Garden

The hog account stood as follows:

9 sows

44 pigs

13 shoats

4 barrows

2 boars

72 in all

Killed: 8. None increased since the last account.

The ducks stood at 7, great and small. None killed nor increased.

The asses stood as follows:

7 male

4 female

11 in all

William Worrall noted that the previous month part of Perkins's black house at Sandy Bay had fallen down by reason of hard winds. The account was signed by William Worrall.

John Robinson appeared according to his summons, for having a spade of the Honourable Company in his possession. He said that Harman the gardener had lent it to him, but it appeared otherwise. The council therefore ordered that Robinson be fined 10 shillings to the Honourable Company for dealing with Harman in their goods.

The following petitions were presented.

The petition of John Long, planter, was addressed to Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council.

Long set out that, although he had some land and a plantation on the island, he had no house for his family, which consisted of six whites and three blacks, but the one he hired. He asked that he might have a lease for lives or a term of years, as the Governor [...].

Interpretations

The hogs held flat at 72 against 80 a month earlier, with eight killed and none increased, confirming the lasting failure of the herd to rebuild that the accounts had shown across the year. The disease of the Pant, enquired into on 30 August 1715 and reported by Bazett on 4 October 1715 as a corruption of the lungs, continued to hold the hogs down while the grazing stock recovered, the one category that resisted the bench's husbandry.

The note that part of Perkins's black house at Sandy Bay fell in the hard winds extended the record of storm damage that had already taken part of the plantation house and unroofed other dwellings, reported by Worrall in the account for August 1716. The black house was the accommodation for the Company's slaves, and its partial collapse marked the same season of hard weather striking the island's buildings.

The fining of John Robinson for dealing in the Company's spade carried out the summons issued at the consultation of 25 September 1716, the bench rejecting his account that Harman had lent it to him. Robinson's plea that the gardener lent him the tool failed against the evidence, so the council pursued the receiver as it had the thief, the same policy applied to the marshal fined for run wine on 4 September 1716.

Long's description of his household as six whites and three blacks shows the bench reckoning a family by both its free members and its slaves for the purpose of a land grant. The slaves were counted as part of the establishment Long must house and could work the land with, consistent with the standing letting conditions of 24 May 1715 that required a tenant to hold at least one slave for the labour.

98

93

A: 1716.

& Council shall see meet) of a parcel of the Hono[...] Comp[a] waste Land in Sandy bay known by y[e] name of Hancock[s] Garden to build upon & inclose y[e] quantity of about three or foure Acres of Land at such a Yearly Rent as has been or shall be thought fitt by y[e] Wors[h] & Council to pay. & Yo[r] Petic[on] as in duty bound shall ever pray. &c

y[e] 27 Sept[r] 1716.

(Sig[h]d) John Long

Granted. But Left to y[e] Gov[r] to Settle y[e] Terms of the Lease

Order[d] That Cap[t] Bazet & M[r] Bissel[o] oo goe into Sandy bay & view the Blacks[...] house at y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] plantat[ion] call[d] Perkins & make report of y[e] condic[on] thereof.

To y[e] Wors[h] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council The humb Petit[r] of Tho[s] Dutch Serj[t]

Humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] petic[on] did accomodate Mart Norman w[th] Lodging at his house from y[e] 22[d] June to y[e] 17[th] Sept[r] last 1716[?] for w[ch] yo[r] petit[r] was to be paid two shillings [?] week w[ch] amounts to 24/[?] the s[d] Norman being insolvent Yo[r] petic[on] humbly requests he may be paid Out of the Allowance Usually given to such poor people. &c

Margin Notes:

Granted.

Cap[t] Bazet & M[r] B[?] Bissel[o] view petic[?] Black[s] [...]

Island St[?] Helena.

Tho[s] Dutch[?] pet[?] for D[?] Norman

The petition of Thomas Dutch closed with the usual plea for the council's favour. He signed it under his own hand.

The council ordered the churchwardens to pay Dutch 24 shillings, together with the charges, and to enter the sum in their account.

An account followed of the books and papers found in the secretary's office, as then placed in the presses.

A small stitched consultation book began on 1 August 1674. It could be read only in places, having been damaged by wet.

Number 1: One consultation book began on 27 June 1678 and ended 20 December 1689.

Number 2: One book began on 8 January 1683/4 and ended 12 December 1687. These two books were newly bound in vellum where some leaves had been wanting. In number 1, from folio 283 to 238, two leaves were lost, and the edges of some were rotted and worn away so that the figures and many words were entirely lost, as was number 2 from folio 1 to 15.

Number 3: One consultation book began on 3 January 1687 and ended 29 March 1693.

Number 4: One book began on 24 April 1693 and ended 6 July 1696.

Number 5: One book began on 13 July 1696 and ended 6 July 1699.

Number 6: One book began on 1 August 1699 and ended 1 April 1703.

Number 7: One book began on 1 April 1703 and ended 13 March 1704/5.

These eight consultation books were noted in press number 1.

Interpretations

The order to the churchwardens drew on parish funds rather than the Company's account, marking Dutch's payment as a charge on the poor rate and not on the garrison establishment. The same parish mechanism had been used for relief payments such as the half a crown a week allowed to the widow of the surgeon William Porteous at the consultation of 16 February 1715/16.

The inventory recorded the physical state of the island's governing archive across nearly thirty years of administration. The losses from wet and the rotting of leaf edges explain why some early consultations survive only in part, and why figures and names from the 1670s and 1680s are recoverable only here and there.

The rebinding in vellum reflected deliberate preservation of the oldest records. Vellum is treated animal skin, more durable than paper board, and its use signalled that the council valued these books as the legal record of land grants, leases and judgements reaching back to the first decades of settlement.

99

94

October.

& as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c (Sig[h]d) Tho[:] Dutch.

5[t] Oct[r] 1716.

Order[d], That the Church Warden[s] do pay the s[d] twenty foure shillings & Charge[s] in their Account.

An Acc[t] of Books & Papers, found in the Secretary Office, As now placed in the Presses. (Viz[t])

A Small Stitcht Consulta[on] book, begun y[e] 1[st] of Aug[t] 1674. but can't be read only here & there a little, having been damaged by Wett

1: Consult[n] book, beg[n] 27 June 1678. Ends 20 Dec[r] 1683

2: Ditto, begun 8 Jan[ry] 1683/4, Ends 1[st] Dec[r] 1687

N.B. These 2 books are New bound in Vell[um] when there was wanting some leaves. (Viz[t]) N[o] 1. from f[o] 283. to 238. there's two leaves lost. & y[e] Edges of some rotted & worne away so y[t] y[e] figures & many word[s] are intirely lost as N[o] 2. f[o] 1. to 15. &c

3: Cons[t] book, beg[n] 3. Jan[ry] 1687/8 Ends 29 Mar[ch] 1693

4: Ditto beg[n] 24 Apr[l] 1693 - 6 July 1696

5: Ditto - 13. July 1696 - 6 July 1699

6: Ditto - 1. Aug[t] 1699 - 1. Apr[l] 1703

7: Ditto - 1. Apr[l] 1703 - 13. M[ch] 1704/5

N.B. These

Margin Notes:

Church Warden to pay him

Secr[s] in Offi[ce] Examined

N[o]

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

N[o] 2 These Eight Consultation books in press N[o] 1.

The petition of Thomas Dutch closed with the usual plea for the council's favour. He signed it under his own hand.

The council ordered the churchwardens to pay Dutch 24 shillings, together with the charges, and to enter the sum in their account.

An account followed of the books and papers found in the secretary's office, as then placed in the presses.

A small stitched consultation book began on 1 August 1674. It could be read only in places, having been damaged by wet.

Number 1: One consultation book began on 27 June 1678 and ended 20 December 1689.

Number 2: One book began on 8 January 1683/4 and ended 12 December 1687. These two books were newly bound in vellum where some leaves had been wanting. In number 1, from folio 283 to 238, two leaves were lost, and the edges of some were rotted and worn away so that the figures and many words were entirely lost, as was number 2 from folio 1 to 15.

Number 3: One consultation book began on 3 January 1687 and ended 29 March 1693.

Number 4: One book began on 24 April 1693 and ended 6 July 1696.

Number 5: One book began on 13 July 1696 and ended 6 July 1699.

Number 6: One book began on 1 August 1699 and ended 1 April 1703.

Number 7: One book began on 1 April 1703 and ended 13 March 1704/5.

These eight consultation books were noted in press number 1.

Interpretations

The order to the churchwardens drew on parish funds rather than the Company's account, marking Dutch's payment as a charge on the poor rate and not on the garrison establishment. The same parish mechanism had been used for relief payments such as the half a crown a week allowed to the widow of the surgeon William Porteous at the consultation of 16 February 1715/16.

The inventory recorded the physical state of the island's governing archive across nearly thirty years of administration. The losses from wet and the rotting of leaf edges explain why some early consultations survive only in part, and why figures and names from the 1670s and 1680s are recoverable only here and there.

The rebinding in vellum reflected deliberate preservation of the oldest records. Vellum is treated animal skin, more durable than paper board, and its use signalled that the council valued these books as the legal record of land grants, leases and judgements reaching back to the first decades of settlement.

100

95

A: 1716.

N.B. These 5 books are New bound in Leather, w[ch] y[e] Ratts doe not Eat as they will Vellum Covers. There is Wanting in N[o] 3. next f[o] 18. most part of One leafe & many Edg[s] of leaves, & some leaves wanting at y[e] Latt end of y[e] book reaching but to f[o] 469 in Cons[t] of 29 March 1693. & other books Edges[?] damaged &c as y[t] above

8: Cons book beg[n] 27 M[ch] 1705. Ends 29 Oct 1706

N.B. This is unbound and Unsticht in ord[r] to be New done, (sev[l] leaves lost )

9: Ditto, - 5 Nov[r] 1706. - 20 76[r] 1709

10: Ditto - 8 Nov[r] 1709 - 9 Dec[r] 1712

N.B. These are two large books y[t] would not Size w[th] y[e] oth[r] for highth & were Ratt Eaten before y[e] New Presses were made

11: Ditto, begun 6. Jan 1712. Ends 23 Aug 1715

N.B. This is a good book, but being too thick bursts in y[e] binding

12: Ditto beg[n] 24 Aug 1715. Ends 13 M[ch] 1715/16

13: Ditto - 20 M[ch] 1715/16 - 17 July 1716

14: Ditto - 24 July 1716

A & B: 2 Old Books of Orders & Instructions from y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a], both New bound in Leather

C: Ditto, of y[e] Same, but wants New bind

Margin Notes:

Press N[o] 1

Press N[o] 2.

Press N[o] 1. these 7 Books.

These five books were newly bound in leather, since the rats did not eat it as they did the vellum covers. In number 3, next to folio 18, most of one leaf and many edges of leaves were wanting, and some leaves were missing at the latter end of the book, reaching only to folio 469, which ended 29 March 1693. The other books were also damaged as noted above. These were held in press number 1.

Number 8: One consultation book began on 27 March 1705 and ended 29 October 1706. This book was unbound and unstitched, and ordered to be newly done, several leaves being lost.

Number 9: One book began on 5 November 1706 and ended 20 July 1709.

Number 10: One book began on 8 November 1709 and ended 9 December 1712. These were two large books which would not match the others for height, and were rat-eaten before the new presses were made. Numbers 8, 9 and 10 were held in press number 2.

Number 11: One book began on 6 January 1712 and ended 23 August 1715. This was a good book, but being too thick it burst in its binding.

Number 12: One book began on 25 August 1715 and ended 13 March 1715/16.

Number 13: One book began on 20 March 1715/16 and ended 17 July 1716.

Number 14: One book began on 24 July 1716.

A and B: Two old books of orders and instructions from the Honourable Company, both newly bound in leather.

C: One further book of the same, but wanting new binding.

Numbers 11 to 14, together with A, B and C, were held in press number 1, comprising seven books.

Interpretations

The note on rats explained the switch from vellum to leather binding as a practical defence against vermin. The earlier vellum covers had been eaten, so the council adopted leather for the rebound volumes to protect the record against the same loss.

The inventory tracked the consultation books in an unbroken sequence from March 1705 down to the current book opened on 24 July 1716, the latter being the volume now in use by Pyke's council. The closing entries placed the archive's most recent volumes in the same press, marking the active and near-active records as a distinct group from the older damaged books.

The two old books of orders and instructions from the Honourable Company held the directors' standing commands to the island government. Their separate listing and fresh binding marked them as the constitutional authority under which the council acted, distinct from the consultation books that recorded the council's own proceedings.

101

96

Oct[r]

1: Book for Copying Letters from England begun w[th] Letter of 23. May 1707 & Ends w[th] y[t] of y[e] 16[o] Oct 1713

N.B. This is a very larg Ruld book & not designd for such an Use y[e] Same is now Used to Register Inventory[s]

2: Old books of Laws & Orders Abstr[d] they both want New binding but E. don't deserve it

1: Book Copy[s] of Letters to England begun y[e] 11[o] Aug[t] 1706. Ends y[e] 28[o] June 1714 (from England)

1: Ditto, Copy[s] of Lett[s] begun with Letter of y[e] 5[o] M[ch] 1713/4 Ends

1: Ditto of y[e] Instructions to Officers at Out Forts

1: Ditto, now used to Copy[s] Letters [?] Engl[d] beg[n] 20. Jan 1715/16

1: Ditto Copy of Wills, begun 1681/2

4: Old Sticht books of Abstracts of y[e] Laws &c - Alphabetically

2: D[o] bound (all y[e] 6 in bad order)

Papers (Viz[t])

In Press N[o] 1. (12 parchts)

1[st] Secret Comittees Letters

2: Gen[l] Lett[s] or Copy[s] from 1673 to 1700

Margin Notes:

N[o]

D

E. & F.

G

H

I

K

R

W

Press N[o] 2.

Press N[o] 1.

Press N[o] 2.

Press N[o] 3.

Westlands Acc[ts] Letter Books for Scotland 1692 - 1701 [?] [...] 1700[?]

D: One book for copying letters from England began with the letter of 23 May 1707 and ended with the letter of 16 October 1713. This was a very large ruled book, not designed for such a use, and was now used to register the inventory. This was held in press number 2.

E and F: Two old books of laws and orders. Both wanted new binding, but E did not deserve it. These were held in press number 1.

G: One book copy of letters to England began on 11 August 1706 and ended 28 June 1714.

H: One book copy of letters began with the letter of 5 March 1713/14 and ended at that point.

I: One book copy of the instructions to the officers at the out forts.

K, now P: One book now used to copy letters to England began on 20 January 1715/16.

W: One book copy of wills began in 1681/2.

These books, from G to W, were held in press number 2.

Four old stitched books of abstracts of the laws, arranged alphabetically.

Two further such books, bound and arranged alphabetically, in bad order. These were held in press number 3.

Papers, as follows, in press number 1, in twelve parcels:

First, the secret committee's letters.

Second, the general letters or copies from 1673 to 1700.

Interpretations

The inventory distinguished the letter books by direction and correspondent, separating letters received from England, letters sent to England, instructions issued to the island's own outlying garrisons and the secret committee's correspondence. This division reflected the Company's record-keeping practice, in which inward and outward correspondence with the directors was kept apart from internal garrison orders and from the confidential channel of the secret committee.

The repurposing of the oversized letter book to register the inventory showed the council adapting available materials to need. A ruled volume too large for its original purpose was turned to recording the very archive now being catalogued, rather than left idle.

The secret committee's letters marked a confidential tier within the Company's correspondence. The secret committee was the body of directors entrusted with sensitive matters, and the separate filing of its letters in their own parcel reflected the restricted handling such material required.

102

97

A: 1716.

3: General Letters from 1700. to 8[o] July 1714

4: Copy[s] of Gen[l] Lett[d] of w[ch] there is Originals

5: Gen[l] Lett[s] from 8[o] July 1714

6: Wills from 1681. to 1700

7: D[o] from 1700 to this time

In the 12 Partitions Press N[o] 2.

1: Store keepers Monthly Acc[ts]

2: Inventory[s] of Deceasd persons Estates

3: Receipts for Pacquetts

4: Cop[s] of Ships Letters

Examined & Seen by Us. Isaac Pyke

(Sig[h]d) Matthew Bazett Edward Byfeld

Cap[t] Bazett the Store keeper brought in his Account of Store Goods Sold &c for the Month of August. (Viz[t])

An Acc[t] of Goods Sold & deliverd out of the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Stores to the Inhabitants of this Island. Also for the Use of Union Castle & Plantation house, from July the 25. 1716. to August y[e] 25[th] following. (Viz[t])

To

Margin Notes:

Title Page[?] of Letter Books for Scotland 1692 - 1701[?] [...] [...] 1700[?]

Store Acc[t] for Aug[t] 1716

Third, the general letters from 1700 to 8 July 1714.

Fourth, copies of the general letters of the same, the originals being held.

Fifth, the general letters from 8 July 1714.

Sixth, the wills from 1681 to 1700.

Seventh, the wills from 1700 to the present time.

In press number 2, in twelve partitions:

First, the storekeepers' monthly accounts.

Second, the inventory of deceased persons' estates.

Third, the receipts for packets.

Fourth, the copies of ships' letters.

The inventory was examined and seen by the council, and signed by Isaac Pyke, Matthew Bazett and Edward Byfield.

Captain Bazett the storekeeper brought in his account of store goods sold for the month of August.

An account followed of goods sold and delivered out of the Honourable Company's stores to the inhabitants of the island, and also for the use of Union Castle and the plantation house, from 25 July 1716 to 25 August 1716.

Interpretations

The signatures of Pyke, Bazett and Byfield closed the inventory as a formal act of the council rather than a clerk's private memorandum. The three named subscribers were the governor, the third in council and storekeeper, and the fifth in council, their joint attestation giving the catalogue the standing of an audited record. Byfield had taken his place as fifth in council on 17 May 1715, and Bazett held the storekeeper's office whose monthly accounts now followed.

The separate filing of the inventory of deceased persons' estates reflected the council's role in administering the property of those who died on the island. Probate, the valuation of estates and the recovery of debts owed to and by the dead all passed through the council, so the estate inventories formed a distinct class of record kept apart from the trading and correspondence files.

The storekeeper's monthly account combined sales to private inhabitants with issues for the two principal Company establishments, Union Castle and the plantation house. This single account thus served both as a record of retail trade with the settlers and as an internal charge against the garrison and the governor's residence, the two being entered together under one monthly head.

103

98

Now I see exactly what is happening - lines beginning with a dash are rendering as bullet points. I will represent the nil-pounds column with "00" instead of a leading dash so nothing turns into a bullet.

Oct[r]

To y[e] Inhabitants (Viz[t])

£ s d

Arrack 178 3/4 Gall[s] D[o] 7/6 [?] gall

66 17 9[d]

Sugar 414[lb] at 8[d] [?] lb

13 16 4

Flour 1117[lb] at 3[d] [?] lb

16 5 11 1/4

Bread 1176[lb] at 5[d] [?] lb

25 18 00

Rice 204[lb] at 1[d] [?] lb

2 16 6

Sweet Oyle 1/2 [?] Gall[?]

00 6 00

Lime Juice 3[?] quarts

00 3 9

Vinegar 2 1/2 Gall at 2/6

00 6 3

Soap 35[lb] at 1[d] [?] lb

2 9 7

Tea 7 at 9

3 3 00

Cattles 11 D[o]

4 19 00

8 2 00

Shirts 97 at 3

14 11 00

Shoes Viz[t]

1 p[r] of Girle Shoes

00 2 9

1 p[r] Ditto Turkey Leather

00 4 9

00 7 6

14 p[r] Island Shoes at 4

2 16 00

Shoe Thread 7 at 2/6

00 17 6

Twine 4 at 2/4

00 9 4

Soldiers Cloaths viz[t]

2 p[r] Breeches at 8/3

16 6

1 Waste Coate

00 9 4

1 5 10

Razors 1

00 4 3

Carried Over

£ 157 16 7

The account of goods sold to the inhabitants ran as follows.

Arrack

178¾ gallons at 7s 6d per gallon

£66 17s 6d

Sugar

414 pounds at 8d per pound

£13 16s 4d

Flour

1,117 pounds at 3½d per pound

£16 5s 11½d

Bread

1,176 pounds at 5½d per pound

£25 18s [...]

Rice

204 pounds at 2½d per pound

£2 10s 6d

Sweet oil

½ gallon at [...] per gallon

£0 0s 6d

Lime juice

3 quarts

£0 3s 9d

Vinegar

2½ gallons at 2s 6d per gallon

£0 6s 3d

Soap

35 pounds at [...] per pound

£2 9s 7d

Tea

7 pounds at 9s [...]

£3 3s 0d

Candles

11 pounds [...]

£4 19s 0d

[Subtotal] £8 2s [...]

Shirts

97 at 3s [...]

£14 11s 0d

Shoes, as follows.

1 pair of girl's shoes

£0 2s 9d

1 pair of the same, turkey leather

£0 4s 9d

[Subtotal] £0 7s 6d

14 pairs of island shoes at 4s

£2 16s 0d

Shoe thread

7 pounds at 2s 6d

£0 17s 6d

Twine

4 pounds at 2s 4d

£0 9s 4d

Soldiers' clothes, as follows.

2 pairs of breeches at 8s 3d

£0 16s 6d

1 waistcoat

£0 9s 4d

[Subtotal] £1 5s 10d

Razors

1

£0 4s 3d

Carried over

£157 16s 7d

Interpretations

The account separated retail sales into distinct heads of victuals, footwear and military clothing, each subtotalled before the page total was carried over. This structure shows the storekeeper distinguishing ordinary provisions sold to settlers from the manufactured goods, particularly shoes and uniform items, that the Company supplied as both trade stock and garrison issue.

The arrack alone accounted for the largest single sum on the page at £66 17s 6d, sold at 7s 6d per gallon. This rate sat above the older Boucher-administration retail price of 6s the gallon and below the 9s the gallon charged on the Batavia stock across the accounts of September 1713 to March 1714, marking arrack as the dominant item of the island's retail trade and a principal source of Company revenue.

The turkey leather noted against one pair of shoes denoted a fine tanned goatskin, originally imported through the Levant and prized for its durability and finish. Its appearance beside plain island shoes priced at 4s the pair distinguished an imported quality good from the locally made footwear produced from Company-tanned hides.

The island shoes recorded the local manufacture established under earlier orders, by which Company-tanned leather was worked into footwear for the store by resident shoemakers. The entry of 14 pairs at a fixed 4s each reflected this standing arrangement, the shoemaker Samuel Price having been set to teach two boys the trade at 2s 6d the day by the order of 12 April 1715.

104

99

A: 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over

157 16 7

Hooks & Lines viz[t]

Lines

1 ditto N[o] 7

00 00 10

2 ditto 9

00 2 2

9 ditto 10

00 11 3

3 ditto 16 3/8

00 11 00

1 5 3

Hooks

1 doz[n] N[o] 1

00 00 2 1/2

1 doz[n] 2

00 00 3

5 doz 3

00 2 6

10 doz[n] 4

00 5 10

1/2 doz 5

00 1 1 1/2

2 1/2 doz[n] 6

00 2 6

3 1/2 doz[n] 7

00 4 4 1/2

16 9 1/2

Bodice

1 p[r] ditto

00 10 4

1 p[r] ditto

00 13 6

1 3 10

Corks 2 doz[n]

00 00 6

00 00 6

Blanketts Viz[t]

2 ditto at 7 9

00 15 6

8 ditto at 9 6

3 16 00

1 ditto

00 11 3

5 2 9

Druggetts viz[t]

42 Yards d[o] at 3

6 6 00

42 1/2 Yards d[o] at 4

8 10 00

6 Yards Silk d[o] at 4/9

1 8 6

16 4 6

Shalloone 6 Yards at 9/6

7 12 6

Durants 2 Yards at 1/9

00 3 6

Kersey 11 Yards at 2/2

1 3 10

Norwich Stuffs 4 Yards at 1/1

00 4 4

Carried over

£ 191 14 4 1/2

The account continued, brought over at £157 16s 7d.

Hooks and lines, as follows.

Lines

1 of number 7

£0 0s 10d

2 of number 9

£0 2s 2d

9 of number 10

£0 11s 3d

3 of number 16, at 3s 8d

£0 11s 0d

[Subtotal] £1 5s 3d

Hooks

1 dozen of number 1

£0 0s 2½d

1 dozen of number 2

£0 0s 3d

5 dozen of number 3

£0 2s 6d

10 dozen of number 4

£0 5s 10d

1½ dozen of number 5

£0 1s 1½d

2½ dozen of number 6

£0 2s 6d

3½ dozen of number 7

£0 4s 4½d

[Subtotal] £0 16s 9½d

Bodice

1 piece of the same

£0 10s 4d

1 piece of the same

£0 13s 6d

[Subtotal] £1 3s 10d

Corks

2 dozen

£0 0s 6d

[Subtotal] £0 0s 6d

Blankets, as follows.

2 at 7s 9d

£0 15s 6d

8 at 9s 6d

£3 16s 0d

1 of the same

£0 11s 3d

[Subtotal] £5 2s 9d

Druggets, as follows.

42 yards at 3s

£6 6s 0d

42½ yards at 4s

£8 10s 0d

6 yards of silk drugget at 4s 9d

£1 8s 6d

[Subtotal] £16 4s 6d

Shalloon

6 yards at 9s 6d

£7 12s 6d

Durants

2 yards at 1s 9d

£0 3s 6d

Kersey

11 yards at 2s 7d

£1 13s 10d

Norwich stuffs

4 yards at 1s 1d

£0 4s 4d

Carried over

£191 4s 4½d

Interpretations

The textile entries recorded a range of woollen and worsted cloths imported for sale to the inhabitants, each priced by the yard. Drugget was a coarse woollen or wool-and-silk fabric used for cheap outer garments, here sold both plain and in a silk-mixed quality at 4s 9d the yard. Shalloon was a closely woven worsted lining cloth, named for Châlons in France, and commanded the highest yard price on the page at 9s 6d. Durants, also called everlasting, was a hard-wearing glazed worsted. Kersey was a coarse ribbed woollen long made in England for working clothing. Norwich stuffs denoted the light worsted fabrics produced in Norwich, then the centre of the English worsted trade. The presence of all five in one account shows the island drawing on the full range of English cloth manufacture for its clothing supply.

The fishing tackle recorded in graded numbers reflected a stock held for sale to a fishing population. The lines and hooks were sorted by size number, from the finest hooks of number 1 to the heaviest, allowing buyers to match tackle to the fish sought off the island's coast. Their inclusion in the store account marks fishing as a settled part of the island economy provisioned through the Company stores.

The bodice entries, each a made piece rather than cloth by the yard, denoted stiffened women's undergarments supplied ready-made. Their sale alongside bulk cloth shows the store stocking finished articles of dress as well as the raw fabric from which garments were cut and sewn on the island.

105

100

Oct[r] 1716

£ s d

Brought Over

191 14 4 1/2

Perpetuanos 16 3/4 y[ds] at 2/3

1 17 8 1/4

Fustians 1 p[c] White

1 18 6

22 Yards Ditto d[o] 20[d]

00 4 2

2 2 8

Bleu Guinhals 1 p[c]

00 9 00

Dungarees 5 p[c] at 5/8

1 8 4

Chints 1 p[c]

1 2 00

Saunoes 1 p[c]

00 15 2

Tegalis 4 p[c] at 10/5

2 1 8

Long Cloath 5 p[c] at 25/9

6 8 9

Guinhals 4 p[c] at 12/6

2 10 00

Musline 1 p[c]

1 17 6

Neckcloaths 2 D[o] at 2/4 1/2 Ea[ch]

00 4 9

Ginghams 3 p[c] at 9/9

1 9 3

Indigo 2 cwm[?] at 8[d]

00 1 4

Double House Linnen 13 1/2 y[ds] at 3

1 9 3

Glass Weare 1 Two Hour Glass

00 3 4

Brass Ware 1 p[r] Small Scales

00 4 1/2

White Lead 6 lb[s] at 6[d]

00 3 00

Saile Needles 18 at 1[d] [?] doz[n]

00 2 4 1/2

Thimbles 3 Gross Ditto

00 00 3

Pepper 1[?]

00 1 00

Wooden Ware 2 Bowles at 19[d]

00 3 2

Pinns 37 Mill at 1/9 [?] M

3 4 9

Pewter 1 quart Pott

00 4 8

Tobacco Pipes 26 8/12 doz[n] at 6[d]

00 13 4

Carried Over

£ 220 6 8 1/4

The account continued, brought over at £191 4s 4½d.

Perpetuanas

16¾ yards at 2s 3d

£1 17s 8¼d

Fustians

1 piece white

£1 18s 6d

2¼ yards of the same at 20d

£0 4s 2d

[Subtotal] £2 2s 8d

Blue guinea cloth

1 piece

£0 9s 0d

Dungarees

5 pieces at 5s 8d

£1 8s 4d

Chints

1 piece

£1 2s 0d

Saunoes

1 piece

£0 15s 2d

Tegalis

4 pieces at 10s 5d

£2 1s 8d

Long cloth

5 pieces at 24s 9d

£6 3s 9d

Guinea cloth

4 pieces at 12s 6d

£2 10s 0d

Muslin

1 piece

£1 17s 6d

Neckcloths

2 dozen at 2s 4½d each

£0 4s 9d

Ginghams

3 pieces at 9s 9d

£1 9s 3d

Indigo

2 [...] at 8s

£0 1s 4d

Double house linen

13½ yards at 2s 3d

£1 9s 3d

Glassware

1 two-hour glass

£0 3s 4d

Brassware

1 piece of small scales

£0 4s 4½d

White lead

6 pounds at 6d

£0 3s 0d

Sail needles

18 at 1s 6d per dozen

£0 2s 4½d

Thimbles

3 brass of the same

£0 0s 3d

Pepper

1 [...]

£0 1s 0d

Wooden ware

2 bowls at 19d

£0 3s 2d

Pins

37 mille at 1s 9d per thousand

£3 4s 9d

Pewter

1 quart pot

£0 4s 8d

Tobacco pipes

26 8/12 dozen at 6d

£1 3s 4d

Carried over

£220 6s 8¼d

Interpretations

The account recorded a large group of Indian cotton piece goods sold by the piece, the staple of the Company's eastern trade. Long cloth was a plain white calico woven in long lengths on the Coromandel coast and was the most valuable cloth on the page at 24s 9d the piece. Guinea cloth and blue guinea cloth were striped or blue-dyed cottons originally traded to the West African coast, here sold to settlers. Chints was a painted or printed calico, ginghams were checked or striped cottons, muslin a fine plain cotton, and dungarees a coarse cheap cotton for hard wear. Tegalis and saunoes were named varieties of Indian cotton cloth. Their dominance of this page shows the island consuming the same Indian textiles the Company carried west to Europe, drawn from the Madras and Bengal invoices read at St Helena.

The perpetuanas and fustians recorded European cloths sold alongside the Indian goods. Perpetuana was a durable glossy worsted, its name advertising its hard-wearing quality, while fustian was a strong cotton-and-linen cloth with a raised pile used for cheap stout clothing. Their entry beside the calicoes shows the store stocking both the eastern and the European textile trades together.

The small hardware closed the account with the everyday goods of a settler community. Sail needles, thimbles, brass scales, white lead, an hourglass and pins by the thousand were the minor manufactures the island could not produce, supplied through the store to support sewing, weighing, fishing and the keeping of time. The pins entered at 37 mille, a count by the thousand from the French mille, priced at 1s 9d the thousand.

Speculations

The store carried the costly Indian piece goods in very small quantities, mostly single pieces, against bulkier holdings of plain cloth and provisions. This pattern suggests the council stocked the finer calicoes to meet occasional demand from the wealthier planters and passing ships rather than as a staple, tying up little capital in goods that turned over slowly on a small island market.

106

101

A: 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over

220 6 8 1/4

Haberdashery Ware viz[t]

Threads 2 lb at 9[d] [?] [oz] 08[?] 11

1 13 9

1 ounce ditto 28[?]

00 1 9

11 ounces ditto at 13[?]

00 11 11

5 Ounces ditto at 15 1/2[?]

00 6 5 1/2

3 Ounces ditto 24[?]

00 6 00

1 Ounce ditto 30

00 2 6

Silk 20 1/16 Ounces at 2/6

1 Ounce ditto

00 3 6

3 5 0 1/2

2 10 1 1/4

Buttons Viz[t]

17 doz Brest at 4[d]

00 5 8

1 doz Ditto

00 00 6

3 1/2 doz Coat D[o] at 12[d]

00 3 6

9 8

Ferritts 1 1/2 Yard at 6[d]

00 00 9

6 Yards Silk at D[o]

00 3 00

3 9

Combs 8 Horne ditto at 4[d]

00 2 8

2 ditto at 5[d]

00 00 10

3 6

Nayles Viz[t]

3 3[d] Nayles at 9[d] [?]

00 2 3

11 Clasp 10[d] D[o] at 8 1/2[?]

00 7 9 1/2

1/2 Tacks

00 00 10

10 10 1/2

Iron Mongers Ware viz[t]

2 Shovells at 2

00 4 00

1 Box Iron

00 00 8

2 Heaters

00 1 9

1 Chest Lock

00 4 6

2 Plate Locks N[o] 11

00 2 9

1 Ratt Trapp

00 2 6

1 3 6

Carried over

£ 228 13 2 1/2

The account continued, brought over at £220 6s 8¼d.

Haberdashery ware, as follows.

Threads

13 at 9¾d

£1 13s 9d

1 ounce of the same

£0 0s 8d

11 ounces of the same at 13d

£0 11s 11d

5 ounces of the same at 15¼d

£0 6s 5¼d

3 ounces of the same at 2s 4d

£0 7s 0d

1 ounce of the same at 30d

£0 2s 6d

[Subtotal] £3 5s 0¼d

Silk

20½ ounces, 1 ounce of the same, at 2s 6d

£2 10s 1¼d

Buttons, as follows.

17 dozen breast buttons at 4d

£0 5s 8d

1 dozen of the same

£0 0s 6d

3½ dozen coat buttons at 12d

£0 3s 6d

[Subtotal] £0 9s 8d

Ferrets

1½ yard at 6d

£0 0s 9d

6 yards of silk at the same

£0 3s 0d

[Subtotal] £0 3s 9d

Combs

8 horn combs at 4d

£0 2s 8d

2 of the same at 5d

£0 0s 10d

[Subtotal] £0 3s 6d

Nails, as follows.

3 of 3 nails at 9d

£0 2s 3d

11 clasp of 10 of the same at 8¼d

£0 7s 6¼d

½ thousand tacks

£0 0s 10d

[Subtotal] £0 10s 10¼d

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

2 shovels at 2s

£0 4s 0d

1 box iron

£0 0s 8d

2 heaters

£0 1s 9d

1 chest lock

£0 4s 6d

2 plate locks of number 11

£0 2s 9d

1 rat trap

£0 2s 6d

[Subtotal] £1 3s 6d

Carried over

£228 13s 2¼d

Interpretations

The haberdashery and ironmongery heads recorded the small manufactures of dress and household use that the island could not make for itself. Threads and silk were sold by the ounce for sewing, ferrets were narrow woven tapes used to bind edges and fasten garments, and breast and coat buttons were supplied by the dozen for the making and mending of clothing. The box iron and its heaters formed a smoothing iron, the hollow box taking a separately heated iron slug to press cloth. These goods mark the store as the sole source of the minor materials of domestic life on the island.

The graded nails and locks reflected a settled building and security trade run through the stores. Nails were sold by their count to the pound, clasp nails for joinery and tacks by the half-thousand, while the chest lock and plate locks supplied the means to secure goods and doors. The numbered plate locks indicate a standard pattern stocked to a Company catalogue, allowing replacement to a known size.

Speculations

The thread was stocked across at least six grades, priced from 8d to 2s 6d the ounce, a far finer gradation than any other line on the page. This range suggests the store deliberately held thread to match every class of sewing on the island, from coarse stitching of sailcloth and slaves' clothing to the fine work of the planters' households, the single most differentiated item in the whole account.

107

102

Oct[r]

£ s d

Brought Over

228 13 2 1/2

Butter 152 lb Eng[?] at 6[d]

3 16 00

Pease 5 Bushells at 4/6 very Old

1 2 6

Pork 494 Salted at 6[d]

12 7 00

Holland Duck 8 Bolls[?] [?] 19[?]

39 12 00

Stationary Ware viz[t]

21 Quires pap[r] at 16[d]

1 8 00

1 Testament

00 1 9

4 Horne Books

00 1 4

1 11 1

287 1 9 1/2

New Goods [?] Ship Catherine viz[t]

119 p[r] Shoes at 6/2

36 13 10

30 p[r] Womens Spannish 20[?] [?]

9 5 00

Stockings 76 p[r] Mens d[o] at 7/10

29 15 4

19 p[r] Mens fine Bleu at 6/6

6 3 6

16 p[r] Youths d[o] at 5/6

4 8 00

12 p[r] Youths d[o] at 3/6

2 2 00

18 p[r] Youth d[o] at 4/6

4 1 00

9 p[r] Boys Knitt at 3/

1 7 00

1 p[r] Youths Silk & Worsted d[o]

00 6 00

3 p[r] of Silk & Worsted d[o]

1 2 6

5 p[r] of Boys ditto at 2/9

00 13 9

28 p[r] Womens fine Worsted Clo[?] 6/6

9 2 00

3 p[r] Womens d[o] at 5/

00 15 00

19 p[r] Womens Worsted at 4/

3 16 00

8 p[r] Womens ditto d[o] 4/6

1 16 00

65 8 1

45 18 10

287 1 9 1/2

The account continued, brought over at £228 13s 2¼d.

Butter

152 pounds, English, at 6d

£3 16s 0d

Peas

5 bushels at 4s 6d, very old

£1 2s 6d

Pork

494 pounds, salted, at 6d

£12 7s 0d

Holland duck

8 bolts at 4s 19[...]

£39 12s 0d

Stationery ware, as follows.

21 quires of paper at 10d

£0 18s 0d

1 Testament

£0 1s 9d

4 horn books

£0 1s 4d

[Subtotal] £1 1s 1d

[Page total] £287 1s 9¼d

New goods from the ship Catherine, as follows.

119 pairs of shoes at 6s 2d

£36 13s 10d

30 pairs of women's Spanish of the same

£9 5s 0d

Stockings

76 pairs of men's at 7s 10d

£29 15s 4d

19 pairs of men's fine blue at 6s 6d

£6 3s 6d

16 pairs of youths' of the same at 5s 6d

£4 8s 0d

12 pairs of youths' of the same at 3s 6d

£2 2s 0d

18 pairs of youths' of the same at 4s 6d

£4 1s 0d

9 pairs of boys' knit at 3s

£1 7s 0d

1 pair of youths' silk and worsted of the same

£0 6s 0d

3 pairs of silk and worsted

£1 2s 6d

5 pairs of boys' of the same at 2s 9d

£0 13s 9d

28 pairs of women's fine worsted of the same at 6s 6d

£9 2s 0d

3 pairs of women's of the same at 5s

£0 15s 0d

19 pairs of women's worsted at 4s

£3 16s 0d

8 pairs of women's of the same at 4s 6d

£1 16s 0d

[Subtotals] £65 8s 1d and £45 18s 10d

[Carried over] £287 1s 9¼d

Interpretations

The arrival of the Catherine added a fresh consignment to the store, entered under its own head as new goods to keep the incoming cargo distinct from existing stock. The Catherine was an East Indiaman from Bombay, earlier the source of Goa arrack sold at the island from 8 April 1712, and her shoes and stockings now formed a substantial single intake valued in the tens of pounds.

The stockings were graded by wearer and by quality across fifteen lines, from men's fine blue at 6s 6d down to boys' worsted at 2s 9d, with separate silk-and-worsted pairs at the top of the range. This fine division by age, sex and material shows the store provisioning a whole settler population from one bulk consignment, matching price to the means and size of every class of buyer.

The horn books recorded the basic instrument of early childhood reading, a printed sheet of the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer mounted on a board and protected by a thin layer of translucent horn. Their sale beside a Testament marks the store as the source of the island's few schooling materials, the means by which settler children were taught their letters.

Speculations

The peas were entered as very old yet still priced at 4s 6d the bushel and put to sale rather than written off. This suggests the council chose to recover what it could from ageing provisions by selling them on at the standing rate, the candid note of condition protecting the storekeeper against later complaint while clearing stock that would otherwise spoil unsold.

108

103

A: 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over

45 18 10

287 1 9 1/2

Stockings bro[t] Over

65 8 1

2 p[r] Womens ditto at 5/8

00 11 4

1 p[r] Womens Silk ditto

00 12 00

13 p[r] Girles Ditto at 2/6

1 12 6

1 p[r] Womens Scarlett

00 7 6

2 p[r] Boys Stockings at 2/4

00 4 8

12 p[r] Childrens ditto at 2/

1 4 00

3 p[r] Womens Thread at 4/9

00 14 3

60 p[r] Mens Coarse Bleu at 2/2

6 10 00

77 4 4

Hatts viz[t]

2 Gold & Silver Laced at 27/

2 14 00

11 Bevretts N[o] 5 at 20

11 00 00

58 Cloth Hatts 4 at 13

37 14 00

23 Boys Cloth D[o] 3 at 9

10 7 00

14 Ditto 2 at 7/6

5 5 00

10 ditto 1 at 6/6

3 5 00

70 5 00

Haberdashery Ware viz[t]

Thread 58 1/2 Breech d[o] at 4/

11 14 00

22 1/4 ditto fine d[o] 5/

11 3 00

61 Cottour d[o] 5/

15 5 00

27 10 3

Ivory Combs 22 d[o] at 2/

2 4 00

27 d[o] d[o] 1/

1 7 00

3 11 00

Shirt Buttons 10 Gro at 6[d]

00 3 00

3 11 00

Black Silk Hoods viz[t]

3 ditto at 15

2 5 00

13 6

1 ditto

00 9 00

1 ditto

3 7 6

Carried Over

£ 230 16 11

Carried Over

£ 287 1 9

The account continued, the stockings brought over at £65 8s 1d.

2 pairs of women's of the same at 5s 8d

£0 11s 4d

1 pair of women's silk of the same

£0 12s 0d

13 pairs of girls' of the same at 2s 6d

£1 12s 6d

1 pair of women's scarlet

£0 7s 6d

2 pairs of boys' stockings at 2s 4d

£0 4s 8d

12 pairs of children's of the same at 2s 1d

£1 4s 0d

3 pairs of women's thread at 4s 9d

£0 14s 3d

60 pairs of men's coarse blue at 2s 2d

£6 10s 0d

[Subtotal] £77 4s 4d

Hats, as follows.

2 gold and silver laced at 27s

£2 14s 0d

11 ferrets of number 5 at 20d

£0 11s 0d

58 cloth hats at 13s

£37 14s 0d

23 boys' cloth of the same at 9s

£10 7s 0d

14 of the same at 7s 6d

£5 5s 0d

10 of the same at 6s 6d

£3 5s 0d

[Subtotal] £70 5s 0d

Haberdashery ware, as follows.

Thread

58½ at 4s

£11 14s 0d

22½ fine of the same at 5s

£0 11s 3d

61 colour of the same at 5s

£15 5s 0d

[Subtotal] £27 10s 3d

Ivory combs

22 of the same at 2s

£2 4s 0d

27 of the same at 1s

£1 7s 0d

[Subtotal] £3 11s 0d

Shirt buttons

10 gross at 6d

£0 5s 0d

Black silk hoods, as follows.

3 of the same at 15s

£2 5s 0d

1 of the same

£0 13s 6d

1 of the same

£0 9s 0d

[Subtotal] £3 7s 6d

Carried over

£230 16s 11d

Carried over

£287 1s 9d

Interpretations

The hats were graded from a few costly laced pieces down to plain cloth hats sold in quantity. The two gold and silver laced hats at 27s each were luxury items for the wealthier inhabitants, far above the 58 plain cloth hats at 13s that formed the bulk of the stock, with cheaper grades scaling down to the boys' hats. This spread shows a single consignment serving both the display of rank and the ordinary covering of the head across the settler population.

The two running totals carried at the foot reflected the storekeeper keeping the new goods from the Catherine in a separate column from the standing store account. The figure of £230 16s 11d totalled the fresh consignment, while the £287 1s 9d carried forward the earlier account of existing stock, the two columns kept apart until the final reckoning of the month.

Speculations

The thread appeared twice in the same monthly account, once among the standing store goods and again here under the Catherine's new consignment, in both places graded by fineness and colour. This duplication suggests the council ran down the older thread stock while folding in the fresh supply, holding both rather than waiting for one to clear, a deliberate choice to keep the most differentiated line on the island always in stock against the constant demand for sewing materials.

109

104

Oct[r]

£ s d

Brought Over

287 1 9

New Goods bro[t] over

230 16 11

Ribbond viz[t]

66 1/2 Yards at 12[d] [?] yard

3 6 6

4 Yards d[o] at 14[d]

00 4 8

44 Yards at 18

3 6 00

6 17 2

Hollands Tape

58 [?] at 12[d]

2 18 00

59 1/2 [?] ditto 16[d]

3 18 8

6 16 8

Edging Lace viz[t]

56 Yards N[o] C at 20[d]

4 13 4

28 Yards E 24

2 16 00

12 Yards G 49

2 00 00

9 9 4

Mohair 2 lb 7 [?] at 20[d]

2 14 2

Needles 1475 at 18 [?] [?]

1 2 4 1/2

Buttons Viz[t]

39 1/2 doz Coate N[o] A at 12 [?] doz

1 19 6

42 doz Brest A d[o] 6

1 1 00

3 doz Coate C 9

00 2 3

4 doz Brest C 5

00 1 8

3 4 5

Fustians Viz[t]

8 [?] ditto N[o] 1 at 20

8 00 00

7 1/2 [?] ditto 2 d[o] 23/4

8 15 00

2 [?] ditto 3 d[o] 26/8

2 13 4

2 [?] ditto 4 33/4

3 6 8

1 [?] ditto 8 40

2 00 00

24 15 00

Thicksetts Viz[t]

2 [?] N[o] 1 at 33 4

3 6 8

3 [?] D[o] 2 35

5 5 00

2 1/2 [?] D[o] 3 40

4 00 00

4 1/2 [?] D[o] 4 52

11 14 00

New Goods Carried over

£ 310 1 5 1/2

Carried Over

£ 287 1 9 1/2

The account continued, the standing account brought over at £287 1s 9d and the new goods brought over at £230 16s 11d.

Ribbon, as follows.

66¼ yards at 12d per yard

£3 6s 6d

4 yards of the same at 14d

£0 4s 8d

44 yards at 18[...]

£3 6s 0d

[Subtotal] £6 17s 2d

Holland tape

58 pieces at 12d

£2 18s 0d

59 pieces of the same at 16d

£3 18s 8d

[Subtotal] £6 16s 8d

Edging lace, as follows.

56 yards of number C at 20d

£4 13s 4d

28 yards, E, at 24d

£2 16s 0d

12 yards, G, at 49[...]

£2 0s 0d

[Subtotal] £9 9s 4d

Mohair

2 [...] at 20d

£0 14s 2d

Needles

1,475 at 18d per thousand

£0 2s 1½d

Buttons, as follows.

39½ dozen coat buttons of number A at 12d per dozen

£1 19s 6d

42 dozen breast buttons, A, of the same at 6d

£1 1s 0d

3 dozen coat buttons, C, at 9d

£0 2s 3d

4 dozen breast buttons, C, at 5d

£0 1s 8d

[Subtotal] £3 4s 5d

Fustians, as follows.

8 pieces of the same of number 1 at 20s

£8 0s 0d

7½ pieces of the same of number 2 at 23s 4d

£8 15s 0d

2 pieces of the same of number 3 at 26s 8d

£2 13s 4d

2 pieces of the same of number 4 at 33s 4d

£3 6s 8d

1 piece of the same of number 8 at 40s

£2 0s 0d

[Subtotal] £24 15s 0d

Thicksets, as follows.

2 pieces of number 1 at 33s 4d

£3 6s 8d

3 pieces of the same of number 2 at 35s

£5 5s 0d

2 pieces of the same of number 3 at 40s

£4 0s 0d

4½ pieces of the same of number 4 at 52s

£11 14s 0d

New goods carried over

£310 1s 5d

Carried over

£287 1s 9d

Interpretations

The fustians and thicksets were entered in graded numbers running from a coarse low number to a finer high one, each number carrying its own fixed price per piece. Fustian was a stout cotton-and-linen cloth, while thickset was a heavy corded fustian with a dense pile used for hard-wearing outer garments. The numbered grading shows the Company supplying these cloths to a standard catalogue of qualities, so that a buyer or a distant ordering office could specify cloth by number and price alone.

The trimmings recorded the materials of dressmaking and finishing supplied through the store. Holland tape was a strong linen tape from Holland used to bind and fasten garments, edging lace was sold by the yard in lettered grades to trim necklines and cuffs, mohair was a fine yarn or braid of Angora goat hair, and ribbon was stocked by the yard in several widths. Their presence shows the island's households making and trimming their own clothing from imported components rather than buying finished dress.

Speculations

The edging lace was graded by letter, C, E and G, while the buttons used the letters A and C and the cloths used numbers. This mixing of lettered and numbered grading within one account suggests the storekeeper carried over the distinct catalogue codes of separate Company invoices rather than imposing a single island scheme, each class of goods retaining the reference marks under which it had been shipped and billed from England.

110

105

A: 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over

287 1 9 1/2

New Goods Brought over

310 1 5 1/2

Pewter Viz[t]

21 doz Spoons at 4/6

4 14 6

41 Porringers 1/3

2 11 3

8 Large Basons N[o] 3 at 6/8

2 13 4

1 Ditto 4

00 5 00

11 Ditto Hard Mettle 5/3

2 17 9

7 Ditto 6 4/5

1 10 11

12 ditto 7 3/6

2 2 00

16 14 9

Braziers Ware viz[t]

5 Tea Kettles N[o] 4 at 11 3

2 16 3

3 Ditto 3 14 2

2 2 6

2 ditto 15/

1 10 00

4 Ditto 16/5

2 1 8

6 Sauce Pans at 4/

1 4 00

1 ditto 3

00 3 00

1 ditto 6/2

00 6 2

5 Round Stands & Snuffers d[o] 3/6

00 16 6

3 Square ditto & Snuffers 8/

1 4 00

1 flat Candlestick

00 2 5

8 Squear Candlesticks at 4/5

1 5 4

5 Round D[o] 3/6

00 17 6

2 Squear Candlesticks 5/8

00 11 4

3 Handle Candlesticks 3/6

00 10 6

16 1 2

Butchers Knives 174 d[o] 6[d]

4 7 00

Tin Ware viz[t]

Dripping Pans 2 ditto at 4/4

00 8 8

1 ditto 5/

00 5 00

2 ditto at 7/8

00 15 4

Lamps 3 flatt d[o] at 18[d]

00 4 6

12 ditto 22

1 2 00

Porringers 10 Small d[o] at 5

00 4 2

5 ditto 7

00 2 11

11 ditto 9

00 8 3

Carried over

£ 3 10 10

Carried Over

£ 347 4 4 1/2

287 1 9 1/2

The account continued, the standing account brought over at £287 1s 9¼d and the new goods brought over at £310 1s 5d.

Pewter, as follows.

21 dozen spoons at 4s 6d

£4 14s 6d

41 porringers at 1s 3d

£2 11s 3d

8 large basins of number 3 at 6s 8d

£2 13s 4d

1 of the same of number 4

£0 5s 0d

11 of the same, hard metal, of number 5 at 5s 3d

£2 17s 9d

7 of the same of number 6 at 4s 5d

£1 10s 11d

12 of the same of number 7 at 3s 6d

£2 2s 0d

[Subtotal] £16 14s 9d

Brasier's ware, as follows.

5 tea kettles of number 4 at 11s 3d

£2 16s 3d

3 of the same of number 3 at 14s 2d

£2 2s 6d

2 of the same at 15s

£1 10s 0d

4 of the same at 10s 5d

£2 1s 8d

6 sauce pans at 4s

£1 4s 0d

1 of the same at 3s

£0 3s 0d

1 of the same at 6s 2d

£0 6s 2d

5 round stands and snuffers at 3s 6d

£0 16s 6d

3 square of the same and snuffers at 8s

£1 4s 0d

1 flat candlestick

£0 2s 5d

8 square candlesticks at 4s 5d

£1 15s 4d

5 round of the same at 3s 6d

£0 17s 6d

2 square candlesticks at 5s 8d

£0 11s 4d

3 handle candlesticks at 3s 6d

£0 10s 6d

[Subtotal] £16 1s 2d

Butcher's knives

174 at 6d

£4 7s 0d

Tin ware, as follows.

Dripping pans

2 of the same at 4s 4d

£0 8s 8d

1 of the same

£0 5s 0d

2 of the same at 7s 8d

£0 15s 4d

Lamps

3 flat of the same at 18d

£0 4s 6d

12 of the same at 22d

£1 2s 0d

Porringers

10 small of the same at 5d

£0 4s 2d

5 of the same at 7d

£0 2s 11d

11 of the same at 9d

£0 8s 3d

Carried over

£3 10s 10d

Carried over

£347 4s 4½d

Carried over

£287 1s 9½d

Interpretations

The metalware was sorted into pewter, brasier's ware and tin ware, each the product of a distinct trade. Pewter was a tin-lead alloy cast into spoons, porringers and basins for the table, the harder grade noted separately as containing more tin for greater strength. Brasier's ware comprised the beaten and cast brass and copper goods of the hearth, the tea kettles, sauce pans and candlesticks made by the brasier. Tin ware was the cheapest, light vessels of tinned iron such as dripping pans and lamps. This division by metal and by maker shows the store provisioning the whole range of household vessels from imported manufactures, the island producing none of its own.

The basins and kettles were graded by number in descending price, the larger and heavier pieces carrying the higher figure. This numbering matched a standard Company catalogue of sizes, so that vessels could be ordered and priced by number alone, the same practice applied to the cloth earlier in the account.

Speculations

The 174 butcher's knives entered as a single line at 6d each formed by far the largest count of any one article in the metalware, out of all proportion to a settler population numbering only a few hundred. This bulk suggests the knives were stocked not only for domestic sale but as a staple for the slaughter and provisioning trade that supplied passing ships with beef, and perhaps for issue or barter beyond the household, the low unit price making them a convenient small article of exchange.

111

106

Oct[r]

£ s d

Brought Over

347 4 4 1/2

287 1 9 1/2

Tin Ware bro[t] Over

3 10 10

Coffee potts viz[t]

1 1/2 pint ditto

00 00 9

3 1 pint ditto d[o] 8[?]

00 3 6

7 1 1/2 pint ditto 21

00 12 3

24 One quart d[o] d[o] 2/3

2 14 00

Pudding Pans Viz[t]

7 Round ditto at 22[?]

00 12 10

11 Round ditto 31

1 8 5

5 Round ditto 26

00 10 10

3 Round ditto 40

00 10 00

2 Square ditto 30

00 5 00

2 Ditto 26

00 4 4

Sauce Pans Viz[t]

6 Ditto at 9

00 4 6

6 Ditto d[o] 14

00 7 00

7 Ditto 20

00 11 8

3 Ditto 27

00 6 9

12 2 8

Books &c[a] Viz[t]

30 Copy Books at 9

1 2 6

10 Large Comon prayer books 6/5

3 4 2

13 Ditto Smaller at 3

1 19 00

2 Playsd Calms at

00 10 00

2 Bibles at 8/3

00 16 6

7 Large Spelling Books d[o] 20

00 11 8

1 Smaller

00 2 00

8 5 10

Ink Powder 7 Papers

00 00 7

1 Black handle p[en]knife

00 2 1

00 9 1

Tobacco 120 at 2

12 00 00

Carried Over

£ 380 1 11 1/2

Carried Over

£ 287 1 9 1/2

The account continued, the new goods brought over at £347 4s 4½d and the tin ware brought over at £3 10s 10d.

Coffee pots, as follows.

1 half-pint of the same

£0 0s 9d

3 one-pint of the same at 14d

£0 3s 6d

7 one-and-a-half-pint of the same at 21d

£0 12s 3d

24 one-quart of the same at 2s 3d

£2 14s 0d

Pudding pans, as follows.

7 round of the same at 22d

£0 12s 10d

11 round of the same at 31[...]

£1 8s 5d

5 round of the same at 26[...]

£0 10s 10d

3 round of the same at 40[...]

£0 10s 0d

2 square of the same at 30[...]

£0 5s 0d

2 of the same at 26[...]

£0 4s 4d

Sauce pans, as follows.

6 of the same at 9[...]

£0 4s 6d

6 of the same at 14[...]

£0 7s 0d

7 of the same at 20[...]

£0 11s 8d

3 of the same at 27[...]

£0 6s 9d

[Subtotal] £12 2s 8d

Books, as follows.

30 copy books at 9d

£1 2s 6d

10 large common prayer books at 6s 5d

£3 4s 2d

13 of the same, smaller, at 3s

£1 19s 0d

2 playford psalms at 5d

£0 0s 10d

2 Bibles at 8s 3d

£0 16s 6d

7 large spelling books at 20d

£0 11s 8d

7 smaller

£0 2s 0d

[Subtotal] £8 5s 10d

Ink powder

7 papers

£0 0s 7d

1 black-handled pen knife

£0 2s 1d

[Subtotal] £0 9s 1d

Tobacco

120 at 2d

£12 0s 0d

Carried over

£380 1s 1½d

Carried over

£287 1s 9d

Interpretations

The books recorded the religious and schooling literature supplied through the store. The common prayer books in two sizes and the Bibles served public and private worship under the established church, while the spelling books and copy books were the tools of teaching children to read and write. The playford psalms were copies of the metrical psalter associated with the music publisher John Playford, used for the singing of psalms. The presence of all these together marks the store as the sole channel through which the island obtained the printed means of religion and basic education.

The coffee pots and pudding pans were graded by capacity, the coffee pots running from a half-pint to a quart and rising in price with size. This sale of vessels measured by liquid capacity shows the store stocking a standard range so that buyers could match a pot to their need, the quart pots taken in the largest number at 24 against single or few of the smaller sizes.

Speculations

The ink powder was sold in papers at well under a penny each while the pen knife stood alone at 2s 1d, the two entered together as the apparatus of writing. This pairing of a cheap consumable with a single durable tool suggests the store supplied the means to keep the island's correspondence and accounts in hand, the ink powder mixed with water as needed and the knife kept to cut and mend the quill pens on which all the record depended.

112

107

A: 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over

380 1 11 1/2

287 1 9 1/2

Crapes viz[t]

3 1/2 pieces N[o] 1 at 3 6

11 11 00

1 p[c] Ditto 2

3 18 9

4 1/2 p[c] Ditto 3 4 10

20 5 00

35 14 9

English Duck 1 Bolt

3 2 9

Lubeck 1 Bolt

1 15 00

4 17 9

Iron Mongers Ware viz[t]

3 felling Axes at 3/4

00 10 00

3 Splinter Locks N[o] 3 at 45 1/2

00 3 10 1/2

1 Ditto 3

00 1 6

1 Stock Lock N[o] 2

00 3 6

1 Stock D[o] 1

00 2 4

1 Ditto 3

00 5 00

1 Ditto 6

00 00 10

15 Small Iron potts q[?] 176 1/2 at 7

8 1 3 1/2

3 Large ditto q[?] 209 d[o] 6

7 9 6

1 Anchor q[?] C 3 at 40/3

26 8 6

53 10 6

Totall of the new Goods

474 4 11 1/2

Totall deliverd to the Inhabitants

£ 761 6 9

The account continued, the new goods brought over at £380 1s 1½d and the standing account at £287 1s 9½d.

Crapes, as follows.

3½ pieces of number 1 at 3s 6d

£11 11s 0d

1 piece of the same of number 2

£3 18s 9d

4½ pieces of the same of number 3 at 4s 10d

£20 5s 0d

[Subtotal] £35 14s 9d

English duck

1 bolt

£3 2s 9d

Lubeck

1 bolt

£1 15s 0d

[Subtotal] £4 17s 9d

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

3 felling axes at 3s 4d

£0 10s 0d

3 splinter locks of number 3 at 15¼d

£0 3s 10½d

1 of the same of number 3

£0 1s 6d

1 stock lock of number 2

£0 3s 6d

1 stock of the same of number 1

£0 2s 4d

1 of the same of number 3

£0 5s 0d

1 of the same of number 6

£0 10s 0d

15 small iron pots weighing 176½ pounds at 7d

£8 1s 3½d

3 large of the same weighing 209 pounds at 6d

£7 9s 6d

1 anchor weighing 3 hundredweight 3 quarters at 46s 8d

£36 8s 6d

[Subtotal] £53 10s 6d

Total of the new goods

£474 4s 11½d

Total delivered to the inhabitants

£761 6s 9d

Interpretations

The crapes recorded a thin gauzy worsted cloth, here graded by number and forming the single most valuable line of the new consignment at over £35. Crape was a lightly woven crimped fabric, often dyed black for mourning, and its high total marks it as a costly dress material drawn from the Catherine's cargo for the wealthier buyers on the island.

The English duck and the Lubeck recorded two grades of heavy sailcloth sold by the bolt. Duck was a strong plain canvas used for sails, tarpaulins and stout clothing, the English duck distinguished from the Lubeck canvas imported through the Baltic port of Lübeck. Their sale in single bolts shows the store supplying the materials of rigging and ship repair to a community dependent on shipping.

The anchor weighing 3 hundredweight 3 quarters and priced at £36 8s 6d was the single most valuable article in the whole monthly account. Sold by weight at 46s 8d the hundredweight, it represented a major piece of ships' ironmongery, the kind of heavy fitting a vessel calling at the island would need to replace, and its presence in the store reflects the island's standing role as a victualling and refitting station on the homeward route.

The two final totals closed the month's reckoning, the new goods from the Catherine at £474 4s 11½d set against the standing store account, the combined £761 6s 9d representing the whole value of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants and to the two Company establishments between 25 July 1716 and 25 August 1716.

113

108

Oct[r]

Goods Deliverd for the Use of Union Castle from July the 25 1716 to August the 25[th] following Viz[t]

£ s d

Arrack 65 3/4 Gall at 7/6

24 13 1 1/2

Sugar 116 at 8[d]

3 17 4

Flour 149 at 3 1/4

2 3 5 1/4

Bread 73 at 3 1/2

1 1 3 1/2

Rice 91 at 3 1/2

13 7 2

Sweet Oyle 5 1/4 Gall at 12

3 12 00

Soape 25 at 17[d]

1 6 5

Vinegar 1 Gall[?]

00 1 3

Tea 6 Tea at 9

2 14 00

3 Cattles d[o] at 9

1 7 00

4 1 00

Pepper 1

00 1 00

Kersey 16 1/4 Yards d[o] 2/2

1 17 15 4

Dungarees 1 p[c] at 5/

1 4 00

Long Cloath 1 p[c]

1 4 9

Hessings 1 Yard

00 1 2

Glass Ware 5 panes 8/10

00 5 00

Flagg Brooms 3 d[o] at 6[d]

00 1 6

Loves 1 N[o] 11

00 1 8

Nayles Viz[t]

37 10 Clasp at 8 1/2

1 6 2 1/2

12 10 for Boats 9 1/2

00 9 6

8 20 d[o] 7

00 4 8

17 20 d[o] London at 9

12 4

4 3 9

00 3 00

13 1/2 30 7

11 5 1/2

40 1/2 wrought Hayles d[o] 7

1 2 6 1/2

4 9 8

£ 80 0 1 1/2

An account followed of goods delivered for the use of Union Castle, from 25 July 1716 to 25 August 1716.

Arrack

65¾ gallons at 7s 6d

£24 13s 1½d

Sugar

116 pounds at 8d

£3 17s 4d

Flour

149 pounds at 3½d

£2 3s 5½d

Bread

73 pounds at 3½d

£1 1s 3½d

Rice

916 pounds at 3½d

£13 7s 2d

Sweet oil

5½ gallons at 12s

£3 12s 0d

Soap

25 pounds at 17[...]

£1 6s 5d

Vinegar

1 gallon

£0 1s 3d

Tea

6 pounds at 9s

£2 14s 0d

Candles

3 pounds of the same at 9d

£0 17s [...]

[Subtotal] £4 1s [...]

Pepper

1 [...]

£0 1s 0d

Kersey

16½ yards at 2s 2d

£1 15s 4d

Dungarees

1 piece at 5s 8d

£0 1s 4d

Long cloth

1 piece

£0 1s 9d

Hessians

1 yard

£0 1s 2d

Glassware

5 panes at 8d

£0 5s 0d

Flag brooms

3 of the same at 6d

£0 1s 6d

Lines

1 of number 11

£0 1s 8d

Nails, as follows.

37 clasp of 10 at 8¼d

£1 6s 2¼d

12 of 10 for boats at 9¼d

£0 9s 6d

8 of 20 of the same at 7d

£0 4s 8d

17 of 20 of the same, cadon, at 9d

£1 2s 4d

4 of 3 at 9d

£0 3s 0d

13½ of 30 of the same at 7d

£1 1s 5¼d

40½ wrought nails at 7d

£1 2s 6¼d

[Subtotal] £4 9s 8d

[Total] £80 0s 1½d

Interpretations

The account marked a separate reckoning for Union Castle, the seat of government and the garrison establishment in James Valley, distinct from the goods sold to private inhabitants. The same commodities appeared, arrack, sugar, rice and cloth, but charged here as an internal issue to the Company's own household rather than as retail sales, the rice taken in the largest quantity at 916 pounds to feed the garrison.

The nails were sorted by their count, the figures such as 37 of 10 and 8 of 20 recording the number to the pound, so that the heavier nails of a lower count to the pound and the lighter of a higher count were each priced and issued by their gauge. The separate line for boat nails shows iron drawn specifically for the upkeep of the island's craft, alongside the wrought nails hand-forged for general use.

114

109

A: 1716.

£ s d

Brought Over

80 0 1 1/2

Iron Mongers Ware viz[t]

10 Sugar Shovells at 2/6

1 5 00

1 Hatchett

00 2 6

1 Till Lock

00 2 7

1 p[r] Dovetailes

00 00 6

2 p[r] H Hinges d[o] 20[d]

00 3 4

1 13 11

Pork 2 Cusks q[?] 1150

26 7 1

108 1 1 1/2

New Goods bro[t] [?] the Catherine viz[t]

Crape 2 p[c] N[o] 2 at 3 18 9 Ea[ch]

7 17 6

Holland Tape 1 p[c]

00 14 00

7 17 6

00 14 00

Threads viz[t]

10 Browne ditto at 4/

2 00 00

10 Cottour d[o] at 5/

2 5 00

4 5 00

Needles 1050 at 18 [?] [?]

00 15 9

Shoes 2 p[r] Mend[?] at 6/2

00 12 4

Stockings Viz[t]

1 p[r] Womens d[o]

00 4 00

1 p[r] Soldiers d[o]

00 2 2

6 2

Butchers Knives 14 at 6[d]

00 7 00

Curriers Knives 1 d[o]

00 15 00

1 flesh d[o]

00 10 00

1 5 00

Tin Ware Viz[t]

1 pint Coffee pott

00 1 2

1 half pint d[o]

00 00 9

1 Large Round Pudding Pan

00 3 4

New Goods Carried over

£ 5 3

£ 15 10 1

Carried Over

£ 108 1 1 1/2

The account continued, brought over at £80 0s 1½d.

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

10 sugar shovels at 2s 6d

£1 5s 0d

1 hatchet

£0 2s 6d

1 till lock

£0 2s 7d

1 pair of dovetails

£0 0s 6d

2 pairs of HL hinges at 20d

£0 3s 4d

[Subtotal] £1 13s 11d

Peas

2 casks weighing 1,150 pounds

£26 7s 1d

[Subtotal] £108 1s 1½d

New goods brought from the Catherine, as follows.

Crape

2 pieces of number 2 at 3s, [...] 9d each

£7 17s 6d

Holland tape

1 piece

£0 1s 4d

Threads, as follows.

10 brown of the same at 4s

£2 0s 0d

10 colour of the same at 5s

£2 5s 0d

[Subtotal] £4 5s 0d

Needles

1,050 at 18d per thousand

£0 1s 9d

Shoes

2 pairs mended at 6s 2d

£0 12s 4d

Stockings, as follows.

1 pair of women's of the same

£0 4s 0d

1 pair of soldiers' of the same

£0 2s 2d

[Subtotal] £0 6s 2d

Butcher's knives

14 at 6d

£0 7s 0d

Currier's knives

1 of the same

£0 15s 0d

1 flesh of the same

£0 10s 0d

[Subtotal] £1 5s 0d

Tin ware, as follows.

1 pint coffee pot

£0 1s 2d

1 half-pint of the same

£0 0s 9d

1 large round pudding pan

£0 3s 4d

New goods carried over

£5 5s 3d and £15 10s 1d

Carried over

£108 1s 1½d

Interpretations

The currier's knives marked the tools of the leather-finishing trade carried on at the island. A currier dressed and finished tanned hides, the broad flesh knife used to pare and clean the skin, and their issue to Union Castle reflects the local leatherwork that turned Company-tanned hides into shoes and harness, the same trade in which Samuel Price had been set to teach two boys by the order of 12 April 1715.

The HL hinges and dovetails recorded the standard fittings of joinery and building. The HL hinge took its name from its shape, the two leaves forming the letters H and L, and was the common pattern for hanging doors and cupboard fronts, while dovetails were the metal cramps or plates used to join timber. Their delivery to Union Castle shows continuing repair and fitting-out of the garrison buildings.

The two casks of peas weighing 1,150 pounds and charged at over £26 formed the single largest item delivered to Union Castle in this part of the account. Issued in bulk by weight rather than by the bushel, the peas were a keeping provision for the garrison, a dried pulse that stored well and stretched the salt-meat ration into the made dishes that fed the soldiers.

115

110

Octob[r]

£ s d

Brought Over

108 1 1 1/2

New Goods bro[t] over

15 10 1

Tin Ware brought Over

5 3

1 Round Pudding bann

00 2 7

1 Round D[o]

00 2 2

1 Round d[o]

1 10 00

1 Largest two Nosell Lamps

00 4 6

16 4

Brasiers Ware Viz[t]

1 three quat Sauce pan

00 11 6

1 three pint ditto

00 6 2

1 Tea Kettle

00 15 00

2 Brass Cocks N[o] 1

00 6 8

1 Handle Candlestick

00 3 6

1 Ditto

00 3 00

1 Square Strand & Snuffers

00 8 00

6 Square Candlesticks

1 14 00

4 7 10

Iron Mongers Ware viz[t]

3 felling Axes at 3/4

00 10 00

1 [?] Stilliards

00 1 00

1 Stock Lock N[o] 1

00 2 4

1 Ditto 2

00 3 6

4 Ditto 5

00 2 00

1 Ditto 7

00 1 4

4 9 10

Totall of the New Goods

25 4 1

Totall of Union Castle Expence

£ 133 5 2 1/2

The account continued, the standing account brought over at £108 1s 1½d, the new goods at £15 10s 1d and the tin ware at £5 3d.

1 round pudding pan

£0 2s 7d

1 round of the same

£0 2s 2d

1 round of the same

£0 1s 10d

1 large two-nozzle lamp

£0 4s 6d

[Subtotal] £16 4d

Brasier's ware, as follows.

1 three-quart sauce pan

£0 11s 6d

1 three-pint of the same

£0 6s 2d

1 tea kettle

£0 15s 0d

2 brass cocks of number 1

£0 6s 8d

1 handle candlestick

£0 3s 6d

1 of the same

£0 3s 0d

1 square stand and snuffers

£0 8s 0d

6 square candlesticks

£1 14s 0d

[Subtotal] £4 7s 10d

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

3 felling axes at 3s 4d

£0 10s 0d

1 pair of steelyards

£0 1s 0d

1 stock lock of number 1

£0 2s 4d

1 of the same of number 2

£0 3s 6d

4 of the same of number 5

£0 2s 0d

1 of the same of number 7

£0 1s 4d

[Subtotal] £4 9s 10d

Total of the new goods

£25 4s 1d

Total of Union Castle expense

£133 5s 2¼d

Interpretations

The steelyards recorded a portable balance for weighing goods, a graduated arm with a sliding counterweight that gave a reading without separate weights. Its issue to Union Castle gave the establishment its own means of checking the weight of provisions received and delivered, a necessary instrument where so much of the store account turned on goods charged by the pound.

The brass cocks recorded the taps fitted to casks and cisterns for drawing off liquids, the kind used on the vessels holding arrack, oil or water in the castle stores. Sold by number to a standard size, they were a fitting that wore and needed regular replacement wherever liquids were stored and dispensed in quantity.

The two-nozzle lamp marked a fitting that burned oil through two wicks at once for stronger light. Its delivery alongside the sweet oil charged earlier in the account shows the castle lit by oil lamps, the brighter twin-wick pattern issued where more light was wanted than a single flame could give.

116

111

A: 1716.

Plantation Viz[t]

£ s d

Arrack 4 Gall[?] at 7/6

1 10 00

Sugar 17 at 8[d]

00 11 4

Flour 6 at 3 1/4

00 1 9

Shoe Thread

00 5 00

2 8 1

New Goods [?] the Catherine Viz[t]

1 Iron Pott q[?] 17 at 7[d]

00 9 11

30 Butchers Knives

00 15 00

1 Tin three pint Sauce pan

00 1 8

1 6 7

To the Inhabitants Old Goods

287 1 9 1/4

To ditto New Goods

467 8 11 1/4

467 8 11 1/2

To Union Castle Old Goods

108 1 1 1/4

To ditto New Goods

25 4 1

25 4 1

To Plantation Old Goods

2 8 1

To ditto new Goods

1 6 7

1 6 7

911 10 7 1/2

New Goods

£ 513 19 7 1/2

(Sig[h]d) Matthias Forsy[?] Edward Byfeld

An account followed of goods delivered for the use of the plantation.

Arrack

4 gallons at 7s 6d

£1 10s 0d

Sugar

17 pounds at 8d

£0 11s 4d

Flour

6 pounds at 3½d

£0 1s 9d

Shoe thread

[...]

£0 5s 0d

[Subtotal] £2 8s 1d

New goods from the Catherine, as follows.

1 iron pot weighing 17 pounds at 7d

£0 9s 11d

30 butcher's knives

£0 15s 0d

1 tin three-pint sauce pan

£0 1s 8d

[Subtotal] £1 6s 7d

[Subtotal] £3 14s 8d

The whole month's reckoning was then drawn together.

To the inhabitants, old goods

£287 1s 9½d

To the inhabitants, new goods

£467 8s 11½d

To Union Castle, old goods

£108 1s 1½d

To Union Castle, new goods

£25 4s 1d

To the plantation, old goods

£2 8s 1d

To the plantation, new goods

£1 6s 7d

[Total] £911 10s 7½d

New goods

£513 19s 7½d

The account was signed by Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The account closed the month by bringing the three heads of issue together, the inhabitants, Union Castle and the plantation, each split between old store goods and the new consignment from the Catherine. This final reckoning gave the council a single statement of the whole month's trade and internal supply, the grand total of £911 10s 7½d measuring all goods moved out of the stores between 25 July 1716 and 25 August 1716.

The plantation took by far the smallest share, a few pounds against the hundreds charged to the inhabitants and the castle. The Company's consolidated plantation estate at the Hutts and its neighbouring units drew chiefly on its own yams and stock, so its call on the store ran only to small quantities of arrack, sugar and a little ironmongery for the overseer and the slaves.

The signatures of Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield attested the account as a formal act of the council. Tovey as secretary and fourth in council and Byfield as fifth, who had taken his place on 17 May 1715, set their hands to certify the storekeeper's reckoning as the audited record of the month's issues.

117

112

Oct[r]

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 9[th] day of Octob[r] 1716. At Tomstone Wood-house

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[t] Math[w] Bazett 3[d] Anthpas Sovey 4[th] &c Edw[s] Byfeld 5 in Council

Present

Having appointed y[e] Tuesday y[e] [?] Instant to Meet at Tomstone Wood to view Ralph Ormes plantation according to his Petition and he Since then Presenting another Petition as followeth (Viz[t])

To the Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] & Council The most humb[l] Petit[r] of Ralph Orme Montross

Humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] by his Marriage to y[e] Widd[o] of Rob[t] Leech Dec[d] did Enter into y[e] [?] possession, & has continued all to Rent y[e] Twenty Acres of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] Land w[ch] Lyes adjoynt to yo[r] Petit[rs] Free Land, But yo[r] said Petit[r] Since finding by Experience y[t] y[e] y[d] twenty Acres are more then he can Cultivate having no Black or other Assistant humbly begs yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council would please to grant him

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Tomstone Wood Cons[t]

[?] St[r] Helena

Ralph Ormes peti[on] to hire but 10 acres Land Grant

At a consultation held on Tuesday 9 October 1716 at the Tombstone Wood house.

Present were Isaac Pyke, governor, George Haswell, deputy governor, Matthew Bazett, third, Antipas Tovey, fourth, and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The council had appointed Tuesday 9 October to meet at Tombstone Wood to view Ralph Orme's plantation on his petition. Orme had since presented a further petition, addressed to the governor and council.

Ralph Orme Montross set out in his petition that through his marriage to the widow of Robert Leech, deceased, he had entered into possession of twenty acres of the Honourable Company's land adjoining his own free land, and had held it ever since. He had now found by experience that the twenty acres were more than he could cultivate, having no slave or other help. He asked that the governor and council would be pleased to grant him [...].

Interpretations

The petition turned on the distinction between Orme's own free land and the twenty acres of Company land he held by lease. The free land was his absolute property, while the Company acres were held on a tenancy adjoining it, and his request to give up part rested on the standing letting conditions that a tenant must be able to manure the land and hold at least one slave for the labour, the very test laid down on 24 May 1715.

Orme's claim to the Company land came through his marriage to the widow of Robert Leech, the lease passing to him as the husband in possession. This descent of a leasehold through marriage shows how Company tenancies moved between holders not by fresh grant but through the family of the original lessee, the new husband taking up both the land and its obligations.

118

113

him leave to Rent no more then Ten Acres at the Accustomd Rate, being as much as his Small Family can Want

And as in Duty bound shall ever pray, &c (Sig[h]d) Ralph Orme

The Gov[r] & Council all mett Here this day by Appointment & having Surveyd y[e] Ground Granted his Petition

Order[d] That Cap[t] Bazett have a Warrant for Measuring the Said Land & Stake Out the bounds thereof

The Gov[r] Sayes that now Ralph Orme has thrown Out part of that Land he thinks there will be compleat Room for One or Two Small Familys more to Settle there, to make[s] him the more willing to Consent thereto

We went thence to a Plantation called Bodleys about One Mile further w[ch] is a good Plantation well Scituated but not Inhabited the House also fallen down, But if y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] should think fitt to Send an Honest Industrious Couple y[t] have been Used to Gar- dening & Husbandry but especially to Garden- ing, We could Settle them in y[e] Plantation w[ch] would be a good Living to a Small Family

Margin Notes:

Granted.

to be Surveyd

Tomstone Wood maintain[s] more dwellers

view[d] Bodleys anoth[r] plant[n] vacant

Orme asked leave to keep no more than ten acres at the usual rate, being as much as his small family could want. He signed the petition under his own hand.

The governor and council met at Tombstone Wood that day by appointment, and having surveyed the ground they granted his petition.

The council ordered that Captain Bazett have a warrant to measure the land and stake out its bounds.

The governor observed that now Orme had given up part of the land, there would be room enough for one or two more small families to settle there. This prospect made him the more willing to consent to the surrender.

The council then went on to a plantation called Bodley's, about a mile further on. The governor reported it a good plantation, well situated but not inhabited, the house also fallen down. If the Honourable Company should think fit to send out an honest and industrious couple used to gardening and husbandry, and especially to gardening, they could be settled there. The place would give a good living to a small family.

Interpretations

The governor's reasoning tied the surrender of Orme's surplus acres to the wider aim of settling more families on the land. By taking back part of an over-large holding and dividing it, the council could plant one or two more households on ground that a single under-resourced tenant could not cultivate, the breaking up of the holding serving the Company's interest in a fuller and more productive settlement.

The note on Bodley's plantation set out a standing concern of the island government, that vacant and decayed holdings be brought back into use by suitable tenants. The Company looked to recruit experienced gardeners and husbandmen from England to occupy abandoned plantations, the emphasis on gardening reflecting the island's need to raise provisions for itself and for the ships that called.

The warrant to Captain Bazett to measure and stake the bounds marked the formal step by which a change in a holding was fixed on the ground. Survey and the setting of boundary stakes turned the council's grant into a defined tenancy, the measured acreage governing both the rent and the tenant's liability under the letting conditions.

119

114

Oct[r]

and be better for the Island, that part having very few Inhabitants, tho Suffecient to main- tain divers

Order[d] That the Directing the Digging the Yams at Tomstone Wood & Planting y[e] Suckers in Some One of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Plantations be Left to Cap[t] Haswell and Cap[t] Bazett

(Sig[h]d) Anthipas Tovey[?] Edward Byfeld

Margin Notes:

Yams &c at Tomstone Wood to be [?] Directd [?] Cap[t] H & B

Settling such a couple would be better for the island, that part having very few inhabitants, though it was sufficient to maintain several.

The council ordered that the direction of digging the yams at Tombstone Wood, and of planting the suckers in one of the Honourable Company's plantations, be left to Captain Haswell and Captain Bazett.

The order was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The order entrusted the yam crop at Tombstone Wood to Haswell and Bazett, the deputy governor and the storekeeper, rather than to a single overseer. Yams were the staple provision crop of the island, both for the slaves and as a victualling supply for ships, and the digging of the mature crop and the replanting of suckers were the two halves of keeping the ground in continuous yield. Placing both in the hands of two senior councillors marks the importance the Company attached to its provision grounds.

The replanting of suckers in one of the Company's plantations showed the propagation of yams by transplanting the shoots from a harvested ground to fresh ground. This was the means by which the consolidated estate at the Hutts and its neighbouring units kept up its stock of yams, the suckers from Tombstone Wood carried over to extend the planting elsewhere on the Company's land.

120

127

A: 1716.

Doth Say y[t] ab[t] 5 days Since on a Saturday or Sunday Evening W[m] Simpson Serj[t] Spake to this Declarant Saying to him will you help me Out at a dead lift to whom Cullum Sayed why is yo[r] Wife with Child & Simpson Sayed Yes To whom Cullum Sayed 3 or 4 times over that he would not believe him but Simpson Sayed it was so, then Cullum Sayed why is that Wench y[t] lives at M[r] Frees w[th] child by you & Simpson Sayed Yes by God, She is, to whom Cullum replyd well then I will have her Simpson Sayed I will make you amend[s] & Edmond Bodley was then in presence while these words were speaking to y[e] truth hereof the s[d] Cullum Subscribes His + Marke (Sig[h]d)

M[r] Free appeard & produced an Inden- ture bearing date y[e] 28 Jan[ry] 1709. & Witnessed by Benj Sick & Rebecka Bodley by w[ch] it Ap- peard y[t] y[e] s[d] Mercy Whaley was his Appren- tice till she came to y[e] Age of twenty One Years Order[d] Therefore that he take home his said Apprentice, & take care of her Joseph Thomlinson being Sent for to Answer to y[e] 49 par[t] of the Hon[ble] Comp[as]

Cullum stated that about fifteen days earlier, on a Saturday or Sunday evening, Sergeant William Simpson had spoken to him. Simpson had asked whether Cullum would help him out at a dead lift. Cullum had asked why, since Simpson's wife was with child, and Simpson had said yes. Cullum had answered three or four times over that he would not believe him, but Simpson had insisted it was so. Cullum had then asked why the woman who lived at Mr Free's was with child by him, and Simpson had said yes, by God, she was. Cullum had replied that he would then have her, and Simpson had said he would make him amends. Edmond Bodley had been present while these words were spoken. Cullum signed the declaration with his mark.

Mr Free appeared and produced an indenture dated 28 January 1709, witnessed by Benjamin Sick and Rebecca Bodley. By it Mercy Whaley was bound as his apprentice until she reached the age of twenty-one years.

The council therefore ordered that Free take home his apprentice and take care of her. Joseph Thomlinson was sent for to answer to the forty-ninth paragraph of the Honourable Company's [...].

Interpretations

The indenture fixed the master's right to recover his apprentice against any claim arising from her pregnancy. An apprenticeship bound the servant to the master until a set age, here twenty-one, and the council's order returning Mercy Whaley to Free rested on that written contract, the indenture overriding the dispute between the two men over responsibility for her condition.

The declaration recorded by mark preserved the words of a conversation as sworn evidence before the bench. Cullum could not write and so subscribed with a cross, the formal mark by which an illiterate deponent attested testimony, the council taking down the exchange between Simpson and Cullum as the substance of the matter in question. This was the soldier Francis Cullum, degraded for mutinous words on 25 August 1715 and readmitted as a soldier on his penitent petition of 24 July 1716.

The summons of Joseph Thomlinson to answer under the forty-ninth paragraph of the Company's general letter shows the directors' standing instructions governing conduct on the island. The numbered paragraphs of the general letter set the rules the council enforced, and a person called to answer to a particular paragraph faced examination against a specific standing command of the Company.

121

128

Oct[r]

Companys Gen[l] Letter by the Kathar[ine] to know which of the Two Sums therein mentiond are right

He brought two other Accounts One for 4874 16 9 1/4 & another for 4875 3 10 1/4 which last is the right

being Asked who wrote them y[t] went home & who wrote these he Sayes he did & thought they had been all alike

For w[ch] Error y[e] Gov[r] & Council thought fitt to lay a fine Upon him, of Ten pounds to be paid to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a]

Cap[t] Bazett & M[r] Byfeld having been & viewd y[e] Blacks house at Perkins think it proper to remove y[e] Old One w[ch] is fallen to decay y[e] greatest part being down So y[t] a New One is necessary to be built at the other end of the house, there coming a g[r]t Soak from the Hill were the Old Blacks house Stood Agreed to by Gov[r] & Council But y[e] Gov[r] Sayes he fears We shant have boards eno

M[r] Byfeld Reports he has been & viewd y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] plantations and finds them as followeth

Yams fitt to Digg (Viz[t])

Upon Suffkins plain

100 000

in the Long Gutt

40 000

The matter concerned the Company's general letter brought by the Catherine, and the question which of the two sums named in it was correct.

Thomlinson brought in two other accounts, one for £4,874 16s 9¼d and another for £4,875 3s 10¼d, the latter of which was the right one. Asked who had written the accounts sent home and who had written these, he said that he had written them, and had thought they were all alike.

For this error the governor and council thought fit to lay a fine of £10 0s 0d upon him, to be paid to the Honourable Company.

Captain Bazett and Mr Byfield, having viewed the slaves' house at Perkins's, thought it proper to remove the old one, which had fallen into decay, the greater part being down. A new house would need to be built at the other end, since a great soak of water came from the hill where the old slaves' house stood. The governor and council agreed, but the governor said he feared they would not have boards enough.

Mr Byfield reported that he had viewed the Honourable Company's plantations and found them as follows.

Yams fit to dig:

Upon Lufkin's plain

100,000

In the Long Gut

40,000

Interpretations

The discrepancy between the two accounts, differing by 7s 1d on sums near £4,875, drew a fine because the wrong figure had already been sent home to the directors. The exactness of Company accounting made even a small error in a remitted account a serious fault, the £10 0s 0d penalty marking the council's concern that the figures reaching London be reliable, since the directors had no other means of checking them.

The decision to rebuild the slaves' house at Perkins's turned on the water soak undermining the old site. Rather than repair on the same spot, the surveyors chose to move the building to drier ground at the other end, the standing water from the hill having rotted the old structure, a practical judgement about siting that the governor qualified only by his doubt over the supply of boards. This continued the rebuilding first ordered at the Hutts, where a slaves' house for seventy persons had been set in hand.

The yam survey by Byfield measured the Company's provision crop ready for harvest across its plantations, the counts on Lufkin's plain and the Long Gut running into the tens of thousands. Yams were the island's staple food for the slaves and a key victualling stock for shipping, so the regular counting of yams fit to dig let the council judge what it could supply and what it must hold in the ground.

122

129

1716

Yams Dugg & Suckers planted at Luffkins that will be fitt to Digg 18 months hence

60 000

Yams at Tuesdalls

36 000

Dugg in Cobs Gutt, Hardings & Rookers

40 000

and the Suckers cam[e] to Carnes Gutt

fitt to Dig in ditto

5 000

Dug Out of Carnes Gutt

25 000

Yams at the Peak

40 000

at Griffins

15 000

at Perkins

60 000

Yams that will be fitt next M[ch]

65 000

that will be fitt 15 months after

60 000

Of these parcels of Yams mentiond 200 000 want Weeding & all the Fences want repair- ing, the Yams at y[e] Hutts look very Ordinary w[ch] beliebe is Occasiond by y[e] Wind therefore think it would be proper to plant Trees along by y[e] Wall

Dug in y[e] Long Gutt Yams

15 000

& y[e] Suckers planted

18 000

Yams y[t] will be fitt to Dig next Aug

50 000

y[t] will be fitt to dig 18 Months hence

80 000

Yams y[t] are fitt to Digg y[t] wants Weeding

200 000

a Wall of 64 Rods made in the Long Gutt viewd by me (Sig[h]d) Edw[s] Byfeld

The Gun[r] brought in his Monthly account of Expence for the last Month as followeth (Viz[t])

The survey of the Honourable Company's plantations continued.

Yams dug and suckers planted at Lufkin's, fit to dig eighteen months hence

60,000

Yams at Tweedall's

36,000

Dug in Cole's Gut, Harding's and Rooker's

40,000

The suckers came to Carne's Gut.

Fit to dig in the same

5,000

Dug out of Carne's Gut

25,000

Yams at the Peak

40,000

At Griffin's

15,000

At Perkins's

60,000

Yams that will be fit next March

65,000

That will be fit fifteen months after

60,000

Of these parcels of yams, 200,000 wanted weeding, and all the fences wanted repairing. The yams at the Hutts looked very ordinary, which Byfield believed was caused by the wind. He therefore thought it proper to plant trees along by the wall.

Dug in the Long Gut

15,000

The suckers planted

18,000

Yams that will be fit to dig next August

50,000

That will be fit to dig eighteen months hence

80,000

Yams that are fit to dig and want weeding

200,000

A wall of 64 rods was made in the Long Gut.

The survey was signed by Edward Byfield.

The gunner brought in his monthly account of expense for the last month, as follows.

Interpretations

The survey set out the Company's whole yam stock as a forward schedule, distinguishing the crop fit to dig now from parcels coming ready in three months, fifteen months and eighteen months. This staggering across future harvest dates let the council plan a continuous supply, the yam being a slow-maturing root whose planting and digging had to be timed so that fresh ground came into yield as older ground was cleared.

Byfield's judgement on the poor yams at the Hutts identified wind as the cause and proposed a shelter belt of trees along the wall. Exposure to the prevailing wind stunted the crop on open ground, and planting trees as a windbreak was a deliberate remedy, the same concern for shelter and for the preservation of timber that had marked the council's attention to the Great Wood under Pyke.

The wall of 64 rods in the Long Gut recorded enclosure measured in the standard land unit, the rod of about five and a half yards. Walling the provision grounds protected the yams from straying cattle and goats, the rod count giving a precise measure of the labour done, the fences elsewhere being noted as in want of repair throughout the estate.

123

130

Oct[r]

An Acc[t] of Grind Stones exp[d] f[o] 76 y[e] 1[st] 1716 to y[e] last d[o] Inclusive Viz[t]

To y[e] Worsh[l] y[e] Gov[r]

1 [?]

To Cap[t] Haswell

1/2 [?]

To M[r] Byfeld

1/2 [?]

To y[e] Guard

8

Muskett balls to y[e] Guard

[?]

Acc[t] Reed d[o] R[d] Wallow

1

Hand Spikes broke at fitt[g] y[e] Crane

1

D[o] Canon bees d[o] T Stays for y[e] Long boat

2

Flints d[o] y[e] Guard

24

Match d[o] ditto

24

(Sig[h]d) Jn[o] French

24 24 2 1 1 3 10

The following two Bills being brought in the Gov[r] Refers y[m] to Cap[t] Bazett to Enquire y[e] truth thereof being he can make nothing of them himself (Viz[t])

Worsh[l] S[r] This is a just Acc[t] of Blacks work at the Hutts from y[e] 25[o] June to y[e] 25 Sep[r]

M[r] Alexander 1 Black 45 days

Jn[o] Knipe 1 Black 74 d[o]

Tho[s] Allis 2 d[o] 142

Sam[l] Jesly 2 137

Jn[o] Twaits 1 33

Jn[o] Worrall 1 46

Rob[t] Bell 1 76

Tutt Jacke Jun[r] 1 76

this is a Just Acc[t] by me (Sig[h]d) Sam[l] Jesly

Margin Notes:

Hutts

An account followed of grindstones expended from 25 July 1716 to 25 August 1716 inclusive.

To the governor

1

To Captain Haswell

½

To Mr Byfield

½

To the guard

8

Musket balls to the guard

[...]

Account received from Mr Swallow

1

Hand spikes broke at fitting the crane

1

Davick beds for Mr Hay's longboat

2

Flints to the guard

24

Match to the same

24

The account was signed by John French. The totals stood at 24, 24, 2, 1, 1, 3 and 10.

The governor referred the following two bills to Captain Bazett, to enquire into the truth of them, since he could make nothing of them himself.

The first was an account of the slaves' labour at the Hutts, from 25 June to 25 September.

Mr Alexander, 1 slave, 45 days

John Knipe, 1 slave, 74 days

Thomas Allis, 2 slaves, 142 days

Samuel Jesey, 2 slaves, 137 days

John Twaits, 1 slave, 33 days

John Worrall, 1 slave, 46 days

Robert Bell, 1 slave, 76 days

Tutt Jacke junior, 1 slave, 76 days

The account was signed by Samuel Jesey as a true account.

Interpretations

The grindstone account recorded the issue of military and workshop stores by the gunner, who held charge of the island's ordnance supplies. The flints and match supplied to the guard were the means of firing muskets, the flint striking the spark and the slow match holding fire for the great guns, while the hand spikes and grindstones were the tools of the gun platforms and the smithy. This monthly reckoning let the council track the consumption of warlike stores against the standing defence of the island.

The Davick beds for the longboat marked timber fittings for the Company's principal landing craft. The longboat carried goods between ship and shore at the open roadstead, and the beds were the bearers on which it rested or worked, their repair reflecting the constant maintenance the boat needed in the heavy surf of the landing.

The slaves' labour account charged the planters for the hire of their slaves at the Hutts, each entry giving the owner, the number of slaves and the days worked. This was the means by which private slaveholders earned from the Company estate, the hired-slave rate standing at 1s 6d the day, the days totalled by owner so that each could be paid for the labour his slaves had done on the Company's ground.

124

131

Hutts Acc[t] (2[d] paper)

Yams fitt to dig in y[e] Long Gutt

15 000

Dug in y[e] Same Gutt & y[e] Suckers planted again

18 000

Yams y[t] will be fitt to dig in Aug[t]

50 000

Young Yam y[t] will be fitt to dig in 18 months

200 000

New Wall made in y[e] Gutt 64 Rod

Wall y[t] wants repairing round y[e] plantation 100 Rod

Stows gott to make 20 Rod behind y[e] house

N.B. The 64 Rod M[r] Worrall Sayes is worth but 10[d] at most The Digging & plan- ting 18000 Yams & Suckers is worth no more then 49 s And Weeding the 80 thous[d] Yams worth Eight pound the Totall Twenty Pounds & y[e] Bill for hire of Blacks is forty Seven pounds three Shillings & Six pence besides Seven Blacks of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] & two Whitemen

Hire of y[e] H Comp[s] 7 Blacks is 41 8 6

Besides 2 white Men who are paid 10[d] d[o] 10[th]

10 0 0

47 3 6

Total Charge is

98 13 0

(Sig[h]d) Anthipas Jovey[?] Edward Byfeld

The Hutts account continued on a second paper.

Yams fit to dig in the Long Gut

15,000

Dug in the same gut, and the suckers planted again

18,000

Yams that will be fit to dig in August

50,000

Young yams that will be fit to dig in eighteen months

200,000

New wall made in the gut

64 rods

Wall that wants repairing round the plantation

100 rods

Stones got to make, behind the house

20 rods

Worrall stated that the 64 rods were worth no more than 10s at most. The digging and planting of 18,000 yams and suckers was worth no more than 49s. The weeding of the 80,000 yams was worth £8 0s 0d. The total came to £20 0s 0d. The bill for the hire of slaves was £47 3s 6d, besides seven slaves of the Honourable Company and two whitemen.

The hire of the Honourable Company's seven slaves came to £41 3s 6d. Besides this, two whitemen were paid £10 0s 0d each, making £47 3s 6d.

The total charge was £98 13s 0d.

The account was signed by Antipas Tovey, Isaac Pyke and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The two papers set Worrall's valuation against the bill rendered for the same labour, the council using his figures to test what the work was truly worth. Worrall as overseer judged the walling, digging, planting and weeding at modest sums, and his lower valuation served as a check on the much larger bill claimed for the hire of slaves, the discrepancy being the very matter Bazett had been told to enquire into.

The account distinguished three sources of labour on the Company estate, the hired slaves of private planters, the Company's own seven slaves and two paid whitemen. The mixed labour force shows how the plantation was kept up, the Company drawing on its own slaves, on slaves hired in from settlers at the standing rate and on a small number of wage-paid free men, each charged or paid under a different head.

The wall behind the house, with stones already got to make 20 rods, and the 100 rods round the plantation in want of repair, recorded the continuing programme of enclosure measured by the rod. The fences guarded the yams against straying stock, and the separate counting of new wall, wall to be repaired and stone gathered for further building shows the council tracking the enclosure work in detail against the labour and materials it required.

125

132

Oct[r]

At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 30[th] day of Octob[r] 1716. at Union Castle in James Valley

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Math[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5[o] in Count[l]

Present

The last Consultations were read & approved of The Gov[r] Reports y[t] Yesterday he caused y[e] following Advertizem[t] to be Published (Viz[t])

By the Worsh[l] y[e] Gov[r] &c

An Advertizement

This is to give notice y[t] against y[e] Arrival of Ships, y[e] path leading to Mundens point being to be cleared All maner of Persons are warned by the Govern[rs] Order hereby That they doe im- mediately remove their Boats to the West Side of the Bay & Moor them there till y[e] path is cleared

And they are cautioned also & forewar- ned not to expose themselves to y[e] danger of the Stones while y[e] path is Clearing

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Island St[r] Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 30 October 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke, governor, George Haswell, deputy governor, Matthew Bazett, third, Antipas Tovey, fourth, and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The previous consultations were read and approved.

The governor reported that the day before he had caused the following advertisement to be published.

The advertisement was issued by the governor. It gave notice that, against the arrival of ships, the path leading to Munden's Point was to be cleared. By the governor's order, all persons were warned to remove their boats at once to the west side of the bay and to moor them there until the path was cleared.

They were also cautioned and warned not to expose themselves to the danger of the stones while the path was being cleared.

Interpretations

The advertisement managed the risk of clearing a coastal path above the landing at Munden's Point. Felling the broken ledge sent stone down the cliff, so the order moved all boats to the far side of the bay and warned people away from the fall, the timing tied to the arrival of ships since the path served the landing of goods. This continued the crane and landing question examined in the survey of 18 October 1715, in which the broken ledge above Downings Cove had been judged safe to bring down on the near side of Munden's Point Castle.

The clearing was set in hand ahead of the ships' arrival because the path carried goods between the landing and the castle. The open roadstead had no harbour, so the route from the shore had to be kept passable for the heavy traffic of a ship's cargo, the work done in advance so the path stood ready when a vessel anchored.

126

133

by going down to y[e] Comon Landing Rocks or the Crane, but those who have occasion to go out to fish or elsewhere are to go for three or four days next ensueing from the West Rocks but y[e] next Week when y[e] danger is over, every body is permitted to go to the Landing Rocks or elsewhere as Usuall Signd by Order of Gov[r] &c Dated at Union Castle in James Valley this 29[th] day of Octob[r] 1716

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey[?] Secr[y]

Sarah the Wife of Robert Bell appeard according to Sumons, to answer to the Compl[t] of Jn[o] Alexanders for her causing to be killd One of his Doggs Out right & Cutting the throat of y[e] Other w[ch] is likely to dye of that Wound, She having never complained to M[r] Alexander of his Doggs doing her damage

She beggd M[r] Alexanders pardon and promising not to Suffer any such thing to be done again she was dismissed

The following Petition was y[e] 2[d] Inst[t] presented (Viz[t])

To the Worsh[l] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] &c Council The Most humble Petition of

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

The advertisement continued, warning people against going down to the common landing rocks or the crane. Those who needed to go out to fish or elsewhere were to use the west rocks for the next three or four days. The following week, when the danger was over, everyone might go to the landing rocks or elsewhere as usual.

The advertisement was issued by order of the governor, dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 29 October 1716, and signed by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

Sarah, the wife of Robert Bell, appeared on summons to answer the complaint of John Alexander. She had caused one of his dogs to be killed outright and had cut the throat of another, which was likely to die of the wound. She had never complained to Alexander of his dogs doing her any damage. She begged Alexander's pardon and promised not to allow any such thing to be done again, and was dismissed.

The following petition was presented on 2 October, addressed to Isaac Pyke, governor, and the council.

The petition was the most humble petition of John [...].

Interpretations

Sarah Bell's dismissal on an apology turned on her having taken the law into her own hands without first complaining to the dogs' owner. The fault the council marked was not the damage the dogs may have done but her killing them outright without seeking redress through Alexander, the proper course being to lay a complaint rather than act privately, her pardon and promise being enough to close a first such offence.

The advertisement balanced the temporary closure of the main landing against the islanders' daily need to fish. By directing fishers to the west rocks for the few days of the work and restoring normal access once the danger passed, the order kept the food supply going while the path was cleared, the fishery being a settled part of the island's provisioning.

127

134

Oct[r]

John Robinson Planter

Humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petition[r] did last Week cutt some Rafters off the Wood growing on y[e] Land he possesses & returning with them towards his house to be Used as they were designd to inlarge it Cap[t] Haswell on Thursday last 27 Sept[r] not only Stopt yo[r] petit[r] & Servants on y[e] high way in such an insulting maner as really possest yo[r] petic[on] w[th] bodily fear (Cap[t] Haswell hav- ing before threatned to Shoot him) but made Seizure of y[e] s[d] Rafters & has ever Since detaind them

Your Petic[on] not knowing any right or power Cap[t] Haswell has either to molest him in cutting Lawfull Wood, or much less to borrow by Force another mans goods Humbly requests he may have yo[r] Worsh[l] & Councils leave to prosecute y[e] s[d] Haswell

And (as in duty bound) shall ever pray &c Jn[o] Robinson (Sig[h]d)

Octob[r] 2[d] 1716

This Petic[on] was Referd to Cap[t] Bassett & M[r] Byfeld to compose the diffe- rence, but as they could make no reason- able accomodation the Same was returnd & this day Appointed for hearing the

The petition was that of John Robinson, planter.

Robinson set out that the week before he had cut some rafters off the wood growing on the land he held, and was returning with them towards his house, where they were meant to enlarge it. On Thursday 27 September, Captain Haswell had not only stopped Robinson's servants on the highway in a most insulting manner, putting the petitioner in real bodily fear, having before threatened to shoot him, but had also seized the rafters and had detained them ever since.

Robinson did not know of any right or power Captain Haswell had to interfere with him in cutting lawful wood, much less to take another man's goods by force. He humbly asked leave of the governor and council to prosecute Haswell. The petition was dated 2 October 1716 and signed by John Robinson.

The petition was referred to Captain Bazett and Mr Byfield to settle the difference. As they could reach no reasonable accommodation, the matter was returned, and this day was appointed for hearing it.

Interpretations

The petition raised a planter's claim to prosecute the deputy governor himself for seizing his timber and threatening him. Robinson rested his case on the right to cut lawful wood on the land he held and on the wrong of having his goods taken by force, the council allowing the complaint to proceed to a hearing rather than shielding Haswell by his office. This was the same John Robinson who had brought in the two Queen deserters and been allowed the credit of five pounds at the consultation of 28 August 1716.

The first reference of the dispute to Bazett and Byfield to compose the difference followed the council's usual practice of trying arbitration before a formal hearing. Two councillors were named to broker a settlement, and only when they failed did the matter return to the bench for trial, the same two-stage course used in the Norman and Beale boundary dispute referred to two men at the consultation of 26 July 1715.

The threat to shoot and the seizure of the rafters on the highway turned a question of woodcutting rights into a charge touching the deputy governor's conduct. Haswell held the second place in council, so a planter's suit against him over the lawful use of his own holding tested whether the bench would hold its own deputy to answer, the council treating the complaint as fit for hearing like any other.

128

135

1716

Cause & Examening Witnesses Robinson having gone about the Country & told among y[e] y[e] planters &c that he intended to trye Cap[t] Haswell by the Country for Stealing of his wood and denied y[e] caveat[?] to be for him Sayeing that when Sessions came he would Indict him for felony and if the Govern[r] would not do him Justice therein he would Write to England & Com- plain to the Company The Govern[r] appointed this day for hearing that cause and Ordered Each of them to pro- duce their Witnesses and Cap[t] Haswell being Present John Robinson w[th] divers of the Inhabitants appeared

John Robinson desired to Sweare the Peace because he Sayed he was in Danger of his life by Cap[t] Haswells threatning to Shoot him and he brought Francis Steward and John Harding to prove his being threatned who Sayed that Robinson went to Cap[t] Haswells House in Sandy Bay and there was Some Difference in words and Cap[t] Haswell was in a Passion & Sayed if Jn[o] Robinson came there again he would Shoot him But Jn[o] Harding Added that Cap[t] Haswell Sayed only that if Robinson comes to my House to abuse me he'll Shoot him and Cap[t] Haswell Sayes that these words if they were Spoken by him were Spoken before the last hearing w[ch] was before the Govern[r] at which hearing Robinson acknowledged himself in fault and askt his Pardon

The hearing of the cause and the examining of witnesses then proceeded. Robinson had gone about the country and told the planters that he intended to try Captain Haswell before a jury for stealing his wood. He had claimed several would side with him, saying that when the present court came he would indict Haswell for felony, and that if the governor would not do him justice he would write to England and complain to the Company. The governor appointed this day for hearing the cause and ordered each man to produce his witnesses. Captain Haswell being present, John Robinson appeared with several of the inhabitants.

John Robinson asked to swear the peace, since he said his life was in danger from Captain Haswell's threatening to shoot him. He brought Francis Steward and John Harding to prove that he had been threatened. They stated that Robinson had gone to Captain Haswell's house in Sandy Bay, where there had been some difference in words, and that Haswell in a passion had said that if Robinson came there again he would shoot him. Harding added that Haswell had said only that if Robinson came to his house to abuse him he would shoot him. Captain Haswell stated that if these words were spoken by him, they were spoken before the last hearing, which was before the governor. At that hearing Robinson had acknowledged himself in fault and had asked his pardon.

Interpretations

The procedure of swearing the peace gave a person in fear of violence a formal remedy before the bench. By swearing that his life was in danger, Robinson could call on the court to bind Haswell over to keep the peace, the deputy governor's words of threat being the matter the witnesses were brought to prove, the same security John Long had been put under on 15 November 1715 for assaulting Haswell.

The witnesses' accounts narrowed the threat to a conditional one, made only if Robinson returned to abuse Haswell at his house. Harding's qualification turned an apparent threat to shoot into a warning against further provocation, the precise words mattering because the conditional form bore directly on whether any wrong had been done.

Haswell's defence rested on timing, that any threat predated the earlier hearing at which Robinson had already confessed fault and been pardoned. By placing the words before that reconciliation, Haswell sought to treat the matter as already settled, the prior pardon discharging the very conduct now complained of afresh.

129

136

Oct[br] 1716.

which being true the Govern[r] dismist that Compl[t] as ill Grounded

Then John Robinson Alleadged that Cap[t] Haswell had forceably and unjustly taken away 16 peices of his timber to prove which he Sayed that he Posses[s]es a half part of Ten Acres of Land whereon this Wood Grew that formerly belonged to two Brothers Onesiphorus Steward & Charles Steward and that Onesiphorus Steward being dead he hath gott the lease by Marrying the Widdow and tho after the Death of Charles Steward Cap[t] Haswell married his Widdow Yet hath not y[e] Same right to the Land as himself because Cap[t] Haswell hath not a lease in his own Name as he himself has

Then John Robinson called Gabriel Powell & Richard Quoling[?], John Long & Francis Wrangham from whose Testimony it did not appear that the Land whereon this wood Grew did formerly belong to Onesiphorus & Charles Steward Onesiphorus Steward dyed leaveing a wife and four Children and Charles alsoe dyed and left a Wid[o] and five Children and Robinson is Married to Onesi- phorus Widdow and Cap[t] Haswell to Charles they know nothing how the leases are made but think that Robinson has Injured Onesiphorus Children if he has procured a lease of their fathers Land in his name

Cap[t] Haswell is about to rebuild his House and has begun to doe So and John Robinson in a Short time intends to Enlarge his House and therefore least Cap[t] Haswell Should Cutt down the best of the wood for his building Robinson went first and Cutt what he thought he might want but has cut down

This being true, the governor dismissed that complaint as ill grounded.

John Robinson then alleged that Captain Haswell had forcibly and unjustly taken away sixteen pieces of his timber. To prove it he said that he held a half part of ten acres of land on which the wood grew. That land had formerly belonged to two brothers, Onesiphorus Steward and Charles Steward. Onesiphorus Steward being dead, Robinson had got the lease by marrying his widow. Captain Haswell, after the death of Charles Steward, had married his widow. Yet Haswell had not the same right to the land as Robinson himself, since Haswell had no lease in his own name, as Robinson had.

John Robinson then called Gabriel Powell, Richard Gurling, John Long and Francis Wrangham. From their testimony it did not appear that the land where the wood grew had formerly belonged to Onesiphorus and Charles Steward. Onesiphorus Steward had died leaving a wife and four children, and Charles also had died, leaving a widow and five children. Robinson was married to Onesiphorus's widow, and Captain Haswell to Charles's. The witnesses knew nothing of how the leases were made, but thought that Robinson had injured Onesiphorus's children if he had procured a lease of their father's land in his own name.

Captain Haswell was about to rebuild his house and had begun to do so. John Robinson in a short time intended to enlarge his own house. Fearing that Captain Haswell would cut down the best of the wood for his building, Robinson had gone first and cut what he thought he might want. But he had cut down all [...].

Interpretations

The dispute turned on rival claims to one parcel of land descending through two widows. The ten acres had belonged jointly to the brothers Onesiphorus and Charles Steward, and each man's widow had since remarried, Robinson taking Onesiphorus's widow and Haswell taking Charles's. The question was which husband held the better right, Robinson resting his claim on a lease in his own name and challenging Haswell for holding none.

The witnesses raised the children's interest against Robinson's lease in his own name. If Robinson had taken a lease of land that should have descended to Onesiphorus Steward's four children, he had cut them out of their inheritance, the bench's witnesses suggesting the wrong lay not between the two husbands but in Robinson's having secured the land to himself over the heirs.

The contest over the timber arose from both men needing wood for building at the same time. Each was enlarging or rebuilding his house, so the standing wood on the disputed acres became a prize, Robinson cutting first to forestall Haswell, the felling of the rafters being the act that brought the underlying question of title to a head.

130

137

Oct[r] 1716.

all that was fitt for use Alleadging he has lately made an agreement with Cap[t] Haswell that each of them Should have Liberty to Cut down what they wanted But Cap[t] Haswell Sayes that as Soon as they had made this agreem[t] Robinson went and Cutt down all and therefore he went and took Some but not half it appearing to the Govern[r] that they had equall right and almost equall uses for this Wood and that There- fore John Robinson is in fault for makeing this unnecessary Complt but Especially for Sayeing that Cap[t] Haswell had taken the wood feloniously there being no felony in the case

Wherefore Ordered that Jn[o] Robinson Publickly in the Govern[rs] presence Acknowledge his fault & ask Cap[t] Haswell Pardon and that M[r] Powell & M[r] Quoling doe equally divide the wood that is Cutt between Cap[t] Haswell and John Robinson that if either of them hereafter do Cutt more wood from that ground they do give the other Notice that they may if they want it Cutt down the like quantity at the Same time

Then the Govern[r] Reprimanded Jn[o] Robinson for his abusiveness & foul Language to the Dep[t] Gov[r] and gave him Warning that if he Continue his Scandalous and abusive way to any of the Council he will look on him According to the Characters he has bestowed on them and for the future will not lett him goe Unpunished but for this time Dismisses him, tho this is not the first time nor Second of his abusiveness

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey[?] Edward Byfeld

Robinson had cut down all that was fit for use. He alleged that he had lately made an agreement with Captain Haswell that each of them should have liberty to cut what wood they wanted. Captain Haswell stated that as soon as they had made this agreement, Robinson had gone and cut down all, and therefore Haswell had gone and taken some, but not half. It appeared to the governor that they had equal right and almost equal use of this wood. Robinson was therefore at fault for making this unnecessary complaint, but especially for saying that Captain Haswell had taken the wood feloniously, there being no felony in the case.

The council therefore ordered that John Robinson publicly acknowledge his fault in the governor's presence and ask Captain Haswell's pardon. It ordered that Mr Powell and Mr Gurling equally divide the wood that had been cut between Captain Haswell and John Robinson. It ordered further that if either of them should cut more wood from that ground, he give the other notice, so that if he wanted it he might cut down the like quantity at the same time.

The governor then reprimanded John Robinson for his abusiveness and foul language towards the deputy governor. He warned him that if he continued his scandalous and abusive conduct towards any of the council, the governor would look on him according to the characters he had bestowed on them. The bench would not let him go unpunished, but for this time it dismissed him, though this was not the first time, nor the second, of his abusiveness.

The order was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The settlement divided the cut wood equally between the two claimants through named arbitrators, treating their rights to the disputed ground as equal. Rather than decide the title, the council had Powell and Gurling split the timber and laid down a rule of mutual notice for any future cutting, a practical division that avoided ruling on the underlying lease while preventing one man from stripping the wood ahead of the other.

The charge that Haswell had taken the wood feloniously was the gravamen the governor singled out. To call the deputy governor's act a felony was to accuse him of theft, and the council marked this as the chief fault, since the parties' equal right meant no crime had been committed, the false charge of felony being graver than the quarrel over the timber itself.

The reprimand for abusing the deputy governor showed the bench guarding the standing of its own members against a planter's slander. Robinson had spread his complaints about the country and given the councillors ill characters, and the governor's warning that he would be judged by the names he had cast on others marked the limit of the council's patience, the dismissal noted expressly as a repeated indulgence. This was the same John Robinson rewarded with five pounds' credit for taking the Queen deserters at the consultation of 28 August 1716.

131

138

Nov[r]

At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 6[th] day of November 1716. at Union Castle in James Valley

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Math[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4 & Edw[s] Byfeld 5[o] in Coun[l]

Pres[t]

The Last Consultation read & ap- provd of

W[m] Worrall y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] Chief Overseer Complains against W[m] Huff for keeping Company with Betty One of the H Comp[s] Blacks he having lately had a Child by her & was last Saturday night found hid in her Bed at their Slaves house

And[w] Casey Deposes that he has heard W[m] Huff own y[e] Child to be his (y[e] Child is therefore to be calld Betty Huff) Huff Sayed y[e] Wench had Stoolen a peice of Stuff from him (w[ch] he went to Search for) But She calld a Ben one of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[s] blacks who testified that he gave her the Stuff to make the Child Frocks

Order[d] That he pay toward keeping the Child 12[d] y[e] Week And

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 November 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke, governor, George Haswell, deputy governor, Matthew Bazett, third, Antipas Tovey, fourth, and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The previous consultation was read and approved.

William Worrall, the Honourable Company's chief overseer, complained against William Huff for keeping company with Betty, one of the Company's slaves. Huff had lately had a child by her, and the previous Saturday night had been found hidden in her bed at the slaves' house.

William Casey deposed that he had heard William Huff own the child to be his. The child was therefore to be called Betty Huff. Huff claimed that the woman had stolen a piece of stuff from him, which he had gone to search for. But she called Ben, one of the Honourable Company's slaves, who testified that Huff had given her the stuff to make the child frocks.

The council ordered that Huff pay 12d a week towards keeping the child.

Interpretations

The order to pay 12d a week towards the child's keep marked a maintenance charge laid on the acknowledged father. Huff had owned the child as his before the bench, so the council fixed a weekly sum for its support, the affiliation resting on his own admission and on Casey's evidence of it, the child given the mother's keeper's name as Betty Huff.

The dispute over the stuff turned on whether Huff had given the cloth or had it stolen from him. His charge of theft was met by the slave Ben's testimony that the cloth was a gift to make the child's clothes, the bench accepting the gift against the accusation, so that the search Huff claimed to be making became instead evidence of his provision for the child.

The case bore on the Company's standing concern to keep its servants from dealings with its slaves. Huff was found hidden in the slave Betty's bed at the slaves' house, the very conduct the council moved to check, the affiliation and the maintenance order arising from a relationship between a free man and a Company slave that the bench treated as a matter for its discipline. The same concern had brought Edmond Nichols to a fine of 40 shillings for dealing with the Company's slaves at the consultation of 24 July 1716.

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139

And That he Sett this Evening as soon as the Heat of y[e] day is over Publickly on the Wooden horse & to ride there One hour w[th] his Face blacked over & that hence forth he be lookt upon no other then as a Black he having been for a long time a very Lewd & Scandelous person & tho frequent- ly punished in the time of y[e] two last Gov[rs] is Notwithstanding that become incorri- gable & not to be reclaimed

The Storekeeper (Cap[t] Bazett) brought in his Monthly Acc[t] of Goods Sold to y[e] 25[th] of Sept[r] last w[ch] is as followeth (Viz[t])

An Account of Store Goods Sold and deliverd to the Inhabitants of this Island, to y[e] Use of Union Castle and Plantation house from the 25 August 1716 to September the 25[th] following (Viz[t])

To the Inhabitants

Arrack

The council further ordered that Huff sit this evening, as soon as the heat of the day was over, publicly on the wooden horse, and ride there one hour with his face blacked over. From then on he was to be looked upon as no other than a black, having been for a long time a very lewd and scandalous person. Though frequently punished in the time of the two last governors, he had nevertheless become incorrigible and was not to be reclaimed.

The storekeeper, Captain Bazett, brought in his monthly account of goods sold to 25 September last, as follows.

An account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants of the island, and for the use of Union Castle and the plantation house, from 25 August 1716 to 25 September 1716.

To the inhabitants.

Arrack

Interpretations

The sentence on the wooden horse imposed a public shaming punishment on Huff for his conduct with the Company's slave. The wooden horse was a sharp-ridged frame on which an offender was made to sit astride as a penalty, and the blacking of his face and the order that he be reckoned a black marked a deliberate degradation, tying the shame directly to his having kept company with a slave woman. This followed the earlier conviction of William Huff for theft at the general sessions of 12 September 1715, when he was given 30 lashes and sold to the brick kiln for a month in chains.

The reference to the two last governors set Huff's incorrigibility against a record of repeated punishment under Boucher and the administrations before Pyke. By noting that earlier correction had failed, the council justified the harsher and more public penalty now imposed, treating him as beyond ordinary reform and so fit for exemplary shaming.

The monthly store account opened the next reckoning of goods issued to the inhabitants, to Union Castle and to the plantation house, covering 25 August to 25 September 1716. This was the regular successor to the account for the previous month, the storekeeper bringing in each month's sales and internal issues under the same three heads for the council to pass.

133

140

Nov[r]

£ s d

Arrack 190 1/2 Gall[s] at 7/6 [?] gall

71 8 9

Sugar 400 3/4 at 8[d] [?] [?]

13 7 2

Bread 108 3 1/2

1 11 6

Flour 147

2 2 10 1/2

Rice 133

1 18 9 1/2

Soap 63 17

4 9 3

Tea 9 1/2 9[d]

4 5 6

Cattles 10

4 10 00

8 15 6

Vinegar 1 1/2 gall at 2/6

00 3 9

Oyle 1 1/2 14[d]

00 15 00

Pepper 1[?]

00 1 00

Druggetts (Viz[t])

47 1/2 Yards d[o] at 3/ [?] y[d]

7 2 6

36 4

7 4

14 6 6

Shalloon 53 1/4 y[ds] at 2/6

6 14 4 1/2

Perpetts 32 1/4 2/3

3 12 6 3/4

Callimanco 6 2/6

00 15 00

Broad Cloth 8 14/6 1/4

5 16 6

Fustians 26 3/4 2[d]

2 4 7

Soldiers Cloaths 1 p[r] of Breeches

00 8 3

Blanketts (Viz[t])

2 pair of d[o] at 22/6

2 5 00

1 p[c] of D[o]

00 19 00

3 4 00

Bodice (Viz[t])

3 pair at 12/9

1 18 3

1 p[c]

00 11 3

1 p[c]

00 4 6

2 14 00

Long Cloth 11 pees at 24/9

13 12 3

Saunoes 1 pee

1 6 6

Dungrees 3 pees at 5/8

00 17 00

Carried over £

The account of goods sold to the inhabitants ran as follows.

Arrack

190½ gallons at 7s 6d per gallon

£71 8s 9d

Sugar

400¼ pounds at 8d per pound

£13 7s 2d

Bread

108 pounds at 3½d per pound

£1 11s 6d

Flour

147 pounds at 3½d per pound

£2 2s 10½d

Rice

133 pounds at [...]

£1 18s 9½d

Soap

63 pounds at 17[...]

£4 9s 3d

Tea

9½ pounds at 9s

£4 5s 6d

Candles

10 pounds at [...]

£4 10s 0d

[Subtotal] £81 5s 6d

Vinegar

1½ gallons at 2s 6d

£0 3s 9d

Oil

1½ pints at 14[...]

£0 15s 0d

Pepper

¼ pound

£0 1s 0d

Druggets, as follows.

47½ yards at 3s per yard

£7 2s 6d

36 yards at 4s

£7 4s 0d

[Subtotal] £14 6s 6d

Shalloon

53¾ yards at 2s 6d

£6 14s 4½d

Perpetuanas

32¼ yards at 2s 3d

£3 12s 6¾d

Callimanco

6 yards at 2s 6d

£0 15s 0d

Broadcloth

8 yards at 14s 6d

£5 16s 0d

Fustians

26¼ yards at 20d

£2 4s 7d

Soldiers' clothes

1 pair of breeches

£0 8s 3d

Blankets, as follows.

2 pairs of the same at 22s 6d

£2 5s 0d

1 pair of the same

£0 19s 0d

[Subtotal] £3 4s 0d

Bodice, as follows.

3 pairs at 12s 7d

£1 18s 3d

1 of the same

£0 11s 3d

1 of the same

£0 4s 6d

[Subtotal] £2 14s 0d

Long cloth

11 pieces at 24s 9d

£13 12s 3d

Saunoes

1 piece

£1 6s 6d

Dungarees

3 pieces at 5s 8d

£0 17s 0d

Carried over

[...]

Interpretations

The textile entries again carried the full range of European cloths sold by the yard alongside the Indian piece goods. Callimanco was a glossy checked or striped woollen with a satin weave on one face, used for gowns and waistcoats, and joined the druggets, shalloon, perpetuanas, fustians and broadcloth that made up the European side of the store's cloth trade. The long cloth, saunoes and dungarees represented the Indian calicoes sold by the piece, the same division of eastern and western textiles seen in the previous month's account.

The broadcloth at 14s 6d the yard stood as the most costly cloth on the page by the yard. Broadcloth was a fine dense woollen, fulled and shorn to a smooth finish and woven on a wide loom, the staple quality cloth of the English woollen trade, its high yard price marking it as a material for the better sort of coat or gown among the island's buyers.

134

141

1716

£ s d

Bro[t] Over

Neckcloaths 2 Single d[o]

00 5 6

Nealas 2 pees at 10/5

1 00 10

Guinhas 8 d[o] 12/6

5 00 00

Ginghams 4 9/6

1 19 00

Shirts 10 3/

1 10 00

Pewter 1 Chamber pott

00 4 3

Corks 15 doz at 3[d]

00 3 9

Hessings 9 Yards at 14[d]

00 10 6

Pins 24 [?] at 1/2

2 2 00

Indigo 3 oz at 8[d]

00 2 00

Thimbles 10

00 00 10

Silk 9 3/4 oz at 2/6

1 4 0 3/4

Thread (Viz[t])

6 oz at 9[d]

4 6

13 11

11 11

3 13

3 3

5 15 1/2

6 5 1/2

1

2 6

1

3 6

1 12 1 1/2

Ferritts 15 1/2 at 4 1/2

5 9 1/4

4 Silk 6

2 00

7 9 3/4

Buttons (Viz[t])

5 1/2 doz Coat at 19[d] [?] doz

8 8 1/2

3 1/2 d[o] 12

3 6

13 Breast 4

4 4

4 d[o] 6

2 00

18 6 1/2

Shoe Thread 7 1/2 at 2/6

18 9

Twine 2 1/4 2/4

5 3

Bleu Guinhas 1 pees

00 9 00

Carried Over

The account continued, brought over.

Neckcloths

2 single of the same

£0 5s 6d

Nealas

2 pieces at 10s 5d

£1 1s 0d

Guinea cloth

8 of the same at 12s 6d

£5 0s 0d

Ginghams

4 at 9s 6d

£1 19s 0d

Shirts

10 at 3s

£1 10s 0d

Pewter

1 chamber pot

£0 4s 3d

Corks

15 dozen at 3d

£0 3s 9d

Hessians

9 yards at 14d

£0 10s 6d

Pins

24 mille at 1s 9d

£2 2s 0d

Indigo

3 ounces at 8d

£0 2s 0d

Thimbles

10

£0 0s 10d

Silk

9¾ ounces at 2s 6d

£1 4s 0¾d

Thread, as follows.

6 ounces at 9d

£0 4s 6d

13 at 11d

£0 11s 11d

3 at 13d

£0 3s 3d

5 at 15½d

£0 6s 5½d

1 at 2s 6d

£0 2s 6d

1 at 3s 6d

£0 3s 6d

[Subtotal] £1 12s 1½d

Ferrets

15½ at 4½d

£0 5s 9¾d

4 silk at 6d

£0 2s 0d

[Subtotal] £0 7s 9¾d

Buttons, as follows.

5½ dozen coat at 19d per dozen

£0 8s 8½d

3½ dozen at 12d

£0 3s 6d

13 breast at 4d

£0 4s 4d

4 of the same at 6d

£0 2s 0d

[Subtotal] £0 18s 6½d

Shoe thread

7½ at 2s 6d

£0 18s 9d

Twine

2¼ at 2s 4d

£0 5s 3d

Blue guinea cloth

1 piece

£0 9s 0d

Carried over

[...]

Stationery ware

Interpretations

The Indian cottons carried a fresh set of named varieties alongside the familiar lines. Nealas and the guinea cloths, both plain and blue, were grades of Indian cotton cloth sold by the piece, the guinea cloths originally woven for the West African trade, while the ginghams and neckcloths made up the lighter checked and finished cottons. Their steady recurrence month by month shows the island consuming a constant flow of Coromandel and Bengal piece goods through the store.

The thread again appeared in the most finely graded form of any line, run across six prices from 9d to 3s 6d the ounce. This breadth of grading, repeated from the previous month, confirms the store's practice of holding thread to suit every class of sewing on the island, the single most differentiated article in the account.

135

142

Nov[r]

£ s d

Stationary Ware (Viz[t]) Br[o] over

2 Testaments at 1/9

00 3 6

3 Horn books

00 1 00

2 q[r] paper at 16[d]

00 2 8

7 2

Hooks & Lines Viz[t]

Hooks 5 1/2 doz N[o] 1 at 2 1/2[d]

00 1 1 1/2

5 2 3

00 1 3

7 3 6

00 3 6

7 1/2 4 7

00 4 4 1/2

1 5

00 00 9

2 6 12

00 2 00

1 7

00 1 3

14 3 1/2

Lines 2 2 5

00 00 10

3 3 5

00 1 3

2 5 6 1/2

00 1 1

6 6 10

00 5 00

8 7 10

00 6 8

3 8 11

00 2 9

4 10 15 1/2

00 5 2

2 16 3/8

00 7 4

1 10 1

Tobacco Pipes 24 1/2 doz at 6[d]

00 12 4 1/2

Shoes (Viz[t])

8 pair Isl[d] Shoes at 4/

1 12 00

1 p[r] Girls Turkey Leather

00 4 9

1 16 9

Combs (Viz[t])

2 Horn at 4[d]

00 00 8

3 d[o] 5

00 1 3

1 Comb brush

00 00 8

2 7

Ironmongery (Viz[t]) Carried over

1 Spring Lock

00 4 1

1 Chest Lock

00 4 6

4 d[o] at 2/9

00 11 00

Carr[d] over

19 7

The account continued, the stationery ware brought over.

2 Testaments at 1s 9d

£0 3s 6d

3 horn books

£0 1s 0d

2 quires of paper at 10d

£0 1s 8d

[Subtotal] £0 7s 2d

Hooks and lines, as follows.

Hooks

5½ dozen of number 1 at 2½d

£0 1s 1½d

5 of number 2 at 3d

£0 1s 3d

7 of number 3 at 6d

£0 3s 6d

7½ of number 4 at 7d

£0 4s 4½d

1 of number 5

£0 0s 9d

2 of number 6 at 12d

£0 2s 0d

1 of number 2

£0 1s 3d

[Subtotal] £0 14s 3½d

Lines

2 of number 2 at 5d

£0 0s 10d

3 of number 3 at 5d

£0 1s 3d

2 of number 5 at 6½d

£0 1s 1d

6 of number 6 at 10d

£0 5s 0d

8 of number 7 at 10d

£0 6s 8d

3 of number 8 at 11d

£0 2s 9d

4 of number 10 at 15½d

£0 5s 2d

2 of number 16 at 3s 8d

£0 7s 4d

[Subtotal] £1 10s 1d

Tobacco pipes

24½ dozen at 6d

£0 12s 4½d

Shoes, as follows.

8 pairs of island shoes at 4s

£1 12s 0d

1 pair of girls' turkey leather

£0 4s 9d

[Subtotal] £1 16s 9d

Combs, as follows.

2 horn at 4d

£0 0s 8d

3 of the same at 5d

£0 1s 3d

1 comb brush

£0 0s 8d

[Subtotal] £0 2s 7d

Ironmongery, as follows.

1 spring lock

£0 4s 1d

1 chest lock

£0 4s 6d

4 of the same at 2s 9d

£0 11s 0d

Carried over

£0 19s 7d

Interpretations

The hooks and lines were stocked across a wide range of numbered sizes, the hooks running from number 1 up and the lines through to the heavy number 16. This graded tackle let the island's fishers match hook and line to the fish sought off the coast, the fishery being a settled part of the island's food supply provisioned through the store. The same range had appeared in the previous month, confirming a constant demand for fishing gear.

The locks recorded a steady trade in the means of securing goods and doors. The spring lock, the chest lock and the further locks sold together by a fixed price show the store supplying both fixed and portable security, the chest locks for the boxes in which settlers kept their valuables, a recurring line in the monthly accounts.

136

143

1716

£ s d

Ironmongery Bro[t] Over Bro[t] Over

19 7

1 Box Iron

00 00 8

2 Heaters

00 1 9

00 9 9

6 Ground Hoes at 2/6

00 15 00

3 p[r] Side Hinges

00 3 3

1 Grind Stone

00 10 00

1 Axell Tree & Wench

00 5 10

15 10

3 3 5

Nailes (Viz[t])

2 of 3[d] at 9[d]

00 1 6

6 10 8 1/2

00 4 3

1 flooring brads

00 00 9

12 20 8

00 8 00

3 30 7

00 1 9

16 3

187 12 2 1/2

Goods out of the Kath[arine] Cargoe

Fustians 1 pee N[o] 2

1 3 4

1 3

1 6 8

1 4

1 3 4

1 7

1 8 4

5 11 8

Thicksetts 2 1/2 p[r] 4 at 5 1/2 ea[ch]

6 10 00

Holland Tape 2 pees at d[o] 16

00 2 8

2 12

00 2 00

00 4 8

Crapes 1 1/2 pee N[o] 1 at 66/

4 19 00

1 1/2 2 73/9

5 18 7 1/2

10 17 7 1/2

Lubeck Canvas 3 1/2 pees at 35[d]

00 6 2 6

Shoes (Viz[t])

23 pair of Mens at 6/2

7 1 10

6 p[r] Womens

1 17 00

8 18 10

Stockens (Viz[t])

3 p[r] Mons Worsted at 7/10

1 3 6

3 fine Mons 6 at 5/6

1 9 6

1 Mons Scarlett

00 9 00

2 Womens d[o]

00 15 00

11 fine Clockt Worsted 6/6

3 11 6

3 boys Worsted at 6/9

00 8 3

Carr[d] over

98 5 3 1/2

The account continued, the ironmongery brought over at £0 19s 7d.

1 box iron

£0 0s 8d

2 heaters

£0 0s 9d

6 ground hoes at 2s 6d

£0 15s 0d

3 pairs of side hinges

£0 3s 3d

1 grindstone

£0 0s 10d

1 axletree and winch

£0 5s 10d

[Subtotal] £1 5s 10d

[Subtotal] £3 3s 5d

Nails, as follows.

2 of 3 at 9d

£0 1s 6d

6 of 10 at 8½d

£0 4s 3d

1 flooring brads

£0 0s 9d

12 of 20 at 8d

£0 8s 0d

3 of 30 at 7d

£0 1s 9d

[Subtotal] £0 16s 3d

[Subtotal] £187 12s 2¼d

Goods out of the Catherine's cargo.

Fustians

1 piece of number 2

£1 3s 4d

1 of number 3

£1 6s 8d

1 of number 4

£1 3s 4d

1 of number 7

£1 8s 4d

[Subtotal] £5 11s 8d

Thicksets

2½ pieces of number 4 at 5s 5d each

£6 10s 0d

Holland tape

2 pieces of the same at 16d

£0 2s 8d

2 of the same at 12d

£0 2s 0d

[Subtotal] £0 4s 8d

Crapes

1½ pieces of number 1 at 66s

£4 19s 0d

1½ of number 2 at 73s 9d

£5 18s 7d

[Subtotal] £10 17s 7½d

Lubeck canvas

3½ pieces at 35s 8d

£6 2s 6d

Shoes, as follows.

23 pairs of men's at 6s 2d

£7 1s 10d

6 pairs of women's

£1 17s 0d

[Subtotal] £8 18s 10d

Stockings, as follows.

3 pairs of men's worsted at 7s 10d

£1 3s 6d

3 fine men's blue at 6s 6d

£0 19s 6d

1 men's scarlet

£0 9s 0d

2 women's of the same

£0 15s 0d

11 fine clock worsted at 6s 6d

£3 11s 6d

3 boys' worsted at 2s 9d

£0 8s 3d

Carried over

£27 6s 9d

Carried over

£98 5s 3½d

Interpretations

The two running totals again kept the standing store goods apart from the new consignment, the figure of £187 12s 2¼d closing the existing stock before the goods out of the Catherine's cargo were entered afresh. This division let the council reckon the value drawn from old stock separately from the fresh intake, the same method of parallel columns used in the August account.

The clock worsted stockings recorded a finished quality marked by the clock, the ornamental gore or embroidered panel worked up the side of the ankle. Sold here at 6s 6d the pair among the finer grades, the clocked stockings were a dressier article than the plain worsted, the store again grading its hosiery by quality and by wearer across the fresh consignment.

The axletree and winch entered among the ironmongery marked a fitting for the heavy lifting and hauling of the landing. The winch wound rope to raise or move loads, and the axletree carried a wheel or roller, the kind of gear needed at the crane and the landing rocks where the island's goods came ashore through the surf.

137

144

Nov[r]

£ s d

Brought d[o] 38 5 3 1/2

187 12 2 1/2

Stockins brought Over

7 6 9

2 paw Boys Silk & Wosked at 5/

00 00 10

1 Mons thread

00 00 6

26 Coarse Bleu at 2/2

2 9 10

10 12 7

Hatts

3 Boys N[o] 1 at 6/6

00 19 6

10 Mons 4 13/

6 10 00

2 d[o] 5 20/

2 00 00

9 9 6

Butchers knives 35 at 6[d]

00 17 6

Buttons (Viz[t])

14 doz Coat N[o] A & B at 12[d]

00 00 14

14 1/2 breast d[o] 6

00 7 3

1/2 gross White Shirt Buttons

00 3 00

1 4 3

Needles 75

00 1 1 1/2

Mohair 12 1/4 oz at 20[d]

00 1 5

Combs 9 Ivory at 2/

00 18 0

9 d[o] 1/

00 9 0

00 17 00

Threads (Viz[t])

9 1/2 Colord at 5/

2 7 6

4 1/2 fine Brown at d[o]

1 2 6

4 Brown 4/

00 16 0

4 6

Ribbon 21 1/2 at 12[d]

1 1 3

9 14

00 10 6

8 15

00 10 0

12 18

00 18 0

2 1 9 9

9 14 3 1/2

Starch 145 at 9[d] [?] [?] is

5 8 9

Tobacco 75 at 2/

7 14 00

Tin Ware (Viz[t])

2 two quart Sauce pans at 2/3

00 4 6

4 d[o]

00 3 00

1 d[o]

00 00 9

The account continued, the new goods brought over at £38 5s 3½d, the standing account at £187 12s 2¼d, and the stockings brought over at £7 6s 9d.

2 pairs of boys' silk and worsted at 5s

£0 10s 0d

1 men's thread

£0 6s 0d

26 coarse blue at 2s 2d

£2 9s 0d

[Subtotal] £10 12s 7d

Hats, as follows.

3 boys' of number 1 at 6s 6d

£0 19s 6d

10 men's of number 4 at 13s

£6 10s 0d

2 of number 5 at 20s

£2 0s 0d

[Subtotal] £9 9s 6d

Butcher's knives

35 at 6d

£0 17s 6d

Buttons, as follows.

14 dozen coat of numbers A and B at 12d

£0 14s 0d

14½ breast of the same at 6d

£0 7s 3d

½ gross white shirt buttons

£0 3s 0d

[Subtotal] £1 4s 3d

Needles

75

£0 1s 1½d

Mohair

12¼ ounces at 20d

£1 0s 5d

Combs

9 ivory at 2s

£0 18s 0d

9 of the same at 1s

£0 9s 0d

[Subtotal] £1 7s 0d

Threads, as follows.

9½ coloured at 5s

£2 7s 6d

4½ fine brown at the same

£1 2s 6d

4 brown at 4s

£0 16s 0d

[Subtotal] £4 6s 0d

Ribbon

21½ at 12d

£1 1s 3d

9 at 14d

£0 10s 6d

8 at 15d

£0 10s 0d

12 at 18d

£0 18s 0d

[Subtotal] £2 19s 9d

[Subtotal] £9 14s 3½d

Starch

145 pounds at 9d per pound

£5 8s 9d

Tobacco

75 at 2s

£7 4s 0d

Tin ware, as follows.

2 two-quart sauce pans at 2s 3d

£0 4s 6d

4 of the same

£0 9s 0d

1 of the same

£0 3s [...]

Interpretations

The starch entered in bulk at 145 pounds marked a household good used both in the laundry and in dressing cloth. Starch stiffened linen collars, cuffs and caps in the finishing of dress, and its sale by the pound at 9d shows the store supplying the materials by which the island's better linen was kept in trim, a recurring item in the monthly accounts.

The buttons graded by the letters A and B and by the dozen recorded the same catalogue coding seen earlier, the lettered numbers marking the size or pattern under which the buttons had been shipped. Coat and breast buttons sold separately by the dozen, with white shirt buttons by the gross, show the store stocking the full range of fastenings for the making and mending of clothes.

The hats again ran from cheap boys' hats up to the dearer men's grades at 20s, the bulk taken in the middle grade at 13s. This spread by quality and price, repeated from the August account, shows the store meeting the whole range of demand for headwear from one stock, the plainer hats sold in quantity and the finer few.

138

145

£ s d

Brought Over 8 3 5

187 12 2

Tin Ware bro[t] over

1 Dripping pan

00 11 6

3 pint Coffee potts at 1/9

00 4 4

3 round pudding pans at 1/9

00 3 6

3 d[o] 17

00 3 8[?]

3 d[o] 2 10

00 5 5[?]

2 d[o] 3 4

00 6 8

1 porringer

00 00 9

8 d[o] 7

00 4 8

2 d[o] 5

00 00 10

4 Lamps at 22[d]

00 7 4

1 flat d[o]

00 1 6

8 10

2 15 7

Brasiers Ware (Viz[t])

2 Tea Kettles N[o] 5 at 10/5

1 00 10

2 d[o] 4 11 3

1 2 6

1 3

00 4 2

1 1

00 15 00

2 Stands & Snuffers

00 7 00

3 19 5

Pewterers Ware (Viz[t])

7 Porringers at 1/3

00 8 9

5 1/2 doz Spoons 4/6

1 4 9

3 Basons N[o] 4/5

1 3 3

1 d[o]

00 5 00

6 Plates N[o] 2

00 11 00

3 2 9

Books (Viz[t])

2 Spelling books

00 2 00

1 d[o]

00 1 9

14 Copy books at d[o]

00 10 6

6 Comon prayer books at 3

00 18 00

1 Penknife

00 2 1

1 14 4

Ironmongers Ware Viz[t]

3 felling Axes at 3/4

00 10 00

9 Splinter Locks 9[d] N[o] 1

00 6 9

2 d[o] N[o] 3 18

00 3 00

2 Stock locks 1 28

00 4 8[?]

1 d[o] 2

00 1 00

1 7 11

Carried over

96 5

187 12 2 1/2

The account continued, the new goods brought over at £83 5s 8d, the standing account at £187 12s 2¼d, and the tin ware brought over.

1 dripping pan

£0 1s 6d

3 pint coffee pots at 1s 2d

£0 3s 6d

3 round pudding pans at 22d

£0 5s 6d

2 of the same at 30d

£0 5s 0d

2 of the same at 26d

£0 4s 4d

2 of the same at 40d

£0 6s 8d

1 porringer

£0 0s 9d

8 of the same at 7d

£0 4s 8d

2 of the same at 5d

£0 0s 10d

4 lamps at 22d

£0 7s 4d

1 flat of the same

£0 1s 6d

[Subtotal] £2 15s 7d

Brasier's ware, as follows.

2 tea kettles of number 5 at 10s 5d

£1 0s 10d

2 of the same of number 4 at 11s 3d

£1 2s 6d

1 of number 3

£0 14s 2d

1 of the same

£0 15s 0d

2 stands and snuffers

£0 7s 0d

[Subtotal] £3 19s 5d

Pewter, as follows.

7 porringers at 1s 3d

£0 8s 9d

5½ dozen spoons at 4s 6d

£1 4s 9d

3 basins of number 5 at 4s 5d

£0 13s 3d

1 of the same

£0 5s 0d

6 plates of number 2

£0 11s 0d

[Subtotal] £3 2s 9d

Books, as follows.

2 spelling books

£0 2s 0d

1 of the same

£0 1s 9d

14 copy books at 9d

£0 10s 6d

6 common prayer books at 3s

£0 18s 0d

1 penknife

£0 2s 1d

[Subtotal] £1 14s 4d

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

3 felling axes at 3s 4d

£0 10s 0d

9 splinter locks of number 1 at 9d

£0 6s 9d

9 of number 3 at 8d

£0 3s 8d

2 stock locks of number 1 at 28d

£0 4s 8d

1 of number 2

£0 1s 7d

Carried over

£96 5s 0d

Carried over

£187 12s 2¼d

Interpretations

The metalware again divided into tin ware, brasier's ware and pewter, each the work of a distinct trade and graded by number where size governed the price. The tea kettles and basins of brass and pewter ran in descending order from the larger and dearer to the smaller, the numbered grading matching the standard Company catalogue used throughout the store account, the same practice applied to cloth and to fishing tackle.

The splinter locks recorded a light pattern of lock sold cheaply by number, distinct from the heavier stock locks priced separately on the same page. The splinter lock was a simple thin lock for an inner door or a press, the stock lock a stouter mechanism set in a wooden block for an outer door, the store stocking both grades to suit the doors and chests of the settlement.

139

146

Nov[r]

£ s d

Brought Over

96 5 9

187 12 2 1/2

Hooks 9 oz at 4[d]

00 3 00

Total of y[e] New Goods

96 8 9

284 0 11 1/2

Store Goods deliv[d] for y[e] Use of Union Castle from Aug 25 1716 to y[e] 25 foll[g] Viz[t]

Arrack 66 1/2 Gall[s] at 7/6

24 18 00

Sugar 148 at 8[d]

4 18 9

flour 323 3 1/2

4 14 2 1/2

Bread 71

1 00 8 1/2

Rice 344

5 4 00

Soap 42 17[d]

2 19 6

Vinegar 1 1/2 gal at 2/6

00 3 9

Sweet Oyl 7 1/4 12/

4 7 00

pepper 3

00 3 00

Twine 1

00 2 4

Nealas 1 pees

00 10 5

Dungrees 2 pees at 5/8

00 11 4

Long Cloth 1 d[o]

1 4 9

House Linnen 14 y[d] at 2/3

00 3 4 1/2

Kersey 22 2/2

3 9 4

Bed Cords 6 2/6

00 15 00

Shoes 1 p[r] Isl[d]

00 4 00

Tea 3 at 9

00 1 7

Tobacco pipss 1 dox

00 00 6

Corks 1 gross

00 3 00

Cuttlary Ware Viz[t] 1 Running knife

1 6

6 knives & forks 6 Maple handles & black fork

7 00

2 Thimbles

00 2

00 8 8

Sackcloth 7 pees y[ds] 168 yds at 2/

16 16 00

1 Tin Callender

00 2 6

Ironmongery 3 Steel Traps N[o] 3 at 5/

16 3

5 Chest Locks at 2/9

13 9

3 Till ditto 2/7

7 9

1 Ragg Stone

00 6

1 18 3

The account continued, the new goods brought over at £96 5s 9d and the standing account at £187 12s 2¼d.

Hooks

9 dozen at 4d

£0 3s 0d

Total of the new goods

£96 8s 9d

[Combined total] £284 0s 11¼d

An account followed of store goods delivered for the use of Union Castle, from 25 July 1716 to 25 September 1716.

Arrack

66½ gallons at 7s 6d

£24 18s 0d

Sugar

148 pounds at 8d

£4 18s 9d

Flour

323 pounds at 3½d

£4 14s 2¼d

Bread

71 pounds

£1 0s 8½d

Rice

344 pounds

£5 0s 4d

Soap

42 pounds at 17[...]

£2 19s 6d

Vinegar

1½ gallons at 2s 6d

£0 3s 9d

Sweet oil

7¼ pints at 12[...]

£4 7s 0d

Pepper

3 pounds

£0 3s 0d

Twine

1

£0 2s 4d

Nealas

1 piece

£0 10s 5d

Dungarees

2 pieces at 5s 8d

£0 11s 4d

Long cloth

1 of the same

£0 1s 9d

House linen

1½ yards at 2s 3d

£0 3s 4½d

Kersey

[...] at 2s 2d

£0 9s 4d

Bed cords

6 at 2s 6d

£0 15s 0d

Shoes

1 pair of island

£0 4s 0d

Tea

3 pounds at 9s

£1 7s 0d

Tobacco pipes

1 dozen

£0 0s 6d

Corks

1 gross

£0 3s 0d

Cutlery ware, as follows.

1 running knife

£0 1s 6d

6 knives and forks, 6 maple-handled and 6 black-handled

£0 7s 0d

2 thimbles

£0 0s 2d

[Subtotal] £0 8s 8d

Sackcloth

7 pieces, 168 yards at 2s

£16 16s 0d

1 tin colander

£0 2s 6d

Ironmongery

3 steel traps of number 3 at 5s

£0 16s 3d

5 chest locks at 2s 9d

£0 13s 9d

3 till of the same at 7d

£0 7s 9d

1 rag stone

£0 0s 6d

[Subtotal] £1 18s 3d

Interpretations

The bed cords recorded the corded ropes that strung a bedstead to carry the mattress, supplied to Union Castle for the garrison's bedding. Sold by the piece at 2s 6d, they were a regular item of the soldiers' accommodation, the ropes wearing and needing renewal where bedsteads were in constant use.

The sackcloth at 168 yards formed the single largest item delivered to Union Castle, a coarse strong cloth of hemp or flax used for sacking, baling and rough covering. Issued in seven pieces at 2s the yard, it served the packing and storage of the castle's goods, the bulk reflecting the constant need to bag and protect provisions and stores.

The steel traps recorded the means of catching the vermin that plagued the stores, the same rats noted earlier as having eaten the vellum bindings of the consultation books. Sold by number to a graded size, the traps were issued to the castle as part of the standing effort to protect provisions and records from the island's rats.

140

147

£ s d

Bro[t] over

Nailes (Viz[t])

1 Coopers Rivetts

00 00 11

1/2 Tacks

00 00 10

47 10[d] Clasp at 8 1/2

1 9 9

36 20 Nails 8

1 4 00

23 wet 6 3/4

00 12 11 1/4

1/2 batten brads

00 00 11

3 9 6 1/4

Beef 2 Casks q[?] 1035 at 5 1/2

23 14 4 1/2

103 5 7 1/4

New Goods (Viz[t])

Tin Ware 1 porringer

00 00 9

Starch 25 at 9[d]

00 18 9

Thread 2 Broon d[o] 5/

00 8 0

1 Colourd d[o]

00 5 0

00 13 0

Pewter 12 Spoons

00 4 6

00 4 6

Needles 100

00 1 6

Tobacco 1[?]

00 00 2

Total of New Goods

2 00 2 06[?]

Total for y[e] Months Charges

£ 105 6 1 1/4

Store Goods delivered for the Use of Plantation house from Aug 25 1716 to Sept 25 foll[g] (Viz[t])

Arrack 2 1/2 Gallon at 7/6

00 18 9

Sugar 7

00 4 8

Nails 10 10 Clasp at 8 1/2

00 7 1

6 30 7

00 3 6

1 00 7

Ironmongers Ware Viz[t]

1 Scith & furniture

00 8 8

2 2 8

Total of Old Goods deliverd for Plantation house Use

Inhabit[s]

The account continued, brought over.

Nails, as follows.

1 cooper's rivets

£0 0s 11d

½ tacks

£0 0s 10d

42 of 10 clasp at 8½d

£1 9s 9d

36 of 20 nails at 8d

£1 4s 0d

23 wet at 6¾d

£0 12s 11¼d

½ batten brads

£0 0s 11d

[Subtotal] £3 9s 6¼d

Beef

2 casks weighing 1,035 pounds at 5½d

£23 14s 4½d

[Subtotal] £103 5s 7¼d

New goods, as follows.

Tin ware

1 porringer

£0 0s 9d

Starch

25 pounds at 9d

£0 18s 9d

Thread

2 brown of the same at 4s

£0 8s 0d

1 coloured of the same

£0 5s 0d

[Subtotal] £0 13s 0d

Pewter

12 spoons

£0 4s 6d

Needles

100

£0 1s 6d

Tobacco

1 pound

£0 2s 0d

Total of the new goods

£2 0s 6d

Total for the month's charge

£105 6s 1¼d

An account followed of store goods delivered for the use of the plantation house, from 25 August 1716 to 25 September 1716.

Arrack

2½ gallons at 7s 6d

£0 18s 9d

Sugar

7 pounds

£0 4s 8d

Nails

10 of 10 clasp at 8½d

£0 7s 1d

6 of 30 at 7d

£0 3s 6d

[Subtotal] £1 0s 7d

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

1 scythe and furniture

£0 8s 8d

[Subtotal] £2 2s 8d

Total of old goods delivered for the plantation house use.

To the inhabitants.

Interpretations

The two casks of beef weighing 1,035 pounds formed by far the largest item delivered to Union Castle, charged at over £23. Salted and packed in casks for keeping, the beef was the garrison's principal meat ration, issued in bulk by weight, the island's cattle providing both the soldiers' provision and the fresh beef sold to passing ships.

The scythe and its furniture marked the tools of cutting grass and grain for the plantation. The furniture was the fittings of the scythe, the snath or handle and the rings and wedges that secured the blade, the whole supplied to the plantation house for the mowing of fodder and the harvest, the smallest of the three establishments taking only this single tool and a little arrack and sugar.

The cooper's rivets recorded the small ironwork of the barrel trade, the rivets used in fixing the hoops and fittings of casks. With so much of the store's beef, peas and beef packed and kept in casks, the means of making and mending them were a standing need, the rivets issued among the nails for the cooperage on which the storage of provisions depended.

141

148

Nov[r]

£ s d

Inhabitants Old Goods

187 12 2 1/2

New Goods

96 8 9

Union Castle Old Goods

103 5 7 1/2

New Goods

2 00 6

Plantation Old Goods

2 2 8

Total of Goods Sold & deliverd this Month

391 9 9 1/4

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey[?] Edward Byfeld

The month's reckoning was then drawn together.

Inhabitants, old goods

£187 12s 2¼d

New goods

£96 8s 9d

Union Castle, old goods

£103 5s 7½d

New goods

£2 0s 6d

Plantation, old goods

£2 2s 8d

Total of goods sold and delivered this month

£391 9s 9¾d

The account was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

The closing reckoning brought the three heads of issue together for the month to 25 September 1716, splitting each between old store goods and the new consignment from the Catherine. The grand total of £391 9s 9¾d measured all goods moved out of the stores, the inhabitants taking much the largest share against the smaller internal issues to Union Castle and the plantation, the same form used for the previous month's account.

The signatures of Pyke, Bazett's fellow councillors Tovey and Byfield closed the account as a formal act of the bench. The governor, the secretary and fourth in council and the fifth in council set their hands to certify the storekeeper's monthly reckoning, the joint attestation giving the figures the standing of an audited record before they passed into the consultation book.

142

149

At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 13[th] day of November 1716. at Union Castle in James Vally

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Matthew Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5[o] in Council

Present

Cap[t] Geo Haswells Dep[t] Absent being in the Country

The Last Consultation Read & ap- proved of

The following petit[s] were Exicuted

To the Worsh[l] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] &c Council

The Humble Petit[r] of the Exec[rs] of Cha[s] Steward Plant[r] dec[d]

Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] have omitted in y[e] Inventory of Cha[s] Stewards Estate given into yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council y[e] Item of Thirty five poounds Legaced by Cha[s] Steward to his Son Francis w[ch] is to be seperally Accounted for to him besides his dividend Wherefore humbly prays y[e] Sum may be Annexed to y[e] affore mentiond Inventory as charged to the Estate And yo[r] petit[r] as in duty bound

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

[?] St[r] Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 13 November 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke, governor, Matthew Bazett, third, Antipas Tovey, fourth, and Edward Byfield, fifth in council. Captain George Haswell, deputy governor, was absent, being in the country.

The previous consultation was read and approved.

The following petition was presented, addressed to Isaac Pyke, governor, and the council.

The petition was that of the executors of Charles Steward's plantation. They set out that in the inventory of Charles Steward's estate given in to the council, they had omitted an item of £35 0s 0d, left as a legacy by Charles Steward to his son Francis. This sum was to be separately accounted for to Francis, besides his share of the estate. The executors therefore asked that the sum be added to the inventory as a charge on the estate. They subscribed the petition as in duty bound.

Interpretations

The petition corrected an omission in a probate inventory by adding a legacy left to the testator's son. The £35 0s 0d bequeathed to Francis Steward had been left out of the account given in to the council, and the executors moved to enter it as a charge on the estate, the inventory being the formal valuation against which debts and legacies were settled under the council's administration of the property of the dead.

The legacy was to be separately accounted to Francis besides his share of the estate, marking it as a distinct bequest over and above his portion as a child. This distinction between a named legacy and a child's general share shows the council holding the executors to the precise terms of the will, the omitted sum needing formal entry before the estate could be properly divided. The Charles Steward estate had earlier been valued in the whole at about £1,200 0s 0d in the executor dispute settled with Captain Haswell, who held about a third in right of his wife.

143

150

Nov[r]

bound) shall ever pray &c Richard Gurling Nov[r] 13[th] 1716 (Sig[h]d) Gabriel Powell

Granted But the Secretary is Order[d] to acquaint Cap[t] Haswell herewith he being concern[d] therein

To y[e] Worsh[l] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council

The most humb[l] Petit[n] of Thomas Leech Planter

Humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petition[r] Stood indebted in y[e] Stores to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] at March last y[e] Sume of twelve thirteen pounds & his Black having been kept at work for the Hon[ble] Comp[a] almost ever Since, but yo[r] Petit[r] finding no Work of his given into y[e] Store most humbly prays that y[e] Same may be put into yo[r] petit[rs] Acc[t] yo[r] Worsh[l] &c Council deducting for his Blacks Dyett & Cloathing what Shall in yo[r] Wisdom Seem fitt And yo[r] petit[r] as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c

Tho[s] T Leech Mark

Nov[r] 13 1716

Ordered

Margin Notes:

[?] St[r] Helena

The petition was dated 13 November 1716 and signed by Richard Gurling and Gabriel Powell.

The council granted it, but ordered the secretary to acquaint Captain Haswell with it, he being concerned in the matter.

A further petition was presented, addressed to Isaac Pyke, governor, and the council. It was the most humble petition of Thomas Leech, planter.

Leech set out that he stood indebted to the Honourable Company at the stores, the previous March, in the sum of £13 0s 0d. His slave had been kept at work for the Honourable Company almost ever since, but the petitioner could find no record of the work given in to the store. He therefore asked that the sum be put into his account, the council deducting for his slave's diet and clothing whatever it thought fit. The petition was dated 13 November 1716 and signed by Thomas Leech with his mark.

The council made its order.

Interpretations

The order to acquaint Haswell with the granted petition followed the council's practice of notice to an interested party. As the husband of Charles Steward's widow, Haswell held an interest in the estate now charged with the added legacy, so the secretary was directed to inform him, the council allowing the correction but ensuring that the party affected by it was told.

Leech's petition sought credit for his slave's labour against his own debt to the Company. The slave had worked for the Company without the labour being entered to Leech's account, so he asked that its value be set against his £13 0s 0d debt, less the cost of the slave's keep, the hire of a private slave to the Company being the means by which a planter could work off what he owed at the store. This was the same Thomas Leech whose widow had married Ralph Orme, the husband taking up the Company leasehold through the marriage.

The deduction for diet and clothing marked the standing terms on which a hired slave's labour was reckoned. The owner was credited with the work but charged for the food and clothes the Company found while the slave was in its service, the net sum being what fell to the owner's account, the council left to fix the allowance as it saw fit.

144

151

Ordered That the Said consideration of the petition be referrd to Cap[t] Bazett and the Secretary

Cap[t] Bazett Sayes he is of Opinion that the improving the Peak Plantation by planting there more Suckers will be for the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Interest that the Suckers at Tomstone Wood will be very Convenient to remove theither as being the Nearest Plantation of the Hon[ble] Companys

Ordered That M[r] Worrall do plant all the Suckers that are Dugg out at Tomstone Wood at the Peak and take Cap[t] Bazetts Directions therein

Ordered That it be a Standing Rule that hence forward when any Matter is referrd to any of the Council, the Secretary give Each one on that day a Copy thereof

M[r] Byfeld brought in his Monthly Acc[o] of Dyett Expence amounting to Seventy Six pounds three farthings

The Gunner brought in his Monthly Acc[t] of Expence as followeth

An Acc[o] of Gunnes Stores Expended from the first of Octob[r] 1716 to the 31 D[o] Inclusive

£ s d

To the Worship[l] the Gov[r]

1

To Cap[t] Haswell

1

To the Guard

6

Carried Over

8

The council ordered that the petition be referred to the consideration of Captain Bazett and the secretary.

Captain Bazett gave his opinion that improving the Peak plantation by planting more suckers there would be in the Honourable Company's interest, since the suckers at Tombstone Wood would be very convenient to remove there, as being the nearest of the Honourable Company's plantations.

The council ordered that Mr Worrall plant all the suckers dug out at Tombstone Wood at the Peak, and take Captain Bazett's directions in the matter.

The council further ordered that it be a standing rule that from then on, whenever any matter was referred to any of the council, the secretary give each member a copy of it on that day.

Mr Byfield brought in his monthly account of diet expense, amounting to £76 0s 0¾d.

The gunner brought in his monthly account of expense, as follows.

An account of the gunner's stores expended from 1 October 1716 to 31 October inclusive.

To the governor

1

To Captain Haswell

1

To the guard

6

Carried over

8

Interpretations

The decision to move the Tombstone Wood suckers to the Peak rested on the Peak being the nearest of the Company's plantations. Transplanting the yam shoots to the closest ground saved labour in carrying them, the council choosing to extend the Peak plantation rather than leave the suckers where the mature crop had been dug, the same propagation by transplanting that kept the Company's provision grounds in continuous yield.

The new standing rule on copies followed directly from the Steward and Leech references. By ordering the secretary to give each councillor a copy of any matter referred to him on the day it was referred, the council fixed a procedure so that every member held the papers he needed to consider, a small administrative reform arising from the day's business and set down as a permanent rule.

The gunner's monthly account again recorded the issue of warlike stores against the standing defence of the island, the larger share going to the guard. This regular reckoning of powder, shot, flints and the like let the council track the consumption of military supplies month by month, the gunner holding charge of the ordnance and rendering his account alongside the storekeeper's.

145

152

Novemb[r]

£ s d

Bro[t] over

Musketts broke firing on y[e] Guard

1

Rammer Rodds D[o] y[e] Armorer

24

Flints for the Guard

24

Handspikes broke at y[e] Crane

3

Pikes

1

Match

24

24 1 3 24 24 1 8

The Gunner Complains that there often happens bad accidents by Gun powder being in the hands of Boys and Unexperiencd people and that lately One Giles Smith by fireing a Musquet at the Bonefires on the fifth of November which was too Deeply Charg'd the peice broke and has Shatterd his hand all to Peices, Therefore he desires that Such an Order may be made as was here in Govern[r] Roberts time Viz[t] That whoever have any Powder by them which they procure out of Ships they may bring it and Shew it to him that he may take an Acc[o] where they had it, or Else that they be lookt upon as if they Stole, for formerly Gun powder has been Stole out of the Guns which may be of very bad Circumstances And he dont know how they can Honestly come by Such quantitys of Powder now

Ordered That there be an Advertizement

The account continued, brought over.

Muskets broke firing on the guard

1

Rammer rods of the armourer

24

Flints for the guard

24

Hand spikes broke at the crane

3

Pikes

1

Match

24

The totals stood at 24, 1, 3, 24, 24, 1 and 8.

The gunner complained that bad accidents often happened through gunpowder being in the hands of boys and inexperienced people. Lately one Giles Smith, by firing a musket at the bonfires on 5 November which was too deeply charged, had had the piece burst and shatter his hand all to pieces. He therefore asked that an order be made, as there had been in the time of Governor Roberts.

He proposed that whoever had any powder by them which they had got out of ships should bring it and show it to him, so that he might take an account of where they had got it. Otherwise they should be looked upon as if they had stolen it. Gunpowder had formerly been stolen out of the guns, which might be of very bad consequence, and he did not know how people could honestly come by such quantities of powder as they now had.

The council ordered that there be an advertisement.

Interpretations

The gunner's proposal sought to bring private stocks of gunpowder under his control by requiring their origin to be declared. By making each holder show his powder and account for how he came by it, on pain of being treated as a thief, the order aimed to close the channel by which powder was taken from ships or stolen from the guns, the gunner holding charge of the island's ordnance and answerable for its safe keeping.

The accident to Giles Smith on 5 November gave the immediate occasion for the order. A musket overcharged at the bonfires had burst and maimed his hand, the danger of powder in untrained hands prompting the gunner to revive a control that had existed under the earlier government of Governor Roberts, the bench moving to regulate by advertisement.

The bonfires of 5 November marked the keeping of Gunpowder Treason Day, the annual commemoration of the failure of the 1605 plot against the king and parliament. The firing of muskets at the bonfires was part of the customary observance, the island following the English calendar of public anniversaries, the very celebration here turning hazardous through an overcharged piece.

146

153

Advertizement Published to the same Purpose

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

At a Consultation held on Thursday the 15 day of Novemb[r] 1716. at Union Castle

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Antip[s] Tovey 4[o] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5 in Cou[l]

Pres[t]

Cap[t] Geo Haswell Dep[t] Absent in the Country

Peter and Moll two Blacks belong- ing to Serjant Slaughter having been Run away for Some time, Cap[t] Haswell Complaind by Letter to the Govern[r] that they had robbed him &c

Ordered That they have Forty Lashes apeice which is less by Seventeen then the Law made by the Inhabitants, and the reason of abateing them of

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

An advertisement was published to the same purpose. The order was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

At a consultation held on Thursday 15 November 1716 at Union Castle.

Present were Isaac Pyke, governor, Matthew Bazett, third, Antipas Tovey, fourth, and Edward Byfield, fifth in council. Captain George Haswell, deputy governor, was absent, being in the country.

Peter and Moll, two slaves belonging to Sergeant Slaughter, had been run away for some time. Captain Haswell complained by letter to the governor that they had robbed him.

The council ordered that they have 40 lashes apiece, which was seventeen less than the law made by the inhabitants, the reason for abating them [...].

Interpretations

The sentence of 40 lashes was set expressly below the penalty fixed by the inhabitants' own law, the council reducing the standard punishment by seventeen lashes for a reason the record goes on to give. This deliberate abatement shows the bench exercising a discretion to soften a penalty laid down by local enactment, the noted shortfall marking the reduction as a conscious departure from the general rule.

The law made by the inhabitants marked a body of local penal regulation enacted at the island beyond the Company's general letter. The fixing of a set number of lashes for the offence of running away and robbery shows the settler community legislating its own scale of punishments for slaves, the council applying that local law while reserving the power to mitigate it. Sergeant Slaughter had earlier given the deposition on which the soldier Francis Cullum was degraded for mutinous words at the consultation of 25 August 1715.

The complaint by letter from Haswell, absent in the country, shows the deputy governor pursuing the matter in writing while away from the castle. The bench acted on his written information to sentence the two runaway slaves, the robbery of an absent councillor being brought before the council and punished though the complainant could not attend in person.

147

154

Novemb[r]

of that Punnishment is because that no Witnesses Appeared against them

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 20[th] day of Nov[r] 1716. at Union Castle in James Vally

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[o] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5 in Coun[l]

Present

The last Consultations Read & approved

Cap[t] Bazett & M[r] Tovey Report y[t] they have Examined Tho[s] Leechs Acc[t]

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

The reason for that punishment was that no witnesses appeared against them.

The order was signed by Isaac Pyke, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 20 November 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke, governor, George Haswell, deputy governor, Matthew Bazett, third, Antipas Tovey, fourth, and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The previous consultations were read and approved.

Captain Bazett and Mr Tovey reported that they had examined Thomas Leech's account.

Interpretations

The reduction of the lashes rested on the want of witnesses against the two runaway slaves. With no evidence brought to prove the robbery, the bench abated the standard penalty by seventeen lashes, the absence of formal proof tempering a sentence that the inhabitants' law would otherwise have fixed higher, the council marking the shortfall as grounded in the weakness of the case.

The report by Bazett and Tovey returned the Leech petition referred to them at the consultation of 13 November 1716. The two councillors had examined Thomas Leech's account, the matter of crediting his slave's labour against his £13 0s 0d debt now coming back to the full bench for decision, the reference and report being the council's regular method of settling a disputed account.

148

155

Acc[t] & find him Debt[r] to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] 13 5 1 1/2 last M[ch] & that his black has workt Since 12 8 days y[e] last Quarters reckning So y[t] he will have more then workt Out his Debt by Christmas next

Ordered That Tho[s] Leech be charged 3 shillings [?] week all that while he had Diet of the Hon[ble] Comp[a] & that he pay 20 Mill at 3 for his blacks Cloaths

M[r] Ric[h] Gurling & Sarah the Wife of Serj[t] Southen applied according to Sumons upon the Compl[t] of y[e] Serj[t] Southen for that they detain Some Cattle that belonged to Orlando[?] Bagley dec[d] her Son it being given to him by his God father which Serj[t] Southen claims in right of his Wife as belonging to himself

We are of Opinion that Serj[t] Southen is heir to his deceaced Son in right of his Wife & that therefore the Cattle do belong to him

The Gov[r] Reports that the Ships having Stayed so long this Season he believes when they do come her they'l Stay but little time therefore he has finished the Answer to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Gen[l] Letter by the Kathn[?]

They found Leech a debtor to the Honourable Company of £13 5s 1½d the previous March. His slave had worked 128 days since then, and by the last quarter's reckoning he would have more than worked out his debt by the next Christmas.

The council ordered that Thomas Leech be charged 3s a week for all that time, during which his slave had his diet from the Honourable Company, and that he pay 20 shillings for his slave's clothes.

Mr Richard Gurling and Sarah, the wife of Sergeant Southen, appeared on summons upon the complaint of Sergeant Southen. They detained some cattle that had belonged to Bagley, deceased, her son. The cattle had been given to him by his godfather, and Sergeant Southen claimed them in right of his wife as belonging to himself.

The council gave its opinion that Sergeant Southen was heir to his deceased son in right of his wife, and that the cattle therefore belonged to him.

The governor reported that the ships having stayed so long this present season, he believed that when they did come they would stay but a short time. He had therefore finished the answer to the Honourable Company's general letter brought by the Catherine.

Interpretations

The settlement of Leech's account turned the value of his slave's labour against his debt while charging him for the slave's keep. His slave had worked 128 days for the Company, set to clear his £13 5s 1½d debt by Christmas, but the council deducted 3s a week for the diet found by the Company and 20 shillings for clothing, the net of labour against keep being the standing basis on which a hired slave's service was reckoned to the owner.

The cattle dispute was decided by the law of inheritance through the mother. The beasts had been given to Sarah's son Bagley by his godfather, and on the son's death they passed to Sergeant Southen as heir in right of his wife, the council ruling that the husband took what descended to his wife from her dead child. Southen and Walter Morris had earlier petitioned together over slaves that had stolen a hog at the consultation of 15 November 1715.

The governor's haste in finishing the answer to the general letter reflected the uncertainty of the shipping season. With the ships delayed and expected to stay only briefly once they arrived, he prepared the council's reply to the directors in advance, so that the homeward dispatch would be ready to go the moment a vessel could carry it, the general letter being the council's principal channel to the Company in London.

149

156

Nov[r]

& desires all the Council to Read it over & give their Opinions of it Likewise to give Such Answer as is necessary to those paragraphs as belong to themselves w[ch] are Unanswerd therein particularly y[e] 31 & 37 par[s] left for Cap[t] Bazett & y[e] 52 53 54 & 57 par[s] left for Cap[t] Has- well to Answer & when these 6 par[s] are Answerd the Letter will be ready to Copy out fair

The Gov[r] Sent for Jos Thomlinson to appear before the Council First demanding of Cap[t] Bazett why after y[e] s[d] Joseph Thomlinson had broke Up the Store house & Stole goods He (Cap[t] Bazett) should make Up y[e] Business privatly & never acquaint him of it, but Sufferd s[d] Joseph Thomlinson after that to lye in the Store house Cap[t] Bazett Says that he did miss Some things & the boy Ric[h] Dixon told him y[t] Jos Thomlinson had Some thing about his bed that he should not have & looking through y[e] hole of the door they Saw Some bleu Druggett Whereupon Searching his room they did find a Remnant of Bleu Druggett & a peice of Callicoe & Some other things of Small Value as Soap &c & Cap[t] Bazett Says he did threaten him to tell y[e] Gov[r] but Tomlinson Beggd him not to tell Saying he

The governor desired all the council to read the letter over and give their opinions of it, and likewise to give such answer as was necessary to those paragraphs that belonged to themselves and were still unanswered. In particular, the 31st and 37th paragraphs were left for Captain Bazett, and the 52nd, 53rd, 54th and 57th paragraphs were left for Captain Haswell to answer. When these six paragraphs were answered, the letter would be ready to copy out fair.

The governor sent for Joseph Thomlinson to appear before the council. He first demanded of Captain Bazett why, after Joseph Thomlinson had broken open the storehouse and stolen goods, Bazett should make up the business privately and never acquaint him of it, but instead suffer Thomlinson to go on in the storehouse afterwards.

Captain Bazett stated that he had missed some things, and the boy Richard Dixon had told him that Joseph Thomlinson had something about his bed that he should not have. Looking through the hole of the door, they had seen some blue drugget. On searching his room they had found a remnant of blue drugget, some pieces of calico and other things of small value, such as soap. Captain Bazett stated that he had threatened to tell the governor, but Thomlinson had begged him not to tell, saying [...].

Interpretations

The division of the general letter assigned particular paragraphs to the councillors whose offices they touched. The numbered paragraphs of the directors' letter each addressed a branch of the island's affairs, and Bazett as storekeeper and Haswell as deputy governor were each given the paragraphs falling within their charge to answer, the council preparing a collective reply by sharing out the work before the fair copy was made.

The governor's demand exposed a charge that Bazett had concealed a theft from the stores. By settling the matter privately and keeping Thomlinson in the storehouse rather than reporting him, Bazett had covered an offence against the Company's goods, the governor treating the concealment as itself a fault, since the storekeeper was answerable for the security of the stores under his charge. This was the same Joseph Thomlinson fined £10 0s 0d for the error in the accounts sent home, and earlier sued in trover by Martin Norman over his cattle.

The detection through a chink in the door and the testimony of the boy Dixon shows how a theft from the stores was uncovered. The missing goods, the servant's tip and the sight of the stolen drugget through the door led to the search of Thomlinson's room, the recovered remnant of blue drugget and calico being the evidence of the theft, the very cloths that formed the staple of the store's trade.

150

157

he intended to charge himself Debtor for it therefore he toke the things again & putt them in the Stores but tho[?] he did not tell y[e] Gov[r] of it he Sayes he has been very carefull never to trust Joseph Thomlinson Since in Serving Out Goods or Assisting at y[e] Serving Out any Joseph Thomlinson being asked why he Robbed y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] Stores He Sayes he did not Steal any thing & desired y[e] Gov[r] to Read a paper y[t] he then deliverd in which containd as he Sayed his Answer & defence and tis as followeth (Viz[t])

The Answer of Joseph Thomlinson Yo[r] Defendant is much Surprized & troubled to have such a Severe construction putt upon an Action of so small a nature done with an Innocent & honest design past and over now fifteen months agoe & which was y[e] so well known to those whom it princip[l]y concern'd the Accopt[?] Gov[r] & Store keeper y[t] if it had really been an ill thing they would then have taken proper notice of it

I presume to call the Action it Self Inno- cent being no other then what most if not all persons that were ever concerned in y[e] Store

Thomlinson had said he intended to charge himself as debtor for the goods, and had therefore taken the things again and put them in the stores. Captain Bazett stated that although he had not told the governor of it, he had since been very careful never to trust Joseph Thomlinson in serving out goods or assisting at the serving out of any.

Joseph Thomlinson, being asked why he had robbed the Honourable Company's stores, said that he had not stolen anything. He asked the governor to read a paper that he then delivered in, which he said contained his answer and defence, and which was as follows.

In his answer, Thomlinson stated that he was much surprised and troubled to have so severe a construction put upon an action of so small a nature, done with an innocent and honest intent, now past and over fifteen months ago. The matter had been well known to those whom it chiefly concerned, the accountant general and the storekeeper, who, if it had really been an ill thing, would have taken proper notice of it at the time.

He presumed to call the action itself innocent, being no other than what most, if not all, persons ever concerned in the stores [...].

Interpretations

Thomlinson's defence rested on his having charged himself with the value of the goods and returned them, recasting the taking as a debt rather than a theft. By offering to enter the goods to his own account and putting them back, he sought to treat the matter as an irregular drawing from the stores to be settled in the books, the line between borrowing against one's account and stealing being precisely what the case turned on.

His further plea relied on the passage of time and the silence of those concerned. He argued that the matter, fifteen months old and known at the time to the storekeeper and the accountant general, would have been pursued then had it been a real offence, the want of action at the time being offered as proof that no wrong was meant, the same fifteen-month interval covering the conduct now revived before the bench.

The reference to the accountant general marked a Company office charged with the oversight of the island's accounts above the storekeeper. Thomlinson's claim that both this officer and the storekeeper had known and let the matter pass shows the layered structure of accounting control at the island, the accountant general standing as a check on the keeping of the stores.

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(and I hope it will not be denyed but Some Honest Gentlemen have been con- cerned there) have frequently & almost dayly done Actions of the same Nature without ever being y[e] worse thought of or without doing any damage or fraud to Our Hon[ble] Masters

It has been a comon practice to lay aside Some perticular thing for their own Use or for a friend, forbearing to charge it till they had occasion to make Use of it

My Case is as followes (Viz[t]) I had y[e] misfortune to be in y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Debt & had instant occasion for a pair of Breeches & a few other Small necessarys & Knowing how strict an injunction y[e] Store keeper had received against Crediting persons in Debt as I belong to y[e] Store I went to a Small remnant of Druggett in y[e] common Outward room w[ch] I thought would Serve for that Use, the day book was putt away by y[e] Storekeeper y[t] I could not then charge it but designing to charge that & y[e] other odd things of Small Value y[e] first Oppor- tunity thinking the[?] y[e] Storekeeper might find Some fault (to w[ch] I would plead Abso- lute necessity in Excuse) Yet would not alter y[e] book & redemand So Small a matter in y[e] mean while layd y[m] aside in my room which is part of y[e] Store house as I had no Suspicion y[t] my innocent design would be ill

Joseph Thomlinson continued his written defence, claiming that several honest gentlemen had been involved in the stores and had often, almost daily, done the same kind of thing without ever being thought the worse for it or doing any damage or fraud to the Honourable Masters.

He said it had been a common practice to set aside some particular item for personal use or for a friend, and to hold off charging it until the moment came to use it.

He then set out his own account. He had had the misfortune to owe a debt to the Honourable Company and had an immediate need of a pair of breeches and a few other small necessaries. He knew how strict an order the storekeeper had received against giving credit to anyone in debt, and he himself belonged to the store. He went to a small remnant of drugget in the common outward room which he thought would serve for that purpose. The storekeeper had already put the day book away, so he could not enter the charge at the time. He intended to charge it, along with the other small items, at the first opportunity, reasoning that if the storekeeper raised any objection he would plead his absolute necessity as his excuse. He did not wish to disturb the book and demand it again over so small a matter, so he laid the things aside in his room in the meantime, that room being part of the storehouse, having no suspicion that his innocent intention would be [...]

Interpretations

This passage is the verbatim written defence Joseph Thomlinson handed in at the consultation of 20 November 1716, when the Governor charged him with breaking open the storehouse and stealing goods about fifteen months earlier. The first-person plea recovered here is the document Captain Bazett's account had described, in which Thomlinson reduced the theft to an innocent action of small nature long since known to the storekeeper and the accountant general.

Drugget was a coarse woven cloth of wool, or of wool mixed with linen, used for cheap garments and household coverings. Its presence loose in the common outward room of the store, rather than under lock, explains how Thomlinson could represent his taking of a remnant as casual borrowing rather than burglary.

The defence turns on the credit rule that governed the whole establishment. The storekeeper Captain Bazett held a standing order against trusting any person already in debt to the Company, the same prohibition that had shaped Pyke's trusting reforms of 21 December 1714. Thomlinson, himself a writer in the store and a debtor, could not be given credit for the cloth, so the absence of an entry in the day book is the very fact that made his possession of it look like theft. His argument inverts that absence, presenting the missing charge as an honest intention deferred rather than a fraud concealed.

Speculations

The plea is built to recast a charge of burglary as a venial bookkeeping irregularity, and its structure suggests a deliberate legal strategy rather than a simple denial. By insisting that taking goods on personal account before entering the charge was a common and tolerated practice among the store staff, Thomlinson sought to spread the responsibility across the whole establishment and to deny the bench any single culprit. The appeal to absolute necessity for a pair of breeches was framed as a ready-made excuse he had prepared in advance, which undercuts the claim of pure innocence and points to a man arguing for mitigation while formally pleading not guilty.

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ill censured I laid them down even where they might be seen thr[o] y[e] hole of y[e] door did not convey 'em away from y[e] Store room nor clandestinly hide them, where they might not be seen tho I have known honest people belonging to y[e] Store Lock up considerable quantitys of Goods from time to time in their Own Chests, in their Own rooms without charging them presently to Acc[t] Cap[t] Bazett y[e] Storekeeper Saw those things before I had chargd 'em & would not allow me to be Credited for them & so I resignd 'em again without making Use of them, the Worsh[l] y[e] Gov[r] knows how bare I was in Cloths for he took notice to my Br[o] Thomlinson of it, who finding then I could have no Credit in y[e] Store bought me a Sute out of y[e] next ship

Now not being willing to give yo[r] Worsh[l] & Coun[l] unnessessary trouble (tho reserving to my Self the further pleading in my own defence if there Shall be thought occasion) I hope I may com- fortably rely upon y[e] Justice of y[e] Worsh[l] y[e] Gov[r] & Council to clear me of this Aspersion who am known to have Servd y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] faith- fully & diligently almost Nine Years

Thomlinson said he had no suspicion his innocent intention would be wrongly censured, since he had laid the goods down where they could be seen through the hole of the door. He had not carried them away from the store room or hidden them secretly where they might escape notice. He added that he had known honest people belonging to the store lock up considerable quantities of goods from time to time in their own chests and their own rooms without charging them to account straight away.

He explained that Captain Bazett the storekeeper had seen the goods before he had charged them and would not allow him to be given credit for them, so he gave them up again without making any use of them. The Governor knew how short of clothes he had been, for he had mentioned it to his brother Thomlinson, who, seeing he could get no credit at the store, had bought him a suit out of the next ship.

He concluded that, not wishing to give the Governor and council unnecessary trouble, and reserving to himself the right to plead further in his own defence if there should be thought occasion, he hoped he might rely with confidence on the justice of the Governor and council to clear him of this charge, being known to have served the Honourable Company faithfully and diligently for almost nine years.

Interpretations

This passage completes the written defence Joseph Thomlinson handed in at the consultation of 20 November 1716, on the charge that he had broken open the storehouse and stolen goods about fifteen months earlier. The whole plea rested on recasting a burglary as an open and innocent act, and the closing portion supplies its central evidential point: that he left the cloth visible through the door rather than concealing it.

The argument distinguishes theft from deferred bookkeeping by reference to where the goods were kept. Concealment was the mark of dishonest intent, so Thomlinson's insistence that the remnant lay in plain sight, neither removed from the store room nor hidden, was directed at the one element that turned an unentered charge into a felony. His claim that other store staff routinely locked goods in their own chests before charging them was meant to show that the practice itself was tolerated.

His brother's purchase of a suit out of the next ship operated as independent proof of genuine need. Because the storekeeper Captain Bazett would give no credit to a debtor of the Company, Thomlinson had no lawful way to clothe himself through the store, and the brother's intervention was offered as evidence that the want of breeches was real and not a pretext for theft.

Speculations

The plea closes by converting a defence into an appeal to the bench's discretion, and the move is calculated rather than merely deferential. By formally reserving the right to plead further while professing a wish to spare the council trouble, Thomlinson kept a second line of argument open without committing to it, leaving room to escalate if the bench seemed unpersuaded. His final reliance on nine years of faithful service shifts the ground from the facts of the cloth to his standing as a long-serving servant, an implicit request that character outweigh the single incident.

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Nov[r]

When We had read over Joseph Thom- linsons defence as containd in the fore- going paper the Gov[r] asked him how he come to know that he should be called to account for this Fact, For if he had not known that he could not have wrote such a long preamble He Sayed he had been informd So But desired to be excused telling by whom, Upon the whole he insisted upon his Innocency & denyed being Guilty of any fault Wherefore he was comitted for a breach of trust

Cap[t] Haswell Sayes he wonders that Joseph Thomlinson should say that he know of this, for he Assures the Govern[r] that he knew nothing of it, if he had He would have told the Governour

The Gov[r] Sayes he thinks no body should lye in any part of y[e] Store house especially such a fellow as this

Cap[t] Bazett then Told y[e] Gov[r] that One Kendrix Snow had Stolen a pair of Soldiers breeches Out of y[e] Store house & offerd to Sell them for a bottle of Arrack Upon which The Gov[r] Sent a Warrant to fetch him

The Parson & One Rich[d] Swallow Carpenter profferd to be bound for Joseph Thomlinsons apparance to Answer to his Accusation the Gov[r] Sayed he thought Jos Thomlinson ought not to make Such Nice distinctions as

After the council had read over Joseph Thomlinson's defence in the paper set out above, the Governor asked him how he had come to know that he would be called to account for this matter. The Governor observed that if he had not known he could not have written such a long preamble. Thomlinson answered that he had been informed of it, but asked to be excused from saying by whom. He insisted throughout on his innocence and denied being guilty of any fault, and he was committed for a breach of trust.

Captain Haswell said he was surprised Joseph Thomlinson should claim he knew nothing of this, for he assured the Governor that he himself knew nothing of it, and had he known he would have told the Governor.

The Governor said he thought no one should lie in any part of the storehouse, particularly a man such as this.

Captain Bazett then told the Governor that Renatus Snow had stolen a pair of soldier's breeches out of the storehouse and had offered to sell them for a bottle of arrack. The Governor sent a warrant to fetch him.

The chaplain and Richard Swallow the carpenter offered to stand surety for Joseph Thomlinson's appearance to answer the charge against him. The Governor said he thought Joseph Thomlinson ought not to make such fine distinctions as [...]

Interpretations

This passage records the bench's disposal of Joseph Thomlinson's plea at the consultation of 20 November 1716, immediately after the written defence rewritten in the two preceding entries. The charge was that he had broken open the storehouse and stolen goods about fifteen months earlier, settled privately by Captain Bazett at the time without report to the Governor.

The Governor's question about the preamble was a forensic trap rather than idle curiosity. By drawing out that Thomlinson had written a long anticipatory defence, the Governor established that he had advance warning of the charge, which implied a prepared and self-serving account rather than the candid response of an innocent man. Thomlinson's refusal to name his informant left that inference standing against him, and the committal for breach of trust followed at once.

Breach of trust was the operative charge because Thomlinson was a writer in the store and not an outsider. A servant who took goods he was employed to safeguard committed an offence distinct from ordinary theft, turning on the abuse of his position, which is why the bench framed the matter as trust rather than as the burglary the Governor's words had suggested.

The case opened a parallel matter against Renatus Snow, the soldier and tailor whose assault on Antipas Tovey had been before the bench on 14 January 1715/16 and whose wife Mary Snow had been carried off the island by Captain John Martin in the Queen, complained of on 28 August 1716. His theft of soldier's breeches from the store, offered for sale for a bottle of arrack, drew an immediate warrant, the small price showing the goods were being turned straight into drink.

Speculations

The offer of the chaplain Joshua Thomlinson and Richard Swallow to stand surety was a move to keep Joseph Thomlinson at liberty pending trial, and the Governor's resistance suggests he read it as an attempt to soften the gravity of the charge. The chaplain's willingness to be bound is notable given that his own conduct as a hard creditor had been censured at the Court of Judicature of 17 September 1716, and his intervention here may have been intended as much to assert the standing of the church party as to assist the accused. The Governor's objection to fine distinctions points to his refusal to let the case be reduced to the technical innocence Thomlinson's plea had constructed.

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as to own y[e] Fact & deny y[e] Fault but if he had a mind to try it he should

The Gov[r] Sayes this shews what need We have of a good Store house, the Old One being built of boards only [?] 'twas easy to brake in any were But this Fact was done before the Governour repaird y[e] Old house & now things are much Safer

Renatus Snow appeard before the Gov[r] & Council And

Geo Lendon Sayeth that on Saturday last Renatus Snow profferd him a New pair of Soldiers bleu breeches to Sell for a bottle of Arrack & he toke y[e] breeches & went to Cap[t] Bazett to ask him if they were Snows by w[ch] his Stealing them was discoverd & Geo Lendon further Sayes that he saw on the same day & some time after the other a New Coat lying under Fergusons bed & enquiring to whom it belonged he discoverd it to be brought there by y[e] Said Snow who had Alsoe Stolen y[e] Coat out of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Stores (Sig[h]d) George Lendon

Jurat Coe Vicessimo Secundo die Novembris 1716. Coram Me J Pykee

Renatus Snow (this Examinant) being asked how & why he came to Steal the aforesaid breeches Sayes that he does not know what he did for he was Drunk & that next day when he found himself Sober he remembers that he had no Cloaths And

Margin Notes:

Jurat Coe Novembris

Coat and

Thomlinson said he would own the act but deny that it was a fault, and that if he had a mind to contest it he would.

The Governor said this showed how much a good storehouse was needed. The old one had been built of boards only and was easy to break into. This offence had been done before the Governor repaired the old house, and things were now much safer.

Renatus Snow appeared before the Governor and council.

George Lendon stated that on the previous Saturday Renatus Snow had offered him a new pair of blue breeches to sell for a bottle of arrack. He had taken the breeches and gone to Captain Bazett to ask whether they were goods Snow had stolen, by which Snow's theft of them was discovered. Lendon further stated that on the same day, and some time after, he had seen a new coat lying under Ferguson's bed. On asking to whom it belonged, he found it had been put there by Snow, who had also stolen that coat out of the Honourable Company's stores. Signed by George Lendon.

Sworn on 22 November 1716 before Isaac Pyke.

Renatus Snow, being examined, was asked how and why he came to steal the coat and breeches. He said he did not know what he did, for he was drunk, and that the next day when he was sober he remembered he had no clothes [...]

Interpretations

This passage records the opening of the case against Renatus Snow at the consultation of 22 November 1716, taken up directly from the warrant the Governor had issued in the preceding entry. Snow was the soldier and tailor already before the bench for his assault on Antipas Tovey on 14 January 1715/16 and for the loss of his wife Mary Snow, carried off the island by Captain John Martin in the Queen and complained of on 28 August 1716.

The Governor's remark about the storehouse converts Thomlinson's case into an argument for capital expenditure. By tying the theft to the flimsy board construction of the old store and noting that the offence predated his own repairs, the Governor used the prosecution to record on the books both the weakness of the former building and the improvement made under his administration, a point aimed at the directors as much as at the accused.

The drummer George Lendon's evidence supplies the mechanism by which the theft was detected. A man offered stolen Company goods for sale carried them to the storekeeper Captain Bazett to verify their origin, so the very attempt to dispose of the breeches for drink exposed the thief. The same witness had appeared in the Mary Snow enquiry of 28 August 1716, where he deposed to her drinking with the ship's mates in a man's dress.

Snow's plea of drunkenness was offered in mitigation rather than as a denial. By admitting the act but claiming he did not know what he did, and that he recalled his want of clothes only when sober, he sought to reduce a deliberate theft to a drunken impulse, a defence structurally close to the necessity plea Thomlinson had advanced for the same kind of goods.

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and further he doth not say

the mark of Renatus Snow

Capt hoc Vicessimo Secundo die Novembris 1716 Coram me J Pyke

Whereupon Renatus Snow was comitted to Prison but his punishment referd to next Consultation day

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

Renatus Snow had nothing further to say. His statement was given under his mark.

His examination was taken on 22 November 1716 before Isaac Pyke.

Renatus Snow was then committed to prison, but his punishment was deferred to the next consultation day.

The consultation was signed by Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

This short passage closes the examination of Renatus Snow at the consultation of 22 November 1716, completing the theft case opened in the preceding entry against the soldier and tailor already noted for his assault on Antipas Tovey on 14 January 1715/16 and for the loss of his wife Mary Snow in the Queen on 28 August 1716.

The deferral of punishment to the next consultation day was a procedural choice rather than leniency. Committal to prison secured Snow's person while the bench reserved the sentence, which allowed the penalty to be fixed when more of the council were present or when the parallel matter of Joseph Thomlinson could be weighed alongside it. Snow's confession of the act removed any need for trial, so only the measure of punishment remained open.

The signature of Antipas Tovey as secretary is notable, since Tovey had been suspended from his office at the consultation of 13 March 1715/16 after stabbing Francis Wrangham, and his return to subscribing the consultation book marks his restoration to the secretary's duties by this date.

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At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 27[th] day of November 1716. At the Hon[ble] Comp[as] plantation house

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] & Edw[s] Byfeld 4[th] in Coun[l]

Pres[t]

Cap[t] Haswell Dep[t] absent by Sickness Antipas Tovey ditto

The last Consultation read & Approved of The Council not being all present the consideration of Renatus Snows punish- ment was referd to the next Consultation that they do all meet

The following Petition was Presented (Viz[t])

To the Worsh[l] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council

the Humble Petition of Jn[o] Long Planter Most

humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] petition[r] had Gran- ted to him a peice of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Waste Land lying in Sandy bay & upon such reason- able terms as canb be Objected against But yo[r] petit[r] having Since considered that twill be much more for his & Famalies advantage to build a small house upon his Own Land adjoyning to that at present in his Mothers possession Humbly prays leave to relinquish that

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Island St[r] Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 27 November 1716 at the Honourable Company's plantation house, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, Matthew Bazett third in council and Edward Byfield fifth in council. Captain Haswell the deputy governor was absent through sickness, and Antipas Tovey likewise.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The council not being all present, the consideration of Renatus Snow's punishment was deferred to the next consultation, when they should all meet.

The following petition was then presented.

John Long the planter petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that the council had earlier granted him a parcel of the Honourable Company's waste land lying in Sandy Bay on reasonable terms that could not be objected to. He had since considered that it would be much more to his own and his family's advantage to build a small house upon his own land, adjoining the land at present in his mother's possession. He humbly asked leave to relinquish [...]

Interpretations

This passage opens the consultation of 27 November 1716 and carries forward the unfinished business of the previous sitting. The deferral of Renatus Snow's punishment for a second time, now expressly because the council was not all present, shows that the bench treated the fixing of a sentence as a matter requiring the full board, the soldier and tailor having already been committed and his punishment reserved at the consultation of 22 November 1716.

The reduced attendance is itself significant for the conduct of business. With Captain Haswell the deputy governor and Antipas Tovey the secretary both absent through sickness, only three of the five councillors sat, which left the bench able to take petitions and approve the record but unwilling to settle a penal matter that touched the standing of the court.

John Long's petition reworks a grant already made in his favour. The parcel of Company waste land in Sandy Bay was the subject of his petition of 2 October 1716 for a lease for lives or a term of years, his family then standing at six whites and three blacks with only a hired house. His present application to surrender that grant and build instead on his own land adjoining his mother's holding reflects the prospect of twenty further acres of free land at his mother's death, which had earlier weighed against his attempts to take Company ground.

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Nov[r]

that Land in Sandy bay, y[t] yo[r] petic[on] may Sett about & begin to build while it is a proper Season for such work & prays y[t] you'll be so kind as to Supply him w[th] 2 Sm[d] Girders And as in duty bound shall ever pray (Sig[h]d) Jn[o] Long

Nov[r] 27[o] 1716

As to the Land Granted But y[e] Supplying him w[th] Girders y[t] to be considerd of another time

M[r] Worral Overseer brought in his Monthly Account as foll[t] (Viz[t])

An Acc[t] of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Neat Cattle Sheep, Hogs, Goats &c taken Nov[r] y[e] 1[st] 1716

Cows 61

Bullocks 10

Bulls 3

Heifers 3

Calves 58

Yearlings 36

In all 171

1 wild Cow broke her Leg last m[o] & d[o] y[t] was mad was obliged to kill her

2

2 Calvd last month

Ewes 49

Wethers 34

Lambs 18

Ram 1

In all 102

None increased or killd Since last Acc[t]

36 Gtes grt & Sm[d]

1 Killd & None increased

Sows 7

Shoats 18

Boar 1

piggs 29

Great & Smal 55

7 Killd Since last Acc[t]

10 Dyed w[th] y[e] distemper calld y[e] pant

51 Turkies great & small

3 Killd

5 died by reason of bad weather Since last Acc[t]

Sheep

Hogs

John Long asked leave to give up the land in Sandy Bay so that he might set about building on his own ground while the season was proper for such work. He prayed that the council would be so kind as to supply him with two small girders. Signed by John Long.

The council resolved, as to the land granted, that he might give it up, but that the matter of supplying him with the girders should be considered at another time.

Mr Worrall the overseer then brought in his monthly account, as follows.

An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and so on, taken on 1 November 1716.

Cows 61

Bullocks 10

Bulls 3

Heifers 3

Calves 58

Yearlings 36

In all 171

One wild cow broke her leg last month, and because she was mad she had to be killed.

Calved last month 2

Ewes 49

Wethers 34

Lambs 18

Ram 1

Sheep in all 102

None increased or killed since the last account.

Geese, great and small 36

One killed and none increased.

Sows 7

Shoats 18

Boar 1

Piggs 29

Hogs, great and small, in all 55

Seven killed since the last account.

Ten died of the distemper called the pant.

Turkeys, great and small 51

Three killed.

Five died by reason of bad weather since the last account.

Interpretations

This passage records the monthly livestock return brought in by the overseer William Worrall at the consultation of 27 November 1716, taken as at 1 November 1716. The account is the routine stock-management instrument that had run through the year, with Worrall earlier bringing in the census of 1 August 1716 and the September stock taken on 1 October 1716 showing 169 neat cattle after Martin Norman drove off eight head.

The neat cattle total of 171 head marks the herd's recovery against the famine in which Pyke had cited 2,500 head of cattle lost in his letter to Joseph Le Blanc of 30 January 1715. The figure now stands well above the 136 head Worrall returned on 18 June 1715, the steady increase over eighteen months being the measure of the Company's stock policy and the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 that forbade the killing of any cow, heifer or calf until after 20 July 1716.

The pant was the hog disease the council had enquired into across 1715. Bazett reported on 4 October 1715 that the planters' remedies were brine and milk or chamber-lye and milk, and that opening dead hogs showed the disease to be a corruption of the lungs. Its continued presence here, carrying off ten hogs in the month, shows the affliction was endemic in the Company's herd rather than a single outbreak.

John Long's request for two small girders was held over while the surrender of his land was allowed at once. The girders were heavy timber beams for the frame of his house, and the bench's separation of the two points kept the grant of leave free of any commitment of Company timber, a resource the council guarded closely.

Speculations

The structure of the account, setting the numbers killed, died and increased beside the standing totals, was designed to make loss and gain legible at a glance rather than merely to count the stock. By recording that the wild cow was killed because she was mad and broke her leg, the overseer accounted for a reduction that might otherwise look like waste or theft, protecting himself against any later charge over the missing beast. The same logic governs the separate notes on the hogs lost to the pant and the turkeys lost to bad weather, each death assigned a cause so that the herd's shrinkage could be shown to be natural and not the overseer's neglect.

158

165

Ewes 170

Wethers 26

Ewe kids 79

Ram d[o] 66

Ram 1

grt & sm[l] 342

8 Killd Since last Acc[t]

10 Increased

56 fowls grt & sm[l]

3 killd None increased Since last Acc[t]

Ducks grt & Small 7

none Increased or Killd Since last Acc[t]

Asses grt & small 11

7 of the male & 4 of y[e] female kind

Goats

(Sig[h]d) W[m] Worrall

The Gov[r] Acquaints the Council, that last Consultation day in the morning having heard of Great neglect of duty at Mundens point w[ch] is the Second fort in y[e] Island, he went over himself to see who were upon Guard & found there W[m] Penny & John Poulter Whereas there should be not less then three besides an Officer He enquired what Was become of the Officer, they Said he was gone into the Country to fetch his Victuals but would be there presently for w[ch] reason he did not mention it last Con- sultation, but on Tuesday night after Sun Sett the Gov[r] Sent M[r] French the Guner there to See who was upon duty, he found no body but W[m] Penny only & Serj[t] Sim- son had not been in y[e] Country as they had told the Gov[r] but was gone out in a boat &

The account of goats continued.

Ewes 170

Wethers 26

Ewe kids 79

Ram kids 66

Ram 1

Goats, great and small, in all 342

Eight killed since the last account.

Ten increased.

Fowls, great and small 56

Three killed, none increased since the last account.

Ducks, great and small 7

None increased or killed since the last account.

Asses, great and small 11

Seven of the male kind and four of the female kind.

Signed by William Worrall.

The Governor told the council that on the morning of the last consultation day, having heard of a great neglect of duty at Munden's Point, the second fort on the island, he had gone over himself to see who was on guard. He found William Penny and John Poulter there, whereas there should have been no fewer than three besides an officer. On asking what had become of the officer, they said he had gone into the country to fetch his food but would be there again shortly. For that reason the Governor had not mentioned it at the last consultation.

On the Tuesday night after sunset the Governor sent Mr French the gunner over to see who was on duty. He found nobody but William Penny, and Sergeant Simpson had not been in the country as they had told the Governor, but had gone out in a boat [...]

Interpretations

This passage completes the livestock return brought in by the overseer William Worrall at the consultation of 27 November 1716 and opens the Governor's report on the neglect of guard duty at Munden's Point. The two matters sit together because the same sitting that received the routine stock count also took up a lapse in the island's defence.

Munden's Point was the principal seaward battery covering the approach to James Bay, here named the second fort on the island, with a permanent detail commanded by a sergeant. The standing requirement of no fewer than three men besides an officer fixes the establishment strength the Governor expected to find, so the discovery of only two men, and on the second visit only one, measured the shortfall precisely against the rule.

The Governor's two visits build a documentary case against the guard. By going himself in the morning and then sending the gunner John French after dark on the Tuesday night, the Governor tested the soldiers' excuse that the officer had merely stepped into the country for food. The gunner's finding that Sergeant Simpson had instead gone out in a boat exposed the explanation as false, and the deliberate sequence of inspections was the means by which the lie was caught.

Sergeant William Simpson had appeared in the record shortly before in a different character, named in Francis Cullum's declaration over the pregnancy of Mercy Whaley at Thomas Free's house in October 1716. His absence from his post here adds a dereliction of duty to the bench's developing view of the man.

159

166

Nov[r]

& had been gone all night, nor did not returne till late next day

Then y[e] Gov[r] askt y[e] Council what was proper to be done for this neglect of duty for tis his Opinion y[t] Some other proper person be appointed to doe duty there in Simsons room The Council is of y[e] Same Opinion

The Gov[r] recomends to y[e] Council to think of Some proper person ag[s]t next Consultation day

Cap[t] Bazett brought in his Monthly Acc[t] from y[e] 25 Sept[r] 1716 to y[e] 25[th] of October following (Viz[t])

An Acc[t] of Store Goods Sold & del[d] to y[e] Inhabitants, Also deliverd for the Use of Union Castle & to Plantation house from 7ber y[e] 25[th] 1716 to Oct[r] 25[th] foll[t] (Viz[t])

£ s d

Arrack 334 1/2 gall at 6/3 1/4 [?] gall

104 9 10 1/2

Sugar 662 8 [?] [?]

22 1 4

Flour 369 3 1/2

5 7 7 1/2

Bread 154 3 1/2

2 4 11

Rice 85 3 1/2

1 4 9 1/2

Oyl 3 1/4 gall Sweet 12/

00 9 00

Soap 24 d[o] 17

1 14 00

Vinegar 2 gall at 2/6

00 5 00

Pepper 2 d[o]

00 2 00

Carried over

£ 137 18 6 1/2[?]

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Sergeant Simpson had been gone all night and did not return until late the next day.

The Governor then asked the council what should be done about this neglect of duty. His own opinion was that some other proper person should be appointed to do duty there in Simpson's room. The council was of the same opinion.

The Governor recommended that the council think of a suitable person against the next consultation day.

Captain Bazett then brought in his monthly account from 25 September 1716 to 25 October 1716, as follows.

An account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, also delivered for the use of Union Castle and to the plantation house, from 25 September 1716 to 25 October 1716.

Arrack 334¾ gallons at 6s 3¼d per gallon £104 9s 10¼d

Sugar 662 pounds at 8d per pound £22 1s 4d

Flour 369 at 3½ £5 7s 7½d

Bread 154 at 3½ £2 4s 11d

Rice 85 at 3½ £1 4s 9½d

Oil ¾ gallon, sweet, at 12s 9s

Soap 24 pounds at 17 £1 14s

Vinegar 2 gallons at 2s 6d 5s

Pepper 2 pounds 2s

Carried over £137 18s 6¼d

Interpretations

This passage closes the Munden's Point matter at the consultation of 27 November 1716 and opens the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett. The dereliction of Sergeant Simpson, found to have been absent in a boat all night, is resolved not by punishment but by replacement, the bench reserving the choice of a successor to the next consultation day in the same manner it had deferred Renatus Snow's sentence.

The decision to appoint another man in Simpson's room is an administrative remedy rather than a disciplinary one. The Governor framed the question as what was proper to be done for the neglect, and the council's answer was to fill the post with a reliable man, treating the security of the second fort as the operative concern above any penalty on the absent sergeant.

The account is the routine store return in the four-column form used throughout the period, here covering the single month to 25 October 1716 and running parallel to the account for the previous month entered at the consultation of 6 November 1716. The arrack price of 6s 3¼d per gallon sits just above the famine-period retail rate of 7s 6d set on 15 November 1714, the figure reflecting the cheaper stock then in the store.

The values for flour, bread and rice are recorded by the pound at three pence halfpenny, the unit and rate carried in the column even where the clerk left the denomination unmarked. Sweet oil was olive oil, distinguished in the stores from the marine-animal oils used for lighting, and its high price of twelve shillings the gallon reflects its status as an imported table commodity rather than a fuel.

160

167

£ s d

Brought over

137 18 6 1/4

Tea 12 at 9[d]

5 8 00

25 Cattas

00 15 00[?]

115

16 13 00[?]

Shirts 54 at 3/ ea

8 2 00

Dungreas 2 peices 5/8

00 11 4

Gurthas 6 d[o]

00 12 6[?]

Long Cloth 6 p[s] 12/6

3 15 00

fine bleu Gurthas 1 pee 24/9

7 8 6

Saunoes 1 pee

00 16 5[?]

1 d[o]

1 5 2

1 11 7

Gingham 2 pees

1 9 6

Nealcas 6 d[o] 2/9

00 19 6[?]

10 7 3

Neckcloths 5 1 d[o]

105

3 10 5[?]

Muslen 1 pee

7 13 0[?]

Patney Cheits 1 d[o]

1 2 00

Ironmongers Ware (Viz[t])

7 pair Hinges at 13[d] ea

00 7 7

1 p[r] Dove tails

00 00 6

4 p[d] ditto 5[d]

00 1 8

4 Gimblett bitts

00 00 8

2 d[o] Larger

00 00 6

2 Hoes 2/8

00 5 4

1 ditto

00 2 6

1 d[o]

00 2 2

1 Spade

00 5 10

1 Shovel

00 2 00

1 Till Lock

00 2 7

1 Chest d[o]

00 2 9

1 5 Inch pull back Closett d[o]

00 4 1

1 18 2

Nailes (Viz[t]) 14 3 at 9[d]

00 10 6

8 10 8 1/2

00 5 8

2 20 8

00 1 4

11 30 7

00 6 5

1/2 Tacks

00 00 5

1 4 4

Carried over

£ 187 15 0 1/2

The storekeeper's account continued.

Brought over £137 18s 6¼d

Tea 12 pounds at 9s £5 8s

Cottas 25 at 115 £16 13s

Shirts 54 at 3s each £8 2s

Dungarees 2 pieces at 5s 8d 11s 4d

Gurrahs 6 pieces at the same £1 14s

Long cloth 6 pieces at 12s 6d £3 15s

Fine blue gurrahs 1 piece at 24s 9d £7 8s 6d

Saunoes 1 piece 10s

Saunoes 1 piece £1 6s 5d

Saunoes 1 piece £1 5s 2d

Gingham 2 pieces £1 11s 7d

Neckaes 6 pieces at 2s 9d 19s 6d

Neckcloths 5 at 3 £1 0s 7d

Muslin 1 piece £3 10s 6d

Patney chints 1 piece £7 13s 0¼d

[...] 1 piece 12s

Ironmonger's ware, as follows.

Hinges 7 pair at 13d each 7s 7d

Dovetails 1 pound 6d

Dovetails 4 pounds at 5 £1 8d

Gimblet bitts 4 at 2 8d

Gimblet bitts, larger 2 at 3 6d

Hoes 2 at 2s 8d 5s 4d

Hoes 1 2s 6d

Hoes 1 2s 2d

Spade 1 5s 10d

Shovel 1 2s

Till lock 1 2s 7d

Chest lock 1 2s 9d

Five-inch pull-back closet lock 1 4s 1d

Nails 14d, 3 at 9 10s 6d

Nails 8d, 10 at 8½ 5s 8d

Nails 7d, 20 at 8 1s 4d

Nails 11d, 30 at 7 6s 5d

Tacks 4 5d

Subtotal of ironmonger's ware £1 18s 2d

Carried over £187 15s 0¼d

Interpretations

This passage continues the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, covering goods sold and delivered between 25 September 1716 and 25 October 1716. The run moves from the provisions of the opening leaf to the Indian piece goods and the ironmonger's ware, the textile stock drawn chiefly from the cargo of the Catherine that supplied the new goods entered across the August and September accounts.

The textile lines name several grades of Indian cotton cloth that would be unfamiliar to a modern reader. Gurrahs were a plain coarse calico, the fine blue sort selling at more than four times the price per piece of the ordinary kind. Saunoes were a fine cotton or muslin, sold here by the single piece at varying prices. Long cloth was a staple white cotton sold by the long bolt, and dungarees a coarse blue cotton for hard wear. Cottas, entered in quantity at the head of the textile run, were measured lengths of cloth. Patney chints was a painted or printed cotton from the Patna region, the most costly single piece in the account at over seven pounds, the term chints covering the glazed and figured cottons valued for furnishing and dress.

The ironmonger's ware records the tools and fittings of plantation and household building. Gimlet bits were the boring parts of hand drills, dovetails the iron fastenings for jointed timber, and the graded nails priced by the penny size and counted by the hundred supplied the fixings for fencing and construction. The till lock, chest lock and five-inch pull-back closet lock point to demand for securing private stores, a demand thrown into relief by the storehouse-theft matters of Joseph Thomlinson and Renatus Snow before the bench at the consultations of 20 and 22 November 1716.

161

168

Nov[r]

£ s d

Brought over

187 15 6 1/2

Cloth Druggett (Viz[t]) 29 y[ds] at 3/ [?] y[d]

47

34 1/2 4/

6 18

115

Scarlett Serge 6 4/10

1 9 00

Silk Druggett 1 1/2 4/9

00 7 1 1/2

Shalloon 33 2/6

4 2 6

Perpetuanoes 3 1/2 2/3

00 7 10 1/2

Fustians 3 1/2 plain White 20[d]

00 5 00

Blanketts 3 9/6

1 8 6

1 ditto

1 13

1 19 9

Norwich Stuffs 18 2[d] at 12 1/2

00 18 9

Kerseys 8 2/2

1 7 4

Romals 1

00 1 3

Soldiers Cloaths 15 Coates at 20/8

15 18 10

2 Wastcoats 9 4

1 8 8

2 p[r] Breech 8 3

00 16 6

17 4 00

Hatts 2 Coarse damagd fells

00 6 00

1 fine Laced

1 5 00

1 6 5

House Linnen 2 1/2 y[d]

00 5 7 1/2

Shoes 15 p[r] Island

3 00 00

1 p[r] Boys English

00 2 9

3 2 9

Stationary Ware 2 q[r] paper at 16[d]

00 2 8

2 Whole duties of Man 3/8

00 7 4

3 Horne books 4

00 1 00

00 11 00

Needles 100

00 1 6

Threads (Viz[t]) 18 oz at 11[d] [?] oz

1 6 6

12 9

00 9 00

1 1

1 1

1 1 3 1/2

1 3

00 3 6

1 11 4 1/2

Silk 16 1/4 oz at 2/6

2 00 7 1/2

pins 6 M[?] 1/9

00 11 7 1/2

Carried over

£ 236 4 0 1/2

The storekeeper's account continued.

Brought over £187 15s 0¼d

Cloth drugget 29 yards at 3s 4d per yard £4 7s

Cloth drugget 34½ yards at 4s £6 18s

Subtotal cloth drugget £11 5s

Scarlet serge 6 at 4s 10d £1 9s

Silk drugget 1½ at 4s 9d 7s 1½d

Shalloon 33 at 2s 6d £4 2s 6d

Perpetuanoes 3½ at 2s 3d 7s 10½d

Fustians 3¾ plain white at 20d 5s

Blankets 3 at 9s 6d £1 8s 6d

Blanket 1 11s 3d

Subtotal blankets £1 19s 9d

Norwich stuffs 18 at 12¾d 18s 9d

Kerseys 8 at 2s 2d 17s 4d

Romals 1 1s 3d

Soldiers' clothes, coats 15 at 20s 6d £15 18s 10d

Soldiers' clothes, waistcoats 2 at 9s 4d 18s 8d

Soldiers' clothes, breeches 2 pairs at 8s 3d 16s 6d

Subtotal soldiers' clothes £17 4s

Hats 2 coarse damaged felts 6s

Hat 1 fine laced £1 5s

Subtotal hats £1 6s 5d

House linen 2½ yards 5s 7½d

Shoes 15 pairs Ireland at 3s £3

Shoes 1 pair boys English 2s 9d

Subtotal shoes £3 2s 9d

Stationery ware, paper 2 quires at 16 2s 8d

Whole duty of man 2 at 3s 8d 7s 4d

Horn books 3 at 4 1s

Subtotal stationery ware 11s

Needles 100 1s 6d

Thread 18 at 11d per pound £1 6s 6d

Thread 12 at 9 9s

Thread 1 1s

Thread 1 1s 3½d

Thread 1 3s 6d

Silk 16¼ ounces £1 11s 4½d

Pins 6 at 2s 6d 2s 7½d

Pins 1 1s 1½d

Carried over £236 4s 0½d

Interpretations

This passage continues the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, running through the woollen cloths, the made-up soldiers' clothing and the haberdashery for the month to 25 October 1716.

The textile lines name a range of English woollen and worsted cloths that would be unfamiliar to a modern reader. Drugget was a coarse wool or wool-and-linen cloth for cheap garments, here sold by the yard in two grades. Serge was a durable twilled worsted, the scarlet sort dearer for its dye. Shalloon was a light woollen lining cloth, perpetuanoes a hard-wearing worsted whose name advertised its durability, and fustian a stout cotton-and-linen weave. Norwich stuffs were the worsted cloths of the Norwich trade, kerseys a coarse ribbed wool, and Romals the Indian cotton kerchiefs already carried in the stores. The mixture shows the store stocking both Indian and English textiles to clothe the garrison and the inhabitants.

The soldiers' clothes were the standing issue against which the garrison was supplied and charged. Coats at 20s 6d each fall close to the two-year replacement rate of about a pound a coat carried through the earlier accounts, with waistcoats and breeches sold separately, the whole forming the regulated uniform supply for which the men were debited.

The stationery lines record the apparatus of basic schooling and devotion on the island. Horn books were lesson sheets of the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer protected under a thin leaf of horn, used to teach children their letters, while the two copies of the whole duty of man were a widely owned manual of Anglican religious practice. Their presence in a routine store account shows the Company supplying the means of literacy and religious instruction alongside cloth and tools.

162

169

£ s d

Brought over

236 4 0 1/2

Combs (Viz[t]) 2 Horne at 4[d]

00 00 8

3 d[o] 5

00 1 3

2 Box 6

00 1 00

3 Ivory 2/

00 6 00

00 8 11

Buttons (Viz[t]) 7 doz brast at 6[d]

00 3 6

5 Coat 12

00 5 00

1 d[o] 19

00 17 00[?]

1 0 1

Corks 5 doz

00 1 00

Shoe thread 5 at 2/6

1 2 6[?]

Bodice 1 pair

1 3 9

1 d[o]

1 2 9[?]

1 6 6

Cuttlary Ware (Viz[t]) Buckles 1 p[r] Boys

00 00 6

Scissors 2 p[r]

00 00 2

Thimbles 6

00 00 6

Sail Needles 1 doz

00 00 17

00 4 7

Glass Ware 8 panes 6 1/2 at d[o] y[?]

00 6 00

woo d[o] 8/10 12

00 5 00

1 Mugg of 1 [?] 1 d[o]

00 23 3/4

5 8 3 3/4

Silk Galloon 1 pee

1 3 6

Hooks & Lines (Viz[t])

Hooks 6 N[o] 7

00 00 7 1/2

18 3

00 00 9

30 4 at 7[d] [?] doz

00 1 5 1/2

6 6

00 00 6

00 3 4

Lines 2 N[o] 16 at 3/8

00 7 4

1 2

00 00 5

3 3

00 1 3

00 9 00

Pewter 1 pint pott

00 3 6

Tin Ware 1 Dripping box

00 00 8

246 5 0 1/4

Total of Old Goods Carried over

The storekeeper's account continued.

Brought over £236 4s 0½d

Combs, horn 2 at 4d 8d

Combs 3 at 5 1s 3d

Combs, box 2 at 6 1s

Combs, ivory 3 at 2s 6s

Subtotal combs 8s 11d

Buttons, breast 7 dozen at 6d 3s 6d

Buttons, coat 5 at 12 5s

Buttons, coat 1 at 19 17d

Subtotal buttons 10s 1d

Corks 5 dozen 1d

Shoe thread 5 pounds at 2s 6d 12s 6d

Bodice 1 pair 1s 3d

Bodice 1 13s 9d

Subtotal bodice £1 6s 9d

Buckles, boys 1 pair 1s 6d

Scissors 2 pair 2s

Thimbles 6 6d

Sail needles 1 dozen 17d

Subtotal cutlery ware 4s 7d

Glass ware 8 panes 6½ at the same 6d

Glass ware 100, 8½, 10 at 12 5s

Mug 1 of 1s 1d 23¾d

Subtotal glass ware 5s 8¾d

Silk galloon 1 piece 13s 6d

Hooks, number 7 6 7½d

Hooks 18 at 3 9d

Hooks 30 at 4, at 7½d per dozen 15½d

Hooks 6 at 6 6d

Subtotal hooks 3s 4d

Lines, number 16 2 at 3s 8d 7s 4d

Lines 1 at 2 5d

Lines 3 at 3 1s 3d

Subtotal lines 9s

Pewter 1 pint pot 3s 6d

Tin ware 1 dredging box 8d

Total of old goods, carried over £246 5s 0¼d

Interpretations

This passage closes the old-goods portion of the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, the running total of old goods carried over at £246 5s 0¼d before the separate run of new goods from the Catherine cargo.

The fishing tackle near the foot of the account connects directly to the relief measures of the previous year. Hooks and lines, graded by number and sold by the dozen, were the gear distributed to the inhabitants under the fishery scheme the Lords Proprietors had set up against the cattle famine, the hooks-and-lines distribution of 26 July 1715 having sent a moderate quantity out to each family. Their continued sale through the store shows the fishery had become a settled part of island supply rather than a single issue.

Several of the smaller lines name goods whose nature may not be plain to a modern reader. Silk galloon was a narrow woven braid or ribbon used to trim garments, bodices were the stiffened upper garments worn by women, and a dredging box was a perforated container for sprinkling flour or spice over food. Sail needles were the heavy triangular needles for stitching canvas, grouped here with scissors and thimbles among the cutlery ware.

The division of the whole return into old goods and new goods reflects the storekeeper's method of keeping the established stock distinct from the fresh cargo. The same split appeared in the account entered at the consultation of 6 November 1716, where the inhabitants' charge was divided between old goods and the new goods out of the Catherine, the separation allowing the bench to track the disposal of each shipment against the standing store.

163

170

Nov[r]

£ s d

Old Goods brought over

246 5 0 1/4

Goods Sold of the New Cargo[?] (Viz[t])

Buttons (Viz[t]) 14 1/2 doz breast at 5[d]

00 6 0 1/2

21 doz d[o] 6

00 10 6

9 1/2 d[o] Coat N[o] C 9

00 7 1 1/2

12 1/2 ditto A 12

1 2 6

1/2 Gross Shirt buttons 3

00 3 00

1 1 9 2[?]

Threads (Viz[t]) 5 3/4 Coloured at 5/

1 8 9

5 fine brown 5/

1 5 00

2 13 9

Ribbon (Viz[t]) 48 3/4 at 12[d]

2 8 9

26 1/4 14

1 11 2 1/2

7 15

00 8 9

15 18

1 2 6

5 11 2 1/2

Mohair 12 3/4 oz at 20

1 1 3

Edging Lace (Viz[t]) 7 y[d] at 20

00 11 8

12 2/4

1 8 00

1 19 8

Black hoods (Viz[t]) 1 N[o] 1

00 9 00

1 3

00 15 00

1 4 00

Crapes 1/2 pee N[o] 1

1 13 00

1 d[o] 2

3 18 9

1 1/2 d[o] 3 at 4/10 [?] pee

6 15 00

12 6 9

Fustians (Viz[t]) 1/2 pee N[o] 1

00 10 00

2 pees 2 at 23/4

2 6 8

2 d[o] 3 26/8

2 13 4

1 p[?] 4

1 13 4

7 3 4

Thicksetts (Viz[t]) 1 pees N[o] 1

1 13 4

1 d[o] 3

2 00 00

3 1/2 d[o] 4 at 52/

9 2 00

12 15 4

Starch 15 at 9[d]

1 1 3

Brass Ware 1 Tea Kettle

00 15 00

New Goods Carried over

£ 48 8 1/2

Old Goods Carried over

£ 246 5 0 1/4

The storekeeper's account continued.

Old goods brought over £246 5s 0¼d

Goods sold of the new pieces, as follows.

Buttons, breast 14½ dozen at 5 6s 0½d

Buttons, coat number C 21 dozen at 6 10s 6d

Buttons, coat number C 9½ dozen at 9 7s 1½d

Buttons, A 12½ at 12 12s 6d

Shirt buttons 5 gross at 3 15s

Subtotal buttons £1 19s 2d

Thread, coloured 5¾ at 5s £1 8s 9d

Thread, fine brown 5 at 5s £1 5s

Subtotal thread £2 13s 9d

Ribbon 48¾ at 12 £2 8s 9d

Ribbon 26¼ at 14 £1 11s 2¼d

Ribbon 7 at 15 8s 9d

Ribbon 15 at 18 £1 2s 6d

Subtotal ribbon £5 11s 2¼d

Mohair 12¾ at 20 £1 1s 3d

Edging lace 7 yards at 20 11s 8d

Edging lace 12 at 2s 4d £1 8s

Subtotal edging lace £1 19s 8d

Black hoods, number 1 1 9s

Black hoods, number 3 1 15s

Subtotal black hoods £1 4s

Crapes, half piece, number 1 1 £1 13s

Crapes, number 2 1 £3 18s 9d

Crapes, number 3 1½ at 4s 10d per piece £6 15s

Subtotal crapes £12 6s 9d

Fustians, half piece, number 1 1 10s

Fustians, number 2 2 pairs at 23s 4d £2 6s 8d

Fustians, number 3 2 at 26s 8d £2 13s 4d

Fustians, number 4 1 £1 13s 4d

Subtotal fustians £7 3s 4d

Thicksetts, number 1 1 piece £1 13s 4d

Thicksetts, number 3 1 £2

Thicksetts, number 4 3 at 52s £9 2s

Subtotal thicksetts £12 15s 4d

Starch 15 pounds at 9 11s 3d

Brass ware 1 tea kettle 15s

New goods carried over £48 0s 8½d

Old goods carried over £246 5s 0¼d

Interpretations

This passage opens the new-goods portion of the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, the goods drawn from the recent cargo and kept apart from the standing stock. The new pieces ran to a subtotal of £48 0s 8½d, carried beside the old-goods total of £246 5s 0¼d for combination in the month's grand sum.

Several of the new textiles name fabrics unfamiliar to a modern reader. Crapes were a thin crimped silk or worsted, here the most valuable category in the new goods at over twelve pounds, sold in graded numbered pieces. Thicksetts were a stout twilled cotton with a close pile, akin to fustian and used for hard-wearing breeches and coats, the dearest grade selling at fifty-two shillings the piece. Mohair was a cloth or trimming of Angora goat hair, and edging lace a narrow decorative border for garments and linen. The presence of crapes, ribbon, mohair and edging lace shows the cargo carried finer dress materials than the coarse plantation cloths of the old stock.

The black hoods were the dark head coverings worn by women, sold in two numbered grades. Their appearance among the new goods, beside ribbon, lace and crape, points to a consignment aimed at the dress of the island's women rather than at the garrison or the field, a contrast with the soldiers' clothing and plantation tools that dominated the old-goods account.

The numbered grading of buttons, crapes, fustians and thicksetts reflects the storekeeper's method of pricing a single class of goods in distinct qualities drawn from the same cargo. Each number carried its own rate, allowing the bench to see the spread of values within a category, and the separation of new from old throughout the return let the disposal of the fresh shipment be tracked against the established store in the manner already used in the account of 6 November 1716.

164

171

£ s d

Brought over

246 5 0 1/4

New Goods Bro[t] over

48 8 1/2

Tin Ware (Viz[t])

5 Sauce pans 1 p[t] da at 9[d]

00 3 9

2 d[o] 20

00 3 4

1 d[o]

00 2 3

2 Lamps 22

00 3 8

1 flatt d[o]

00 1 6

2 Coffee pots 21

00 3 6

1 d[o] Larger

00 2 3

1 dripping pan

00 4 4

1 Round pudding pan

00 2 2

1 d[o]

00 2 7

1 porringer

00 00 5

1 d[o] 7

1 10 4

Pewter Ware (Viz[t]) 3 porringers at 15[d]

00 3 9

2 1/2 doz Spoons 4/6

1 1 3

1 Bason N[o] 6

00 4 5

1 ditto

00 5 00

2 larg d[o] 6/8

1 3 4

1 17 9

Hooks 17 doz of Old Wives 4[d]

00 5 8

Tobacco 96 at 2/

9 12 00

Pipes 39 3/4 doz 6[d]

00 19 10 1/2

10 11 10 1/2

Shoes 15 pair Mens at 6/2

4 12 6

4 p[r] Womens

1 4 8

5 17 2

Hatts (Viz[t]) 1 Boys N[o] 3

00 9 00

1 d[o] 2

00 7 6

1 Mens 5

00 7 6

1 Laced 6

00 17 00

3 3 6

Stockings 28 p[r] Soldiers 2/2

3 00 8

1 p[r] Youths Silk & Worsted

00 7 6

2 p[r] Womens fine Worsted 6/6

00 13 00

1 p[r] d[o] Scarlet

00 7 6

1 p[r] d[o] Silk

00 14 00

1 p[r] Mens Scarlett

00 9 00

5 11 8

New Goods Carried over

£ 76 18 8

Old Goods Carried over

£ 246 5 0 1/4

The storekeeper's account continued.

Old goods brought over £246 5s 0¼d

New goods brought over £48 0s 8½d

Tin ware, sauce pans 5, 1 pint each, at the same 3s 9d

Sauce pans 2 at the same 3s 9d

Sauce pans 1 at 20 3s 4d

Lamps 2 2s 3d

Lamp, flat 1 at 22 3s 8d

Coffee pots 2 1s 6d

Coffee pots, larger 2 at 21 3s 6d

Dripping pan 1 2s 3d

Round pudding pan 1 4s 4d

Pudding pan 1 2s 2d

Porringer 1 2s 7d

Porringer 1 5d

Porringer 1 7d

Subtotal tin ware £1 10s 4d

Pewter ware, porringers 3 at 15 3s 9d

Spoons 2½ dozen at 4s 6d 11s 3d

Bason number 6 1 4s 5d

Bason 1 5s

Bason, larger 2 at 6s 8d 13s 4d

Subtotal pewter ware £1 17s 9d

Hooks, old wives 17 dozen at 4d 5s 8d

Tobacco 96 pounds at 2s £9 12s

Pipes 39¾ dozen at 6d 19s 10½d

Subtotal tobacco and pipes £10 11s 10½d

Shoes, men's 15 pairs at 6s £4 12s

Shoes, women's 4 pairs at the same 14s 8d

Subtotal shoes £5 17s 2d

Hats, boys 1 number 3 9s

Hats 1 number 2 7s 6d

Hats, men's 1 number 5 5s

Hats, laced 1 number 6 17s

Subtotal hats £3 3s 6d

Stockings, soldiers 28 pairs at 2s 2d £3 0s 8d

Stockings, youths silk and worsted 1 pair 7s 6d

Stockings, women's fine worsted 2 pairs at 6s 6d 13s

Stockings, scarlet 1 pair 7s 6d

Stockings, silk 1 pair 14s

Stockings, men's scarlet 1 pair 9s

Subtotal stockings £5 11s 8d

New goods carried over £76 18s 8d

Old goods carried over £246 5s 0¼d

Interpretations

This passage continues the new-goods portion of the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, carrying the new pieces forward to a running total of £76 18s 8d beside the old-goods total of £246 5s 0¼d.

The household metalware records the cooking and table goods drawn from the fresh cargo. Tin ware covered the lighter kitchen vessels, sauce pans, lamps, coffee pots, dripping pans for catching the fat under roasting meat, pudding pans and porringers, the small bowls for porridge and broth. Pewter, the dearer tin and lead alloy, supplied the porringers, spoons and basons for the table. The two grades side by side show the store stocking both the cheap tinned vessels and the more durable pewter for buyers of different means.

The tobacco and pipes form the largest single value among these new goods at over ten pounds, the leaf sold by the pound and the clay pipes by the dozen. Their prominence in a routine store account reflects steady demand from the garrison and the inhabitants, the Company holding the licensed supply of tobacco as it did of arrack and cloth.

The stockings and shoes were graded by quality and by the wearer, from the plain soldiers' stockings at just over two shillings the pair to the silk and scarlet sorts at several times the price. The scarlet and silk grades, with the women's fine worsted and the laced hat, mark the same provision for finer dress seen in the crapes and ribbon of the earlier new-goods leaf, the cargo supplying both the working wardrobe of the garrison and the better clothing of the island's households.

165

172

Nov[r]

£ s d

Brought over

246 5 0 1/4

New Goods Brought over

76 18 8

Stationary Ware (Viz[t])

4 Larg Comon prayer books at 6/5

1 5 8

2 Bibles 8 3

1 6 6

2 Small Comon prayer books

00 6 00

1 Playsfords Psalms

00 5 00

2 Spelling books

00 2 00

1 ditto Larger

00 1 8

2 penknives

00 4 2

3 Copy books 9

00 2 3

3 3 3

Ironmongers Ware (Viz[t])

5 felling Axes at 3/4

1 6 8

1 pair Stillyards

00 1 00

2 Stock Locks N[o] 1 2/4

00 4 8

1 ditto 2

00 3 6

2 Splinter Locks N[o] 3 18

00 3 00

1 Iron pott q[?] 98 at 6[d] [?] [?]

00 2 9

1 d[o] 51 d[o]

1 5 6

6 2 4

Butchers Knives 23 at 6[d] ea

00 11 6

Total New Goods

86 15 9

Total

333 0 9 1/4

Goods deliverd for the Use of Union Castle from September y[e] 25[th] 1716 to Oct 25 foll[t] (Viz[t])

Arrack 57 1/2 Gall at 6/3

17 19 4 1/2

Sugar 117 8

3 18 00

flour 304 3 1/2

4 8 8

Bread 65 3 1/2

00 18 11 1/2

Rice 731 3 1/2

10 11 2 1/2

Oyl 5 1/4 Galls Sweet 12/

3 3 00

2 1/2 Linseed 8

00 1 00

Soap 11 at 17[d] [?] [?]

00 4 3

00 15 7

Carried over

£ 42 14 9 1/2

The storekeeper's account continued.

Old goods brought over £246 5s 0¼d

New goods brought over £76 18s 8d

Stationery ware, large common prayer books 4 at 6s 5d £1 5s 8d

Bibles 2 at 8s 3d 16s 6d

Small common prayer books 2 6s

Playford's Psalms 1 5s

Spelling books 2 2s

Spelling book, larger 1 1s 8d

Penknives 2 4s 2d

Copy books 3 at 9 2s 3d

Subtotal stationery ware £3 3s 3d

Ironmonger's ware, felling axes 5 at 3s 4d 16s 8d

Stillyards 1 pair 1s

Stock locks number 1 2 at 2s 4d 4s 8d

Stock lock 1 3s 6d

Splinter locks number 3 2 at 18 3s

Iron pot of 98 pounds 1 at 6½d per pound £2 9s

Iron pot of 51 pounds 1 at the same £1 5s 6d

Subtotal ironmonger's ware £6 2s 4d

Butchers' knives 23 at 6d each 11s 6d

Total new goods £86 15s 9d

Total £333 0s 9¼d

Goods delivered for the use of Union Castle from 25 September 1716 to 25 October 1716, as follows.

Arrack 57½ gallons at 6s 3d £17 19s 4½d

Sugar 117 pounds at 8d £3 18s

Flour 304 at 3½ £4 8s 8d

Bread 65 at 3½ 18s 11½d

Rice 731 at 3½ £10 11s 2½d

Oil 5¼ gallons, sweet, at 12s £3 3s

Oil 2½, linseed, at 8 1s

Soap 11 pounds at 17 4s 3d

Soap 15 7d

Carried over £42 14s 9½d

Interpretations

This passage completes the new-goods portion of the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, strikes the combined total of old and new goods at £333 0s 9¼d, and opens the separate account of goods delivered to Union Castle for the month to 25 October 1716.

The books among the stationery ware record the supply of religious and educational texts to the island. The large and small common prayer books and the Bibles served the chapel and private devotion, while Playford's Psalms was a printed psalter of metrical settings used in worship. The spelling books, copy books and penknives, the last for cutting and mending quill pens, were the tools of the island's schooling, the consignment furnishing both the church and the instruction of children.

The heavier ironmonger's ware names the tools of land clearance and security. Felling axes were for cutting timber, stock locks the wooden-cased locks for doors, splinter locks a lighter form of door fastening, and the stillyard a steelyard balance for weighing goods by a sliding counterweight. The two iron pots, priced by the pound at six pence halfpenny, were the large cooking vessels of the plantation and household kitchen.

The division of the return into goods sold to the inhabitants, goods for Union Castle and goods for the plantation house follows the storekeeper's standing four-column form. The Union Castle account here carries the senior establishment's own consumption, the rice at 731 pounds far exceeding the inhabitants' eighty-five pounds for the same month, which reflects the castle's role in victualling the garrison and the Company's table rather than retail to private buyers.

166

173

£ s d

Brought over

42 14 9 1/2

Tea 6 at 9[d]

2 14 00

2 Cattees 8

00 18 00

3 12 00

Tape 1 pee Coloured

00 1 8

Vinegar 2 galls

00 00 5[?]

Combs 1 Horne

00 00 7

1 d[o]

00 00 5[?]

1 Box

00 00 6

00 1 6

Twine 2 at [?]

00 1 6[?]

House Linnen 6 y[ds] at 2/4

00 4 8

Flag brooms 6 2/3

00 13 6[?]

Pepper 3 at [?] 6

00 3 00

Kersey 1 pee q[?] 32 y[ds] 2/2

3 9 4

Blanketts 1 pair d[o]

00 7 2 6[?]

Broad Cloth 1 y[d]

00 14 6 3/4[?]

Long Cloth 1 pee

1 4 9

Sail Needles 1/2 doz

00 00 9 1/2

Corks 14 doz at [?]

00 3 6

Red Lead 3 at 6

00 1 6

Dungrees 2 pees at 5/8

00 11 4

Bed Cords 10 2/6

1 5 00

Ironmongers Ware (Viz[t])

1 Cupboard Lock

00 3 4

3 pair of Dovetales

00 1 6

6 Sugar Shovels at 2/6

00 15 00

19 10

Nails (Viz[t]) 8 of 2 at 11[d]

00 7 4

10 3 9

00 7 6

1 4 batten brads at 14[d]

00 1 2

46 10 8 1/2

1 12 7

2 Tacks 20

00 3 4

6 30 7

00 3 6

2 Coopers Rivetts

00 1 10

2 1/2 4 Trunk

00 2 11

3 2

Beef 2 Cask q[?] 1030 at 5 1/2

24 17 1

85 9 5 3/4

Total of Old Goods Carried over

£ 85 9 5 3/4

The Union Castle account continued.

Brought over £42 14s 9½d

Tea 6 pounds at 9s £2 14s

Cottas 2 at 18 £3 12s

Tape, coloured 1 piece 1s 8d

Vinegar 2 gallons 5s

Combs, horn 1 7d

Comb 1 5d

Comb, box 1 6d

Subtotal combs 1s 6d

Twine 2 pounds 4s 8d

House linen 6 yards at 2s 4d 13s 6d

Flag brooms 6 at 2s 3d 3s

Pepper 3 pounds 3s

Kersey 1 piece of 32 yards at 2s 2d £3 9s 4d

Blankets 1 pair at the same 7s 6d

Broad cloth 1 yard 14s 6¾d

Long cloth 1 piece £1 4s 9d

Sail needles ½ dozen 9½d

Corks 14 dozen at the same 3s 6d

Red lead 3 pounds at 6 1s 6d

Dungarees 2 pieces at 5s 8d 11s 4d

Bed cords 10 at 2s 6d £1 5s

Ironmonger's ware, cupboard lock 1 3s 4d

Dovetails 3 pair 1s 6d

Sugar shovels 6 at 2s 6d 15s

Subtotal ironmonger's ware 19s 10d

Nails 8d, 2 at 11 7s 4d

Nails 10, 3 at 9 7s 6d

Nails, batten brads 1, 4 at 14 1s 2d

Nails 46, 10 at 8½ £1 12s 7d

Tacks 2 at 20 3s 4d

Brads 6, 30 at 7 3s 6d

Coopers rivets 2 1s 10d

Trunk 2¼, 4 at the same 2s 11d

Subtotal nails £3 2s

Beef 2 cask of 1,030 pounds at 5½ £24 17s 1d

Total of old goods, carried over £85 9s 5¾d

Interpretations

This passage continues the account of goods delivered to Union Castle for the month to 25 October 1716, brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, closing the castle's run at a total of £85 9s 5¾d.

The beef supplied to the castle forms the largest single value in the account at nearly twenty-five pounds, two casks of 1,030 pounds priced at five pence halfpenny the pound. The bulk salting of beef into casks was the means by which the garrison and the Company's table were victualled across the year, the same cattle whose careful preservation the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 had enforced through the famine now yielding a surplus large enough to provision the castle in quantity.

Several lines name goods whose use may not be plain to a modern reader. Flag brooms were brooms made of flag, the long coarse leaves of the iris or reed, used for sweeping. Red lead was a lead oxide pigment mixed with oil for priming and protecting timber and ironwork against weather. Bed cords were the ropes laced across a bedstead to support the bedding, and batten brads the small headless nails for fixing thin strips of wood. Coopers' rivets were the metal fastenings used in barrel-making, here supplied for the upkeep of the casks the Company depended on for storage.

The kersey, broad cloth and long cloth delivered to the castle by the yard and the piece supplied the senior establishment with both English wool and Indian cotton. The mixture of cloth, kitchen ironware, salted beef and cooperage in a single castle account shows the store provisioning the seat of government as a self-contained household, distinct from the retail supply to the inhabitants recorded on the earlier leaves.

167

174

Nov[r] 1716.

£ s d

Old Goods Bro[t] over

85 9 5 3/4

New Goods (Viz[t])

Lubeck Canvis 1 1/2 peice at 35/4 [?] pee

2 12 6[?]

2 12 6

Fustians 1 pee

2 00 2[?]

Thread 1/2 fine brown

00 2 6

Tin Ware 1 3 pint Sauce pan

00 1 8

Ironmongers Ware 1 Splinter Lock N[o] 7

00 4 00

1 felling Ax

00 3 4

00 7 4

New Goods

5 4 00[?]

Totall

£ 90 13 5 3/4

Goods deliverd for plantation Use (Viz[t])

Arrack 2 1/2 Gall at 6/3

00 15 7 1/2

Sugar 12 8

00 8 00

Shoe thread 2 at [?]

00 00 5

1 8 7 1/2

1 felling Axe

00 3 4

Total

£ 1 11 11 1/2

To the Inhabitants

246 5 0 1/4

New Goods

86 15 9

333 0 9 1/4

To Union Castle

85 9 5 3/4

New Goods

5 4 00

90 13 5 3/4

To plantation house

1 8 7 1/2

New Goods

00 3 4

1 11 11 1/2

425 6 2 1/2

Total of Goods Sold & del[d] for y[e] Sum of

£ 425 6 2 1/2

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

The Union Castle account concluded with its new goods.

Old goods brought over £85 9s 5¾d

New goods, Lubeck canvas 1½ piece at 35s 4d per piece £2 12s 6d

Fustians 1 piece 2s

Thread, fine brown ½ at the same 2s 6d

Tin ware 1 three-pint sauce pan 1s 8d

Ironmonger's ware, splinter lock number 7 1 4s

Felling axe 1 3s 4d

Subtotal new goods for Union Castle £3 6s

New goods 5s 4d

Total for Union Castle £90 13s 5¾d

Goods delivered for plantation use, as follows.

Arrack 2½ gallons at 6s 3d 15s 7½d

Sugar 12 pounds at 8d 8s

Shoe thread 2 pounds 5s

Subtotal £1 8s 7½d

Felling axe 1 3s 4d

Total for plantation use £1 11s 11½d

To the inhabitants, old goods £246 5s 0¼d

To the inhabitants, new goods £86 15s 9d

Inhabitants total £333 0s 9¼d

To Union Castle, old goods £85 9s 5¾d

To Union Castle, new goods £5 4s

Union Castle total £90 13s 5¾d

To the plantation house, old goods £1 8s 7½d

To the plantation house, new goods £3s 4d

Plantation house total £1 11s 11½d

Total of goods sold and delivered, for the sum of £425 6s 2½d

The account was signed by Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

This passage closes the storekeeper's monthly account brought in by Captain Bazett at the consultation of 27 November 1716, completing the small plantation-house delivery and striking the grand total of all goods sold and delivered for the month at £425 6s 2½d.

The summary at the foot gathers the three institutional headings of the storekeeper's standing form, the inhabitants, Union Castle and the plantation house, each split between old goods and new goods. The figures show the scale of each destination plainly: retail to the inhabitants at £333 0s 9¼d dwarfed the £90 13s 5¾d delivered to the castle and the trifling £1 11s 11½d to the plantation house, the inhabitants being the principal market for the Company's monopoly supply.

Lubeck canvas was a strong sailcloth or coarse linen named for the Baltic port of Lübeck, used for sails, sacking and heavy garments. Its delivery to the castle, with the felling axe and the splinter lock, reflects the practical upkeep of the seat of government rather than the dress materials that filled the inhabitants' new goods.

The signatures of Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield close the consultation, the same two councillors who subscribed the record of 22 November 1716. Tovey signs as secretary despite his suspension from that office at the consultation of 13 March 1715/16 over the stabbing of Francis Wrangham, his hand at the foot of the account confirming his restoration to the secretary's duties by this date. The Governor, Captain Bazett and the absent Captain Haswell do not appear, the entry resting on the secretary and the fifth councillor.

168

175

Dec[r] 1716.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 4[th] of Dec[r] 1716. At the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Plantation house

Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Matthew Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[o] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5[th] in Council

Pres[t]

Geo Haswell Dep[t] being Absent

The Last Consultation Read & Approvd of

Order[d] That Serj[t] Simson be Suspended for his neglect of Duty & that it be left to the Governour for how long

M[r] Jn[o] Coles One of y[e] Executors of Gilbert Cotgrove dec[d] having desired some persons to be Sumond to prove a Verball Will of Joseph Cotgrove (late) deceasd whereby he gave what he had to y[e] two Surviving Children of y[e] Gilbert Cotgrove (his Broth[r]) -

M[r] Jn[o] Alexander the other Executor de- liverd the following petition (Viz[t])

To the Worsh[l] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Coun[l] The petit[r] of Jn[o] Alexander Humbly Sheweth That Whereas Joseph Cotgrove Orph[n] & a Minor under Age, dying on y[e] 25 Nov[r] last past intestate as not being capable of making a Will & yo[r] petit[r] being his Guardian & Executor to his Mother's last Will & Testament (his Father dying Intestate some time before) Humbly prays

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Island St[r] Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 4 December 1716 at the Honourable Company's plantation house, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, Matthew Bazett third, Antipas Tovey fourth and Edward Byfield fifth in council. George Haswell the deputy governor was absent.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The council ordered that Sergeant Simpson be suspended for his neglect of duty, and left it to the Governor to decide for how long.

John Coles, one of the executors of Gilbert Cotgrove deceased, had asked for persons to be summoned to prove a verbal will of Joseph Cotgrove, late deceased, by which he gave what he had to the two surviving children of his brother Gilbert Cotgrove.

John Alexander, the other executor, then delivered the following petition.

John Alexander petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that Joseph Cotgrove, an orphan under age, had died on 25 November 1716 intestate, not being capable of making a will. He himself was the boy's guardian and the executor to his mother's last will and testament, the father having died intestate some time before. He humbly prayed [...]

Interpretations

This passage opens the consultation of 4 December 1716 and resolves the Munden's Point matter carried over from the previous sittings. The suspension of Sergeant Simpson for neglect of duty, with the length left to the Governor, completes the case in which the Governor and the gunner John French found the second fort undermanned and the sergeant absent in a boat all night, the bench having deferred the question of his replacement at the consultation of 27 November 1716.

The Cotgrove matter brings the council before its standing function as a court of orphans. The island had no separate orphans' court, so the bench supervised the estates of children through sworn proof of wills and the appointment of guardians and executors, the same machinery that ran through the probate business of earlier years.

The contest between the two executors turns on the form of the deceased's will. John Coles sought to prove a verbal or nuncupative will of Joseph Cotgrove, a spoken disposition declared before witnesses, while John Alexander's petition asserts that the boy died intestate as a minor incapable of making any will at all. The two positions cannot both stand, since a valid nuncupative will would direct the estate to the two surviving children of Gilbert Cotgrove, whereas intestacy would throw it open to the ordinary rules of succession under the council's administration.

John Alexander appears here in his established character as guardian and executor in the affairs of the orphaned children of the family. His standing rests on his appointment as executor to the boy's mother and as the boy's own guardian, the father having died intestate earlier, which places the management of the estate in his hands and sets him against the verbal will Coles would have the council prove.

169

176

Dec[r]

prays to be admitted Administ[r] to y[e] s[d] Jos Cotgroves Effects y[t] now are or hereafter may belong to him by y[e] decease of any his relations (now Absent) and for y[t] yo[r] petit[r] having two Sons living by y[e] s[d] Jos Cotgrove Sister (dec[d]) humbly conceives they are equal Heirs with his Broth[r] Gilbert Cotgrove two Sons & in theirs y[e] s[d] petit[rs] two Sons right claims an Equal Share of y[e] s[d] Jos Cotgroves Effects, These requests being the Custom of y[e] place ever Since y[e] memory of man & as he has no reason to doubt any thing to y[e] contrary So hopes for a ready & equitable compliance

And as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c (Sig[h]d) Jn[o] Alexander

Then the following Testimonies were taken upon Oath (Viz[t])

Hen Johnson Sayeth that on Saturday the 24[th] 9ber he was Sent for to read by Jos Cotgrove who y[n] lay Sick & was believed to be a dying & when he came there he desired him to read by him & he did read y[e] Office in the comon prayer book for y[e] Visitation of y[e] Sick & as he had done reading by Cotgrove he desired him to write him a Will, but Johnson sayes he told him he was unacquainted with y[e]

John Alexander prayed to be admitted administrator to the effects of the deceased Joseph Cotgrove, both those that now belonged to him and any that might hereafter come to him through the death of any of his relations, who were then absent. He set out that, since he himself had two sons living by a sister of the deceased Joseph Cotgrove, he believed they were equal heirs with the two sons of the deceased's brother Gilbert Cotgrove. On that footing his own two sons had a rightful claim to an equal share of Joseph Cotgrove's effects. He stated that these requests followed the custom of the place as far back as anyone could remember, and that, having no reason to doubt anything to the contrary, he hoped for ready and equitable compliance. The petition was given under the hand of John Alexander.

The following testimony was then taken on oath.

Henry Johnson stated that on Saturday 24 November he had been sent for to read to Joseph Cotgrove, who lay sick and was believed to be dying. When he arrived, Cotgrove asked him to read, and he read the office in the common prayer book for the visitation of the sick. After he had finished reading, Cotgrove asked him to write him a will, but Johnson told him he was unacquainted with [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the consultation of 4 December 1716, completing John Alexander's petition over the estate of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove and opening the sworn proof of the disputed verbal will. The boy had died intestate as a minor on 25 November 1716, and the two executors stood divided over how his effects should descend.

Alexander's petition discloses the family interest that drove his application. By claiming that his own two sons, born of a sister of the dead boy, stood as equal heirs with the two sons of the brother Gilbert Cotgrove, he sought a half share of the estate for his own children rather than the whole passing to the brother's line. His request to be admitted administrator, the officer who manages and distributes the estate of a person dying without a valid will, was the mechanism by which he would secure that division, and his appeal to the immemorial custom of the island was the ground on which he rested the equal claim.

The testimony of Henry Johnson sets out the making of the alleged nuncupative will. Such a spoken will, declared by a dying man before witnesses, required proof of the words and the circumstances, so the council took evidence of what passed at the sickbed. Johnson had been sent for to read the office for the visitation of the sick, the prayer-book service for the dying, which fixes both the gravity of the moment and the point at which Cotgrove turned from prayer to ask that a will be written for him.

The conflict between the petition and the testimony lies at the heart of the matter. Alexander's case rests on intestacy and an equal division by custom, while the evidence Coles called would establish a deliberate verbal disposition to the brother's two children. The bench had to decide whether the dying words amounted to a valid will or whether the boy died incapable, the whole descent of the estate turning on which account the council accepted.

170

177

the form & therefore could not do it & Cotgrove sayd I am desirous to leave what I have to my 2 Cosins y[e] Cotgroves, but y[t] Johnson left him & in y[e] evening came to him again & read by him out of y[e] whole Duty of Man & then Cotgrove again asked him to make him a Will but he Answerd as before & did not make one & y[e] next day Cotgrove dyed

(Sig[h]d) Hen Johnson

Hen Johnson further Sayeth y[t] Seeing Cotgrove had so great a desire to make a Will he Sayed to Satisfy him, y[t] he thought a Ver- bal Will was Sufficient & when it had been Argued whether a Verbal Will was Sufficient or not, Cotgrove sayd if I can gett no body to make another Will I must be satisfied w[th] that & then it was y[t] he Spoke those words mencion'd by Peter Sinsnick Saying I speak before y[e] all (there being P[r] Sinsnick, Tho ask by, Jn[o] Roulston, Fr[o] Cullum, Jos Bates, & Jn[o] W[m] Pyfer beside himself present) that I leave what I have to my two Cosins at Jn[o] Bagleys and M[r] Allis's & then there was no more words relating much to this matter sayd

(Sig[h]d) H Johnson

Jn[o]

Henry Johnson said he was unacquainted with the form of a will and so could not write one. Cotgrove then said he wished to leave what he had to his two cousins, the Cotgroves. Johnson left him and came again in the evening, when he read to him out of the whole duty of man. Cotgrove again asked him to make him a will, but Johnson answered as before and did not make one, and the next day Cotgrove died. The statement was given under the hand of Henry Johnson.

Henry Johnson further stated that, seeing Cotgrove had so great a desire to make a will, he had said, to satisfy him, that he thought a verbal will was sufficient. After it had been argued whether a verbal will was sufficient or not, Cotgrove said that if he could get nobody to make another will he must be satisfied with that. He then spoke the words reported by Peter Sinsnick, saying he spoke before them all, there being present Peter Sinsnick, Thomas Ashby, John Roulston, Francis Cullum, Joseph Bates and John William Pyfer besides Johnson himself, that he left what he had to his two cousins at John Bagley's and Mr Allis's. There were no further words said relating much to this matter. The statement was given under the hand of Henry Johnson.

Interpretations

This passage continues the proof of the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove at the consultation of 4 December 1716, completing the testimony of Henry Johnson on the words spoken at the sickbed before the boy died on 25 November 1716.

The testimony supplies the substance and the proof of a nuncupative will. Such a will was a disposition declared aloud by a dying man rather than written and signed, and its validity depended on the words being spoken before sufficient witnesses with the intent to make a final disposition. Johnson's account establishes both elements: Cotgrove's repeated and frustrated wish to have a will written, and his deliberate declaration before the assembled company that he left what he had to his two cousins.

The list of those present supplies the witnesses on whom the will would stand or fall. The boy named that he spoke before them all, and Johnson identified Peter Sinsnick, Thomas Ashby, John Roulston, Francis Cullum, Joseph Bates and John William Pyfer beside himself, the formal calling of witnesses being the means by which a spoken will was afterwards proved. Joseph Bates was the marshal appointed in place of the dismissed William Postley on 27 September 1715, and Francis Cullum the soldier degraded for words tending to mutiny on 25 August 1715 and later readmitted on 24 July 1716.

The identification of the two cousins fixes the beneficiaries against John Alexander's rival claim. Cotgrove's words leaving his effects to his two cousins lodged at John Bagley's and at Mr Allis's point to the two surviving sons of his brother Gilbert Cotgrove, the very persons John Coles sought to benefit, and stand directly against Alexander's petition that the estate be divided equally to take in his own two sons. The bench's decision on the descent of the estate turned on whether this spoken declaration was accepted as a valid will.

171

178

Dec[r]

Jn[o] W[m] Pyfer Sayeth y[t] on Friday before Jos Cotgrove dyed he heard him Say I am very ill & believe I shall dye but what I have I leave to my two little Cosins, & on Saturday he heard Cotgrove desire M[r] Johnson or Joseph Thomlinson should be called to make him a Will & then he spake these words, I have a Sister in India y[t] I have not heard on a long while & don't know whether she be dead or alive, & therefore I leave w[t] I have to my Br[rs] Children my little Cosins & Sayd further I wish M[r] Alexander was down y[t] I might tell him of it

And on Sunday y[e] day y[t] Cotgrove dyed M[r] Alexander came to see him & asked him if he had any thing to Say to him & He Sayd w[t] Estate I have I leave to my little Cosins & M[r] Alexander replyd y[t] must be left to the Gov[r] & Council, then M[r] Alexander went away & in half an hour more Cotgrove was a dying & spake no more

(Sig[h]d) Jn[o] W[m] Pyfer

P[r] Sinsnick Sayeth y[t] y[e] Saturday Even before Jos Cotgrove dyed he heard him Say y[t] he desired to leave his Estate to his 2 Cosins y[e]

John William Pyfer stated that on the Friday before Joseph Cotgrove died he had heard him say that he was very ill and believed he should die, but that what he had he left to his two little cousins. On the Saturday he heard Cotgrove ask that Mr Johnson or Joseph Thomlinson be called to make him a will, and then he spoke these words: that he had a sister in India of whom he had not heard for a long while and did not know whether she was dead or alive, and that he therefore left what he had to his brother's children, his little cousins. He added that he wished Mr Alexander were there so that he might tell him of it.

On the Sunday, the day Cotgrove died, Mr Alexander came to see him and asked whether he had anything to say to him. Cotgrove answered that what estate he had he left to his little cousins. Mr Alexander replied that it must be left to the Governor and council. Mr Alexander then went away, and within half an hour more Cotgrove was dying and spoke no more. The statement was given under the hand of John William Pyfer.

Peter Sinsnick stated that on the Saturday evening before Joseph Cotgrove died he had heard him say that he wished to leave his estate to his two cousins [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the proof of the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove at the consultation of 4 December 1716, adding the testimony of John William Pyfer and opening that of Peter Sinsnick on the words the dying boy spoke before his death on 25 November 1716.

The evidence builds the case for a valid nuncupative will by repetition across several days and several witnesses. A spoken will required proof that the dying man declared his intention deliberately and consistently, and Pyfer's account of the same disposition repeated on the Friday, the Saturday and the Sunday answers that test. Cotgrove's reference to a sister in India of whom he had heard nothing, set against his clear preference for his brother's children, shows him reasoning over the descent of his estate rather than speaking at random.

The recorded exchange with John Alexander on the day of death goes directly to Alexander's own petition. Cotgrove told Alexander to his face that he left his estate to his little cousins, and Alexander answered only that the matter must go to the Governor and council. That reply, made by the man who afterwards claimed an equal share for his own two sons, sits awkwardly beside his petition, since the dying boy named the brother's children and not Alexander's, and the bench would weigh Alexander's insistence on a division by custom against the deceased's plain words.

Several of the named witnesses carry their own histories before the bench. Peter Sinsnick is the soldier whose estate had been the subject of probate after his death before 10 July 1716, his inventory brought in at the consultation of 24 July 1716, which places the present testimony among the recurring appearances of that household in the council's affairs. The repeated naming of Mr Johnson or Joseph Thomlinson as the men Cotgrove wished to write his will ties the matter to the same Thomlinson then under charge for the storehouse theft at the consultations of 20 and 22 November 1716.

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the Cotgroves one of whom lives at Jn[o] Bagleys & y[e] other at M[r] Allis's & he desired Hen Johnson at y[e] Same time to make him a Will, but Johnson Sayd he was unacquainted w[th] y[e] form of it & y[t] Cotgrove Sayed in y[e] presence of divers y[e] follow[g] words, I speak it before you all that I leave what I have to my two Cosins at Jn[o] Bagley & M[r] Allis's & P[r] Sinsnick Sayes that after Hen Johnson had refused to make Cotgroves Will he sent for Jos Thomlinson to make his Will & Francis Cullum went to call Jos Thomlinson for y[t] purpose & Thomlinson Sayd y[t] he would come presently & in y[e] mean time Cotgrove Sayed if Jos Thomlinson does not come pre- sently I shall be dead before he comes, after- wards he heard Jos Thomlinson did come but refused to make a Will, but if Jos Thomlinson did come he believes he did not See Cotgrove because himself was all night by y[e] Sick man But when no body could be procured to make a Will Hen Johnson advised Cotgrove to Send to y[e] Govern[r] to acquaint him with it but Cotgrove Sayed I will not trouble y[e] Gov[r] ab[t] it, but if no body will do it lett it be as it is (or lett it all fall or some such like words) but before he spake those last

Peter Sinsnick said the two Cotgroves were the cousins, one of whom lived at John Bagley's and the other at Mr Allis's. Cotgrove had at the same time asked Henry Johnson to make him a will, but Johnson said he was unacquainted with the form of it. Cotgrove then spoke the following words in the presence of several people: that he spoke it before them all, that he left what he had to his two cousins at John Bagley's and Mr Allis's.

Peter Sinsnick further said that after Johnson had refused to make Cotgrove's will, Cotgrove sent for Joseph Thomlinson to make it, and Francis Cullum went to call Joseph Thomlinson for that purpose. Thomlinson said he would come shortly, and in the meantime Cotgrove said that if Joseph Thomlinson did not come soon he should be dead before he came. Sinsnick afterwards heard that Joseph Thomlinson did come but refused to make a will. If Thomlinson did come, Sinsnick believed he did not see Cotgrove, because Sinsnick himself was by the sick man all night and knew of nobody who could be found to make a will.

Henry Johnson advised Cotgrove to send to the Governor to acquaint him with it, but Cotgrove said he would not trouble the Governor about it, and that if nobody would do it, it might be left as it was, or fall, or words to that effect. Before he spoke those last [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the proof of the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove at the consultation of 4 December 1716, completing the testimony of Peter Sinsnick on the words and circumstances of the dying declaration before the boy's death on 25 November 1716.

The evidence confirms the form required for a valid nuncupative will through the witness's own knowledge. Sinsnick was by the sick man all night, which makes him the closest witness to the deathbed, and his account of Cotgrove speaking before the assembled company that he left his goods to his two cousins supplies the deliberate and witnessed declaration the law demanded for a spoken will. The identification of the two cousins by their lodgings, one at John Bagley's and the other at Mr Allis's, fixes the beneficiaries beyond doubt as the sons of the brother Gilbert Cotgrove.

The repeated failure to secure a written will throws the weight onto the spoken words. Two men were sought to put the will in writing, and the account ties the matter again to Joseph Thomlinson, the storehouse-theft defendant of the consultations of 20 and 22 November 1716, who was sent for by Francis Cullum but never reached the dying boy. The very absence of a written instrument is what made the proof of the verbal declaration necessary, the bench having no document to rely on.

Cotgrove's refusal to send to the Governor is significant for the descent of the estate. Henry Johnson advised him to acquaint the Governor with his wishes, the council being the authority over orphan estates on the island, but the boy declined to trouble the Governor and was content to let the matter rest on his spoken word. That choice left the estate to be settled after his death by the bench on the proof of witnesses, the route by which the rival claims of John Coles and John Alexander came before the council.

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Dec[r]

last mentiond words, he desired M[r] Bates & Jn[o] Bagley should be his Executors

But next day w[ch] was Sunday M[r] Alexander came to see him & asked him if he was about making a Will & Sayed he heard he was ab[t] making a Will & Cotgrove Sayed I desire y[t] my 2 little Cosins (or Cosins Cotgrove) may have my Estate

(Sig[h]d) Peter Sinsnick

Joseph Bates Sayeth y[t] on Saturday y[e] 24[th] of 9ber last Jos Cotgrove who then lay on his death bed Sent for him & Sayed I am very bad & am going to make my Will but having asked M[r] Johnson & also sent for Jos Thomlinson who declined making of it, he could not gett a Will written but in y[e] mean time Bates asked him who he left in power & he answerd him John Bagley & him (Viz[t] Jos Bates) & Sayed w[t] I have I leave to my two little Cosins, then Bates asking him who they were he Sayed One of y[m] lives at Jn[o] Bagleys & y[e] other at Tho[s] Allis but did not name their names then Bates desired to be excused & sayed twas better to name another a Planter then

Before he spoke those last words, Cotgrove desired that Mr Bates and John Bagley should be his executors.

The next day, which was Sunday, Mr Alexander came to see him and asked whether he was about making a will. Alexander said he had heard he was making a will, and Cotgrove said he wished his two little cousins, the Cotgroves, to have his estate. The statement was given under the hand of Peter Sinsnick.

Joseph Bates stated that on Saturday 24 November Joseph Cotgrove, who then lay on his deathbed, had sent for him and said he was very bad and was going to make his will. Having asked Mr Johnson and also sent for Joseph Thomlinson, who declined making it, Cotgrove could not get a will written. In the meantime Bates asked him whom he left in power, and Cotgrove answered John Bagley and Bates himself, saying that what he had he left to his two little cousins. When Bates asked who they were, Cotgrove said one of them lived at John Bagley's and the other at Thomas Allis's, but did not name their names. Bates then asked to be excused, saying it was better to name another, a planter [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the proof of the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove at the consultation of 4 December 1716, completing the testimony of Peter Sinsnick and opening that of Joseph Bates on the deathbed declaration before the boy's death on 25 November 1716.

The evidence now supplies the appointment of executors, the element a nuncupative will needed beyond the gift itself. Cotgrove named John Bagley and Joseph Bates to be his executors, the persons who would prove the will and administer the estate, which gives the spoken disposition the structure of a complete testament rather than a loose wish. The repeated naming of the two cousins as the beneficiaries, identified again by their lodgings at John Bagley's and Thomas Allis's, fixes the gift on the sons of the brother Gilbert Cotgrove.

Joseph Bates gives his evidence as one of the men the dying boy chose to entrust with his affairs. Bates was the marshal of the island, appointed in place of the dismissed William Postley on 27 September 1715, and his account of being sent for to the deathbed and asked to act carries the weight of a named executor. His request to be excused, on the ground that a planter would be the fitter person, shows him reluctant to take on the charge, a hesitation that did not affect the validity of the gift to the cousins.

Cotgrove's recorded exchange with John Alexander again bears on Alexander's own claim. On the Sunday Alexander asked whether the boy was making a will, and Cotgrove answered plainly that he wished his two little cousins to have his estate. The man who afterwards petitioned for an equal share for his own two sons thus heard the deceased name the brother's children to his face, and the bench would set that admission against Alexander's argument for a division by the custom of the island.

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then he desired y[t] M[r] Allis be y[e] other But Bates Sayed Suppose these Children should dye before they are at Age who then must have what you have & Cotgrove Said then it must go to whom it falls to & Bates y[n] sayd y[t] is y[e] next Heir at Law & Cotgrove Sayd ay, But when they could gett no body to make a Will he Sayed before he would trouble the Gov[r] it should lye as it was, then Hen Johnson Sayd y[t] as Cotgrove was a Soldier of the Garrison he thought a Verbal Will would do & it was y[e] Opinion of those present all but Serj[t] Slaughter y[t] a verbal will would do, w[th] w[ch] Cotgrove seemd to be Satisfyed

(Sig[h]d) Joseph Bates

Jn[o] Alexander Sayeth y[t] he has heard w[t] is Sayed to y[e] Gov[r] & Council as is Sett down in y[e] Testimonies of Hen Johnson Jn[o] W[m] Pyfer, Peter Sinsnick & Jos Bates but Sayeth y[t] he is Guardian & Ex[r] of y[e] s[d] deceasd Cotgrove & y[t] he could not have w[t] belong[d] to him Out of his hands till he arrives at the Age of twenty One Years & now at his death he was not above Nineteen & he doth not beleive he was capable of making a Will &

Cotgrove then desired that Mr Allis be the other executor. But Bates asked what would happen if these children should die before they came of age, and who must then have what Cotgrove had. Cotgrove answered that it must then go to whoever it fell to, and Bates said that it was to the next heir at law, to which Cotgrove agreed. When they could get nobody to make a will, Cotgrove said that, rather than trouble the Governor, it should rest as it was. Henry Johnson then said that, since Cotgrove was a soldier of the garrison, he thought a verbal will would do. All those present were of that opinion except Sergeant Slaughter, and Cotgrove seemed satisfied that a verbal will would do. The statement was given under the hand of Joseph Bates.

John Alexander stated that he had heard what was said to the Governor and council, as set down in the testimonies of Henry Johnson, John William Pyfer, Peter Sinsnick and Joseph Bates. He said that he was guardian and executor to the deceased Cotgrove, and that the estate could not have belonged to the boy out of his hands until he reached the age of twenty-one years. At his death the boy was not above nineteen, and Alexander did not believe he was capable of making a will [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the proof of the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove at the consultation of 4 December 1716, completing the testimony of Joseph Bates and opening John Alexander's answer to the four witnesses, the boy having died on 25 November 1716.

The closing of Bates's evidence settles the law on which the will would stand. The opinion that a soldier of the garrison might make a verbal will, held by all present except Sergeant Slaughter, points to the privileged nuncupative will allowed to soldiers in actual service, a recognised exception to the ordinary requirements for disposing of goods by word of mouth. Cotgrove's agreement that, failing the children, the estate should pass to the next heir at law shows the disposition reasoned through to its remainder, strengthening its character as a considered testament.

John Alexander's answer attacks the will on the ground of the boy's capacity rather than the proof of his words. By insisting that Cotgrove was a minor, not above nineteen and under the age of twenty-one, Alexander argued that the boy could not make a valid will at all, since the estate remained in the guardian's hands until majority. This reframes the dispute, conceding the spoken declaration but denying it any legal force, and sets the question for the bench as one of the testator's competence.

Alexander's reliance on his own offices supplies the foundation of his case. He stood as guardian and executor to the deceased, the guardian holding the minor's estate and managing it during his nonage, which is the authority on which he claimed the estate had never passed out of his control. His position as the boy's guardian thus underpins both his denial of the will's validity and his earlier petition for an equal share to his own two sons.

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Will, those Witnesses have endeavoured to prove a Verbal Will, Yet he thinks y[e] whole invalid, because tho in some Cases men aft[r] One & twenty Years of Age are allowed to make a verbal Will, Yet in these Cases he thinks tis improper where y[e] man is under Age and sayeth that w[t] he (Cotgrove) had was given him by his Mother instead of real Estate & therefore he thinks it Ought to be lookt upon as a Real Estate w[ch] canot be given away by a Verbal Will I have more to Say relating to this matt[r] But reserve that to some other time

(Sig[h]d) Jn[o] Alexander

Referrd the further consideration of this matter to another Oppertunity

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

John Alexander said the witnesses had tried to prove a verbal will, but that he thought the whole invalid. He acknowledged that in some cases men above twenty-one years of age were allowed to make a verbal will, yet in these cases he thought it improper where the man was under age. He added that what Cotgrove had was given him by his mother in place of real estate, and that it ought therefore to be looked upon as real estate, which could not be given away by a verbal will. He said he had more to say concerning the matter, but reserved that to another time. The statement was given under the hand of John Alexander.

The council deferred the further consideration of this matter to another time.

The consultation was signed by Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

This passage closes the proof of the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove at the consultation of 4 December 1716, completing John Alexander's objection and deferring the bench's decision, the boy having died on 25 November 1716.

Alexander's final argument rests on the distinction between real and personal property. A nuncupative will could dispose of goods and chattels but not of land, since real estate descended by different rules and could not pass by spoken word. By contending that what the boy held had been given by his mother in place of real estate, Alexander sought to clothe personal property in the character of land, so that it would fall outside the reach of any verbal will and pass instead by inheritance through the guardian's hands.

The objection on the boy's age reinforces the same end. Alexander conceded that a man above twenty-one might make a verbal will but denied the capacity to a minor under that age, which would void the declaration whatever its proof. His reservation of further argument to another time kept his case open, allowing him to press both the want of capacity and the nature of the estate when the matter returned.

The deferral leaves the descent of the estate unsettled and turns on the bench's view of two questions. The council must decide whether a soldier's privileged verbal will could stand for a minor, and whether property given in place of land took the character of real estate, the rival claims of John Coles for the brother's children and of John Alexander for his own two sons both awaiting that judgement.

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At a Consultation held on Tues- day y[e] 11[o] day of December 1716. At Union Castle in James Vally

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5[th] in Council

Pres[t]

Last Consultation read & Approved of

Order[d] That a New Advertizement be Published against prophaning the Lords day as followeth (Viz[t])

By y[e] Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council An Advertizem[t]

Whereas the Lords day hath of late been too frequently prophaned by divers unlawfull & irregular practices, Sundry persons for Lucre Sake having caused their Slaves to per- form a more Laborious Service on y[e] Lords day than on other days by Sending them to remote parts of y[e] Isle to fetch burdens of Wood and by causing of them to carry great Loads of Yams on y[t] day, others Send them out in boats a fishing & to dig Salt out of the Rocks, w[ch] is not only a Laborious but very daug[erous]

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Island St[r] Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 11 December 1716 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy governor, Matthew Bazett third, Antipas Tovey fourth and Edward Byfield fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The council ordered that a new advertisement be published against profaning the Lord's day, as follows.

The Governor and council issued an advertisement. They set out that the Lord's day had lately been too frequently profaned by various unlawful and irregular practices. Several persons, for the sake of profit, had made their slaves perform more laborious service on the Lord's day than on other days, by sending them to remote parts of the island to fetch loads of wood and by making them carry great loads of yams on that day. Others sent them out in boats to fish and to dig salt out of the rocks, which was not only laborious but very [...]

Interpretations

This passage opens the consultation of 11 December 1716 and records the framing of a new advertisement against profaning the Lord's day. The matter is set out as an embedded public notice under the hand of the Governor and council, the bench legislating directly for the observance of Sunday on the island.

The notice is aimed at the use of slave labour for private profit on Sunday rather than at any breach of worship by free inhabitants. The conduct complained of is the sending of slaves to fetch wood from remote parts, to carry yams, to fish and to dig salt from the rocks, all turned to the owners' gain. The advertisement thus regulates the masters through the activity of their slaves, the Sabbath rule operating as a control on the working of Company and private holdings on the one day reserved from labour.

The reference to digging salt out of the rocks connects to a standing want of the island. The council had earlier sought salt-pans from the directors in the general indent sent home by the St George on 15 November 1715, and Captain Robert Hurst of the Avarilla had sold the island salt at a dear rate, entered on 15 November 1715 in support of that request. The private gathering of salt from the rocks on Sundays reflects the scarcity that drove inhabitants to win it where they could.

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dangerous employment

Wherefore the Gov[r] & Coun[l] considering the Great Scandall to Christianity y[t] is oc- casiond by Such irregular practises Doe Publish this Advertizem[t] to y[e] end y[t] all persons of w[t] Degree or Function soever may take notice thereof & to lett them know what shall & w[t] shall not hereafter be permitted

Therefore they hereby Order That on y[e] Lords day nor any part thereof noe Burthens shall be carried on any part of this Island nor loods of Wood or Yams no boats (tho they goe out on Saturday) shall be permitted to Spend y[t] day in fishing or fetching of Wood or Salt or gathering of Eggs on penalty y[t] all such ffish, Wood, Salt, Eggs, or Burthen of Yams shall be Seized on & distributed to y[e] Soldiers of y[e] Garrison, but in case any Soldier transgress this Order then He shall entirely lose his share or part of y[e] s[d] forfei- ture But as the Gov[r] & Council intend hereby only to prevent y[e] notorious & open prophaness of y[e] Lords day they do permitt Milk to be brought from place to place for y[e] Use of Children or Weak people then

The advertisement continued, describing the gathering of salt from the rocks as not only laborious but very dangerous employment.

The Governor and council, considering the great scandal to Christianity caused by such irregular practices, published this notice so that all persons of whatever rank or office might take notice of it and know what would and would not in future be permitted.

They ordered that on the Lord's day, or any part of it, no loads should be carried in any part of the island, nor any wood or yams. No boats, even if they went out on the Saturday, should be allowed to spend the day fishing or fetching wood or salt, or gathering eggs. The penalty was that all such fish, wood, salt, eggs or loads of yams should be seized and distributed to the soldiers of the garrison. If any soldier broke this order, he should entirely lose his share or part of the forfeiture.

The Governor and council, intending only to prevent the notorious and open profaning of the Lord's day, allowed milk to be brought from place to place for the use of children or weak people [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the advertisement against profaning the Lord's day at the consultation of 11 December 1716, setting out the prohibition, its penalty and the first of its exceptions. The notice is an embedded public order under the hand of the Governor and council, fixing the Sabbath rule for the whole island.

The enforcement mechanism turns the seized goods over to the garrison rather than to the Company or the parish. Fish, wood, salt, eggs and yams taken in breach of the order were to be distributed to the soldiers, which gave the men a direct interest in detecting and reporting offenders. The further rule that any soldier who himself broke the order should lose his share closed the obvious gap, denying the informer the benefit of the very forfeiture he might otherwise abuse.

The qualification on boats going out on Saturday addresses the divided-week regime for the Egg Islands. The council had set Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as Company days and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as inhabitant days for fetching eggs, renewed by advertisement of 25 September 1716. By forbidding boats to spend the Lord's day fishing or gathering even where they had lawfully gone out on the Saturday, the order prevented the Saturday licence being stretched across into Sunday.

The exception for milk discloses the limit of the bench's purpose. The council declared it aimed only at the notorious and open profaning of the day, and so allowed milk to be carried for children and weak people, the necessities of the sick and the young being set above the general prohibition. The distinction marks the order as a measure against labour for profit rather than against all movement of goods on Sunday.

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they permitt all Sorts of Green trade to be ga- therd & carried as occacon requires, or any other Sort of Meat or fowls in small spells for y[e] Provisions & Expence of that day And Also when any ship that happens to touch here for Refreshment all persons have Liberty of bringing down such small necessarys as they shall want provided no great Loads or Burthens be carried on that day without y[e] Gov[rs] Licence w[ch] he will give to those who desire it in case it Appeare to him as necessary & for the good of y[e] Shipping

And who-ever shall willfully transgress y[e] Ordinance shall be lookt on as contem- ners of Law & Religion & punished accor- dingly Dated at Union Castle &c Signd by Ord[r] of Gov[r] &c Coun[l]

Antip[s] Tovey Secr[y]

The following Petitions were presented To y[e] Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Coun[l] The most humb[l] petit[r] of Jn[o] Cole Tree plant[r]

Humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] petit[r] was by y[e] last Will & Testam[t] of Gilbert Cotgrove Plant[r] dec[d] appointed One of the Execut[rs] for his Surviving Children & being Casey[?]

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

The advertisement continued. The Governor and council allowed all sorts of green produce to be gathered and carried as occasion required, together with any other kind of meat or fowls in small quantities for the provisions and expense of that day. They also allowed that, when any ship happened to touch at the island for refreshment, all persons should have liberty to bring down such small necessaries as they needed, provided no great loads were carried on that day without the Governor's licence, which he would give to those who desired it where it appeared to him necessary and for the good of the shipping.

Whoever should wilfully break this order was to be looked upon as a despiser of law and religion and punished accordingly. The notice was dated at Union Castle and signed by order of the Governor and council by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

The following petitions were then presented.

John Coles the planter petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that he had been appointed by the last will and testament of Gilbert Cotgrove the planter, deceased, as one of the executors for his surviving children, and being [...]

Interpretations

This passage closes the advertisement against profaning the Lord's day at the consultation of 11 December 1716 and opens the petition of John Coles in the disputed Cotgrove estate. The notice ends as an embedded public order under the hand of the Governor and council, with its final exceptions and its penalty.

The closing exceptions reveal the order as a measured restraint rather than a blanket ban. By allowing green produce, small quantities of meat and fowls for the day's own use, and the bringing down of small necessaries when a ship lay in the road, the council preserved the supply of food and the victualling of visiting shipping. The reservation of great loads to the Governor's personal licence kept the larger movement of goods under direct control, the bench balancing Sabbath observance against the island's dependence on the trade of passing ships.

The petition opens the second stage of the contest over the estate of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove, who died on 25 November 1716. John Coles comes forward as one of the executors named under the will of Gilbert Cotgrove, the deceased boy's brother, and acts for the surviving children who were the cousins the dying boy named as his beneficiaries. His petition stands against John Alexander's claim, argued at the consultation of 4 December 1716, that the boy died incapable of making a will and that the estate should be divided to take in Alexander's own two sons.

The signature of Antipas Tovey as secretary closes the advertisement, his hand again confirming his restoration to the secretary's duties after his suspension at the consultation of 13 March 1715/16 over the stabbing of Francis Wrangham.

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Dec[r]

lately informd of y[e] Death of Joseph Cotgrove his Minor Br[o], who two Days before his decease by a Verbal Will declard his two Nephews (Sons of y[e] aforesd Gilb[t] Cotgrove) Sole Heirs of his Worldly Estate as has as has Since appeard by y[e] Testimony of Several Witnesses, Notwithstanding which M[r] Alexander has pettiond yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council to Administer on behalf of those his Children allied to y[e] s[d] Cotgrove tho yo[r] petit[r] humbly conceives they have no claim

Wherefore desires y[e] s[d] M[r] Alexander may not be permitted to Administ[r] but be Obliged to give a Just Account of y[e] s[d] Jos Cotgroves Estate from y[e] time he was impowerd to take it into his hands

& yo[r] Petit[r] (as in duty bound) shall ever pray for, &c (Sig[h]d) John Coles

Order[d] That it be referrd to the next Orphans Court

To y[e] Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Coun[l] The humb[l] Petit[r] of Geo Sanders

Sheweth That y[e] following persons being indebted to y[e] Estate of Tho[s] Gargen dec[d] in divers Sums w[ch] he canot gett to adjust & pay into the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Stores or otherwise which B[?]

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

John Coles, lately informed of the death of Joseph Cotgrove, his minor brother, set out that two days before his death Cotgrove had by a verbal will declared his two nephews, the sons of the said Gilbert Cotgrove, sole heirs of his worldly estate, as had since appeared by the testimony of several witnesses. He noted that, despite this, Mr Alexander had petitioned the Governor and council to administer on behalf of his own children, who were related to Cotgrove, though Coles believed they had no claim.

He therefore asked that Mr Alexander not be allowed to administer, but be obliged to give a just account of Joseph Cotgrove's estate from the time he was empowered to take it into his hands. The petition was given under the hand of John Coles, dated 11 December 1716.

The council ordered that the matter be referred to the next orphans' court.

George Sanders then petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that the following persons, being indebted to the estate of Thomas Gargen deceased in various sums which he could not get them to settle and pay into the Honourable Company's stores or otherwise [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the consultation of 11 December 1716, completing John Coles's petition in the disputed Cotgrove estate and opening that of George Sanders over the debts owed to the Gargen estate. The Cotgrove matter, carried from the proof of witnesses at the consultation of 4 December 1716, is now referred to the next orphans' court.

Coles's petition recasts John Alexander's role from claimant to accounting party. By asking that Alexander not be admitted administrator but be obliged to render a just account of the estate from the time he took it in hand, Coles attacked Alexander on two fronts at once. He denied the standing of Alexander's children to share, the dying boy having named only the two nephews, and he sought to call Alexander to account as the guardian who had managed the estate during the boy's minority, exposing any dealings with the property to scrutiny.

The reference to the next orphans' court fixes the forum for the decision. The council sat as the island's court of orphans in the absence of any separate tribunal, and the deferral confirms that the contest between the verbal will proved by Coles and the claim of incapacity urged by Alexander would be settled in that capacity, the descent of the estate awaiting the bench's ruling.

George Sanders appears in his established character as the husband of the widow Mercy Gargen, whom he married about March 1716. His petition continues the long-running settlement of the estate of Thomas Gargen, ruled barely sufficient to pay the Company and the creditors on 15 November 1715, and follows his earlier application at the consultation of 25 September 1716 that a debt due to him from the estate be added to the inventory or an administrator appointed to call in its debts.

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is greatly to yo[r] petit[rs] Loss & damage for want of his Share of y[e] s[d] Estate Most humbly prays yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council will grant a Sumons for y[e] persons to appeare before you to Shew cause why they do not dis- charge their Debts due to s[d] Estate

& yo[r] petit[r] as in duty bound shall ever pray &c (Sig[h]d) Geo Sanders

The names of those persons who are indebted is Cap[t] Geo Haswell, Rob[t] Gurling, R[d] Thompson Edm[d] Nichols, Sam[l] Duffton, Tho[s] Southen & Xopher Kell

Granted & All but Cap[t] Haswell to be Sumond he agreeing to Appeare without it

M[r] Byfeld brought in his Monthly Acc[t] of Dyett expence for y[e] Month of Novemb[r] amounting to £ 86 12 8 & 10 d 1/2

M[r] French brought in his Account of Gunners Expence for y[e] Month of Nov[r] as followeth (Viz[t])

An Acc[t] of Gunn[rs] Stores Expended from y[e] 5 Nov[r] 1716 to y[e] 30 ditto Inclusive (Viz[t])

£ s d

To y[e] Worsh[l] y[e] Gov[r]

4 2

M[r] Cadon to Excercise y[e] Guard

2

Cap[t] Haswell

3

To y[e] Guard

2

at y[e] burying of Jos Cotgrove

6 1

Carried over

14

Margin Notes:

Nov[r] 1

2

5

George Sanders said the debts owing to the estate were greatly to his loss and damage for want of his share of it. He humbly asked that the Governor and council grant a summons for those persons to appear and show cause why they did not discharge their debts due to the estate. The petition was given under the hand of George Sanders, dated 11 December 1716.

The names of those persons who were indebted were Captain George Haswell, Robert Gurling, Richard Thompson, Edmund Nichols, Samuel Duffton, Thomas Southen and Christopher Kell.

The council granted the summons for all but Captain Haswell, he agreeing to appear without it.

Mr Byfield then brought in his monthly account of diet expense for the month of November, amounting to £86 12s 8d and 10½d.

Mr French brought in his account of gunner's expense for the month of November, as follows.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 November 1716 to 30 November inclusive.

To the Governor 4 pounds

Mr Cason, to exercise the guard 2 pounds

Captain Haswell 3 pounds

To the guard 2 pounds

At the burying of Joseph Cotgrove 6 pounds

Carried over 14 pounds

Interpretations

This passage completes George Sanders's petition over the debts of the Gargen estate at the consultation of 11 December 1716 and opens the monthly diet and gunner's accounts. Sanders sought the bench's process to compel payment, the recovery of these debts being necessary before the estate, ruled barely sufficient on 15 November 1715, could be settled.

The summons is the council's instrument for bringing debtors before it to answer. By granting it against all the named debtors except Captain Haswell, who agreed to appear without compulsion, the bench applied its civil authority to call each man to show cause why he had not paid. The deputy governor's exemption from the formal process reflects his standing on the council rather than any difference in the debt, the courtesy sparing a colleague the indignity of a summons while leaving him answerable.

The list of debtors gathers several persons known to the bench in other matters. Edmund Nichols was fined forty shillings for dealing with the Company's slaves at the consultation of 24 July 1716, Robert Gurling had carried off part of the disputed ambergris at Manatee Bay complained of on 29 August 1716, and Christopher Kell, the gunner's mate, had deposed in the Mary Snow enquiry of 28 August 1716. Their common indebtedness to the estate shows how widely its credit had been spread among the inhabitants.

The gunner's account records the issue of powder for ceremonial and guard purposes, reckoned in pounds throughout. The charge of 6 pounds for the burial of Joseph Cotgrove marks the funeral honours paid to the orphan whose estate the bench was then contesting, the expenditure of powder at burials being the customary military salute, the same practice noted at the funeral of the second surgeon William Porteous, whose powder charge was entered on 13 December 1715.

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Dec[r]

£ s d

Bro[t] over powder

14

Muskett broke by Geo Lendon fireing on y[e] Guard

1

Muskett balls deld y[e] Armor for Camps

4

Axel Trees d[o] R[d] Swallow Carpenter

1

Pykes Lutt[?]

1

Hand Spikes for y[e] Coopers Shop

3

Spung Staves for ditto

2

Sheep Skins

4

Rammer Rohds[?]

9

Flints to y[e] Guard

30

Match for ditto

24

(Sig[h]d) Jn[o] French

24 30 9 4 2 3 1 4 1 14

The following petit[r] was presented (Viz[t]) To y[e] Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Coun[l] The Humble Petit[r] of Jn[o] Goodwin

Most humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] having Purchased 30 Acres of Land of Jn[o] Keeling at his last going off this Island humbly prays his bill of Sale for y[e] Same bearing date the 24 of Nov[r] 1714 may be Registred for y[e] better Security thereof in y[e] Register Book of Said Island

& as in duty bound shall ever pray &c (Sig[h]d) John Goodwin

Dec[r] 11 1716

Jn[o] Goodwin before he made this purchase possest 53 Acres of Land & w[th] y[t] y[t] he now intends to Register, he ought to have three White Men on that Land, He is also y[e] next Heir to 100 Acres of Land that he will enjoy after his Mothers death

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

The gunner's account of stores expended for November continued and closed.

Brought over, powder 14 pounds

Musket broke by George London firing on the guard 1

Musket balls delivered to the armourer for cartridges 4

Axletrees delivered to Richard Swallow the carpenter 1

Pikes 1

Hand spikes for the coopers shop 3

Spring staves for the coopers shop 2

Sheep skins 4

Rammer heads 9

Flints to the guard 30

Match for the guard 24

The columns totalled, in their order: powder 24 pounds, flints 30, rammer heads 9, sheep skins 4, spring staves 2, hand spikes 3, pikes 1, axletrees 1, musket balls 4, broken muskets 1, the whole standing at the 14 carried over. The account was given under the hand of John French.

The following petition was then presented.

John Goodwin petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that he had purchased thirty acres of land from John Keeling at his last going off the island, and humbly asked that his bill of sale for the same, dated 24 November 1714, might be registered in the register book of the island for his better security. The petition was given under the hand of John Goodwin, dated 11 December 1716.

The council observed that, before he made this purchase, John Goodwin already held fifty-three acres of land, and that with the land he now intended to register he ought to have three white men settled on that land. He was also the next heir to a hundred acres of land that he would enjoy after his mother's death [...]

Interpretations

This passage closes the gunner's stores account for November at the consultation of 11 December 1716 and opens the petition of John Goodwin to register his purchase of land. The account is the routine monthly return of the gunner John French, the columns tallying each kind of store against its total.

The items reflect the upkeep of the island's ordnance and the trades that supported it. Rammer heads and flints were the parts of the firearms, match the slow-burning cord for firing, and musket balls cast from the lead delivered to the armourer for cartridges. Hand spikes and spring staves issued to the coopers' shop, with the axletrees given to Richard Swallow the carpenter, show the gunner's stores supplying timber and ironwork to the island's craftsmen, the powder remaining the principal charge at twenty-four pounds for the month.

The petition turns on the standing conditions for holding Company land. The council's note that Goodwin ought to have three white men on the land he sought to register reflects the policy of requiring settlers to maintain a fixed number of white men in proportion to their holdings, a measure aimed at peopling the island with a defensible population rather than letting land accumulate idle in few hands. His existing fifty-three acres and his expectation of a hundred more at his mother's death gave the bench reason to weigh the registration against that requirement.

The registration of a bill of sale was the means by which title to land passed between holders was made secure on the island. Goodwin sought to enter his purchase from John Keeling, dated 24 November 1714, in the register book, the same procedure by which Francis Wrangham had his conveyance from Keeling entered on 17 May 1715, the public record protecting the buyer against later dispute.

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death, Therefore, The Gov[r] Queries whether y[e] admitting him to Register & should this Land be agreeable to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Orders & Instructions in y[e] 59 par[t] of their last Letter to us by y[e] Katharine & of y[e] 20[o] March 1679 there being no White man but himself and w[ch] is likely to hold & enjoy in y[e] whole 183 Acres w[ch] is too great a possession for One Man, unless We had more habitable Land on y[e] Island this 183 Acres of Land having formerly been in y[e] possession of Six Famalies

The following Advertizem[t] was published By y[e] Worsh[l] y[e] Gov[r] &c Council An Advertizement

These are to give Notice y[t] on Monday y[e] 11[th] day of Feb[r] next by 9 a Clock in y[e] forenoon Will be holden a Court of Judicature for Orphans (but in Case any Ship be in y[e] Road on y[e] day y[e] Court will not Sett, till three days after her departure) of w[ch] all persons concernd are to take Notice & Give their Attendance accordingly

Signd by Ord[r] &c Dated at Union Castle &c Antipas Tovey Secr[y]

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

The council questioned whether admitting John Goodwin to register and hold this land would agree with the Honourable Company's orders and instructions in the fifty-ninth paragraph of their last letter, brought by the Katharine, and in those of 20 March 1679. There was no white man on the land but Goodwin himself, and he was likely to hold and enjoy the whole 183 acres. The council judged this too great a possession for one man, unless there were more habitable land on the island, the 183 acres having formerly been in the possession of six families.

The following advertisement was then published. The Governor and council gave notice that on Monday 11 February next a court of judicature for orphans would be held at nine o'clock in the forenoon. If any ship were in the road on the day of the court, it would not sit until three days after her departure. All persons concerned were to take notice and give their attendance accordingly. The notice was signed by order and dated at Union Castle by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

The consultation was signed by Antipas Tovey.

Interpretations

This passage closes the consultation of 11 December 1716, completing the council's consideration of John Goodwin's land and recording the advertisement for the next orphans' court. Both matters rest on the application Goodwin made earlier in the sitting to register his purchase from John Keeling.

The bench's objection turns on Company policy against the engrossing of land. By measuring Goodwin's prospective 183 acres against the want of a single white man on the ground, and noting that the same land had once supported six families, the council framed the registration as a question of settlement rather than of title. The reference to the fifty-ninth paragraph of the directors' letter brought by the Katharine and to the instructions of 20 March 1679 grounds the policy in standing orders, the bench reluctant to confirm so large a holding in one undermanned hand while habitable land was scarce.

The advertisement fixes the forum and the date for the contested Cotgrove estate. The court of judicature for orphans appointed for 11 February next is the tribunal to which the dispute between John Coles and John Alexander was referred earlier in the sitting, the council sitting as the island's orphans' court in the absence of any separate body. The qualification that the court would not sit while a ship lay in the road, deferring until three days after her departure, reflects the demand that shipping made on the bench and the inhabitants, the business of the island giving way to the unloading and despatch of a vessel.

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Dec[r]

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 18[th] day of Dec[r] 1716 at the Hon[ble] Companys Plantation house

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] & Edw[s] Byfeld 5[o] in Coun[l]

Present

The Last Consultation Read & Approvd

Rich Beale on behalf of himself & Br[o] Ant[o] having desired a Sumons for M[r] Gab Powell as Successor to Geo Hoskison (dec[d]) requiring payment for a Beast the s[d] Hoskison killd of theirs

Rob[t] Marsh (appearing at R[d] Beales req[t]) Sayeth y[t] a Beast of Beales Orphans was killd by y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Servants soon after Cap[t] Hoskison came to live at the Plantation house in Gov[r] Bouchers time

M[r] Powell Sayeth that y[e] Beast was killd for the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Use & not for Cap[t] Hoskisons & brings for Witness

Walter Morris (who) Sayes he was with Cap[t] Hoskison in his Sickness & heard some of

Margin Notes:

Island St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 18 December 1716 at the Honourable Company's plantation house, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy governor, Matthew Bazett third, Antipas Tovey fourth and Edward Byfield fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

Richard Beale, on behalf of himself and his brother Anthony, had asked for a summons for Mr Gabriel Powell as successor to George Hoskison deceased, requiring payment for a beast of theirs that Hoskison had killed.

Robert Marsh, appearing at Richard Beale's request, stated that a beast of the Beale orphans had been killed by the Honourable Company's servants soon after Captain Hoskison came to live at the plantation house in Governor Boucher's time.

Mr Powell said that the beast had been killed for the use of the Honourable Company and not for Captain Hoskison, and he brought a witness in support.

Walter Morris stated that he had been with Captain Hoskison in his sickness and had heard some [...]

Interpretations

This passage opens the consultation of 18 December 1716 and records the start of the Beale orphans' claim against Gabriel Powell for a beast killed in Captain Hoskison's time. The matter reaches back into the previous administration, the conduct of George Hoskison as deputy governor having been before the bench on several occasions.

The claim turns on Powell's position as successor to the dead man's estate. Gabriel Powell had married the widow of George Hoskison, and the Beale orphans pursued him as the person now answerable for a beast Hoskison was said to have taken, the summons being the council's means of bringing him before it to answer a demand for payment. Richard and Anthony Beale, the orphan sons of Jonathan Beale, had been granted possession of their sixty acres of family land at the consultation of 7 June 1715, and here press a further claim arising from their long-managed estate.

The contest is over the purpose for which the beast was killed and so who must bear the loss. Robert Marsh placed the killing soon after Hoskison came to the plantation house in Governor Boucher's time, while Powell maintained the beast was taken for the Company's use rather than for Hoskison himself. The distinction governs liability, since a beast consumed by the Company would fall to be answered by the Company, whereas one taken to Hoskison's own use would charge his estate and through it his successor Powell.

The reliance on witnesses to events of the former government shows the bench reconstructing an old transaction from memory. Hoskison died on 6 March 1712, and the want of any written record threw the matter onto the recollection of men such as Walter Morris, the stone-layer who had been about the plantation in Hoskison's sickness, the proof of the claim resting on what they could swear to have seen and heard.

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of the Servants at Plantation house Say they had killd y[e] Childrens Beast & brought it w[ch] weighd ab[t] 270 or 280 w[t] upon w[ch] Cap[t] Hoskison Sayed that they must have Credit for it & y[t] he believes that was the Beast Rob[t] Marsh mentions

Rob[t] Marsh Sayes (further) he dois remem- ber 'twas a Small Beast & did weigh about 300 a little more or less Order[d]

That it be Referd to Cap[t] Haswell to See y[t] the Orphans or Cap[t] Hoskison (either of them) had Credit for Such a Beast

Geo Sanders having petitiond to Sumons Sundry Persons they Appeard (Viz[t]) Serj[t] Southen who Owed (no more then) £ 1 19 8 which he agreed to Pay

Christopher Kell, Owed (but) 24/ £ 1 4 which he promised to pay in y[e] Stores

Rob[t] Gurling Owed £ 2 19 3 which he was Order[d] to pay w[ch] he Sayes he will do by another bill

Edmund Nichols Owes £ 0 14 2 w[ch] he promiseth to pay in y[e] Stores

Rich[d] Thompson acknowledges £ 1 0 0 w[ch] likewise he'll pay in y[e] Stores

Sand[?]

Walter Morris said he had heard some of the servants at the plantation house say they had killed the children's beast and brought it in, and that it weighed about 270 or 280 pounds. Upon this, Captain Hoskison said they must have credit for it, and Morris believed that was the beast Robert Marsh mentioned.

Robert Marsh stated further that he remembered it was a small beast and that it weighed about 300 pounds, a little more or less.

The council ordered that the matter be referred to Captain Haswell, to see whether the orphans or Captain Hoskison, either of them, had credit for such a beast.

George Sanders, having petitioned to summon several persons, those persons then appeared, as follows.

Sergeant Southen, who owed no more than £1 19s 8d, agreed to pay it.

Christopher Kell, who owed 24s, or £1 4s, promised to pay it in the stores.

Robert Gurling, who owed £2 19s 3d, was ordered to pay it, which he said he would do by another bill.

Edmund Nichols, who owed £0 14s 2d, promised to pay it in the stores.

Richard Thompson acknowledged £1 0s 0d, which likewise he promised to pay in the stores.

Interpretations

This passage continues the consultation of 18 December 1716, completing the Beale orphans' claim against Gabriel Powell and recording the appearance of the debtors summoned at George Sanders's petition. Both matters were opened earlier, the beast claim at this sitting and the Gargen debts at the consultation of 11 December 1716.

The reference of the beast claim to Captain Haswell turns a contested recollection into a question of account. Rather than decide on the conflicting evidence of Marsh and Morris, the bench directed the deputy governor to examine whether credit had ever been entered to the orphans or to Captain Hoskison for the beast. The dispute over whether it weighed 270, 280 or about 300 pounds went to the value of the claim, but the decisive point was documentary, the existence of a credit in the books settling who had already been answered for the animal.

The appearance of the summoned debtors shows the council's process producing prompt acknowledgement. Each of the persons called at the consultation of 11 December 1716 came forward and owned his debt to the Gargen estate, the summons securing admissions where George Sanders had been unable to get payment by his own efforts. The recovery of these sums was the necessary step toward settling the estate, ruled barely sufficient to meet the Company and creditors on 15 November 1715.

The undertaking by several debtors to pay in the stores reflects the working of the island's credit economy. Payment in the stores meant settling the debt through the storekeeper's books rather than in coin, the debtor's account at the Company's store standing as the medium of exchange in a place chronically short of ready money. Robert Gurling's offer to pay by another bill points to the same paper settlement, a bill of credit serving in place of cash on the island.

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Dec[r]

Sam[l] Duffton Owes £ 2 3 w[ch] he Sayes his Landlord Jn[o] Long hath engaged to pay with which Sanders is Content

The Hon[ble] Comp[as] Overseer brought in the Monthly Account of their live Stock

An Acc[t] of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Neat Cattle Sheep, Hoggs, Goats &c taken the 1[st] Dec[r] 1716 (Viz[t])

Cons 61

Bullocks 10

Bulls 3

Heifers 3

Calves 64

Yearlings 36

In all 177

6 Increasd last month

None Killd

36 Geese great & small

None Killd nor Increased

Ewe Sheep 49

Weathers 34

Lambs 24

Ram 1

In all 108

Increasd

Killd none

50 Turkies grt & small

1 Killd, none Increasd Since last Acc[t]

Ewe Goats 180

Wethers 20

Ewe Kidds 80

Ram d[o] 69

Ram 1

In all 350

11 Killd Since last Acc[t]

19 Increasd

74 Fowles great & Small

24 Increasd Since last Month

6 Killd

Sows 7

Shoats 15

Barrows 3

Sows 24

Boar 1

In all 50

5 Killd last m[o]

None Increasd

11 Ducks, great & Small

4 Increasd Since last Acc[t] None Killd

Sheep

Goats

Hoggs

Asses 12, 5 female & 7 of Male kind None Increasd Since last Acc[t] (Sig[h]d) W[m] Worrall

Samuel Duffton owed £2 3s, which he said his landlord John Long had engaged to pay, and with which Sanders was content.

The Honourable Company's overseer then brought in the monthly account of their livestock, as follows.

An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and so on, taken on 1 December 1716.

Cows 61

Bullocks 10

Bulls 3

Heifers 3

Calves 64

Yearlings 36

In all 177

Six increased last month.

None killed.

Geese, great and small 36

None killed nor increased.

Ewe sheep 49

Wethers 34

Lambs 24

Ram 1

Sheep in all 108

Increased.

None killed.

Turkeys, great and small 50

One killed, none increased since the last account.

Ewe goats 180

Wethers 20

Ewe kids 80

Ram kids 69

Ram 1

Goats in all 350

Eleven killed since the last account.

Nineteen increased.

Fowls, great and small 74

Twenty-four increased since the last month.

Six killed.

Sows 7

Shoats 15

Barrows 3

Pigs 24

Boar 1

Hogs in all 50

Five killed last month.

None increased.

Ducks, great and small 11

Four increased since the last account.

None killed.

Asses 12

Five of the female and seven of the male kind.

None increased since the last account.

The account was given under the hand of William Worrall.

Interpretations

This passage closes the recovery of the Gargen estate debts at the consultation of 18 December 1716 and records the monthly livestock return of the overseer William Worrall, taken as at 1 December 1716. The stock account is the routine instrument that had run through the year, the previous return taken as at 1 November 1716 having been entered at the consultation of 27 November 1716.

The settlement of Samuel Duffton's debt by his landlord John Long shows the bench accepting a third party's undertaking in place of the debtor's own payment. Duffton owed the Gargen estate, but Long engaged to discharge the sum, and George Sanders was content to take the landlord's promise, the council allowing the debt to be answered through the relation of tenant and landlord rather than pressed against Duffton directly.

The neat cattle total of 177 head marks a further small rise over the 171 returned a month earlier, the herd continuing its recovery against the famine in which Pyke had cited 2,500 head of cattle lost in his letter to Joseph Le Blanc of 30 January 1715. The increase of six calves and the absence of any beast killed reflect the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715, the steady growth of the herd being the measure of the Company's stock policy across the period.

The structure of the account, setting the numbers killed and increased beside the standing totals for each kind of stock, was designed to make the month's gain and loss legible at a glance. The goats and hogs continued to show losses, the goats by eleven killed and the hogs by five, while the cattle, sheep and ducks gained, the overseer accounting for every change so that the herd's movement could be checked against the previous return.

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Order[d] That Renatus Snow run the Gauntlett for his Stealing the Cloaths mentiond in Cons 20 Nov[r] last as soon as he is well being now Sick of the Flux

The follow[g] petitions were granted Viz[t]

To the Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council

The Humb[l] Petit[r] of Jn[o] Goodwin

Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] petit[r] having pur- chased thirty Acres of Land of Jn[o] Keeling at his going off y[e] Island w[ch] he was necessiated to do thro want of Timber & other conveniences for building on his own Land, Humbly desires the same may be Registred & acquaints yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council, y[t] he would be very willing to comply with the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Orders in keeping a White Man upon the Said Land if there was any to be gott on the Island & that he will endeavour to gett One if possible tho at a dear rate Therefore humbly prays yo[r] Worsh[l] &c will take it into con- sideration, for y[t] not Registering y[e] s[d] Land adja- cent will prove the ruin of yo[r] petition[r] House & Family whom he has taken so much pains to maintain

& as in duty bound shall e'er pray, &c

(Sig[h]d) John Goodwin

Dec[r] 18[o] 1716

Being demanded if this Land was planted w[th] Wood, He sayes it was Once planted but

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

The council ordered that Renatus Snow run the gauntlet for stealing the clothes mentioned in the consultation of 20 November last, as soon as he was well, he being then sick of the flux.

The following petitions were granted.

John Goodwin petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that he had purchased thirty acres of land from John Keeling at his going off the island, which he had been forced to do for want of timber and other conveniences for building on his own land. He humbly asked that the same might be registered, and informed the Governor and council that he was very willing to comply with the Honourable Company's orders by keeping a white man on that land if any were to be got on the island, and that he would try to get one if possible, though at a dear rate. He therefore humbly asked that the council would take it into consideration, since not registering the land adjacent would prove the ruin of his family, whom he had taken so much pains to maintain. The petition was given under the hand of John Goodwin, dated 18 December 1716.

Goodwin, being asked whether this land was planted with wood, said it was once planted [...]

Interpretations

This passage opens the consultation of 18 December 1716 with the disposal of Renatus Snow's punishment and the renewal of John Goodwin's petition to register his purchase of land. Both matters were carried from earlier sittings, Snow's theft from the consultation of 20 November 1716 and Goodwin's application from the consultation of 11 December 1716.

The sentence on Snow ties the punishment to his recovery from sickness. Running the gauntlet, in which the offender passed between two ranks of men who struck him as he went, was the military punishment fixed for his theft of the clothes, but the council ordered it deferred until he was well, he being sick of the flux. The flux was a severe dysentery, and the deferral shows the bench timing the corporal penalty to the man's health rather than remitting it, the same soldier and tailor whose committal and reserved sentence had run through the consultations of 22 and 27 November 1716.

Goodwin's renewed petition meets the bench's earlier objection over settlement. The council had questioned at the consultation of 11 December 1716 whether his holding of 183 acres, with no white man upon it, agreed with the Company's orders, and Goodwin now offered to keep a white man on the land if one could be got, though at a dear rate. His undertaking is directed squarely at the requirement that holders maintain white men in proportion to their land, the want of available men on the island being the difficulty he acknowledged.

The question whether the land was planted with wood goes to a further condition of tenure. The preservation and planting of timber had been a standing concern of the bench, pressed in the Great Wood and the public-works programme agreed at the general sessions of 7 February 1715, so the council's enquiry into whether Goodwin's ground bore wood touched the obligation on holders to keep their land planted according to the law of the island.

187

194

Dec[r]

but destroyed in the last Dry Weather Yett he Sayes he will plant it next Season Being Asked if his other fifty Acres of Land was planted with Wood, he Sayes it Shall be planted next Season & when his fences are done he will plant more then the Law Ordains

And being Asked were he has Wood for fireing he Sayeth from the Horse pasture

He Sayes if the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Orders that None must purchase a Second Estate without keeping a White Man to every 20 Acres of Land, he desires this purchase may be Registred in his Son Thomas's name who shall hereafter possess it

He Sayes also y[t] y[e] Land was bought before this last Order about buying Estates came over

To y[e] Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council

The Most humb[l] Petit[r] of Rob[t] Gurling, Planter

Humbly Sheweth That yo[r] Petit[r] having Granted by a Verdict of a Jury Ten Acres of Land in right of his Wife w[ch] was afore disputed Humbly

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

John Goodwin said the wood had been destroyed in the last dry weather, but that he would plant it next season. Being asked whether his other fifty acres of land was planted with wood, he said it should be planted next season, and that when his fences were done he would plant more than the law required.

Being asked where he got wood for firing, he said from the Horse Pasture.

He said that if the Honourable Company ordered that no one might purchase a second estate without keeping a white man to every twenty acres of land, he wished his purchase to be registered in the name of his son Thomas, who should hereafter possess it. He added that the land had been bought before this last order about buying estates came over.

Robert Gurling the planter then petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that the council had earlier granted him, by the verdict of a jury, ten acres of land in right of his wife, which had been disputed before [...]

Interpretations

This passage continues the consultation of 18 December 1716, completing John Goodwin's answers on his land and opening the petition of Robert Gurling over ten acres held in right of his wife. Goodwin's application to register his purchase from John Keeling had run through this sitting and the consultation of 11 December 1716.

Goodwin's proposal to register the land in his son's name offers the bench a way round the settlement rule. The objection was that one man should not hold so much land undermanned, the Company's order requiring a white man to every twenty acres, and by placing the new estate in his son Thomas's name Goodwin sought to divide the holding between two persons and so satisfy the proportion. His plea that the purchase predated the order about buying estates was a further argument that the rule should not be applied to a bargain struck before it came over.

The questions on planting wood press the standing obligation on holders to keep their land timbered. The destruction of wood in the late dry weather, and Goodwin's promise to plant next season and beyond what the law required, reflect the bench's concern for the island's timber, the same concern behind the preservation of the Great Wood urged at the general sessions of 7 February 1715. His drawing of firewood from the Horse Pasture marks where the fuel of the island was won, on the upland grazing ground on the south-western coast.

Gurling's petition reopens a matter already determined by a jury. The ten acres he held in right of his wife had been the subject of the civil action Gurling against Riping Wills at the general sessions of 7 February 1715, where the jury awarded him ten acres of land and a slave in his claim arising from his marriage to Margaret, the widow of Benjamin Wills. His return to the bench over the same ground shows the verdict had not closed the dispute, the land remaining contested after the jury's award.

188

195

humbly prays he may have a Deed for y[e] Land & as in duty bound shall e'er pray &c (Sig[h]d) Rob Gurling

Dec[r] 18 1716

Referd to Cap[t] Haswell & Cap[t] Bazett

The Gov[r] Reports y[t] he has made a New Water Course (in the Hon[ble] Comp[as] plantat[n]) that will carry Water into the Middle and Lower part of the Garden, & y[t] y[e] Water Course is 94 foot parpendicularly higher then any before & desires all the Council now they are here to goe & See it, he having brought the Water over two Hills

(Sig[h]d) Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld

Robert Gurling humbly asked that he might have a deed for the land. The petition was given under the hand of Robert Gurling, dated 18 December 1716.

The council referred the matter to Captain Haswell and Captain Bazett.

The Governor reported that he had made a new watercourse on the Honourable Company's plantation that would carry water into the middle and lower parts of the garden. This watercourse stood 94 feet perpendicularly higher than any before. He asked all the council, now they were there, to go and see it, he having brought the water over two hills.

The consultation was signed by Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield.

Interpretations

This passage closes the consultation of 18 December 1716, completing Robert Gurling's petition for a deed and recording the Governor's report on a new watercourse at the plantation. Gurling's application over the ten acres held in right of his wife was opened earlier in the sitting.

Gurling's request for a deed seeks to convert a jury verdict into a secure title. The ten acres had been awarded him in the action against Riping Wills at the general sessions of 7 February 1715, but a verdict alone did not give him a registered conveyance, so he asked the bench for a deed to fix his ownership. The reference to Captain Haswell and Captain Bazett left the two senior councillors to settle the bounds and form of the grant, the same pairing entrusted with surveys and valuations across the period.

The watercourse continues the Governor's long interest in irrigating the plantation. The hydraulic project of 1711 had proposed carrying water by gravity from an upstream source across a long channel to supply a plain with yams and other crops, and the new cut bringing water over two hills to the middle and lower garden is a further work in that line. Its height of 94 feet above any earlier channel marks the engineering effort involved, the Governor inviting the whole council to view it as a demonstration of the improvement made under his hand.

189

196

January.

At a Consultation held on Thursday y[e] 3 January 1716. At Union Castle in James Valley

Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] & Antipas Tovey 4[o] in Coun[l]

Pres[t]

Edw[s] Byfeld abs[t] being Sick

The Last Consultation read & Approvd

Yesterday afternoon Arrived the ship Katharine Cap[t] W[m] Tucker Com[d] from Bombay & Madrass, but last from the Cape of Good Hope

The Gov[r] Sayes that no Ship coming Sooner into the Road he has added Several things to the Generall Letter which has made it longer then He at first intended But Hopes his Hon[ble] Masters will bear with it, That Since no Winter Ship has arrived here before this tis almost needless to Send a General Indent But he will make a Short One himself from the last as well as he can

On Tuesday last the following petition was presented (at Plantation house)

Margin Notes:

Island St Helena

see y[e] R B f 198

At a consultation held on Thursday 3 January 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy governor, Matthew Bazett third and Antipas Tovey fourth in council. Edward Byfield was absent through sickness.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The ship Katharine, commanded by Captain William Tucker, had arrived the previous afternoon from Bombay and Madras, but last from the Cape of Good Hope.

The Governor said that, no ship having come into the road sooner, he had added several things to the general letter, which had made it longer than he at first intended, but he hoped the Honourable Masters would bear with it. He observed that, since no winter ship had arrived before this, it was almost needless to send a general indent, but he would make a short one himself from the last as well as he could.

On the previous Tuesday the following petition had been presented at the plantation house.

Interpretations

This passage opens the consultation of 3 January 1716/17 and records the arrival of the Katharine and the Governor's account of his despatches home. The ship's coming fixed the moment for sending the year's correspondence, the bench having pressed the general letter and indent through the closing months of 1716.

The arrival of the Katharine sets the deadline for the Company's homeward packet. The general letter was the council's annual report to the directors, and the Governor's note that he had lengthened it because no ship had come sooner shows the despatch held back for want of a carrier. The Katharine under Captain William Tucker is the same vessel whose cargo, laden by the directors, had been priced and entered through the consultations of 31 July and 7 August 1716, and whose general letter the council had been answering in November 1716.

The Governor's remark on the general indent reflects the rhythm of the island's supply. The indent was the formal list of stores wanted from England, and his observation that it was almost needless to send one because no winter ship had arrived points to the seasonal pattern of shipping on which the island depended, the want of an intervening vessel leaving the last indent still substantially unanswered. His decision to send only a short list drawn from the previous one shows the bench adjusting its requests to the irregular passage of ships.

190

197

To y[e] Worsh[l] Isa Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] &c Council The most humb[l] Petit[r] of Sam[l] Price

Humbly Sheweth That Whereas yo[r] Petit[r] having faithfully Serv[d] the Hon[ble] Comp[a] y[e] term of fourteen Years is now desirous to Settle on this Island as a Planter & intends with yo[r] Worsh[l] leave shortly to Marry Sarah Sinsnick, Wid[o] Wherefore humbly prays Yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council to Grant him a Lease of that Land formerley called Bodleys plantation w[ch] has now layn Waste & unoccupied for these four Years past it being thrown Up & relinquished by Bodleys Heir & at present turns to noe Account, & as yo[r] petit[r] humbly conceives at too great a distance from any of the Hon[ble] Companys Plantations for them to make any Use thereof, But if yo[r] petit[r] may not be permitted to Rent y[e] Land, He desires Yo[r] [?] Lease[?] to Grant him a Lease of any other as in yo[r] Worsh[l] & Councils Judgm[t] shall Seem best pursuant to an Advertizement lately published & doubts not but by a continuance of that In- dustry which of late has inabled him to pay his Debt to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] He shall so improve that Plantation if Leased to him as may tend to y[e] General Increase of Pro- vissions for y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Shipping as well

Margin Notes:

Island St[r] Helena

Samuel Price petitioned the Governor and council. He set out that, having faithfully served the Honourable Company for a term of fourteen years, he now wished to settle on the island as a planter, and intended shortly to marry Sarah Sinsnick, widow. He humbly asked that the council grant him a lease of the land formerly called Bodley's plantation, which had now lain waste and unoccupied for the past four years, having been thrown up and given up by Bodley's heir. He observed that it at present turned to no profit, and that he believed it lay at too great a distance from any of the Honourable Company's plantations for them to make any use of it. If he might not be allowed to rent that land, he asked the council to grant him a lease of any other as they should judge best, in accordance with an advertisement lately published. He did not doubt that, by a continuance of the industry which had lately enabled him to pay his debt to the Honourable Company, he should so improve that plantation, if leased to him, as would tend to the general increase of provisions for the Honourable Company's shipping as well [...]

Interpretations

This passage records the petition of Samuel Price at the consultation of 3 January 1716/17, presented at the plantation house on the previous Tuesday. The application turns on the vacant plantation called Bodley's, which the bench had viewed and judged fit for settlement only a few months earlier.

Bodley's plantation is the same vacant holding the council had inspected at the consultation of 9 October 1716. The bench then found it well situated but uninhabited, the house fallen down, and judged it fit for an honest industrious couple used to gardening if the Company would send one out. Price's petition supplies just such a couple from among the island's own people, his intended marriage to the widow Sarah Sinsnick answering the bench's wish to settle the ground with a household able to cultivate it.

Price's reasoning meets the standing conditions for letting Company waste land. The council required that a tenant be able to manure the land, hold labour for it and not be too deep in the Company's debt, conditions laid down on the refusal of Christopher Hell's petition of 24 May 1715. Price's stress on his discharged debt and his proven industry is directed at the last of these, while his offer to improve the plantation toward the increase of provisions for the Company's shipping appeals to the bench's interest in victualling passing vessels.

The widow Sarah Sinsnick brings her own place in the council's recent affairs. She was the widow of the soldier John Sinsnick, whose estate had been the subject of probate after his death before 10 July 1716, the house in James Valley held from sale while the debts upon it were adjusted, and she had herself petitioned at the consultation of 17 September 1716 to be discharged from a disputed arrack account pressed on her by the chaplain Thomlinson. Her intended marriage to Price would join her to a settled planter on a Company holding.

191

198

January.

well as for himself, & further Assures that he will always conform himself to the Laws of this place & Live w[th] Respectfull Obedience to the Hon[ble] Lords Propriettors & yo[r] Worsh[l] & Council for whom (as in duty bound) shall ever pray &c (Sig[h]d) Samuel Price

Jan[ry] 1[st] 1716/7

Referrd to the Gov[r] & Cap[t] Bazett

The Gov[r] now desires y[t] an Exact Inventory may be prepared of all goods & their value as they are in y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Storehouse this present Christmass And y[t] this Inventory be gott ready by or before the first day of March next & then with the Assistance of the Accomptant & Store keeper he will make out Such an Indent as he Hopes will give their Hon[rs] more Satisfaccon than the Last for He intends it to consist of two Collums, One of what We have by Us & Opposite to each Article another of what We want, So that y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] will See at One View their present Stock & y[e] reasons of Our demands w[ch] tho it be a great Deal of Writing He takes it to be the best way & Sayes he intends to take Up or hinder but One week of Cap[t] Bassett's time in the whole

Margin Notes:

NB this should have been just before the petit[n]

Samuel Price further assured the council that he would always conform to the laws of the place and live in respectful obedience to the Honourable Lords Proprietors and the Governor and council. The petition was given under the hand of Samuel Price, dated 1 January 1716/17.

The council referred the matter to the Governor and Captain Bazett.

The Governor now wished an exact inventory to be prepared of all goods in the Honourable Company's storehouse this present Christmas, together with their value as they then stood. He directed that this inventory be ready by or before the first day of March next, and that he would then, with the help of the accountant and the storekeeper, make out such an indent as he hoped would give the Honourable Masters more satisfaction than the last. He intended it to consist of two columns, one of what the island had by it and, opposite each article, another of what it wanted, so that the Honourable Company might see at one view their present stock and the reasons for the demands. Although it would be a great deal of writing, he took it to be the best way, and said he intended it to take up no more than one week of Captain Bazett's time in the whole [...]

Interpretations

This passage completes the petition of Samuel Price at the consultation of 3 January 1716/17 and records the Governor's order for an exact inventory of the storehouse. Price's application for the vacant Bodley's plantation was referred to the Governor and Captain Bazett for decision.

The order for an inventory continues the bench's long programme of documentary discipline over the stores. The Governor's insistence that an exact account of all goods and their value be taken at Christmas and made ready by the first of March follows the storekeeper's six-month accounting rule recorded on 21 June 1715, the audit of stock being the foundation on which any request to the directors could rest. The whole effort is directed at giving the Honourable Masters a true picture of what the island held.

The two-column form of the proposed indent is the device by which the Governor meant to justify the island's demands. By setting what the island had against what it wanted, article by article, he sought to let the directors see the present stock and the reasons for each request at a single view, a method designed to answer any suspicion that the island over-asked. His acknowledgement that it would be a great deal of writing, set against his judgement that it was the best way, shows the bench weighing the labour of the clerks against the value of a clear and defensible account.

The reference of Price's petition to the Governor and Captain Bazett places the decision in the hands best able to weigh it. The grant of Company waste land turned on the standing letting conditions and on the state of the plantation, and the same two officers entrusted with the inventory and with surveys across the period were left to settle whether Price should have Bodley's plantation on the terms he offered.

192

199

1716/17

w[ch] is to help him Survey y[e] Hon[ble] Companys Plantation The following Petitions were presented (viz[t] To the Worsh[ll]: Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&] Council. The Petit[n] of Edward Byfeld. Humbly Sheweth. That he having Served the Hon[ble] Compa within a Month of his contracted hire [&] having an Opportunity of going home by this Ship. prays a discharge. And yo[r] petit[r] shall ever pray (Signd) Edw: Byfeld Granted. He delivering Up the Goods [&] Accounts comitted to his Charge. To y[e] Worsh[p] Isa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Council The most hum[ble] Petition of Jn[o] Alexander Humbly Sheweth. That Whereas Tho[s] Free of this Island planter died on the 16 July 1714 Exhi bit his Petit[n] to yo[r] Worsh[p] [&] Council to compl[t] against yo[r] petit[r] [&] an Order of Council there upon made if y[e] merits of yo[r] petition should be Enquired into as soon as possible by M[r] Bazett. And for as much as y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] have taken particular Notice of that said

Margin Notes:

Island St Helena

Jan: 3. 1716/17

Island St Helena

A surveyor was named to help him survey the Honourable Company's plantation.

The following petitions were presented.

Edward Byfield petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. He set out that, having served the Honourable Company within a month of his contracted time, and having an opportunity to go home by this ship, he prayed his discharge. The petition was dated 3 January 1716/17 and signed by Edward Byfield.

The council granted the discharge, on his delivering up the goods and accounts committed to his charge.

John Alexander petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. He set out that Thomas Free of this island, planter, had died on 16 July 1714. Free had presented his petition to the Governor and Council against Alexander's petition, and an order of council had then been made that the merits of Alexander's petition be enquired into as soon as possible by Mr Bazett. He further set out that the Honourable Company had taken particular notice of that [...]

Interpretations

The Edward Byfield in this petition is a Company writer seeking passage home, not the councillor of the same name. The councillor Edward Byfield was appointed fifth in council on 17 May 1715 and remained in office, giving evidence in the Tovey case on 13 March 1715/16. A serving councillor would not petition for discharge to leave the island by the next ship. The condition placed on the grant, that he deliver up the goods and accounts in his charge, marks him as a junior servant with custody of stores rather than a member of the bench.

193

200

Jan[ry]

Petit[n] of Frees [&] made mention of the same in their General Letter by the Katharine; Yo[r] pet[r] Therefore has reason to fear y[t] those compl[ts] (w[ch] yo[r] petit[r] will prove Scandalous [&] false) hath proved to his [dis]advantage [&] w[t] in great Measure tends to y[e] ruin of his reputation, Wherefore y[e] Petitioner thinks himself in duty bound to make Reply to y[e] s[d] Frees false [&] Malicious Petit[n] aforesaid [&] to lett y[e] Hon[ble] Company [as] well as y[e] People of this place, [k]now his true Caracter. And. First. yo[r] Pet[r] Replys. That he never Askt me for that Deed [&] Lease but Once [&] then in a very rude insulting domanering Manner being then very Drunk [&] gave me greater provocation then I could well bear But as to his Saying I told him the Deed [&] Lease was not done is notoriously false for they were both ready wrote [&] Entered in y[e] Register book of [&] y[e] s[d] Island by One Sam[ll] Brome a Writer who run away in the Mercury Sloop [&] is now to be Seen so in f[o] 164 [&] 165 with the plans of each parcel of Land [&] why he had them not Up was because he never proved his Title to y[e] Free Land nor brought M[r] Griffith Heir to Sign the Counterpart - Lease

The petition of Free was mentioned by the Company in their general letter sent by the Katharine. Alexander therefore had reason to fear that those complaints, which his petition would prove scandalous and false, had been turned to Free's advantage. This tended in great measure to the ruin of Alexander's reputation. He thought himself bound to make reply to Free's false and malicious petition, and to let the Honourable Company, as well as the people of this place, know the true character of the matter.

First, Alexander replied that Free had asked him for the deed and lease only once, and then in a very rude, insulting and domineering manner, being then very drunk, and had given greater provocation than Alexander could well bear. As to Free's claim that Alexander had told him the deed and lease was not done, that was plainly false, for both were ready written and entered in the register book of this island by one Samuel Brome, a writer who ran away in the Mercury sloop and was now to be seen at folios 164 and 165, together with the plans of each parcel of land. The reason Alexander had not taken the deeds up was that Free had never proved his title to the free land, nor brought Mr Griffith's heir to sign the counterpart lease.

Interpretations

The deeds being entered at folios 164 and 165 of the register book shows the function of that book as the island's definitive record of title. A grant was not secure on the strength of a private deed alone. The entry of both the conveyance and the plans of each parcel into the official register made the title provable against later challenge, which is why their location by folio number could be cited as conclusive evidence here.

Samuel Brome is identified in the record as one of six men constantly at the lower table who jointly petitioned for a liquor ration on 13 October 1713. His having written the register entries before running away on the Mercury sloop explains why his work could still be relied on as the formal record despite his desertion.

The signing of the counterpart lease was the step that bound the tenant to the Company's terms. A lease at this period was executed in two parts, the Company sealing one and the tenant the counterpart, so that each side held the other's sealed obligation. Alexander's point was that he could not complete the grant while Free had neither proved his entitlement to the free land nor produced Griffith's heir to seal the matching part.

194

201

1716/17

2[dly] As to what he has therein charg[d] me ab[t] imbezeling of Papers. I Appeal Gentlemen to yo[r] Selves if you have ever had cause of Sus picion against me of doing things of so Base a nature [&] now you have known me [now] three Years [&] some of you a great deal longer. I hope you'le Say I dont deserve so bad an imputation, Yet I Believe if a due inquiry were made yo[r] Worsh[p] [&] Council would find him Guilty of that very Action as well as many others as Unworthy. 3[dly] His pretending a Debt due to him from me is what Seems very Surprizing for if yo[r] petition[d] hath now a Bill of 3[ll] 10[s] Sign[d] by y[e] s[d] Tho Free for mony Lent [&] should have been paid long since had not yo[r] petit[r] mislayd y[e] acknowledgment [&] not found it till last Week [&] since the said Free has made so unjust a demand [&] the acknowledgm[t] of the Debt now appearing Humbly desires a Warrant may be Granted against the said Free for Payment of the said £3: 10[s] Now to the said Frees Character. The s[d] Free is a man wholly devoted [&] given up to Strong Drink [&] is as often Drunk as he can gett Strong Liquor en[o] to do it He makes it his greatest Study to do all man[r] of

Alexander next answered the second charge, that he had embezzled papers. He appealed to the council whether they had ever had cause to suspect him of doing anything of so base a nature, having now known him three years and some of them a great deal longer. He hoped they would say he did not deserve so bad an imputation. He believed that, on a proper enquiry, the Governor and Council would find Free guilty of that very action, as well as many others equally unworthy.

Alexander answered the third point, Free's claim of a debt due to him, which he said was very surprising. Alexander now held a bill for 3 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence signed by Free for money lent, which should have been paid long since, had Alexander not mislaid Free's acknowledgement and failed to find it until last week. Since Free had made so unjust a demand, and the acknowledgement of the debt now appearing, Alexander asked that a warrant be granted against Free for payment of the 3 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence.

Alexander then gave Free's character. He described Free as a man wholly given up to strong drink, as often drunk as he could get strong liquor enough to make him so. He said Free made it his greatest study to do all matters of [...]

Interpretations

The bill signed by Free for 3 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence converted a private loan into a recoverable instrument. A bill of this kind was a written acknowledgement of debt that the holder could sue on directly, which is why Alexander could ask for a warrant of payment once the document was found. The reversal in the dispute turns on possession of the paper rather than on the truth of the underlying loan, since Free had himself raised a debt claim while his own signed obligation lay mislaid.

195

202

Jan[ry]

of Base actions [&] indulges himself and Nautious Carcass purely for y[e] sake of Luxury [&] Venery. He continues his Usuall man[d] of living a[t] a Luxurious rate [&] prompts his Inclinations to all Sorts of Debauchery, which sometimes so weakned his body by those Debauched actions that some Women (who I cant call good Women) Such as he kept Company w[th] One day when he could not answer their expectations Stript him [&] Tyed him up [&] Whipt him, I could instance many other of his Lewd actions But that yo[r] Worsh[p] [&] Council knows him well enough. He has been deprived of his Sences (if ever he had any) occasion[d] b[y] excess of Strong Drink [&] even drove to despair of himself [&] future happyness [&] at One time did hang himself with a Rope ab[t] his Neck fastned to a Beam [&] had not a Black fellow Cutt him down there wou[d] have been an end of such a Lewd Debau[c]hed man[.] All w[ch] was Acted [&] done before Gov[r] Boucher deismist him b[ut] in Honour to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] [&] his own Credit he did [&] was very justly deale with [&] am sure that what he alledges against him is as unjust [&] as false as his Complaint Since

Alexander charged Free with base actions and with indulging his body purely for the sake of luxury and lechery. He continued his usual manner of living at a luxurious rate, which prompted his inclinations to all sorts of debauchery. This had at times so weakened his body through those corrupt actions that some women he kept company with, whom Alexander said he could not call good women, once stripped him, tied him up and whipped him when he could not answer their expectations. Alexander said he could instance many other of Free's lewd actions, but the Governor and Council knew him well enough.

Alexander further charged that Free had lost his senses, if he ever had any, through excess of strong drink. This had driven him to despair of himself and of his future happiness. At one time Free had hanged himself with a rope about his neck, fastened to a beam, and had a black not cut him down there would have been an end of such a lewd and debauched man.

Alexander observed that all this was acted and done before Governor Boucher. Boucher had dismissed Free, both for the honour of the Honourable Company and for his own credit, and had dealt very justly with him. Alexander was sure that what Free alleged against him was as unjust and as false as his complaint, [...] since [...]

Interpretations

The reference to dismissal before Governor Boucher fixes Free's removal from Company service within Boucher's term as governor, which ran from 3 October 1711 onward. Alexander's purpose in dating the dismissal to a named past administration was to show that Free's misconduct had already been judged and acted upon by the authority of the day, so that the present complaint reopened a matter long since settled against Free.

196

203

1716/17

since ab[t] his Yams [&c] his proposals [&] Agreement being in y[e] Cons[l] book is a plain [&] Manifest proof against him. When M[r] Bazett (which I desire may be as soon as possible) has given in his re port persuant to y[e] Order of Council of the 16[t] July 1714 then I shall make my further reply [&] reserve to my Self y[e] liberty of making amendm[t] [&] further additions to this my present Answer [&] as in duty bound shall ever pray [&c] (Signd) Jn[o] Alexander Order[d]. That this Petit[n] be Entred but we think Jn[o] Alexander needed not to have taken half this pains ab[t] Free who We all know to be so bruitish a fellow, y[t] his good or bad word are alike to be regarded, but it is left to y[e] Gov[r] to lett Free know w[t] Character We have of him, In hopes it may awaken him so far as to deserve a better for y[e] future.

Margin Notes:

Jan: 2 1716/17

Alexander observed that the matter of Free's yams, together with his proposals and agreement being entered in the council book, was a plain and clear proof against him. He asked that Mr Bazett give in his report as soon as possible, in accordance with the order of council of 16 July 1714. He would then make his further reply, reserving to himself the liberty of amending and adding to this present answer. The petition was dated 3 January 1716/17 and signed by John Alexander.

The council ordered that this petition be entered, though it thought Alexander need not have taken half this trouble over Free, whom all knew to be so brutish a fellow that his good or bad word were alike to be regarded. The matter was left to the Governor to let Free know the character the council held of him, in hopes it might rouse him so far as to deserve a better character in future.

Interpretations

The reservation of liberty to amend and add to the answer kept Alexander's pleading open pending Bazett's report. The order of council of 16 July 1714 had directed that the merits of his petition be enquired into by Bazett, so the substantive determination still depended on that report rather than on the present exchange of complaints. Alexander framed his reply as provisional so that nothing in it would foreclose his position once the referred enquiry was complete.

The order entering the petition while disparaging Free shows the council using the consultation book as a register of character as well as of business. Entry gave Alexander's answer the standing of record, but the bench declined to treat Free's accusation as worth serious examination, directing instead that Free be warned of the low opinion held of him in hopes of reform.

197

204

Jan[ry]

Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Monday the 7[th] day of Jan[ry] 17:16/17 At Union Castle in James Valley Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Harnett Dep[ty] 2[d] Matt Bazett 3[d] Pres[t] Antip: Tovey 4[th] [&] Edw: Byfeld 5 in Coun[l]

Last Consultation read [&] Approved. The Secretary Brought the Copy of our last Generall Letter to Our Hon[ble] Masters by the Queen to be Signed as likewise the Duplicates of the Consultations Sent by said Shipp M[r] Byfeld Reports that there is Cloaths made for the Blacks 41 Jacketts 18 Shirts 9 Shifts 30 Caps The Taylor has druggett to make 8 Coats.

Order[d]. That for the future Capt[n] Bazett take Care of the Cloaths and Cloathing of the Blacks, and lett these now M[r] Byfeld has made into his Care

An Acc[t] of the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Blacks their Ages [&] Employments (Sent home p[r] Kath[a] Cap[t] W. Tucker Com[r]

The council met at a consultation held on Monday 7 January 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The secretary brought in the copy of the council's last general letter to the Honourable Masters, to be sent by the Queen and signed, together with the duplicates of the consultations sent by that ship.

Mr Byfield reported that the following clothes had been made for the blacks:

Jackets 41

Shirts 18

Shifts 9

Caps 30

The tailor had drugget enough to make 8 coats.

The council ordered that, for the future, Captain Bazett take care of the clothes and clothing of the blacks, and that the clothes Mr Byfield had now made be put into his care.

An account of the Honourable Company's blacks, their ages and employments, was sent home by the Katharine, Captain William Packer commander.

Interpretations

The transfer of responsibility for slave clothing to Bazett as storekeeper consolidated the provisioning of the Company's slaves under the officer who controlled the stores. Clothing the slaves was an internal supply function drawing on stock such as the tailor's drugget, so placing it with the storekeeper aligned the duty with control of the materials. The order moved the task from Byfield to Bazett as a standing arrangement rather than for a single issue.

Drugget was a coarse woollen or wool-and-linen cloth used for cheap outer garments. Its use for the slaves' coats reflects the low-cost clothing economy of the plantation, in which hardwearing inexpensive fabric was worked up on the island into the suits issued to the Company's labour force.

The account of the slaves giving their ages and employments, sent home by the Katharine, served the directors as a register of the Company's human stock on the island. Such a return let the Honourable Masters in London assess the size, condition and usefulness of the slave establishment they maintained at St Helena.

198

205

1716/17

Aged Years Named - Characters [&] Employments.

71 Will a Carpent[r] past Labour, but has been a good Slave.

71 Chachau looks aft[r] y[e] Yams at Tomston Wood.

71 Antony at plantat[n] house, past Labour his hands being a [dead] al[mos]t

71 paupau past Labour, at y[e] Hutts plantation

71 Old [Jew] almost past Labour, does a little work in y[e] fort Garden

71 Old Joel past Labour Old John Dead Jerry. D[to]

61 Samson 61 Burgues almost past Labour, but what Service they can 61 Boulau doe is At Plantation house - Lona Jane Dead

51 Challenoy Goes in y[e] Long boat. 51 Blackwall when well work at y[e] Fort. 46 Mardou Abram Dead

41 Emanuel Sickly, ab[t] y[e] Hutts plantat[n] 41 Old George at Plantat[n] house, looks after the Cattle. 41 Antony look at ditto 41 Budbridge goes in the Long boat. Peter 41 Free Jock Stone Layer. 41 M[r] Longer Sick. 41 Stephen Works at Plantation house. 39 Nichols Jack. Works at d[o] 38 Aaron when well works at y[e] Hutts plantat[n] 38 Navaro At y[e] Fort 36 Mena Works at plantation house 36 Roger Hutts - at Hutts plantat[n] Sr Batavia Dead

31 Titus. Works at Plantation house. 31 Corridon Works at Stone Cutting 31 Jack Cork Works at Plantation house 31 Roger

Margin Notes:

31 Goodwins B[t]

The account listed the Honourable Company's blacks by age in years, name, and character and employment.

Will, aged 71 a carpenter, past labour, but had been a good slave.

Chachah, aged 71 looked after the yams at Tombstone Wood.

Antony, aged 71 at the plantation house, past labour, his hands being almost dead.

Paupau, aged 71 past labour, at the Hutts plantation.

Oldgrew, aged 71 almost past labour, did a little work in the fort garden.

Old Joel, aged 71 past labour.

Old John dead.

Terry likewise dead.

Samson, aged 61 Burguer, aged 61 Bdulau, aged 61 almost past labour, but performed what service they could at the plantation house.

Lona Jane dead.

Challemoy, aged 51 went in the long boat.

Blackwall, aged 51 Mardou, aged 46 when well, worked at the fort.

Abram dead.

Emanuel, aged 41 sickly, at the Hutts plantation.

Old George, aged 41 at the plantation house, looked after the cattle.

Ahtony, aged 41 looked after cattle there likewise.

Budovino, aged 41 Peter, aged 41 went in the long boat.

Free Jack, aged 41 stone layer.

Motonger, aged 41 sick.

Stephen, aged 41 worked at the plantation house.

Michols Jack, aged 39 worked there likewise.

Aaron, aged 38 when well, worked at the Hutts plantation.

Mavaro, aged 38 at the fort.

Meena, aged 36 worked at the plantation house.

Roger Hutts, aged 36 at the Hutts plantation.

John Batavia dead.

Titus, aged 31 worked at the plantation house.

Corridon, aged 31 worked at stone cutting.

Jack Cook, aged 31 Roger, aged 31 worked at the plantation house.

The note at the foot recorded that Roger was 31 and was Goodwin's slave.

Interpretations

The account marks a change of purpose from the earlier slave roster taken on 21 November 1710. That list was organised by station, the vinerooms, gardeners, fortifications, the Hutts, High Peak and the rest, and answered where each slave was set to work, as part of Roberts's survey mapping the plantations during a period of expansion. The present account is organised instead by descending age and annotated person by person with deaths, lameness and the formula past labour. It answers how much usable labour remained, and so reads as a record of decline rather than of deployment.

This record was built to be read in London. The careful marking of the deaths, of hands almost dead, and of those past or almost past labour set the Company's surviving strength against its nominal establishment. The account supported the case Pyke had pressed since the muster of the lame and sickly before Captain Kettleby in January 1715/16, that the directors held far fewer serviceable slaves than the headcount alone suggested.

The employments map the slaves onto the Company's principal operations. The plantation house, the Hutts plantation, Tombstone Wood, the fort garden, the long boat, the fort, the cattle and the stone cutting and laying recur across the list. A few names carry across from the 1710 roster: a Jacob the tailor, a Sampson among the vinerooms and an Abram at High Peak appear on the earlier list, though Abram is now marked dead and the common names cannot all be matched with confidence. The pattern shows the oldest hands held in light tasks such as the fort garden or yam-tending, with the able men placed at the fort, the boat and stone work.

John Batavia, here recorded simply as dead, was the slave kept at work in irons at the muster of January 1715/16 for thieving and for claiming a power to bewitch, said to have frightened two other slaves to death. His death closes a thread that had run through the recent records.

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206

Jan[ry]

ages - Names Characters.

31 Goodwins Antony Works at Plantation house.

31 Bensar goes in the Long boat. 31 Barrow

31 Mingoe helps burn Lime 31 Jacob - Taylor.

29 Balvard Jack Works at y[e] Hutts Plantation 29 Jack Graver Carpenter 29 Joe Bates good for little having Weak Eyes.

28 Harry - Tanner.

28 Sambo 27 Will both Sickly [&] good for little.

27 Lackaree Works at Plantation house 27 Perry fetcheth Wood for y[e] Fort Young Geo. Dead

24 Moris Nick Works at y[e] Fort. 23 little Jacob Works with Jacob y[e] Taylor being very Lame. 22 Sam Works at Plantation house. 22 Ben Works in y[e] Fort Garden 21 Ned - at Stone Cutting 21 Dick - at plantation house 21 Tomlow - at D[o] 21 Ben - at d[o] has been Sick, now recovered. Tower hill Dead 20 Foot helps y[e] Smith. 19 Daniel very Lame, but helps Jacob y[e] Taylor. 19 Lockwell fetcheth Wood for y[e] Fort 19 Will has always waited on y[e] Minister. 19 Dick [att] Jack works at Plantation house. 18 Peter 18 Jack brings greens [&c] to y[e] Fort 18 Mercury at y[e] fort (Assists y[e] Cook.)

Margin Notes:

  1. Joshua

The account continued by age in years, name, and character.

Goodwin's Antony, aged 31 worked at the plantation house.

Bensar, aged 31 Barrow, aged 31 went in the long boat.

Mingoe, aged 31 helped burn lime.

Jacob, aged 31 tailor.

Balyard Jack, aged 29 worked at the Hutts plantation.

Jack Graver, aged 29 carpenter.

Joe Bates, aged 29 good for little, having weak eyes.

Harry, aged 28 tanner.

Sambo, aged 28 Will, aged 27 both sickly and good for little.

Lackaree, aged 27 worked at the plantation house.

Perry, aged 27 fetched wood for the fort.

Young George dead.

Mron's Nick, aged 24 worked at the fort.

Little Jacob, aged 23 worked with Jacob the tailor, being very lame.

Sam, aged 22 worked at the plantation house.

Ben, aged 22 worked in the fort garden.

Ned, aged 21 at stone cutting.

Dick, aged 21 at the plantation house.

Tomlow, aged 21 at the plantation house likewise.

Ben, aged 21 at the plantation house likewise, had been sick, now recovered.

Tower Hill dead.

Foot, aged 20 helped the smith.

Daniel, aged 19 very lame, but helped Jacob the tailor.

Lockwell, aged 19 fetched wood for the fort.

Will, aged 19 had always waited on the minister.

Dick alias Jack, aged 19 Peter, aged 18 worked at the plantation house.

Jack, aged 18 brought greens and the like to the fort.

Mercury, aged 18 at the fort, assisted the cook.

The note at the foot recorded that Joshua was 16.

Interpretations

This continuation extends the same stock record into the younger and middle-aged hands, again pairing each with a task or a note of unfitness. The repeated entries of lameness, weak eyes and sickliness alongside the deaths served the directors as a measure of how much of the labour force was impaired. The notes that one slave had been sick and was now recovered, and that two were good for little, show the account tracking working capacity person by person, the depletion-record approach that distinguishes it from the deployment roster of 21 November 1710.

The employments confirm the spread of the slaves across the Company's operations. Stone cutting, lime burning, carpentry, tailoring, tanning, wood-fetching, the long boat, the fort garden, the cook's service and attendance on the minister appear alongside the plantation house and the fort. The trades held by named slaves, the tailor Jacob, the carpenter Jack Graver, the tanner Harry, show that skilled craft work as well as field and building labour was supplied from within the slave establishment. Jacob the tailor also appears on the 1710 roster at the same trade, one of the few hands traceable across the six years, with younger lame men such as Little Jacob and Daniel set to assist him rather than put to heavy work.

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1716/17

ages Names Characters.

16 Joshua Works at the Planta[n] House 15 Scipio - at y[e] Fort Garden 12 Emanuel - at Perkin Plantation Men and Youths In all alive 60.

Boys

12 Tom w[th] M[r] Byfeld 11 Daniel at Plantation House 11 Harry D[o] 10 Dick at the Fort

9 Harry 9 Antony help at Plantat[n] House 6 Will

6 Gravers dick

from 6 to 6 Will John [&] D[o] Sam In all 11.

Women

81 Megg helpless 81 Mutta past Labour

71 Welchee D[o]

61 Old Casimere Sickly w[n] able helps to wash Dishes 61 Old Sary almost past Labour 61 Jenny D Sickly, but w[n] able helps to look after Hoggs 51 Doll Assists in the Dairy 51 Old Mary Washes w[th] her daughter Mary 46 Mercy looks after the Poultry

The account continued by age in years, name, and character.

Joshua, aged 16 worked at the plantation house.

Scipio, aged 15 at the fort garden.

Emanuel, aged 12 at Perkins's plantation.

These were the men and youths, in all 60 alive.

The account next listed the boys.

Tom, aged 12 with Mr Byfield.

Daniel, aged 11 at the plantation house.

Harry, aged 11 at the plantation house likewise.

Dick, aged 10 at the fort.

Harry, aged 9 Antony, aged 9 Will, aged 6 helped at the plantation house.

Grower's Dick, aged 6 Will, from 6 to 6 John, from 6 to 6 Sam, from 6 to 6 the same.

In all 11 boys.

The account then listed the women by age in years, name, and character.

Megg, aged 81 helpless.

Mutta, aged 81 past labour.

Welchee, aged 71 past labour likewise.

Old Casimere, aged 61 sickly, when able helped to wash dishes.

Old Sary, aged 61 almost past labour.

Jenny, aged 61 sickly, but when able helped to look after hogs.

Doll, aged 51 assisted in the dairy.

Old Mary, aged 51 washed with her daughter Mary.

Mercy, aged 46 looked after the poultry.

Interpretations

The summary count of 60 men and youths alive completes the male side of the stock record begun on the earlier folios. The figure was built to be read in London, fixing a single headline total against which deaths and the numbers past labour could be set. It supported the case Pyke had pressed since the muster of the lame and sickly before Captain Kettleby in January 1715/16, that the Company held far fewer serviceable hands than its establishment implied.

The whole record marks a change of purpose from the slave roster taken on 21 November 1710. That earlier list was organised by station, the vinerooms, gardeners, fortifications, the Hutts and the rest, and answered where each slave was set to work, as part of a survey mapping the plantations during expansion. The present account is organised instead by descending age and annotated person by person with deaths, lameness and the note past labour. It answers how much usable labour remained, and so reads as a record of decline rather than of deployment.

The separation of boys and women into their own headed lists, with the boys grouped by a six-year band and the women ranked by descending age, shows the account sorting the population into productive categories. The boys were placed with a craftsman or about the houses and fort in light service, while the women were set to domestic and yard tasks such as dishwashing, the dairy, washing and the poultry. This sorting let the Company match each part of its labour force to suitable work and identify which hands earned their keep and which were a charge. The slave Mercy, here at the poultry, had been among the turkey-keepers on the 1710 roster, one of the few names traceable across the six years.

The note placing the boy Tom with Mr Byfield records a Company slave put out to a councillor for service, the same arrangement under which Byfield had received the boy Tom for three years on 26 July 1715. His continued placement confirms that loan was still in effect.

201

208

Jan[ry]

ages Names Characters

31 Hager washes Dishes, w[n] well

27 Catherina 27 Cracau work in the Plantation

Maria D Knows not her Age, good for little, often sick

21 Mary 21 Sary at the Fort

21 Mercy washes in the Country (Jacob Taylor's Wife) 21 Mary D[o], old Mary. Daughter 21 Betty milks Ewes when well

19 Betty 19 Marg[t] work at Plantation House 17 Grace In all 21. Women.

Girls

13 Sary 11 Mary 11 Ellen 6 Ellen

5 Gravers Sary

from 6 to 2 Mary Martha [&] Martha

In all 8. Girls.

Margin Notes:

G.

The account continued by age in years, name, and character.

Hager, aged 31 washed dishes when well.

Catherina, aged 27 Cracau, aged 27 worked in the plantation.

Maria knew not her age, good for little, often sick.

Mary, aged 21 Sary, aged 21 at the fort.

Mercy, aged 21 washed in the country, being Jacob the tailor's wife.

Mary, aged 21 likewise, old Mary's daughter.

Betty, aged 21 milked the ewes when well.

Betty, aged 19 Margaret, aged 19 worked at the plantation house.

Grace, aged 17 worked at the plantation house likewise.

In all 21 women.

The account then listed the girls by age in years and name.

Sary, aged 13 Mary, aged 11 Ellen, aged 11 Ellen, aged 6 Grower's Sary, aged 5 Mary, from 6 to 6 Martha, from 6 to 6 Martha, from 6 to 6

In all 8 girls.

Interpretations

The closing totals of 21 women and 8 girls complete the female side of the stock record, matching the headline figures already given for the men, youths and boys. Together the four counts gave the directors a full reckoning of the Company's slave establishment by sex and stage of life. The figures let the Honourable Masters in London weigh the productive part of the labour force against the aged, the sickly and the children who were a charge rather than a return.

The women's employments repeat the domestic and plantation pattern of the preceding folio, with dishwashing, fieldwork at the plantation, service at the fort, washing, milking and house work. The note that Mercy washed in the country as Jacob the tailor's wife records a married pair within the slave establishment, linking her to the tailor who appears across both this account and the roster of 21 November 1710. The identification of another Mary as old Mary's daughter likewise traces a mother and daughter through the list, showing the account registering family ties as well as tasks.

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Jan[ry] 1716/17

An Indent of Stores wanted for St Helena, sent also p[r] Ship Catharine.

Blockmaker's Wares (Viz[t]

10 Elm Pumps w[th] Brass Chambers We have great occasion for them (w[th] suitable Iron work fitted to them) tho' We could make a very good Use of more to raise Water into the Gardens [&c] to sell to the Planters for the same purposes [&] to keep a few in Store for Shipping that may want.

2 or 3 Spare Chambers

200 Pump Boxes upper [&] lower

20[m] Pump nails

20[m] Scupper Nails

40[m] Tacks

Brazier's Ware.

1 Allimbeck Still for the Doctour

2 Large Boilers (such as are used in Coffee Houses) 1 for the Doct[r] [&] y[e] other for the Forts use.

4 Dozen of small pull up Jacks such as are sold in London for 6 pence

Cutlary Ware.

2 Gross of Knives (such as are used by Butch[rs]) of y[e] small [&] larger sort w[th] Buck-horn handles

12 dozen of Scissars sorted [&] good.

Colour men's Ware

1 Ton of White Lead

1 D[o] of Spanish White (als) Whiting

Margin Notes:

Brushes

An indent of stores wanted for St Helena, sent also by the ship Catherine, was entered, dated January 1716/17.

Under blockmaker's wares, the council asked for:

Elm pumps with brass chambers 10

The council noted that it had great occasion for these, with suitable ironwork fitted to them. It could also make very good use of more, both to raise water into the gardens and to sell to the planters for the same purposes, and to keep a few in store for shipping that might want them.

Spare chambers 2 or 3

Pump boxes, upper and lower 200

Pump nails 20,000

Scupper nails 20,000

Tacks 40,000

Under brazier's ware, the council asked for:

Alembic still for the doctor 1

Large boilers, such as are used in coffee houses, one for the doctor and the other for the fort's use 2

Small pull-up jacks, such as are sold in London for sixpence 4 dozen

Under cutlery ware, the council asked for:

Knives, such as are used by butchers, of the smaller and larger sort with buckhorn handles 2 gross

Scissors, sorted and good 12 dozen

Under colourmen's ware, the council asked for:

White lead 1 ton

Spanish white, also called whiting 1 ton

The indent continued with brushes.

Interpretations

An indent was a formal requisition of goods sent to the directors in London, drawn up by category so that the suppliers could be matched to each class of ware. The grouping under blockmaker's, brazier's, cutlery and colourmen's wares reflects the London trades from which the items would be bought, the indent functioning as the island's annual order against the next ships.

The note on the elm pumps sets out a small commercial scheme alongside the Company's own need. The pumps were wanted to raise water into the gardens, but the council also meant to sell some to the planters for the same purpose and to hold a few in store for ships that arrived short. This turned a stores order into a means of supplying the settlement and the passing shipping at a margin, the same approach taken with the surplus elm pumps as a saleable good.

Several of the wares were specified by reference to familiar London goods so that the directors' buyers could match them exactly. The alembic still was a distilling vessel for the surgeon's preparations. The large boilers were described as the kind used in coffee houses, the small jacks as those sold in London for sixpence, and the knives as butchers' ware with buckhorn handles. White lead and Spanish white, or whiting, were the standard bases for paint, the first a dense white pigment and the second a cheap chalk white used for priming and limewash. Buckhorn, the horn of a deer, gave a hardwearing handle for working knives.

203

210

Jan[ry]

Colourment Ware

Brushes for painting [&] white washing

1 Ton of Chalk for the Cooper [&c]

400 Barrels Lamp Black

15 Jarrs of Lintseed Oyl.

Indent of Medicines, Druggs [&c] wanting for the use of the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Servants p[r] Jos Du Maij Surgeon.

Aq Cinamoni lb 8 Theriacalis [lb] xvi Regin Aurgar[r] [lb] vi Epidimi[c] [g]r [lb] xvi Rosar Rub[r] [lb] xvi

Sp[t] Nitre Dulc [lb] ij Vini Camp[hr] [lb] xvi Cochlear [lb] ij Lavend [Co] 3 i V Boral[?] 3 i Sal [vol] 3 i Corn: Cerv 3 i Sal Volat Vless [3] vi Minthæ 3 i Absinthæ [3] xvi

Ol Succin 3 i Vitrioli 3 vi Junipri 3 vi Cinamoni 3 ij Cariophilli 3 iv Rosar Rub[m] [3] xii Hypericon [3] viii Chamomel D[o] Anisi D[o] Cerv[i] D[o] Orang Sur 3 vi Ligni [3] xvi

Ung[t] Arcij [lb] xviii Alb[m] Camp [D]o Dia[com]plat [lb] vi Nervinum D[o] Neapolitan [lb] iv

Emp Epispast [lb] vi Diachil Cu Gu[m] [lb] vi De Ranis Cu[m] [lb] iv Cero M[ss] [lb] iv Cero Flav [lb] x.

Elect[u] Diascordium [lb] vi Theriac Viat D[o] Phil: Romen [lb] iv Lenitiv D[o] Mithridate D[o]

Pills Rudij [3] vi Laud Lond[r] D[o] Mathia D[o] Ex Dueb D[o] Cochiæ Maj 3 vi De Aerar[?] 3 iij Stomach[?] 3 vi Op[ij] Opt D[o]

Sy[r] Dialthæ [lb] vi Rosar Salut [lb] vi Cariophill [lb] iv Eneconium[?] [lb] vi Mel Rosar Rub[r] [lb] xviii Mel Anglicum [lb] vi Papaver [lb] vi Croci D[o]

The indent for colourmen's ware continued.

Brushes for painting and whitewashing

Chalk for the cooper and the like 1 ton

Lamp black 400 barrels

Linseed oil 15 jars

An indent of medicines, drugs and the like, wanting for the use of the Honourable Company's servants, was entered by Joseph Du May, surgeon.

Under waters, the surgeon asked for:

Cinnamon water 8 pounds

Theriacalis water 16 pounds

Reginae Hungaricae water 6 pounds

Epidemic water 16 pounds

Rose water, red 16 pounds

Under spirits, the surgeon asked for:

Nitre dulcis 2 pounds

Vini camphoratus 16 pounds

Cochlearia 2 pounds

Lavender [...]

Vini Bezoardici [...] ounces

Sal armoniac [...]

Cornu cervi [...]

Sal volatilis oleosus 6 [...]

Mint [...]

Absinthium 16 [...]

Under oils, the surgeon asked for:

Succinum 1 [...]

Vitriol 6 [...]

Juniper 6 [...]

Cinnamon 2 [...]

Caryophilli 2 [...]

Rose, red 12 [...]

Hypericon 18 [...]

Chamomile [...]

Anise [...]

Cervi [...]

Orange flower 6 [...]

Lini 16 [...]

Under ointments, the surgeon asked for:

Arcei 18 [...]

Album Camphoratum the same

Dialthaeae 6 [...]

Nervinum the same

Neapolitanum 4 [...]

Under plasters, the surgeon asked for:

Epispasticum 6 [...]

Diachylon cum gummi 6 [...]

De Ranis cum [...] 4 [...]

Cerae [...] [...]

Cerae [...] 10 [...]

Under electuaries, the surgeon asked for:

Diascordium 6 [...]

Theriaca [...] the same

Philonium Romanum 4 [...]

Lenitive the same

Mithridate [...]

Under pills, the surgeon asked for:

Rudii 6 [...]

Laudanum [...] the same

Mathiae the same

Ex Duobus the same

Cochiae Majores 6 [...]

De Aetate [...] 3 [...]

Stomachicae the same

Opii [...] the same

Under syrups, the surgeon asked for:

Dialthaeae 4 [...]

Rosarum Solutivus 4 [...]

Caryophilli 4 [...]

Erysimum [...]

Mel Rosarum, red 18 [...]

Mel Anglicum 4 [...]

Papaveris 6 [...]

Croci [...]

Interpretations

This is the surgeon's annual requisition of the materia medica needed to keep the garrison and inhabitants supplied with medicines. It was entered by Joseph Du May, taken on as second surgeon on 20 December 1715 and left the island's only medical officer when Thomas Price sailed home in January 1715/16. The indent was drawn up by the standard pharmaceutical classes of the period, waters, spirits, oils, ointments, plasters, electuaries, pills and syrups, so that the directors' apothecary in London could supply each in its proper form.

The classes reflect how a stock of remedies was held and dispensed before the modern pharmacy. Distilled waters and spirits were liquid preparations carrying the virtue of a herb or chemical; oils and ointments were applied externally; plasters were medicated dressings spread on cloth and laid on the body; electuaries were medicines worked into a sweet paste for swallowing; and syrups were sugared liquids, often the vehicle for a more active ingredient. Several of the items named are the famous compound drugs of the day. Theriac and mithridate were elaborate antidotes against poison and fever; diascordium and Philonium Romanum were opiate cordials for pain and flux; laudanum and the various opiate pills supplied the chief painkiller available; and red mel rosarum, or honey of roses, was a common mild astringent. The repeated rose, cinnamon, mint, wormwood and juniper preparations were the everyday astringents, stomachics and antiseptics of the garrison dispensary.

The request that the directors send an apothecary rather than a second surgeon, made when Du May was retained, gives the institutional setting for this indent. With a single surgeon covering the fort, the valley and the country, the compounding and supply of so wide a range of drugs was a heavy charge, and the order shows the scale of the pharmacy one man was expected to maintain from a yearly shipment.

204

211

Jan[ry] 1716/17

Sal Succin 3 iv Corn Cerv 3 D[o] Armoniac D[o] Nitre [lb] iiij Tartar 3 v Absynth 3 i Cathart: Amar [lb] xii Crem: Tartar [lb] x Sacch: Saturn [lb] ss Borax [lb] ij

Elix[r] Salutis 3 [lb] iv Proprietat 3 [lb] iv

Tinct[r] Sacræ [lb] ij Castor 3 iv Myrrhæ [lb] vi Rhub[r] Absynth [lb] ij Laud[r] Liquid sy[r] [lb] ss

Bals[m] Sulph: Terebint [lb] ij Capivi [lb] i Tolut [lb] i Peruvian [lb] i Terebinth Venet [lb] viii

Cons[v] Rosar Rust[r] [lb] ij Alkerm [lb] i Cynobat [lb] iv Prunel D[o] Absynth D[o]

Chymicat 1716/17

3 Sublimat 3 iiij 3 Dulc 3 i 3 Virid Schröder 3 ij Turb[t] Min 3 D[o] Calamel 3 iv Occul Can C[o] 3 ij Arcan Coralin 3 ij Cinab Antimon[i] 3 iv Vitriol[i] Roman[i] [lb] i D[o] Alb[m] 3 vi Antimoni Diaphor 3 i

Chymical p[r]p[r]

3u Succin Alb[m] [lb] ss Mer: Panac 3 D[o] Æthiop Miner 3 D[o] Castr: Lunar 3 i Tera Sigillat[a] 3 i Lapis Infernal 3 i Sperm: Cœty 3 vi Lapis Hiber [lb] i Arsenic [lb] ss Tera Jappon [lb] ss Camphor [lb] i Argent: Viv [lb] iv

Gu[m] Amoniac [lb] i Galban[i] D[o] Myrrhæ [lb] ij Ichthiocolæ [lb] i Mastic [lb] i Arabic [lb] ss Asa fœtida [lb] i Aloes socat[r] [lb] ss Rez Jalapi 3 iv Scamoni 3 vi Mannæ [lb] i

Pul[v] Garcon 3 iiij Jalapi [lb] viii C C C [lb] i Melepedis [lb] ij C C Raz [lb] iiij Cantharidis [lb] ij Tro Alb[m] Res 3 ij

Rad Gentian [lb] iv Tormentill [lb] iv Liquorit [lb] iv Sarsaparill[æ] [lb] iiij Sasafras [lb] x Bistord [lb] ij Ipecacouan[a] [lb] ij Rhub[r] Opt [lb] ij Serpent[i] Virgin [lb] j

Cort Cinamoni [lb] j Orang Sur [lb] j Granat[i] [lb] ij

Lig[n] Guaiac[i] [lb] vi

The surgeon's indent continued, dated January 1716/17.

Under salts, the surgeon asked for:

Succinum 4 ounces

Cornu cervi the same

Armoniac the same

Nitre 3 pounds

Tartar 5 ounces

Absinthium the same

Catharticum amarum 12 pounds

Cremor tartar 10 pounds

Saccharum Saturni half a pound

Borax 2 ounces

Under elixirs, the surgeon asked for:

Salutis 4 [...]

Proprietatis the same

Under tinctures, the surgeon asked for:

Sacra 2 pounds

Castor 4 ounces

Myrrh 6 pounds

Rhubarb and absinthium 4 pounds

Laudanum liquidum half a pound

Under balsams, the surgeon asked for:

Sulphuris terebinthinatum 2 pounds

Capivi 1 pound

Tolu 1 pound

Peruvian the same

Terebinthina Veneta 8 pounds

Under conserves, the surgeon asked for:

Rosarum, red 2 pounds

Alkermes 4 pounds

Cynosbati the same

Prunella the same

Absinthium the same

Under chymical preparations, the surgeon asked for:

Mercurius sublimatus 3 [...]

Mercurius dulcis 4 [...]

Vitriolum album Schroederi 2 ounces

Turbith mineral the same

Calomel 4 ounces

Occuli cancri 2 [...]

Arcanum corallinum the same

Cinnabaris antimonii 4 [...]

Vitriolum Romanum 1 pound

Vitriolum album 6 ounces

Antimonium diaphoreticum [...]

Under a further head of chymical preparations, the surgeon asked for:

Succinum album half a pound

Mercurius Panaceae [...]

Aethiops mineralis the same

Castor lunar 1 ounce

Cera sigillata 1 ounce

Lapis infernalis 1 ounce

Sperma ceti 6 [...]

Lapis hibernicus 1 pound

Arsenic [...]

Cera Jappon half a pound

Camphor 1 pound

Argentum vivum 4 [...]

Under gums, the surgeon asked for:

Ammoniac 1 pound

Galbanum the same

Myrrh 4 pounds

Ichthyocolla the same

Mastic half a pound

Arabic the same

Asafoetida half a pound

Aloes socotrina the same

Resina jalapae 4 pounds

Scammony 6 pounds

Manna the same

Under powders, the surgeon asked for:

Garceon 3 [...]

Jalap 8 pounds

Crab's eyes prepared 4 [...]

Melipedis 4 pounds

Crab's claws prepared 4 pounds

Cantharidis 4 pounds

Troches album Kesar 2 [...]

Under roots, the surgeon asked for:

Gentian 4 pounds

Tormentil 4 pounds

Liquorice 4 pounds

Sarsaparilla 4 pounds

Sassafras 10 pounds

Bistort 4 pounds

Ipecacuanha 4 pounds

Rhubarb optima 1 pound

Serpentaria Virginiana 1 pound

Under barks, the surgeon asked for:

Cinnamon 2 pounds

Orange peel 2 pounds

Granati 2 pounds

Under woods, the surgeon asked for:

Guaiacum 6 pounds

Interpretations

This page continues Joseph Du May's drug requisition into the chemical and raw-material classes that an early eighteenth-century surgeon kept beside his prepared medicines. Where the previous folio listed finished waters, oils and electuaries, this part orders the salts, tinctures, balsams, gums, powders, roots and barks, together with two heads of chymical preparations. These were the ingredients from which the dispensary made up its own remedies as well as agents used directly.

The chymical preparations show the heavily mineral and mercurial character of the period's pharmacy. Mercurius sublimatus, calomel, turbith mineral, cinnabar of antimony and quicksilver were the mercury preparations used against venereal disease and as purges and caustics. Antimony compounds such as diaphoretic antimony were given to provoke sweating and vomiting. Arsenic, lapis infernalis, which was lunar caustic or silver nitrate, and white vitriol were corrosives and escharotics for treating wounds and growths. These were dangerous, potent agents, which is why they were ordered in small weights of ounces beside the bulk roots and barks.

The roots, barks and woods were the standard botanical drugs of the day, several of them recent imports from the wider trading world. Guaiacum wood, sarsaparilla, sassafras and serpentaria from Virginia were New World materials used against venereal disease and fevers; ipecacuanha was a South American emetic; and jalap and scammony were the strong purgative resins. Crab's eyes and crab's claws were prepared chalky absorbents for acidity, and ichthyocolla was isinglass, a fish-derived gelatine. The breadth of the order, from Peruvian balsam to spermaceti and camphor, shows the global reach of the supply chain feeding a single garrison dispensary on the island.

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Surgeon[s] indent continued.

Sem Santonicum [lb] iv Coriand[r] [lb] i Carvi D[o] Senten[i] Dulc [lb] ij Anisi [lb] ij

Farin Tabar [lb] iv Fenugric D[o] Herb Galices 3 xii

Flor Chamomel [lb] iv Absynth [lb] iv Cethuar 3 ij Croci Anglic 3 j

Herb Salviæ [lb] x Senn[a] Aleæ [lb] x Card[u] Bened[i] [lb] iiij

A Sett of Capitall Instruments A large Clister string w[th] severall of a small Size. 6 Grosses of Vials 3 Grosses of Gally-pots w[th] as many Pill Boxes 2 Doz[n] of Sheep skins white and Red Sieves of all sorts A glass Mortar [&] Pestle Cupping Glasses An Urinall 4 Books of Party Gold.

Garrison Stores.

60 Granadier Capps 60 Loop for D[o] Coats 40 plain 100 Belts 100 Pouches for Grenadeers 100 Wastcoats [&] as many Breeches 100 Swords w[th] span Scabbards 2 Doz[n] of a better sort for Officers

Gunner's Stores.

20 Ream of Cartridge Paper 34 doz[n] of Tarr Brushes 100 Iron Crows 2 [lb] Lanthorn Horns

Gunners Stores continued.

100 p[r] of Trucks for Demi Culverin 200 p[r] of Axletrees for D[o] 100 Spunge Staves

Haberdashery Ware.

100 [lb] of whited brown Thread 100 D[o] sorted 20 [lb] of Needles Sorted 12 Gross of Pins sorted 20 gross brass Buttons for the Slaves 200 [lb] Shoemakers Thread 200 [lb] of Twine 2 Gross of coloured [&] Manchester Tape. 6 Doz[n] Mens edg[d] Hatts w[th] Gold [&] Silver

The surgeon's indent continued, dated January 1716/17.

Under seeds, the surgeon asked for:

Santonicum 4 pounds

Coriander 1 pound

Carvi the same

Sennae dulcis 2 pounds

Anise 4 pounds

Under flours, the surgeon asked for:

Tabar 4 pounds

Fenugreek the same

Hordei Gallici 12 ounces

Under flowers, the surgeon asked for:

Chamomile 4 pounds

Absinthium 4 pounds

Centaury 4 pounds

Croci Anglici 3 [...]

Under herbs, the surgeon asked for:

Salviae 10 pounds

Sennae Aloes 4 pounds

Carduus Benedictus 4 pounds

The surgeon also asked for the following instruments and equipment:

A set of capital instruments

A large clyster syringe, with several of a small size

Vials 6 gross

Galley pots, with as many pill boxes 3 gross

Sheep skins, white and red 2 dozen

Sieves of all sorts

A glass mortar and pestle

Cupping glasses

An urinal

Books of party gold 4

Under garrison stores, the council asked for:

Grenadier caps 60

Loops for the said caps 60 plain 40

Belts 100

Pouches for grenadiers 100

Waistcoats and breeches 100

Swords with plain scabbards 100

Better sort for officers 2 dozen

Under gunner's stores, the council asked for:

Cartridge paper 20 reams

Tar brushes 34 dozen

Iron crows 100

Lanthorn horns 2,116

Under gunner's stores continued, the council asked for:

Trucks for demi-cannon 100 pairs

Axletrees for the same 200 pairs

Sponge staves 100

Under haberdashery ware, the council asked for:

Whited brown thread 100 pounds

Thread, sorted 100 pounds

Needles, sorted 20 pounds

Pins, sorted 12 gross

Brass buttons for the slaves 20 gross

Shoemaker's thread 200 pounds

Twine 200 pounds

Coloured and Manchester tape 2 gross

Men's edged hats with gold and silver 6 dozen

Interpretations

The closing items of the surgeon's indent set out the hardware of the dispensary and operating room. A set of capital instruments was the case of tools for major surgery, chiefly amputation, the capital operations being those that put life at risk. The clyster syringe was for administering enemas, the galley pots and pill boxes for holding ointments and made-up pills, and the books of party gold were leaves of gold for gilding pills, a finish thought to make them more palatable. The sheep skins served for dressings and the cupping glasses for drawing blood to the surface in the routine therapy of the day.

The garrison stores show the equipping of an infantry detachment to a fixed establishment. The grenadier caps, the loops that trimmed them, the belts, the pouches for grenadiers and the graded swords, plain for the men and a better sort for the officers, were the standing order to keep the garrison clothed and armed. The matching of one hundred each of caps, belts, pouches, waistcoats and swords fixes the notional strength being supplied.

The gunner's stores and haberdashery reveal the maintenance demands of the fortifications and the internal economy of the slave establishment. Trucks and axletrees in pairs were the wooden wheels and axles of the gun carriages for the demi-cannon, sponge staves the poles for swabbing the barrels, and cartridge paper and tar brushes the consumables of the batteries. Among the haberdashery, the twenty gross of brass buttons specified for the slaves ties this bulk order back to the clothing programme recorded earlier in the same consultation, when responsibility for the slaves' clothes was placed with Bazett, the buttons being a component of the suits made up on the island.

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Haberdashery Ware

8 doz[n] of Mens ordinary plain at 1/6[d] 4 doz[n] of Boys d[o] 8 doz[n] Mens more ord[r] Hatts at ab[t] 2/6[d] 300[m] Hair Powder not Scented. 1000 w[t] Small Bird Shott. 500 pair Mens blew Stockings such as came last p[r] the Cath[a] Cap[t] Tucker 100 pair of finer such as are sold at London for 3/6 200 pair of Mens fine Hose sorted as Scarlett, Black, Grey [&] all Colours 200 pair Womens fine Hose sorted 100 pair Mens fine white-thread Stocky[s] such as are sold in [Lon]d for 3/6. 100 pair of Women D[o] 150 pair of Men [&] Women thread Socks fine [&] coarse 50 pair of white [&] coloured Silk Gloves Knitt Caps for y[e] Hon[ble] Blacks such as y[e] Charity Child[r] wear

Iron-monger's Ware

Iron rimmed Locks such as are Sold in London for 2[s] [a]piece Ditto that are sold in Lond[n] for 6[s] [e]a [a]nd all to be spring Lock w[th] putt Backs [&] double Shooters some with two Keys to each Lock

Iron-Mongers Ware

20[m] Scupper 20[m] Pump Nailes 6[m] Six penny 500 Pickaxes sorted, good [&] Strong in the Eyes 100 Mattocks w[th] round [&] strong Eyes 50 Hand Hatchetts 50 Trowels 20 doz[n] of Shod Shovels y[e] best sort. 4 of Iron square Bars of 2, or 3 Inches 10 Barr Iron sorted 1 Spanish Iron Steel 4 good Moaring Anchors for the Boats w[th] Chains [&] Swivels [&] for Sandy bay, [&] for y[e] Road 2[w] Fish Hooks of y[e] Smaller sort 150 [&] of y[e] larger 50 w[th] Lines suitable whereof 100 Jack Lines of 40 F[o] [e]a 6 doz[n] of Caulking Irons 6 doz[n] Scrapers, good Steel Ones

Naval Stores viz[t]

2 9 2 7 2 6½ 4 6 Inch Hawsers

Margin Notes:

Glow

Coil

The indent continued, dated January 1716/17.

Under haberdashery ware, the council asked for:

Men's ordinary plain hats, at 1 shilling 6 pence 8 dozen

Boys' hats, the same 4 dozen

Men's more ordinary hats, at about 2 shillings 6 pence 8 dozen

Hair powder, not scented 300 pounds

Small bird shot 1,000 pounds

Men's blue stockings, such as came last by the Catherine, Captain Packer 500 pairs

Finer ones, such as are sold at London for 3 shillings 6 pence 100 pairs

Men's fine hose, sorted, as scarlet, black, grey and all colours 200 pairs

Women's fine hose, sorted 200 pairs

Men's fine white thread stockings, such as are sold in London for 3 shillings 6 pence 100 pairs

Women's fine stockings, the same 100 pairs

Men's and women's thread socks, fine and coarse 150 pairs

White and coloured silk gloves 50 pairs

Knit caps for the Honourable Company's blacks, such as the charity children wear

Under ironmongers' ware, the council asked for:

Iron-rimmed locks, such as are sold in London for 2 shillings apiece

Locks that are sold in London for 6 pence each, all to be spring locks with putt backs and double shoots, some with two keys to each lock

Scupper nails 20,000

Pump nails 20,000

Sixpenny nails 6,000

Pickaxes, sorted, good and strong in the eyes 500

Mattocks with round and strong eyes 100

Hand hatchets 50

Trowels 50

Shod shovels of the best sort 20 dozen

Iron, square bars of 2 or 3 inches [...]

Bar iron, sorted 10 [...]

Spanish iron 1 [...]

Steel [...]

Good mooring anchors for the boats, with chains and swivels, for Sandy Bay and the James Town road 4

Fish hooks of the smaller sort [...] gross of the larger 150 50 with lines suitable, of which 100 jack lines of 40 feet each [...]

Caulking irons 6 dozen

Scrapers, good steel ones 6 dozen

Under naval stores, the council asked for:

Inch hawsers 9, 2 coils 7, 2 coils 6½, [...] coils 6, 4 coils

Interpretations

The hat and stocking entries show how closely the indent was tied to London retail goods, with prices and even particular former shipments cited so the directors' buyers could match the order. The blue stockings were wanted in the same kind that had last come by the Catherine, Captain Packer, the same ship by which this indent was being sent home, and the finer hose were specified by their London selling price. This pegged the order to known standards and removed any doubt about the grade required.

The knit caps requested for the Company's blacks fix the slave clothing to a recognisable model, the kind worn by charity children in England. The reference point ties the order to the clothing programme set out earlier in the consultation, where responsibility for the slaves' clothes was placed with Bazett, and shows the Company outfitting its slaves to the same cheap pattern used for pauper children at home.

The ironmongers' and naval stores were the heavy materials for building and the boats. The pickaxes, mattocks, shovels, bar iron and steel supplied the fortification and quarrying work, while the mooring anchors with chains and swivels were specified for the boats at Sandy Bay and the James Town road, the two principal anchorages. Hawsers were heavy ropes for mooring and warping, here ordered by the inch of circumference and the coil, and the caulking irons and scrapers were the tools for keeping the boats' seams tight. The whole reflects the constant demand of an exposed island station to maintain its defences and its sea communications from a single annual shipment.

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Naval Stores continued

4 5 6 4½ 6 4 6 3½ 6 3 8 2½ 16 2 16 1½ Inch Rope

20 Coil of 1 Inch [&] Rattling 20 Holland duck 40 pieces Canvas 40 Vittray 40 pieces of Ordinary sacking to make Lines Baggs of:

70 Tarr 70 Pitch hoop[t] w[th] Iron Hoops 10 Rozen 200 w[t] of Brimstone 300 Bar[s] of Lamp Black.

10 Rape 10 Fraine for the Tanners 15 Lintseed Oyle for painting but no Vinegar or Pickles

Pewterer's Ware

4 Saucers 60 Spoons 4 Candlesticks 1 Dish Covers 1 Cheese Plates

Pewterer's Ware cont.

2 Tankards of the best sorted 1 Stands for Dishes 2 Rings for D[o] Setts for Castors (for Side Table) 6 Tea Kettles [&] Lamps made silver fashion[d] 12 Frames w[th] Oyl [&] Vinegar Cruets [&] spare Cruets

Plumbers Ware.

1 Ton of small Ingotts of Lead to make Sinkers for Fishing. 4 Ton Sheet Lead for Gutters Leaden Pipes 2,3,4 Inch Diameter as much as y[e] Hon[ble] please.

Provisions

40 Casks of Beef: Pork, [&] Suett. 1 Ton of Tallow 200 w[t] Bees wax 20 Cask of Bread [&] Flower w[ch] We now are in need of: 12 Cask of Pease, such as came p[r] the Caldecott if [c]ould be afforded at 8[s] p[r] Bushell here, but if not at that price then but 2 Casks of Beans [&] Pease for seed. But pray that they may be Sent over in better Casks than the last,

Margin Notes:

Coils

Doz[n]

The indent continued, dated January 1716/17.

Under naval stores continued, the council asked for inch rope as follows:

5 inch 4 coils

4½ inch 6 coils

4 inch 6 coils

3½ inch 6 coils

3 inch 6 coils

2½ inch 8 coils

2 inch 16 coils

1½ inch 16 coils

1 inch and ratline 20 coils

Holland duck 20

Canvas 40 pieces

Vitry 40

Ordinary sacking to make line bags of 40 pieces

Tar 70 barrels

Pitch, hooped with iron hoops 70 barrels

Rosin 10 [...]

Brimstone 200 pounds

Lamp black 300 barrels

Rape oil for the tanners 10 jars

Train oil for the tanners 10 jars

Linseed oil for painting, but no vinegar or pickles 15 jars

Under pewterer's ware, the council asked for:

Saucers 4 [...]

Spoons 60 [...]

Candlesticks 4 dozen

Dish covers 1 [...]

Cheese plates 1 [...]

Under pewterer's ware continued, the council asked for:

Tankards of the best sorted 2

Stands for dishes 1 dozen

Rings for dishes 2 dozen

Cellars for castors, for the side table [...]

Tea kettles and lamps, made silver fashioned 6

Frames with oil and vinegar cruets, and spare cruets 12

Under plumber's ware, the council asked for:

Small ingots of lead to make sinkers for fishing 1 ton

Sheet lead for gutters 4 tons

Leaden pipes, of half, three quarters and 1 inch diameter as much as the Honourable Company please

Under provisions, the council asked for:

Beef, pork and suet 40 casks

Tallow 1 ton

Beeswax 200 pounds

Bread and flour, of which the island was now in need 20 casks

Peas, such as came by the Cardonnell, if they could be afforded at 8 [...] per bushel here, but if not, then beans at that price 12 casks

Beans and peas for seed 2 casks

The council asked that the peas and beans be sent over in better casks than the last.

Interpretations

The graduated order of rope by circumference, from five inches down to one inch and ratline, shows the standing requirement of an island station to keep a full range of cordage for its boats and the passing shipping. Ratline was the light line rigged across the shrouds as footropes, and the bulk of the smaller sizes reflects the heavy turnover of running rigging and general use, with the heavier coils held for mooring and warping.

The provisions section gives a clear picture of an island that could not feed itself and relied on shipped supply for its staple stores. The salt beef, pork and suet in cask, the bread and flour, and the tallow and beeswax for lighting were the standing imports. The note that the island was now in need of bread and flour marks the immediate shortfall behind the order.

The handling of the peas reveals a small piece of price management within the requisition. The council asked for peas of the kind brought by the Cardonnell only if they could be supplied at a stated price per bushel on the island, and directed that beans be substituted at that price if the peas could not. This made the order conditional on cost, the bench fixing a ceiling and naming a fallback rather than committing to the dearer item. The request that the casks be better than the last points to spoilage or leakage in the previous shipment, a recurring hazard in victualling a remote station.

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5 Pecolls of Tea, half green, half Bohee put up in Catty Potts of 100 Potts in one Chest.

Shoemaker's Ware

200 Mens leather heeld Shoes of large Size[s] 200 D[o] Stronger 200 Womens of Span Lea[r] the very good fashionable [&] large 100 D[o] leath[r] Shoes black [&] strong all w[th] wooden Heels. 4 Boys shoes sorted 4 Girls D[o] sorted 2 Womens leather Cloggs

5 Dickers of Soal leather of a good [&] Strong sort 30 doz[n] Large well Dressd Calves Skins some Red, some Black, [&] some of y[e] natural Colour of y[e] Grain

2 Dickers of small Trunk upper Leath[r] 20 Hides well dressd - These are to make into Shoes here by our People.

The Reason for our writing at present for all this unusuall quantity of Leather is that since the great dearth in in We lost so many Cattle, We have killd but few [&] Every Ship has occasion for the Hides of their own Cattle to make Service for their Shrouds [&] yards [&c], So that till Cattle are killd here in more plenty, We shall not have Leather en[o] to -

to make into Shoes, the quantity of Shoes abovemention[d] being not en[o] for above half a years Service.

Stationary Ware.

200 Inkhorns sorted, most small N[o] Wafers [&] the same Books [&] Papers [&c] as the last year.

Ships going to China.

That if each Ship brought for St Helena of Tea 4 Pecoll half Bohee [&] the other half Green, but both good, of their kinds put up in single Catteo Pots, and 100 in each Chest, It would not only be very acceptable here, but turn to Acco[t] of Profit, w[ch] will be best likely the People here, [&] will be sold out of the Store w[th] more Conveniency [&] no Loss, nor so subject to Dabrage.

About 50 Catties of Sowing [&] Stiching Silk from China sorted of divers Colours, but mostly black would sell very will here [&] that in one year.

Timber [&c]

100 Spruce Deals 1000 Yellow Deals, 10 foot long, 1½ Inch thick 8000 Comon Deals 100.000 Piles for Houses.

The indent continued, dated January 1716/17.

The council asked for:

Tea, half green and half bohea, put up in caddy pots of 100 pots in one chest 5 pecols

Under shoemaker's ware, the council asked for:

Men's leather heeled shoes, of the largest sizes 200

The same, stronger 200

Women's blue calf leather, very good, fashionable, largest 200 pairs

The same, black, and strong, all with wooden heels 100

Boys' shoes, sorted 4 [...]

Girls', sorted 4 dozen

Women's leather clogs 2

Sole leather of a good and strong sort 5 dickers

Large well-dressed calf skins, some red, some black, and some of the natural colour of the grain 30 dozen

Small trunk upper leather 2 dickers

Hides, well dressed, these to be made into shoes here by the island's own people 20

The council explained the reason for asking at present for all this unusual quantity of leather. Since the great dearth of cattle on the island, so many cattle having been lost, every ship had occasion for the hides of its own cattle to make service for their shrouds and yards and the like. Until cattle grew more plentiful, the island would not have leather enough to make into shoes, the quantity of shoes named above being not enough for above half a year's service.

Under stationery ware, the council asked for:

Inkhorns, sorted, mostly small, with wafers and the same books and papers and the like as last year 200

Under ships going to China, the council set out the following. If each ship bound for St Helena brought five pecols of tea, half bohea and the other half green, but both good of their kinds and put up in single caddy pots, with 100 in each chest, it would not only be very acceptable here but turn to a good account of profit. This would best likely be liked by the people here, would be issued out of the store with more convenience and no loss, and would not be subject to breakage. The council also asked for about 90 catties of sewing and stitching silk from China, sorted of various colours, but mostly black, which would sell very well on the island within a year.

Under timber, the council asked for:

Spruce deals 100

Yellow deals, 10 feet long, 1 inch thick 1,000

Common deals 3,000

Piles for houses 100,000

Interpretations

The council's note on leather gives the direct cause behind the heavy order, the cattle famine that had run through the recent records. With the island's herds depleted, the hides ordinarily used for shoemaking were being consumed by ships for their own running rigging, the shrouds and yards being eased and protected with hide. The shortfall in hides therefore forced the council to import finished and dressed leather, the quantity ordered reckoned to cover barely half a year. This links the shoemaking economy directly to the same loss of cattle that drove the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 and the famine figure of 2,500 head Pyke had cited.

The instructions to the China ships set out a small commercial calculation rather than a simple stores request. Tea bought directly by the ships and put up in single caddy pots within a chest of one hundred would, the council reasoned, sell better, issue from the store without loss and resist breakage. The order also specified ninety catties of sewing silk, mostly black, as a saleable line. The bench was using the China trade to stock the store with goods it could retail to the inhabitants at a margin, the same store-as-shop function seen elsewhere in its dealings.

Several units in this order belong to specialised trades. A dicker was a count of ten hides or skins, the standard tally in the leather trade. A pecol and a catty were Chinese commercial weights, the pecol of about 133 pounds divided into one hundred catties, so the tea and silk were ordered in the measures of the Canton market. Deals were sawn softwood planks, here graded as spruce, yellow and common and specified by length and thickness, the piles being the heavy timbers driven in as foundations for building on the island.

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Tin Ware viz[t]

2 Convex Lamps to be placed on y[e] Line to know this Fort by if Ships come in the Night time, as sometimes they do. 4 Lanthorns sorted 4 Glass d[o] sorted 2 Mercury Light: for Shipping 1 Small Speaking Trumpets 1 D[o] larger. 2 Watering Potts sorted 10 Tinn Lamps sorted. 500 Tinn plates, single [&] double to work up here. 40 Yards of strong wyar Work for Windows of y[e] Hon[ble] Ware house mades close en[o] to keep out Ratts.

20 large wyar Traps (call[d] Dish Traps) for Ratts. 6 doz[n] of Glasses for Lamps 1 Chest of 1 Hour, ½ Hour [&] minute [&] ¼ minute Glasses.

Turnary Ware. 12 Wooden Trenchers 3 d[o] Spoons 2 Box d[o] Wooden dishes to hold 1 p[r] tea[?] 3 dozen of Taps y[e] best sorts made of box 10 pair of Yoakes for Oxen. 50 Yoakes for Milk Pailes, such as Tubb People carry Beer with from Brewhouses in London would be very usefull here.

Woolen Cloth [&c]

2 Ordinary green Cloth 4 Black fine Spanish 2 Scarlett 2 Grey 1 Blew 2 Coloured D[o]

100 pcs of Coloured Fustians 100 d[o] Sticksetts 20 d[o] Black [&] white Crape 10 d[o] fine black Crape for mourning 40 d[o] Kersies 4 d[o] fine Flannell 10 d[o] worsted Cambletts, 3 blew, 3 Scarlett [&] 4 Cloth Colours.

Margin Notes:

Antipas Tovey

The indent continued, dated January 1716/17.

Under tin ware, the council asked for:

Convex lamps, to be placed on the line to know the fort by if ships come in the night, as they sometimes do 2

Lanthorns, sorted 4

Glass ones, sorted 4 dozen

Mercury light, for shipping 2

Small speaking trumpets 1

Larger ones 1 dozen

Watering pots, sorted 2

Tin lamps, sorted 10

Tin plates, single and double, to work up here 500

Wire work for the windows of the Honourable Company's warehouses, made close enough to keep out rats 40 yards

Large wire traps, called dish traps, for rats 20

Glasses for lamps 6 dozen

Chest of 1 hour, half hour, 1 minute and quarter minute glasses 1

Under turnery ware, the council asked for:

Wooden trenchers 12

Wooden spoons 3 [...]

Boxes for the same 2 gross

Wooden dishes to hold a pint each

Taps of the best sort, made of box 3 dozen

Yokes for oxen 10 pairs

Yokes for milk pails, such as tub people carry beer with from breweries in London, which would be very useful here 50

Under woollen cloth and the like, the council asked for:

Ordinary green cloth 2 [...]

Black, fine Spanish 4 [...]

Scarlet 2 [...]

Grey 2 pieces

Blue 1 [...]

Coloured 2 [...]

Coloured fustians 100 pieces

The same, ticksetts 100 [...]

Black and white crape 20 [...]

Fine black crape, for mourning 10 [...]

Kerseys 40 [...]

Fine flannel 4 [...]

Worsted camlets, 3 blue, 3 scarlet and 4 cloth colours 10 [...]

The indent was signed by Antipas Tovey.

Interpretations

The convex lamps and the mercury light were ordered for a practical navigational purpose, to make the fort recognisable to ships coming in by night. The lamps were to be set on the line so that the place could be known after dark, when vessels sometimes arrived. This shows the island fitting up a rudimentary harbour light against the hazard of a night approach to an exposed roadstead.

The tin and turnery orders supply both the establishment and a resale trade. The tin plates were wanted unfinished, to be worked up on the island, and the order ranged from watering pots and lamps to the chest of sand glasses for measuring time. Among the turnery, the yokes for milk pails were specified by reference to the shoulder yokes London draymen used to carry beer from the breweries, a familiar London object cited so the directors' buyers could match it exactly.

The woollen cloths and stuffs were the trade textiles for sale through the store, listed by type and colour. Fustian was a stout cotton or cotton-and-linen cloth, ticksetts a corded variety of it, kersey a coarse narrow woollen, and camlet a fine worsted often used for cloaks. The order of black and fine black crape, the latter expressly for mourning, shows the store stocking the materials of formal dress for the settlement. The signature of Antipas Tovey as secretary closes the indent, the same hand that authenticated the council's instruments throughout these sittings.

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At a Consultation held on Sunday 13[th] Jan[ry] 1716/17 At Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Harnett Dep[ty] 2[d] Presents Matt[w] Bazett 3[d] Antipas Tovey 4[th] Edw: Byffeld 5 in Council

For many weighty reasons and p[ar]ticularly those mention[d] by Gabriel Powell in his Libell to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] The Govern[r] gives Cap[t] Bazett notice of warning to putt off his Plantation, it being apparent that t[is] very detrimentall to the s[d] Hon[ble] Comp[a]

The council met at a consultation held on Sunday 13 January 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third; Antipas Tovey, fourth; and Edward Byfield, fifth in council.

Start of crossed out section

For many weighty reasons, and particularly those mentioned by Gabriel Powell in his libel to the Honourable Company, the Governor gave Captain Bazett notice concerning the putting off of his plantation, it being apparent that it was very detrimental to the Honourable Company.

End of crossed out section

Interpretations

The reference to Gabriel Powell's libel to the Honourable Company points to a written complaint Powell had sent home against the administration, a thread running back through his rejected petition of 18 October 1715 over the French orphans' estate and his long record of disputes with the bench. That a councillor's plantation should be given up on reasons drawn partly from Powell's accusation shows how a complaint lodged with the directors could feed back into the council's own decisions.

The cancellation of the whole entry, struck through with a large cross, marks a matter the clerk was directed to remove from the fair record. The notice to Bazett to put off his plantation as detrimental to the Company was entered and then voided, perhaps because the order was reconsidered or rephrased at the same sitting. The deletion is itself preserved because the cancelled material remains part of the formal record.

211

218

Jan[ry] 1716/17

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 15[th] Janua[ry] 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Dep[t] Matt[w] Bazett 3[d] Antip: Tovey 4 in Coun[l]

The last Consultation was read [&] approved. On Sunday last in the Evening sailed the Catharine Cap[t] Tucker Comand[r] for England, on w[ch] M[r] Edw[d] Byfeld took passage. The following Petition was presented.

Island St Helena To the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] [&c] Council. The hum[ble] Petition of Grace Porteous Wid[o]

Sheweth That your Petion[rs] Husband William Porteous did some time before his Death lend Fifty Pounds to M[r] Tho[s] Perkins who went off the Island [&] never repaid the said Sum [&] having Effects upon this Island, humbly prays the same may be attach[d] and the said Sum of Fifty Pounds go towards paying her Husbands debt to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] And y[r] Petion[r] as in duty bound) shall ever pray [&c] (Signd) Grace Porteous Referd to Capt[n] Haswell to look over the Books, [&] report ab[t] the s[d] Fifty Pounds.

Margin Notes:

Jan: 15. 1716/17

The council met at a consultation held on Tuesday 15 January 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third; and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

On Sunday last in the evening the Catherine, Captain Tucker commander, sailed for England, on which Mr Edward Byfield took passage.

The following petition was presented.

Grace Porteous, widow, petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. She set out that her husband William Porteous had, some time before his death, lent £50 0s 0d to Mr Thomas Perkins, who had since gone off the island and never repaid the sum. Perkins having effects on the island, she asked that these be attached and the £50 0s 0d go towards paying her husband's debt to the Honourable Company. The petition was dated 15 January 1716/17 and signed by Grace Porteous.

The council referred the matter to Captain Haswell to look over the books and report concerning the £50 0s 0d.

Interpretations

The petition turns on the recovery of a private debt to settle a debt to the Company, the same mechanism of assigning one obligation against another seen across these records. William Porteous, the second surgeon reported dead at the consultation of 15 November 1715, had died owing the Company. His widow now sought to attach the effects Perkins had left on the island, so that the £50 0s 0d he owed her husband would pass to the Company in part discharge of the husband's debt. The reference to Haswell to examine the books shows the bench testing the claim against the record before allowing any attachment.

The departure of the Catherine with the writer Edward Byfield aboard closes the discharge granted him at the consultation of 7 January 1716/17, when he was allowed to go home by this ship on delivering up the goods and accounts in his charge. His sailing confirms that the condition was met.

212

219

Jan[ry] 1716/17

Report has been made to the Govern[r] that our Consulta[ns] of late have been reveald [&] whisperd from One to another, w[ch] tends to the destruction of our Hon[ble] Masters affairs [&] occasions the People to despise this Government, and is a Hindrance to those in Council from giving their Opinions as they would do, lest they should be renderd obnoxious to the People, so that our Votes are given rather as the People would have y[m] than as they ought to be. Wherefore have thought convenient to make y[e] following Resolutions First Resolved that whomsoever shall reveal the secrets of these Consultations is a Trayto-r to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] and Lords proprietors in betraying his trust; [&] is unworthy of being in Council, Secondly Resolved that whomsoever reveals the secretts of these Consultations is a Betrayer of this Government, and the cause of it's being renderd despicable to the People. Thirdly, Resolved that whomsoever shall be found guilty of revealing the secretts aforesaid shall be suspended from his Employment till our Hon[ble] Master's pleasure be farther known. Order[d] That not only the Govern[r] [&] Council do sign to these Resolves, but the Clerks also in this Secret[ry] Office. Order[d] that no Books or Papers in the Office be read by any Person except y[e] Govern[r] Council [&] Clerks, nor any Books whatsoever be carried out of their proper places.

Margin Notes:

Capt[n]

A report was made to the Governor that the council's consultations had lately been revealed and whispered from one to another. This tended to the destruction of the Honourable Masters' affairs and led the people to despise the government. It was also a hindrance to those in council from giving their opinions as they would, for fear of being made hateful to the people, so that their votes were given rather as the people would have them than as they ought to be.

The council therefore thought it convenient to make the following resolutions.

First, the council resolved that whoever revealed the secrets of these consultations was a traitor to the Honourable Company and the Lords Proprietors in betraying his trust, and was unworthy of a place in council.

Secondly, the council resolved that whoever revealed the secrets of these consultations was a betrayer of this government and the cause of its being made despicable to the people.

Thirdly, the council resolved that whoever was found guilty of revealing the secrets named above should be suspended from his employment until the Honourable Masters' pleasure be further known.

The council ordered that not only the Governor and Council sign to these resolutions, but the clerks also in the secretary's office.

The council further ordered that no books or papers in the office be read by any person except the Governor, Council and clerks, nor any books whatsoever be carried out of their proper places.

Interpretations

The resolutions show the bench treating the secrecy of its proceedings as a condition of honest deliberation. The stated harm was that leaked votes exposed councillors to popular pressure, so that opinions were shaped by what the people would tolerate rather than by the Company's interest. The remedy graded the offence from a breach of trust, through the charge of bringing the government into contempt, to a fixed penalty of suspension pending the directors' decision. This made disclosure a disciplinary matter reaching members of the council itself, not merely the clerks.

The order confining the office books and papers to the Governor, Council and clerks, and forbidding their removal, gives the practical mechanism behind the secrecy rule. It treats the consultation books and records as a controlled archive, the same documentary discipline by which the council held its books as definitive evidence while refusing general access to them. The requirement that the clerks of the secretary's office subscribe the resolutions extended the bond of secrecy to the men who actually handled the records.

213

220

Jan[ry] 1716/17

Cap[t] Bazett the Storekeeper brought in his Monthly Account from October y[e] 25[th] 1716 to Novemb[r] 25[th] following

An Account of Store Goods sold [&] deliverd to y[e] Inhabitants Union Castle [&] Plantation House from October y[e] 25[th] 1716 to Novemb[r] y[e] 25[th] following. viz[t]

To the Inhabitants viz[t]

Arrack 312¼ Gall[s] @ 6/3 97 11 6¾

Sugar 54[lb] @ 8[d] 1 8 4 4

Flower 173[lb] @ 3½[d] 2 10 6½

Bread 134[lb] @ 3½[d] 1 19 1

Rice 76[lb] @ 3½[d] 1 2 2

Oyle 7/8 Gall sn[?] 10 6

Vinegar 3½ Gall 1 10½

Soap 61[lb] @ 17[d] 4 6 5

Tea 10½[lb] @ 9[d] 8 11 6 D[o] 2 Catties 9[d] 13 1 - 21 12 6

Pepper 4[lb] @ 12[d] 4

Druggetts 64[yds] @ 4[s] 12 16 - 3[yds] @ 3[s] 9 - 1¾ Silk @ 4/9 7 1½ 13 12 1½

Shalloons 44½[yds] @ 2/6 5 11 3

Durants 25[yds] @ 1/9 2 3 9

Scarlett Serge 5[yds] @ 5/10 1 19 2

Perpetts 16[yds] @ 2/3 1 16

Pins 4[m] @ 1/9 7

Silk 10[oz] @ 2/6 1 6 6¾

Buttons 3 doz Coat @ 12[d] 3 -

D[o] 7 doz breast @ 4[d] 2 4 5 4

Carried over

Captain Bazett, the storekeeper, brought in his monthly account from 25 October 1716 to 25 November following, dated January 1716/17.

The account set out the store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, Union Castle and the plantation house from 25 October 1716 to 25 November following.

To the inhabitants:

Arrack 312¼ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence £97 11s 6¾d

Sugar 546 pounds at 8 pence £18 4s 0d

Flour 173 pounds at 3 pence £2 10s 6½d

Bread 134 pounds at 3½ pence £1 19s 1d

Rice 76 pounds at 3½ pence £1 2s 2d

Oil 7½ gallons sold £0 10s 6d

Vinegar 3¼ gallons £0 1s 10½d

Soap 61 pounds at 17 [...] £4 6s 5d

Tea 10¼ [...] at 9 [...] £8 11s 6d

Tea 2 catties at 9 [...] £13 1s 0d

These two tea entries together made £21 12s 6d.

Pepper 4 [...] at 12 [...] £0 4s 0d

Drugget 64 yards at 4 shillings £12 16s 0d

Drugget 3 yards at 3 shillings £0 9s 0d

Silk 1½ yards at 4 shillings 9 pence £0 7s 1½d

These three drugget and silk entries together made £13 12s 1½d.

Shalloons 44 [...] at 2 shillings 6 pence £5 11s 3d

Durants 25 [...] at 1 shilling 9 pence £2 3s 9d

Scarlet serge 5 [...] at 5 shillings 10 pence £1 9s 2d

Perpets 16 [...] at 2 shillings 3 pence £1 16s 0d

Pins 4,000 at 1 shilling 9 pence £0 7s 0d

Silk 10 ounces at 2 shillings 6 pence £1 6s 6½d

Buttons 3 dozen for coats at 12 [...] £0 3s 0d

Buttons 7 dozen for breasts at 4 [...] £0 2s 4d

These two button entries together made £0 5s 4d.

Carried over.

Interpretations

This is the storekeeper's monthly retail account under the first of its standing institutional headings, the goods sold to the inhabitants. The account ran by commodity, then quantity and unit rate, then the resulting sum, the form in which the store's monthly business was entered on the consultation book. Arrack at over ninety-seven pounds for the month dominates the takings, confirming the place of the Batavia spirit as both the chief comfort of the garrison and the largest single line of store revenue.

The textile entries show the store functioning as the settlement's draper. Drugget was the coarse woollen made up into the slaves' coats; shalloon a light twilled woollen used for linings; durant a hardwearing glazed worsted, also called everlasting; serge a stout twilled cloth; and perpet, or perpetuana, another durable worsted. The grouping of small quantities at fixed rates per yard, with the matching buttons, pins and silk thread, shows the inhabitants buying the materials and trimmings for their own clothing across the counter of the Company's store.

The arrack rate of 6 shillings 3 pence the gallon sits close to the standing Batavia price the store had carried in earlier accounts, the spirit being sold on at a margin over its wholesale cost. The pricing of each line at a set rate per unit, with the sums struck and carried over, reflects the tiered system by which the store supplied the inhabitants at controlled prices while keeping a full record for the Company's treasury.

214

221

Jan[ry] 1716/17

Bro[t] over

Threads viz[t]

15[oz] @ 9[d] p[r] [lb] 11 3

6[oz] @ 11[d] 5 6

1 [oz] Flourishing 2 -

1 [oz] Gold thread 2 -

1 [oz] fine thread 10 - 3 4 1 14 1

Norwich stuffs 27[yds] @ 16½[d] 1 16 8¼

Thimbles 4 4

Shoe Thread 3[lb] @ 2/6 7 6

Romalls 2 @ 15[d] 2 6

Neilaes 9 p[r] @ 10[s] 4 10 -

Gurrhaes 6 p[r] @ 12/6 3 15 -

Ginghams 1 p[r] 9 9

Sannees 2 p[r] @ 16/8 1 12 16

Longlloth 2 p[r] @ 24/9 2 9 6

Dungarees 1 p[r] 6 0

Neckcloths 2½ p[r] @ 32/10 3 8 5

Shirts 63 @ 8[s] 9 9 -

Island Shoes 15 p[r] @ 4[s] 3 - -

Soldiers Cloaths viz[t] 14 Coats @ 20/8 14 9 4 4 p[r] of Breeches 8/8 1 13 - 3 Wastcoats 1 8 - 17 10 4 8

Indico 1 [oz] 10 -

White Lead 20[lb] @ 6[d] 1 -

Wooden ware 2 Skining Dishes

Blanketts 1 p[r] 19 6 2 6 6

Sacking 3½[yds] @ 2[s] 7 -

Manchester Ticks 1 p[r] 2 - -

Twine 1[lb] 2 4

Cork 1½ Corkwood 1 0 30½ Corks

Carried o[r]

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over.

Threads:

15 ounces at 9 pence £0 11s 3d

6 ounces at 11 pence £0 5s 6d

Flourishing thread 1 [...] £0 2s 0d

Gold thread 1 [...] £0 2s 0d

Fine thread 1 [...] £0 10s 0d

These thread entries together made £1 14s 1d.

Norwich stuffs 27 yards at 16 [...] £1 16s 8¼d

Thimbles 4 £0 0s 4d

Shoe thread 3 pounds at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 7s 6d

Romalls 2 at 15 [...] £0 2s 6d

Neilaes 9 pieces at 10 [...] £4 10s 0d

Gurrhaes 6 pieces at 12 shillings 6 pence £3 15s 0d

Ginghams 1 piece £0 9s 9d

Sannees 2 pieces at 16 shillings 6 pence £1 12s 6d

Long cloth 2 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence £2 9s 6d

Dungarees 1 piece £0 6s 0d

Neckcloths 2½ pieces at 32 shillings 10 pence £3 8s 5d

Shirts 63 at 3 [...] £9 9s 0d

Island shoes 15 pairs at 4 [...] £3 0s 0d

Soldiers' clothes:

Coats 14 at 20 shillings £14 9s 4d

Breeches 4 pairs at 8 shillings 0 pence £1 13s 0d

Waistcoats 3 £1 8s 0d

These soldiers' clothes together made £17 10s 4d.

Indigo 1 ounce £0 0s 8d

White lead 20 pounds at 6 pence £0 10s 0d

Wooden ware, 2 skimming dishes £0 1s 0d

Blankets 1 piece £0 2s 6d

These last entries together made £0 19s 6d, then £0 5s 6d.

Sacking 3¼ yards at 2 [...] £0 7s 0d

Manchester ticks 1 piece £0 2s 0d

Twine 1 [...] £0 2s 4d

Cork 1½ pounds corkwood £0 1s 0d 360 corks

Carried over.

Interpretations

This continuation extends the inhabitants' account through the finer threads and the Indian piece goods, the imported textiles that formed a large part of the store's stock in trade. The threads ranged from plain sewing thread by the ounce to flourishing thread for embroidery and gold thread for ornamental work. Norwich stuffs were the worsted cloths of that English textile town, sold here by the yard.

The Indian goods carried their trade names from the subcontinent. Romalls were cotton kerchiefs, neilaes and gurrhaes plain cotton cloths, sannees lengths of Indian cotton, long cloth a fine white calico sold in pieces, dungaree a coarse cotton, and ginghams a checked or striped cotton. These were the staples of the East India textile trade, shipped through the Company's network and retailed at the island store by the piece, the same range that had filled the earlier quarterly accounts.

The soldiers' clothes form a distinct block within the inhabitants' account, the coats, breeches and waistcoats issued to the garrison and charged at fixed rates. The coats at twenty shillings reflect the standing replacement cost of the red coat on the two-year cycle by which the garrison was reclothed. Their appearance in the retail account shows the store supplying the military establishment as well as the private inhabitants, the men in effect buying their uniform clothing through the same counter.

215

222

This is my own transcription from the previous turn, reproduced without the multi-line tabulated formatting that rule 48 requires. The reading itself stands. Below it is again in the correct format.

January

Bro[t] over

Buckles 1 p[r] Boys 6

Bodice 1 p[r] 12 9

Combs 4 Box @ 6[d] 2 - 3 Horne 1 9 3 9 4 6

Stockings 1 p[r] of Mens thread 2 -

Fustians 6¼ y[ds] th[k] plain @ 2[s] 14 2 5 y[ds] infmed D[o] 2/4 11 8 1 5 10 11

Scizzars 1 p[r]

House Linnen 2 y[ds] @ 2/3 4 6

Glass ware 50 Squares 10 by 8 2 10 - 16 D[o] 8 by 6 12 - 3 2 -

Hooks [&] Lines viz[t]

Lines 3 N[o] 16 @ 3/6 11 - 7 10 @ 1/3.4½ 9 2 4½ 2 9 1:1 2 2 5 8 10[d] 7 6 5 5 6¾ 2 9¾ 3 2 7½ 1 3

Hooks 1 doz N[o] 1 2½ 5 doz 2 1 3 7 doz 3 3 9 4 doz 4 2 4 2 doz 6 2 9 3 doz 7 2 3 4 doz 8 1 8 13 2½ 2 6 11½

Tin Ware 1 Funnell 4

Iron-Monger's Ware viz[t]

1 Chest Lock 1 6

1 d[o] 4 6

1 d[o] 6 7

1 p[r] of side Hinges 9

1 plate Bolt 1 0

1 p[r] of dovetails 8

2 Ground Hoes att 2/8 5 4

1 Socket Shovel 2 6

1 Spade N[o] 2 5 10

1 8 1

Nails viz[t]

7 3 @ 8[s] 5 3

6 10 5 4

6 20 4 6

6 flooring brads @ 9[s] 2 4

1 Truck 1 2

5 - 11

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over.

Buckles 1 pair, boys' £0 0s 6d

Bodice 1 [...] £0 12s 9d

Combs box, 4 at 6 [...] £0 2s 0d horn, 3 £0 1s 9d together £0 3s 9d

Stockings 1 pair of men's thread £0 4s 6d

Fustians 62 yards at 4 [...], plain £14 2s 0d 54 yards infield, the same, at 2 shillings 4 pence £11 8s 0d together £1 5s 10d [...] £0 0s 11d

Scissors 1 [...]

House linen 2 yards at 2 shillings 3 pence £0 4s 6d

Glass ware 50 squares, 10 by 8 £2 10s 0d 16, 8 by 6 £0 12s 0d together £3 2s 0d

Hooks and lines:

Lines number 16, 3 at 3 shillings 6 pence £0 11s 0d

number 10, 7 at 1 shilling 3½ pence [...]

number 9, 2 at 1 shilling 1 penny £0 2s 2½d

number 10, 9 at 10 [...] £7 6s 0d

number 6¾, 5 at 5 [...] £0 2s 9¾d

number 7½, 3 at 3 [...] £0 1s 9d

Hooks number 1, 1 dozen at 2½ [...] [...]

number 4, 5 dozen at 1 shilling 3 pence [...]

number 3, 7½ dozen at 3 shillings 9 pence [...]

number 5, 4 dozen at 2 shillings 4 pence [...]

number 6, 2½ dozen at 2 shillings 9 pence [...]

number 8, 3½ dozen at 2 shillings 3 pence [...]

number 8, 4 dozen at 1 shilling 0 pence [...]

These hooks and lines together made £13 2½ [...], then £2 6s 11¾d.

Under tin ware:

Funnel 1 [...]

Under ironmongers' ware:

Chest lock 1 £0 1s 6d

Lock 1 £0 4s 6d

Lock 1 £0 6s 7d

Pair of side hinges 1 £0 0s 9d

Plate bolt 1 £0 1s 0d

Pair of dovetails 1 £0 0s 8d

Ground hoes 2 at 2 shillings 8 pence £0 5s 4d

Socket shovel 1 £0 2s 6d

Spade, number 2 1 £0 5s 10d

These ironmongers' entries together made £1 8s 1d.

Under nails:

3, 7 at 8 [...] £0 5s 3d

10, 6 [...] £0 5s 4d

20, 6 [...] £0 4s 6d

flooring brads, 6 at 9 [...] £0 4s 6d

truck, 1 £0 1s 2d

These nail entries together made £1 0s 11d.

Carried over.

Interpretations

This page extends the inhabitants' account into the smaller dry goods, the fishing tackle and the ironmongery, the everyday hardware of the settlement sold across the store counter. The detailed graduation of fishing lines and hooks by numbered size shows the store keeping a full range of tackle, a stock that ties directly to the fishery relief scheme the bench had set up, when the directors sent over boats and Captain Bazett was to distribute hooks and lines to the inhabitants according to the size of their families.

The fustian entries are the largest single line on the page, the stout cotton cloth sold by the yard in plain and a second grade. Fustian served for hardwearing outer garments, and the quantity moved reflects its place as a workaday cloth among the inhabitants. The bodice, buckles, combs and house linen alongside it show the miscellaneous personal and household goods the store supplied beside the bulk textiles.

The ironmongers' ware and nails set out the building and repair materials retailed to the planters and householders. Locks of several grades, hinges, bolts, dovetails, hoes, a socket shovel and a graded spade, with the nails sorted by size and the flooring brads, were the fittings and tools for house and ground. Their sale through the store, each at a fixed rate, shows the Company acting as the single supplier of hardware on an island where no such goods could be had except from its stock.

216

223

1716/17

Stationary Ware Brought over

2 Testaments 3 6

3 Horne Books 1 -

4 quire of Paper at 6[d] 5 4 9 10

Hatts viz[t]

2 Felts much damag[d] @ 3[s] 6 -

1 d[o] 4 4 10 4

Shoes viz[t]

1 p[r] of Boys 2 4

1 p[r] of d[o] 1 9

1 p[r] of Childrens pumps 1 - 5 1

New Goods. viz[t]

Mohair 17 [oz] at 20[d] 1 11 2

Buttons viz[t]

20½ doz: breast N[o] C [&] D[o] 6 9 6

7 doz: Coat C D[o] 3 6

17 doz: breast B D[o] 8 6

11 doz: Coat B D[o] 11 - 1 13 3½

Threads viz[t]

6 [oz] colourd @ 5[s] 16 3

2 [oz] fine Brown @ 6[s] 12 6 1 8 9 1 15 -

Lubeck 1 p[r]

Ribband viz[t]

12¾ yds @ 12[d] 12 9

6¼ 14[d] 9 7

6¼ 15[d] 7½

6 18[d] 9 - 1 12 -

Shoes viz[t]

12 p[r] Mens @ 6[s] 3 14 -

5 p[r] Womens @ 6/4 1 11 8 4 18 8

Tobacco [&] Pipes viz[t]

11 Tobacco D[o] 2[s] 11 2 -

39½ doz[n] pipes @ 6[d] 19 10½ 12 1 10½

Hatts viz[t]

6 Boys N[o] 1 D[o] 6/6 1 19 -

2 d[o] 3 7/6 15 -

2 d[o] 9 -

1 Mans 6[s] 6 - 4 3 -

New Goods carried over 29 3 9

Carried over 242 16 4

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over.

Under stationery ware:

Testaments 2 £0 3s 6d

Horn books 3 £0 1s 0d

Quires of paper 4 at 6 [...] £0 5s 4d

These stationery entries together made £0 9s 10d.

Under hats:

Felts, much damaged 2 at 3 [...] £0 6s 0d

The same 1 £0 4s 4d

These hat entries together made £0 10s 4d.

Under shoes:

Boys' 1 pair £0 2s 4d

The same 1 pair £0 1s 9d

Children's pumps 1 pair £0 1s 0d

These shoe entries together made £0 5s 1d.

Under new goods:

Mohair 17 ounces at 20 pence £1 11s 2d

Under buttons:

Breast buttons, 20½ dozen, number 11, C, at 6 [...] £0 9s 6d

Coat buttons, 7 dozen, C, at 6 [...] £0 3s 6d

Breast buttons, 17 dozen, B, at 6 [...] £0 9s 6d

Coat buttons, 11 dozen, B, at 12 [...] £0 11s 0d

These button entries together made £1 13s 3½d.

Under threads:

Coloured, 3½ at 5 [...] £0 16s 0d

Fine brown, 2½ at [...] £0 12s 6d

These thread entries together made £1 8s 9d, then £1 15s 0d.

Under Lubeck:

1 [...]

Under ribbon:

12½ yards at 12 [...] £0 12s 9d

8½ yards at 14 [...] £0 9s 7½d

6 yards at 15 [...] £0 0s 7½d

6 yards at 18 [...] £0 9s 0d

These ribbon entries together made £1 12s 0d.

Under shoes:

Men's, 12 pairs £3 14s 0d

Women's, 4 pairs at 6 shillings 1 penny £1 4s 8d

These shoe entries together made £4 18s 8d.

Under tobacco and pipes:

Tobacco, 111 pounds £11 2s 0d

Pipes, 39½ dozen at 6 [...] £0 19s 10½d

These tobacco and pipe entries together made £12 1s 10½d.

Under hats:

Boys', 6, number 1, at 6 shillings 6 pence £1 19s 0d

The same, 2 £0 13s 0d

The same, 2 at 7 shillings 6 pence £0 9s 0d

Man's, 1 £0 6s 0d

These hat entries together made £4 3s 0d.

New goods carried over made £29 3s 9d.

Carried over, £242 16s 4d.

Interpretations

This page divides the account into the residue of the old store stock and a separate block headed new goods, the freshly landed cargo entered apart from the standing lines. The new goods carried their own running total of just over twenty-nine pounds before being folded into the month's grand sum, a method that let the storekeeper distinguish recent imports from goods already on the shelves while keeping a single account.

The stationery and the children's goods show the store supplying the settlement's schooling and its youngest inhabitants. Testaments and horn books were the basic teaching materials, the horn book being a leaf of printed letters and the Lord's Prayer mounted on a board behind a sheet of protective horn, the standard primer from which children learned to read. Their sale points to the schooling provided on the island alongside the church.

The textile trimmings and the tobacco round out the store's role as general retailer. Mohair here meant a worsted yarn or braid used for buttons and trimming, and the buttons themselves were graded by size and a letter mark and sold by the dozen for coats and breast fronts. The tobacco at over eleven pounds for the month, with its matching clay pipes by the dozen, was a substantial line, confirming the leaf and pipe as a staple comfort sold to the garrison and inhabitants beside the arrack.

217

224

Jan[ry] 1716/17

Brought over 242 16 4

New Goods brought over

Stockings viz[t]

13 p[r] of Coarse blew @ 2/2 1 8 2

1 p[r] of Mens Scarlett 9

1 p[r] of Mens Silk 10

1 p[r] of D[o] 1 -

3 p[r] of Womens Cloth 6/6 19 6

1 p[r] of Womens thread 4 2 4 19 6

Fustians viz[t]

3 p[r] N[o] 3 @ 26/8 4 - -

3 p[r] 4 33/4 5 - -

1 p[r] Thicksetts 1 15 - 10 15 -

Crapes viz[t]

1½ p[r] N[o] 2 @ 66/7 4 19 -

½ p[r] 2 1 19 4½

¼ p[r] 3 2 5 - 9 3 4½

Braziers ware viz[t]

1 Sauce Pan 4 -

1 D[o] 6 2

1 Tea Kettle 14 -

1 D[o] 11 3

1 D[o] 10 5 2 6 -

Tin Ware viz[t]

3 Porringers @ 5[d] 1 3

5 Lamps @ 1 [s] 10 9 3

1 Saucepan 2 3

1 D[o] 2 3

1 Coffeepot 1 9

2 round Pudding pans 5 2

1 D[o] 3 4 1 4 11

Pewterers Ware viz[t]

4 doz[n] Spoons @ 4/6 18 -

1 Porringer 1 3

1 large Bason 6 8

2 d[o] at 5[s] 10 - 1 15 11

New Goods carried over

Carried over

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over, £242 16s 4d.

New goods brought over.

Under stockings:

Coarse blue, 13 pairs at 2 shillings 2 pence £1 8s 2d

Men's scarlet, 1 pair £0 9s 0d

Men's silk, 1 pair £0 10s 0d

The same, 1 pair £0 5s 0d

Women's, 3 pairs at 6 shillings 6 pence £0 19s 6d

Women's thread, 1 pair £0 4s 0d

These stocking entries together made £4 19s 6d.

Under fustians:

Number 3, 3 pieces at 26 shillings 8 pence £4 0s 0d

Number 4, 3 pieces at 33 shillings 4 pence £5 0s 0d

Thicksetts, 1 piece £1 15s 0d

These fustian entries together made £10 15s 0d.

Under crapes:

Number 1, 1½ pieces at 66 shillings 8 pence £4 10s 0d

Number 2, ½ piece £1 19s 4½d

Number 3, ¼ piece £2 5s 0d

These crape entries together made £9 3s 4½d.

Under brazier's ware:

Saucepan, 1 £0 4s 0d

Saucepan, 1 £0 6s 2d

Tea kettle, 1 £0 14s 0d

The same, 1 £0 11s 3d

The same, 1 £0 10s 5d

These brazier's ware entries together made £2 6s 0d.

Under tin ware:

Porringers, 3 at 5 [...] £0 1s 3d

Lamps, 5 at 1 shilling 0 pence £0 9s 3d

Saucepan, 1 £0 2s 3d

The same, 1 £0 2s 3d

Coffee pot, 1 £0 1s 9d

Round pudding pans, 1 £0 5s 2d

The same, 1 £0 3s 4d

These tin ware entries together made £1 4s 11d.

Under pewterer's ware:

Spoons, 4 dozen at 4 shillings 6 pence £0 18s 0d

Porringer, 1 £0 1s 3d

Large basins, 1 £0 6s 8d

The same, 2 at 5 [...] £0 10s 0d

These pewterer's ware entries together made £1 15s 11d.

New goods carried over.

Carried over.

Interpretations

This page continues the new goods block through the recently landed textiles and household metalware. The crapes form the most valuable line, the finest grade priced at over three pounds the piece. Crape was a thin gauzy silk or worsted, often used for mourning, and the grading by number reflects different qualities held in stock for sale to the inhabitants.

The fustians and thicksetts repeat the stout cotton cloths already prominent across the account, here in the freshly imported grades priced by the piece. Their recurrence in both the standing and the new stock confirms fustian as the workaday cloth most in demand among the settlement, the store keeping several qualities to meet the trade.

The brazier's, tin and pewterer's wares show the store supplying the settlement's domestic ironmongery and tableware. Brazier's ware was the brass and copper kitchen goods such as saucepans and tea kettles, tin ware the lighter tinned vessels including lamps, pudding pans and a coffee pot, and pewterer's ware the spoons, porringers and basins of the table. The three classes together gave the inhabitants the full range of cooking and eating vessels from a single counter, the Company once more standing as the only source of manufactured household goods on the island.

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Brought over

New Goods brought over

Butcher's Knives 27 @ 6[d] 13 6

Stationary Ware.

9 Copy Books @ 9[d] 6 9

4 Small Spell. Books 4 -

1 D[o] large 1 8

1 large Comon prayer Book 6 5 18 10

Starch 12[lb] @ 9[d] 9 -

Iron-monger's Ware viz[t]

1 Stock Lock N[o] 1 2 4

1 D[o] 4 7 6

1 D[o] 5 10 -

2 Splinter Locks 1 1 6

4 d[o] 2 4 -

1 d[o] 3 1 6

1 felling Ax 3 4 1 10 2

Hooks 10 doz[n] N[o] 2

6

Goods deliverd for the use of the Union Castle from October y[e] 25[th] 1716 to Novemb[r] 25[th] following. viz[t]

Arrack 65 Gall[s] @ 6/3 20 6 3

Sugar 124[lb] @ 8[d] 4 2 8

Bread 72[lb] @ 3½[d] 1 1 -

Flower 475[lb] @ 3½[d] 6 13 3½

Rice 374[lb] @ 3½[d] 5 9 1

Tea 6[lb] @ 9[d] 2 14 - D[o] Catties 2 9[d] 18 - 3 12 -

Soap 50[lb] @ 17[d] 3 10 10

Vinegar 1 Gall 4 -

Oyles 13½ Gall sweet @ 12[d] 8 2 2¼ Gall Lintseed 8[d] 18 - 9 - -

Pepper 3[lb] 3 -

Carried over

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over.

New goods brought over.

Butcher's knives 27 at 6 [...] £0 13s 6d

Under stationery ware:

Copy books 9 at 9 [...] £0 6s 9d

Small spelling books 4 £0 4s 0d

The same, large 1 £0 1s 8d

Large common prayer book 1 £0 6s 5d

These stationery entries together made £0 18s 10d, then £0 9s 0d.

Starch 12 [...] at 9 [...]

Under ironmongers' ware:

Stock lock, number 1 1 £0 2s 4d

The same, number 4 1 £0 7s 6d

The same, number 5 1 £0 10s 0d

Splinter locks, number 1 2 £0 1s 6d

The same, number 2 4 £0 4s 0d

The same, number 3 1 £0 1s 6d

Felling axe 1 £0 3s 4d

These ironmongers' entries together made £1 10s 2d.

Hooks 10 dozen [...] £0 6s 0d

The account then set out the goods delivered for the use of Union Castle from 25 October 1716 to 25 November following.

Arrack 65 gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence £20 6s 3d

Sugar 124 pounds at 8 pence £4 2s 9d

Bread 72 pounds at 3½ pence £1 1s 0d

Flour 475 pounds at 3 pence £6 13s 3½d

Rice 374 pounds at 3½ pence £5 9s 1d

Tea 6 [...] at 9 [...] £0 14s 0d

The same, 2 catties at 9 [...] £0 18s 0d together £3 12s 0d

Soap 50 pounds at 17 [...] £3 10s 10d

Vinegar 1 gallon £0 0s 4d

Oils 13½ gallons sweet, at 12 [...] £0 8s 2d 2¼ gallons linseed, at 8 [...] £0 18s 0d together £0 9s 0d

Pepper 3 [...] £0 3s 0d

Carried over.

Interpretations

This page closes the new goods block and opens the second of the storekeeper's institutional headings, the goods delivered for the use of Union Castle. Where the earlier section recorded retail sales to the inhabitants, this division charges the consumption of the castle itself, the seat of government and the general table, against the Company's account. The same commodities recur, arrack, sugar, bread, flour and rice foremost, but here as the establishment's own supply rather than goods sold across the counter.

The arrack again leads the castle's consumption, sixty-five gallons for the month at the standing rate, confirming the spirit as the principal article of issue to the garrison table as well as the chief line of retail. The bulk staples of bread, flour and rice that follow show the castle drawing its provisions from the same store stock that fed the settlement, the whole entered by the established form of commodity, quantity and rate, then sum.

The stationery among the new goods points again to the schooling maintained on the island. The copy books, spelling books and the large common prayer book were teaching and devotional materials, the prayer book serving the church and the spelling books the instruction of children, the same educational provision reflected in the testaments and horn books of the inhabitants' account.

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Bro[t] over

Druggetts 6½ yards @ 3[s] 19 6

Shalloons 3 yds @ 2/6 7 6

Kerseys 24 yds 2/2 2 12 -

Dungarees 3 p[r] 5/8 17 -

Long Cloth 1 p[r] 1 4 9

Twine 1[lb] 2 4

White Lead 11[lb] 5 6

Sail Needles 6 9½

Razors 1 4 3

Glass-ware 5 wine Glasses 10 4 beer D[o] 10 1 - 6

Iron Monger's ware 1 Ragstone 6

Nails viz[t]

40 8 at 8[s] 7 6

48 10 8½ 1 11 10½

31 20 8[s] 1 - 8

2 24 7½ 1 3 3 1 3½

Beef 2 Casks q[t] 1140 @ 5½[d] 26 2 6

New Goods viz[t]

Lubeck 4 yds 4 -

Butchers Knives 2 1 -

Mohair ½ [oz] 10

Ink powder 1 dozen 12 - 17 10

Goods deliverd for the use of the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Plantation House from the 25[th] of October 1716 to the 25[th] of Novemb[r] following

Arrack 4½ Gall @ 6/3 1 8 1½

Sugar 12[lb] @ 8[d] 8 -

Sweet Oyle 1 q[t] 3 -

Vinegar 1 q[t] 7½

Soap 6[lb] @ 17[d] 8 6

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over.

Drugget 6½ yards at 3 [...] £0 19s 6d

Shalloons 3 yards at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 7s 6d

Kerseys 24 yards at 2 shillings 2 pence £2 12s 0d

Dungarees 3 pieces at 5 shillings 0 pence £0 17s 0d

Long cloth 1 piece £1 4s 9d

Twine 1 [...] £0 2s 4d

White lead 11 [...] £0 5s 6d

Sail needles 6 £0 0s 9½d

Razors 1 £0 4s 3d

Glass ware 5 wine glasses £0 0s 10d 4 beer glasses, the same £0 0s 10d together £0 1s 6d

Under ironmongers' ware:

Ragstone 1 £0 0s 6d

Under nails:

10, 8 at 9 [...] £0 7s 6d

45, 10 at 9½ [...] £1 11s 10½d

31, 20 at 8 [...] £1 0s 8d

2, 24 at 7½ [...] £0 1s 9d

These nail entries together made £3 1s 3½d.

Beef 2 casks, quantity 1,140 pounds, at 5½ [...] £26 2s 6d

Under new goods:

Lubeck 4 yards £0 4s 0d

Butcher's knives 2 £0 1s 0d

Mohair ½ ounce £0 0s 10d

Ink powder 1 dozen £0 12s 0d

These new goods together made £0 17s 10d.

The account then set out the goods delivered for the use of the Honourable Company's plantation house from 25 October 1716 to 25 November following.

Arrack 4½ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence £1 8s 1½d

Sugar 12 pounds at 8 pence £0 8s 0d

Sweet oil 1 [...] £0 0s 3d

Vinegar 1 [...] £0 0s 7½d

Soap 6 pounds at 17 [...] £0 8s 6d

Interpretations

This page completes the Union Castle account and opens the third of the storekeeper's institutional headings, the goods delivered for the use of the Honourable Company's plantation house. The plantation house was the centre of the consolidated estate, and its supply is here charged against the Company in the same way as the castle's. The much smaller quantities, arrack at four and a half gallons against the castle's sixty-five, reflect the modest household kept at the plantation beside the seat of government.

The beef entry is the heaviest single charge on the page, two casks of over eleven hundredweight closing the Union Castle supply. The salting of beef in cask was the means of preserving meat for the establishment, and its scale against the famine background shows the castle still drawing substantial provision of preserved beef even as fresh cattle had grown scarce.

Among the new goods, ink powder by the dozen and the sail needles point to the working needs of the office and the boats. Ink powder was the dry mixture from which writing ink was made up with water, a stationery item for the secretary's office, while the sail needles and twine served the repair of the boats' canvas. Lubeck was a linen cloth named from the German port, sold here by the yard among the freshly landed stock.

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Brought ov[r]

Shoe thread 2[lb] 5 -

Shoes 4 p[r] Island 16 -

Tin Ware 2 Watering potts large @ 8/5 16 10

Iron monger Ware 30 Ground Hoes 2/8 4 10 - 3 felling Axes 3/4 Shoes 4: - Axes 4: 10: - 40 6 16 2

The Gov[r] Sayes that he Sent to M[r] Byfeld as a present, when he went off, Six Turkies, [&] Two Geese, w[ch] if his Hon[ble] Masters think not fitt to allow of He will pay himself for them The Hon[ble] Comp[a] Overseer brought in y[e] following Monthly Acc[t] for Dec[r] (viz[t]

An Acc[t] of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] Neat Cattle, Sheep Hoggs, Goats [&c] taken Jan[ry] 1[st] 1716/17

62 Cows 33 Heifers 33 Bullocks 24 Increasd Since last Acc[t] 6 Stears 10 Yearlings 52 Calves 5 Bulls 201 In all

41 Piggs 14 Sows 10 Shoats 2 Boars 67 Hogs in all 5 Killd Since last Acc[t] 12 Increased

70 Turkies great [&] Small 4 Killd Since last Acc[t] 24 Increasd

34 Geese gr[t] [&] Small None Increasd 2 Killd Since last Acc[t]

29 Ducks great [&] Small 18 Bought Since last None Killd Acc[t] nor Increasd

76 fowls great [&] Small 28 Killd Since 30 bought last Acc[t] None Increasd

Goats 332.

The storekeeper's account continued, dated January 1716/17.

Brought over.

Shoe thread 2 [...] £0 5s 0d

Island shoes 4 pairs £0 16s 0d

Under tin ware:

Watering pots, large 2 at 8 shillings 5 pence £0 16s 10d

Under ironmongers' ware:

Ground hoes 30 at 2 shillings 8 pence £4 10s 0d

Felling axes 3 at 3 shillings 4 pence together with the hoes, £0 10s 0d

These hoe and axe entries together made £4 10s 0d.

The whole account came to £406 16s 2d.

The Governor stated that he had sent Mr Byfield, as a present when he went off, six turkeys and two geese. If the Honourable Masters thought it not fit to allow these, he would pay for them himself.

The Honourable Company's overseer brought in the following monthly account for December.

An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs and goats, taken 1 January 1716/17:

Cows 62

Heifers 33

Bullocks 33

Steers 6

Yearlings 10

Calves 52

Bulls 5

In all 201

Of these, 24 had increased since the last account.

Pigs 41

Sows 14

Shoats 10

Boars 2

Hogs in all 67

Of these, 5 had been killed since the last account and 12 had increased.

Goats 332

Turkeys, great and small 70

Of these, 4 had been killed since the last account and 24 had increased.

Geese, great and small 34

None had increased and 2 had been killed since the last account.

Ducks, great and small 29

Of these, 18 had been bought since the last account, none killed and none increased.

Fowls, great and small 76

Of these, 28 had been killed and 30 bought since the last account, none increased.

Interpretations

The Governor's note on the turkeys and geese sent to Byfield records a parting gift charged provisionally to the Company, with Pyke offering to bear the cost himself if the directors disallowed it. This was the same Edward Byfield, the writer, who had taken his discharge and sailed home on the Catherine, and the entry shows the Governor protecting himself on the record against any later challenge to a small charge for a private present.

The livestock account is the overseer's monthly stock return, the running census by which the Company tracked its herds and flocks. Each class is given with its total and the changes since the last count, the increases from breeding set against the numbers killed for the table or bought in. This is the same form of return the overseer William Worrall had been bringing in across the recent records, the bench keeping a close monthly reckoning of the animals as both a food reserve and a measure of the plantation's recovery.

The cattle total of two hundred and one against the famine that had cut the herds is the significant figure here. The cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 had forbidden the killing of any cow, heifer or calf until after 20 July 1716, precisely to let the stock recover from the loss of some 2,500 head, and the twenty-four increase recorded since the last count shows that protection beginning to tell. The careful separation of beasts increased from beasts killed let the directors judge whether the herd was growing or still being eaten down.

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180 Ewes 22 Wethers 78 Ewe Kidds 50 Ram D[o] 2 Rams 18 Killd Since last Acc[t] None Increasd

12 Asses Great [&] Small 5 of the female [&] 7 of the Male Kine

Goats 332. In all great [&] Small.

49 Ews 33 Wethers 24 Lambs 1 Ram 107 In all Great [&] Small 1 Killd None Increasd Since last Acc[t]

Sheep

(Signd) W[m] Worrall.

Nich[o] Sherriffe having been a considerable time in y[e] Vally Debauching himself among the Punch Houses, where he kept himself Drunk from day to day, [&] he having twice been Sett in y[e] Stocks [&] 3 or 4 times taken Up in his Outrages [&] comitted to Prison till he was Sober to prevent his doing further mischief but all Advices [&] threatnings of y[e] Govern[r] proving ineffectuall [&] he grow ing Worse [&] more impudent did last Week in One of his Drunken fits, call after y[e] Gov[r] as he was walking w[th] y[e] Capt[n] of y[e] Katharine [&] Sayed, You Gov[r] Pyke, Old Pyke, you are an honest old fellow by God. with other foolish expres sions, the effect of too much Strong liquor, the Governour order[d] him to be Sumoned to this Council We have therefore fine him forty Shillings to pay to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] But Lett him know that if he continue his Debauched way of living [&] behave himself rudely any more to y[e] Govern[r] our or to the Council that he shall be Whipt at y[e] Flaggstaff. He promised better behaviour for y[e] future and so was for this time dismissed.

The livestock account continued under the head of goats.

Ewes 180

Wethers 22

Ewe kids 78

Ram kids 50

Rams 2

Goats 332

Of these, great and small, 18 had been killed since the last account, and none increased.

The account continued under the head of sheep.

Ewes 49

Wethers 33

Lambs 24

Ram 1

In all, great and small 107

Of these, 1 had been killed since the last account, and none increased.

The account also set out the asses.

Asses, great and small 12

Of the female kind 5

Of the male kind 7

The account was signed by William Worrall.

Nicholas Sherriffe had spent a considerable time in the valley debauching himself among the punch houses, where he kept himself drunk from day to day. He had twice been set in the stocks and three or four times taken up in his outrages and committed to prison until he was sober, to prevent further mischief. All advice and threatening of the government having proved ineffectual, and his growing worse and more impudent, he had last week, in one of his drunken fits, called after the Governor as he was walking to Captain Tucker of the Catherine and said, by God, the Governor was an honest old fellow, with other foolish expressions, the effect of too much strong liquor. The Governor ordered him to be summoned to the council.

The council therefore fined him 40 shillings to pay to the Honourable Company. The council also let him know that if he continued his debauched way of living and behaved himself rudely any more to the Governor or to the Council, he would be whipped at the flagstaff.

Sherriffe promised better behaviour for the future and so was for this time dismissed.

Interpretations

The case shows the bench treating habitual public drunkenness as a matter of order rather than of private vice. Sherriffe had already been set in the stocks and gaoled until sober on several occasions, the standard summary corrections, and only his persistence and growing insolence brought him before the council itself. The graded response, a fine now with the threat of whipping at the flagstaff if he reoffended, follows the calibration of penalty to conduct seen across these records.

The offence that brought Sherriffe to the council was his drunken accosting of the Governor in the street, in hearing of the Catherine's commander. What might otherwise have passed as foolish talk was treated as rudeness to the Governor because it touched his dignity before a visiting captain. The bench's concern was the contempt of authority rather than the words themselves, the same protection of the government's standing that lay behind the secrecy resolutions of these sittings.

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Island St Helena. At a Consulta tion held on Tuesday the 29 day of January 1716/17. At Union Cas tle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Haswell Dep[r] Absent in y[e] Cuntry Present Matthew Bazett 3[d] [&] Antipas Tovey 4 in Coun[l]

Last Consultation was read [&] Approved. On Tuesday last y[e] 22[th] instant arrived there the Cardonnel Capt[n] W[m] Manson Com[r] from Madrass from whence she Sailed y[e] 11 day of October last. The following Petition was Presented. To y[e] Worsh[p] Isa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Council The humb[le] Peticon of Isa: Du May Surg[n] [&c]. Sheweth That Geo: Sanders having Sent his Fe male Slave to yo[r] Petit[r] to be cured of a Venereal Disease, whom yo[r] petit[r] rec[d] into his care [&] had compleated her cure, if the s[d] Sanders on yo[r] pet[rs] demanding 4[ll] for his expected trouble had not ta ken his Wench away from yo[r] pet[rs] charge [&] contra ry to Advice employd One Sutton Stack [&] Inn who on their Agreem[t] was to perfect her cure for 40 shill[s] which if he had been capable of performing, as all his attempts in administring Physick have proved ineffectuall

The council met at a consultation held on Tuesday 29 January 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; Matthew Bazett, third; and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. George Haswell, deputy governor, was absent in the country.

The last consultation was read and approved.

On Tuesday last, the 22nd instant, the Cardonnell, Captain William Mawson commander, arrived from Madras, from where she had sailed on 11 October last.

The following petition was presented.

Joseph Du May, surgeon, petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. He set out that George Sanders had sent his female slave to Du May to be cured of a venereal disease. Du May had received her into his care and would have completed her cure, but Sanders, demanding 4 pounds for his expected trouble, had taken his slave away from Du May's charge. Contrary to advice, Sanders had then employed one Sutton Isaack junior, who on their agreement was to perfect her cure for 40 shillings. Du May observed that, had Isaack been capable of performing this, all his attempts at administering physic having proved ineffectual, [...]

Interpretations

The petition turns on a dispute over the treatment of a slave as a piece of valuable property, the female slave being sent to the surgeon for cure and her owner negotiating the fee for her recovery. Joseph Du May, taken on as second surgeon on 20 December 1715 and the island's medical officer since Thomas Price sailed home in January 1715/16, had begun the cure when Sanders withdrew the slave. The matter reaching the council shows the bench drawn into a quarrel between the Company's surgeon and a planter over who should treat and be paid for restoring a sick slave to use.

The contrast drawn between Du May and Sutton Isaack junior frames the complaint as one of professional competence. Du May set his own qualified treatment against the cheaper engagement of Isaack at 40 shillings, asserting that Isaack's efforts at administering physic had all proved ineffectual. The petition uses the difference in skill to support Du May's grievance at being displaced, the surgeon defending both his fee and his standing as the proper medical hand on the island.

The £4 0s 0d Sanders demanded against the 40 shillings agreed with Isaack sets the value the owner placed on his own trouble beside the price of the substitute cure. The figures show a slave owner treating his sick property as a matter of cost and recovery, weighing the surgeon's charge against a cheaper alternative, the same calculation of expense and return that ran through the Company's own handling of its slaves.

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230

January.

ineffectuall, y[e] s[d] Sanders had resolvd not to have paid yo[r] peticon[r] any thing but Sutton Isacke's quack pretensions being as weak in this as his former Practice, they were Obliged at length to consult One W[m] Beale a Victualler but another like professor (who had afore time being forbid to inter medole with y[e] Peticon[rs] patients) however consented to under take y[e] cure, vaunting he knew much better how to perform it then yo[r] peticon[r] Wherefore yo[r] peticon[r] conceiving it to be his duty to vindicat his own Practice w[ch] has been oft undermined by a Sett of illiterates humbly requests yo[r] Worsh[p] [&] Council wou[d] please to order s[d] Sanders to pay yo[r] peticon[r] for y[e] trouble he had of y[e] Wench almost cured, [&] Also lay such a fine on Sutton Isacke [&c] as may in future prevent those ill Prac tices so discouraging to yo[r] petit[r] or any other that may Succeed him as Surgeon of this Island, [&] (as in duty bound) shall ever pray, [&c] (Signd) Jos Du Maij Order[d] That Sanders pay the said Du May fowre pounds. And Sutton Isacke Sen[r] [&c] [&] s[d] W[m] Beale (again) being Warned not to inter

Du May continued that, Isaack's attempts at administering physic having proved ineffectual, Sanders had resolved not to pay Du May anything. Sutton Isaack's quack pretensions being as weak in this case as his former practices, the parties were at length obliged to consult one William Beale, a victualler but another like practitioner. Beale, who had before this time been forbidden to meddle with Du May's patients, nonetheless consented to undertake the cure, boasting that he knew much better how to perform it than Du May did.

Du May, conceiving it to be his duty to defend his own practice, which had often been undermined by a set of illiterate men, asked the Governor and Council to order Sanders to pay him for the trouble he had had with the slave, whom he had almost cured. He further asked that such a fine be laid on Sutton Isaack and the like as might in future prevent those ill practices, so discouraging to Du May and to any who might succeed him as surgeon of the island. The petition was signed by Joseph Du May.

The council ordered that Sanders pay Du May 4 pounds. Sutton Isaack junior and William Beale, again, were warned not to meddle [...]

Interpretations

The petition sets out a contest between the qualified Company surgeon and a group of unlicensed practitioners over the right to treat the sick on the island. Du May named Sutton Isaack junior as a quack and William Beale, a victualler, as another untrained pretender who had already been forbidden to meddle with Du May's patients. The bench's order that Beale be warned again confirms that an earlier prohibition had been disregarded, and the case shows the council acting to protect the standing of its surgeon against rival treatment that drew away both patients and fees.

The remedy sought and granted combined payment with deterrence. Du May asked not only for his own fee for the slave he had almost cured but for a fine on Isaack heavy enough to stop such practices in future, framing the matter as one that discouraged any surgeon who might serve the island. The order that Sanders pay the £4 0s 0d and that the two unlicensed men be warned shows the bench upholding the surgeon's claim while reserving the question of a penalty, treating the regulation of medical practice as part of maintaining a competent establishment.

The repeated charge that Du May's practice had been undermined by a set of illiterate men marks the professional boundary the surgeon was asserting. He set his own training against the unlettered pretensions of Isaack and Beale, claiming the sole competence to administer physic on the island. The dispute reveals how thin the line was between qualified and irregular medicine in a small settlement, where a victualler might take up cures and an owner might prefer a cheaper hand to the Company's surgeon.

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intermedle with any patients of his. Which both promised never to doe again

Thus far was copied [&] sent home p[r] Ships - Arabella [&] British Merch[t]

Sutton Isaack junior and William Beale were warned not to meddle with any of Du May's patients, which both promised never to do again.

The record to this point was copied and sent home by the ships Arabella and British Merchant.

Interpretations

The closing undertaking from Isaack and Beale completes the council's regulation of medical practice on the island. Both men, having been warned off Du May's patients, gave their promise not to interfere again, the bench securing the surgeon's position by extracting a direct undertaking rather than imposing the fine Du May had sought. This confirms the council's preference for binding the offenders to good conduct over punishment, the same approach taken with other first warnings in these records.

The endorsement recording that the consultations were copied and sent home by the Arabella and the British Merchant marks the despatch of this batch of the council book to the directors. Sending the record by two ships was the standard precaution against loss at sea, the duplicate carried separately so that one copy would reach London if the other were taken or wrecked, the same practice seen when earlier consultations went home by the St George with duplicates by the Cardigan.

225

232

February.

Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the fifth day of Feb[r] 1716/17. At Union Castle in James Vally. Isa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Pres[t] Math: Bazett 3[d] [&] Antipas Tovey 4 in Council

The last Consultation read [&] Approved. Thursday y[e] 31[st] Jan[ry] last arrived the Arrabella Cap[t] Christopher Hinton Com[r] from Madrass but last from the Cape, who sailed the 13[th] October last from Madrass [&] the 14 January from the Cape, were they Stayed 17 days. Soon after arrived y[e] Sarah Galley Cap[t] Henry Blome Com[r] from Madagascar w[ch] St Lawrence whence he Sailed y[e] 5[th] Novr last but last from the Cape. The Gov[r] Reports y[t] on Saturday last there was a great Mutiny on board the Ship Sarah Galley w[ch] brought the Madagascar Blacks here For the quieting thereof he was Obliged to Send off the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Longboat with Serg[t] Southen [&] a Guard of Soldiers who being assisted b[y] M[r] Newsham chief Mate of the Cardonnell with some Difficulty did appease them. The matter broke out as followeth (Viz[t]

The council met at a consultation held on Tuesday 5 February 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third; and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

On Thursday the 31st of January last, the Arabella, Captain Christopher Hinton commander, arrived from Madras but last from the Cape. She had sailed on 13 October last from Madras and on 14 January from the Cape, having stayed there 17 days. Soon after, the Sarah Galley, Captain Henry Blome commander, arrived from Madagascar and St Lawrence, from where she had sailed on 5 November last, but last from the Cape.

The Governor reported that on Saturday last there had been a great mutiny on board the Sarah Galley, which had brought the Madagascar blacks here. For the quieting of it, he had been obliged to send off the Honourable Company's long boat with Sergeant Southen and a guard of soldiers, who, being assisted by Mr Newsham, chief mate of the Cardonnell, with some difficulty appeased them.

The Governor reported that the matter broke out as follows.

Interpretations

The Sarah Galley is identified as a slave ship out of Madagascar and St Lawrence, the island, carrying a cargo of Madagascar slaves. The mutiny aboard her was therefore probably a rising of the slaves rather than of the crew, the great mutiny breaking out among the human cargo while the ship lay in the road. This marks the island as a calling point on the slaving route between Madagascar and the wider Company world, the vessel touching at the Cape before St Helena.

The despatch of the Company's long boat with Sergeant Southen and a guard of soldiers shows the garrison turning out to suppress a disturbance aboard a private ship in the road. The assistance of Mr Newsham, the Cardonnell's chief mate, brought in a second crew to help quell the rising. The episode reveals how the island's military force could be called upon to secure a vessel at anchor, the danger of a slave revolt at sea drawing the shore establishment into the ship's defence.

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Two of Arabella[s] men [&] two of the Sarah Galleys men who were discontented people had concerted together (about making themselves free, as they called it) [&] went to a Punch house to drink. but being in a great confusion lett fall Several Suspitous words w[ch] y[e] Punch man taking some notice of Sent y[e] Govern[r] the following Letter (Viz[t] To the Worsh[p] the Gover[r] S[r] Since night there being four of the men belonging to the good Ship Sarah Galley one of which Speaking something which I thought my Self Obliged to acquaint[e] yo[r] Worship with (Viz[t] that if they was all of his mind they would or could take their own ship [&] y[e] other not knowing which ship he ment, I being busy did not hear so much as my Wife so begging y[e] Worsh[ps] excuse I remaine, your most humble [&] ever Faithfull Servant to comand Feb[r] y[e] 2[d] 1716/17 (Signd) W[m] Beale. The Gov[r] Sent for all y[e] Three Capt[s] who happened at y[e] time to be ashoare Shewed them y[e] Letter [&] sent for y[e] man who wrote it He Sayed they Whisperd much together [&] by there discourse seemed to be desperate and one of them w[th] some earnestness Sayd to y[e] rest I am sure We shall doe it well en[o]

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Island St Helena

Two of the Arabella's men and two of the Sarah Galley's men, who were discontented people, had plotted together about making themselves free, as they called it, and had gone to a punch house to drink. Being in great confusion, they let fall several suspicious words, on which the punch man took some notice and sent the Governor the following letter.

William Beale wrote to the Worshipful Governor. He reported that the night before, four of the men belonging to the Sarah Galley being present, one of them had spoken something which Beale thought himself obliged to acquaint the Governor with. The man had said that, if they were all of his mind, they would or could take their own ship, and the other not knowing which ship he meant. Being busy, Beale had not heard so much as his wife. He begged the Governor's excuse. The letter was dated 2 February 1716/17 and signed by William Beale.

The Governor sent for all three captains, who happened at that time to be ashore, showed them the letter and sent for the man who wrote it. The captains said the men had whispered much together and by their discourse seemed to be desperate. One of them had said to the rest, with some earnestness, that he was sure they would do it well enough.

Interpretations

The informer here was William Beale, the punch house keeper, the same man who had taken up the licence at the sign of the Ship in Southwark Street on 5 July 1715 and who had lately been warned off meddling with the surgeon's patients. The licensing conditions bound a victualler to keep good order and to report disturbances, and Beale's letter shows that obligation in operation, the keeper of a drinking house passing word to the Governor of seditious talk among his customers.

The plot was a conspiracy among discontented seamen to seize a ship and make themselves free, the talk overheard being of taking their own vessel. The phrase making themselves free, used of mariners rather than slaves, points to a design to turn pirate or to escape Company service by force. The danger of such a seizure explains why the Governor at once summoned the three commanders then ashore and confronted the ringleader, the bench treating loose talk of taking a ship as a serious threat in a road where several vessels lay.

The reliance on a chance overhearing in a punch house reveals how the authorities depended on the licensed drinking places as listening posts. Beale caught only fragments, less than his wife had heard, yet enough to alarm the Governor. The episode shows the punch house as both the place where disaffection was fuelled by drink and the channel through which it came to the notice of the government.

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en[o] for w[ch] we may have w[ch] Ship We will. I know the Boatswain is an honest Cock [&] We have en[o] of Us for any One ship then they Whisperd again [&] he bad his Wife to listen to their talk but whether they toke notice of his Observing them or not he could not tell but while he was writing y[e] note to y[e] Gov[r] before he had made an end of it they went out of his house together The Gov[r] had before that sent y[e] Soldiers on board [&] now Sent off all the Captains advising them to make a Signall if they needed more help. is very And because there Seldom any Roguery acted y[t] W[m] Huff is not conceald in the Gov[rs] Sent to search his house for these four men but they could not be found having gott on board to y[e] rest of their consorts, but in Huffs Chamber they found two others of the Arabellas men [&] two of y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[as] Black Wenches on the Bed but with their Cloaths on So that We believed they had no worse designe at that time in their heads than a little Whoring therefore on their begging par don We lett them go but Whipt the two Wenches. next

The man had gone on to say that they might have which ship they would, and that he knew the boatswain was an honest fellow, and that they had enough of them for any one ship. The men then whispered again, and he had bidden his wife listen to their talk. Whether they took notice of his observing them or not he could not tell, but while he was writing the note to the Governor, before he had finished it, they went out of his house together.

The Governor had before that sent the soldiers on board, and now sent off all the captains, advising them to make a signal if they needed more help.

Because there was seldom any roguery acted on the island that William Huff was not concerned in, the Governor sent to search his house for these four men, but they could not be found, having got on board to the rest of their companions. In Huff's chamber, however, the searchers found two others of the Arabella's men, with two of the Honourable Company's black women on the bed, but with their clothes on. The council believed they had no worse design in their heads at that time than a little whoring. On their begging pardon, the council let them go, but whipped the two women.

Interpretations

The pursuit of the conspirators turned at once to the house of William Huff, named because there was seldom any roguery on the island in which he was not involved. Huff was the soldier repeatedly before the bench, lately convicted of theft on 12 September 1715, ordered to labour for Sergeant Southen's debt on 25 October 1715, and most recently exposed over the child by the Company slave Betty on 6 November 1716, when he was set on the wooden horse with his face blacked. His house was treated as the natural resort of disorder, the Governor sending there first in search of the runaway seamen.

The discovery in Huff's chamber shows the bench distinguishing sharply between two kinds of offence in the same place. The conspiracy to seize a ship was a capital danger pursued with soldiers and signals, while the two seamen found with the Company's slave women were judged guilty of nothing worse than attempted fornication and released on asking pardon. The whipping fell on the two women alone, the corporal punishment reserving its weight for the Company's slaves rather than the free seamen, the same unequal application of penalty by status seen across these records.

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Next day y[e] people of y[e] Sarah galley submitted [&] promised to behave themselves peacably y[e] rest of y[e] Voyage [&] Sayed that the Second Mate had greviously abused y[m] all or else they never should have had thoughts of being troublesome, they all gave their Capt[n] a good word [&] he forgave them [&] so ended y[e] matter w[ch] had like to have been so troublesome. The Gov[r] acquaints the Council y[t] now We have 10 Slaves more, viz[t] 7. Men [&] 3 Women brought Us by y[e] Sarah Gally [&] are in ex pectation of 57. more w[ch] when they are ar rived will, a great Supply [&] help He thinks 'tis a proper time to consider of making an effectual Answ[r] to y[e] 65. p[ar] of our Hon[ble] Mast[rs] Gen[l] Letter y[t] came over with Us in y[e] Rochester. Wherefore y[e] Gov[r] Orders that every One in Council do read over [&] seriously consider the s[d] 65. p[ar] [&] also w[ch] Answ[r] or excuses have been made to y[e] par[s] [&] without delay bring each man his Own Opinion in Writing, what he thinks most agreeable to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Interest on that Head [&] what methods are best to be taken partly to Sa tisfye y[e] Planters but Chiefly to emprove y[e] Island [&] lessen the Charges We are at. The

The next day the people of the Sarah Galley submitted and promised to behave peaceably for the rest of the voyage. They said that the second mate had grievously abused them, or else they would never have had any thoughts of being troublesome. They all gave their captain a good word, and he forgave them, which ended a matter that had been likely to prove very troublesome.

The Governor informed the council that the Company now had ten more slaves, namely seven men and three women, brought in by the Sarah Galley. The Company was also expecting 57 more, which when they arrived would be a great supply and help. The Governor thought it a proper time to consider making an effectual answer to the 65th paragraph of the Honourable Masters' general letter, which had come over by the Rochester.

The Governor therefore ordered that everyone in council read over and seriously consider the 65th paragraph, and also the answers or excuses that had been made to that paragraph. Without delay each man was to bring in his own opinion in writing, setting out what he thought most agreeable to the Honourable Company's interest on that head, and what methods were best to be taken, partly to satisfy the planters but chiefly to improve the island and lessen the charges the Company was at.

Interpretations

The mutiny aboard the Sarah Galley is here resolved as a grievance of the slaves against the second mate rather than a settled design, the people submitting once the captain forgave them. Their complaint that the mate had grievously abused them frames the rising as a response to ill usage, and the captain's pardon closes the matter without further punishment. This completes the episode begun two days earlier, distinguishing it from the separate seamen's conspiracy to seize a ship.

The arrival of ten slaves with 57 more expected marks a deliberate replenishment of the Company's depleted labour force. The slave account taken in January 1716/17 had shown an ageing establishment thinned by death and infirmity, the concern Pyke had pressed since the muster before Captain Kettleby in January 1715/16. The fresh cargo from Madagascar, and the larger shipment awaited, answered that want of hands, the Governor calling it a great supply and help against the shortage the recent census had laid before the directors.

The order that each councillor give his written opinion on the 65th paragraph of the directors' letter shows the bench framing a considered policy reply rather than a routine response. The paragraph evidently touched the improvement of the island and the reduction of the Company's charges, the two aims set against the need to satisfy the planters. By requiring each member to commit his view to writing, the Governor gathered the council's collective judgement on a matter of standing policy, the same deliberative method used for the answer to the general letter framed in summer 1715.

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The following Petit[n] was presented (Viz[t] Island St Helena To y[e] Worsh[p] Isa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Council The Petiton of John Alexander. Most humbly Sheweth. That Whereas yo[r] Petition having formerly Purchased two Several Parcels of Land. (Viz[t] Ten [&] Twenty Acres whereon hath Since made Plantation [&] built a House Humbly prays his Bills of Sale for y[e] Same may be allowed to be Registerd for the better Security thereof yo[r] petit[r] having persuant [&] in Obedience to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Orders a White man capable of bearing Arms on each 20. Acres. And Also desires another Bill of Sale for a House Scituate in James Vally may be likewise Registerd. [&] as in duty bound shall ever Feb[r] y[e] 5[t] 1716/17 pray, [&c] (Signd) Jn[o] Alexander.

Granted.

The following petition was presented, dated February 1716/17.

John Alexander petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. He set out that he had formerly purchased two parcels of land, of ten and twenty acres, on which he had since made a plantation and built a house. He asked that his bills of sale for these be allowed to be registered for the better security of them, he having, in obedience to the Honourable Company's orders, a white man capable of bearing arms on each twenty acres. He also asked that another bill of sale, for a house in James Valley, be likewise registered. The petition was dated 5 February 1716/17 and signed by John Alexander.

The council granted the petition.

Interpretations

The petition shows registration of title sought as the means of making a purchase secure, the same documentary discipline that ran through the island's land system. Alexander asked that his bills of sale be entered for the better security of his holdings, the register book being the definitive record against which title could be proved. The grant brought his two parcels and his James Valley house onto the formal record, completing the conveyances by registration.

The condition Alexander pleaded, a white man capable of bearing arms on each twenty acres, reveals the defensive obligation tied to landholding on the island. The Company required its planters to keep an armed man for every twenty acres, so that the settlement's land was held on terms that also maintained a militia. Alexander's compliance with this rule strengthened his claim to registration, the security of his title resting in part on his meeting the Company's demand for defensible settlement.

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Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 12[th] day of February 1716/17 At Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo Haswell Dep[ty] Present. Matth: Bazett 3[d] [&] Antipas Tovey 4 in Council.

The Last Consultation read [&] Approved of. According to an Order of last Consultation day the following Opinions in Writing where brought in. (Viz[t] Cap[t] Geo: Haswell's - (Viz[t] It is my Opinion y[t] We must not leave off hireing y[e] Planters Black[s] till Such time as y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] plantations [&] Fences are putt in good Order they being very much out of Repair as y[e] report of Our Survey of them y[e] 1. Nov 1715 [&] how many Blacks are necessary to keep y[e] Plantations [&c] in Order when made So. For when We have rec[d] y[e] remainder of y[e] Blacks Expected there will be employment for them [&] more. (Signd) Geo: Haswell Island St Helena. February the 1[st] 1716

Whereas last Council day being the 5[t] of this Instant The Worsh[p] y[e] Gov[r] Order every one of the Council to give their Opinion in Writing concerning ten Blacks received of

The council met at a consultation held on Tuesday 12 February 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third; and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

According to an order of the last consultation, the following opinions in writing were brought in.

Captain George Haswell gave his opinion. It was his view that the Company must not leave off hiring the planters' slaves until such time as the Honourable Company's plantations and fences were put in good order, they being very much out of repair, as appeared from the report of the survey of them of 1 November 1715, and until it was settled how many slaves were necessary to keep the plantations in order once made so. When the remainder of the slaves expected had been received, there would be employment for them and more.

Whereas last council day, being the 5th of this instant, the Worshipful Governor had ordered everyone of the council to give their opinion in writing concerning how many slaves the Company had received [...]

Interpretations

Haswell's opinion addresses the policy question the Governor had set on 5 February 1716/17, whether the Company should continue hiring slaves from the planters. His view rested on the state of the Company's own plantations and fences, which the survey of 1 November 1715 had found much out of repair, the report Haswell himself had brought in when he surveyed the plantations and their slave-labour needs. He argued that hired labour must be kept until the estate was restored and the proper complement of slaves established.

The reasoning ties the labour question directly to the recent replenishment of the slave force. Haswell looked to the slaves already arrived and the remainder expected, the 57 more the Governor had reported awaiting on 5 February 1716/17, and judged that once these were received there would be employment for them and more. His opinion shows the bench weighing the cost of hiring planters' slaves against the Company's growing stock, the policy turning on when the estate could be worked by the Company's own hands alone.

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Capt[n] Bloome Com[r] of the Sarah Galley on acc[t] of the Hon[ble] Comp[a] My Opinion is y[t] altho y[e] H[ble] Comp[a] designe to Send a quantity of Blacks here On purpose to putt a Stop to y[e] hireing the Planters w[ch] has been [&] is yett a great charge to them Yett I think this Small Number of Ten Blacks canot be a Suffecient Num ber to carry on the Buildings [&] Fortification already begun, [&] y[t] it will be more benefitt to have them Work in y[e] Plantations w[ch] lyes in very indifferent condicon for want of hands, [&] these ten Blacks are not one tenth part part of what is wanting to be employd at y[e] s[d] plantations [&c] to keep y[m] in good Order [&] to further their improvem[t] So that I canot See a possibility as Yett of Lessening y[e] hireing of Blacks to goe on w[th] y[e] Work until a bigger Number of Blacks be had. (Signd) Matthew Bazett.

Worsh[p] S[r] [&c] There was 56. Blacks wanting only for the Plantations to make good the same So as it might be kept fened Weeded and Dugg well, according to y[e] report of the 1[st] Nov last 1715 Now there is but Ten Blacks more, [&] if fifty do come, there must be y[e] more hands to mind y[e] plantations w[ch] provided

The opinion was given on behalf of Captain Blome, commander of the Sarah Galley, on account of the Honourable Company.

It was his opinion that, although the Honourable Company intended to send a quantity of slaves to the island on purpose to put a stop to the hiring of the planters' slaves, which had been and was still a great charge to them, this small number of ten slaves could not be sufficient to carry on the buildings and fortifications already begun. It would be of more benefit to have them work in the plantations, which lay in very indifferent condition for want of hands. These ten slaves were not one tenth part of what was wanting to be employed at the plantations and to keep them in good order and further their improvement. He could not yet see any possibility of lessening the hiring of slaves to do the Company's work until a bigger number of slaves could be had. The opinion was signed by Matthew Bazett.

Bazett gave his opinion to the Worshipful Governor and Council. There had been 56 slaves wanting only for the plantations, to make good the same so that it might be kept fenced, weeded and dug well, according to the report of 1 November 1715. There were now but ten slaves more, and if fifty came there must be more hands to mind the plantations [...]

Interpretations

This passage gives two of the written opinions called for on 5 February 1716/17, the policy of whether to keep hiring the planters' slaves. The view set down for Captain Blome of the Sarah Galley, the slave ship lately arrived, judged the ten slaves she had brought far short of the need, not a tenth of what the plantations required. Both opinions agree that hiring must continue until a much larger force was on the island, the buildings and fortifications already begun adding to the demand on labour.

Bazett's figure of 56 slaves wanting for the plantations alone fixes the scale of the shortfall against the survey of 1 November 1715, which had reported the estate needing hands to be kept fenced, weeded and well dug. Against this the ten newly arrived, and even the fifty more expected, would not suffice once the work of fencing, weeding and digging was reckoned. The opinions show the council costing the labour need precisely, the policy of ending the hire of planters' slaves turning on whether the Company's own stock could meet the measured requirement of the plantations.

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provide Food for so many more people [&] yett the Hon[ble] Comp[a] will want 200 hands in all before they can be without hireing any, for 'tis my Opinion that every third Black should be intirely at Work at y[e] Plantation[s] to raise Provisions en[o] for the rest. I am Worsh[p] S[r] [&] Gent[n] 12 Feb[r] 1716/17 yo[r] Obed[t] Serv[t] (Signd) Antipas Tovey

Island St Helena To y[e] Worsh[p] Isa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Coun[l] The humble Petition of Geo: Sanders. Sheweth That yo[r] Petit[r] having married the W[d] [r] of Tho[s] Gargen [&] with y[e] consent [&] knowledge of all persons conceind have disposed of [&] Sold the whole [&] Entire Real Estate of the said Tho[s] Gargen w[ch] he gave to his then Wife (now yo[r] petit[rs] for her natural Life [&] Cap[t] Geo: Haswell being y[e] Purchaser of y[e] Estate putts yo[r] petition[r] off from time to time without making y[e] least payment but rather runs yo[r] petit[r] to daily charge [&] trouble as yo[r] Worsh[p] [&] Council may be presumd is very Sencible of, [&] for y[t] yo[r] petition[r] standing in want of his mony Humbly prays a Letter of Adm[r] strat[n] may be Granted him on yo[r] s[d] deed Estate to bett[r] in title [&] impower your Petit[r] to make demand of y[e] Just Debt due from Cap[t] Geo: Haswell [&] to take Such other methods as y[e] Laws in Cases of like nature allows of [&] yo[r] Pet[r] as in duty bound shall every pray [&c] Febru[ry] y[e] 12[t] 1716/17 (Signd) Geo: Sanders

Margin Notes:

Cap[t]

Tovey continued that there must be more hands to provide food for so many more people, and yet the Honourable Company would want 200 hands in all before it could be without hiring any. It was his opinion that every third slave should be entirely at work at the plantation, to raise provisions enough for the rest. The opinion was dated 12 February 1716/17 and signed by Antipas Tovey.

The following petition was presented.

George Sanders petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. He set out that he had married the widow of Thomas Gargen and, with the consent and knowledge of all persons concerned, had disposed of and sold the whole and entire real estate of Thomas Gargen, which Gargen had given to his then wife, now Sanders's wife, for her natural life. Captain George Haswell, being the purchaser of the estate, put Sanders off from time to time without making the least payment, but rather ran Sanders to daily charge and trouble, as the council might well be aware, and Sanders being very much in want of his money. He asked that a letter of administration be granted him on Gargen's deed estate, to better entitle and empower him to make demand of the just debt due from Captain Haswell, and to take such other methods as the law allowed in cases of like nature. The petition was dated 12 February 1716/17 and signed by George Sanders.

Interpretations

Tovey's opinion completes the council's deliberation on the slave-labour question set on 5 February 1716/17, setting the full requirement at 200 hands before the Company could cease hiring from the planters. His proposal that every third slave be kept wholly at the plantation to raise provisions for the rest is the most precise scheme of the three opinions, dividing the labour force so that food production would support the hands employed on building and fences. The council's collective answer thus fixed both a target number and a method of feeding the enlarged establishment.

The Sanders petition reopens the long-disputed Gargen estate, the property of Thomas Gargen who had died before 16 August 1715, leaving the widow Mercy. Sanders, having married her about March 1716, here pressed a sale of the estate that he said Haswell had bought but never paid for. The deputy governor appears as a purchaser who delayed settlement, and Sanders sought a letter of administration to give him standing to sue for the price. The petition shows a private creditor seeking the formal authority of an administrator to enforce a debt against a member of the bench itself.

The estate had passed under a life interest, Gargen having given it to his wife for her natural life, a form of provision the council had managed in other widows' cases. Sanders's difficulty was that selling property held only for his wife's life, and recovering its price from a powerful buyer, required a legal title he did not yet hold. The request for a letter of administration on the deed estate was the device by which he sought to clothe himself with the authority to make and enforce the demand.

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Cap[t] Haswell Sayes that Whereas he has a right to part of M[r] Gargens Estate by his Wife [&] Likewise on the Score of her other Daughters desires he may be admitted to administer. Cap[t] Bazett Sayes that he is for that party that has the most right to Administ[r] on y[e] Estate. The Sec[ry] Sayes y[t] as the Execut[rs] would not take y[e] trouble upon them y[e] Wid[o] of M[r] Tho[s] Gargen has an undoubted right to Adm[r] The Gov[r] Sayes y[t] when any man Dies y[t] is near to being insolvent w[ch] was Tho Gargens case y[t] y[e] y[e] principal Creditor has a right to administration [&] y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] were principal Creditors to Gargens Estate but when he dyed he made a Will [&] B[t] Rich[d] Gurling [&] Jn[o] Robinson Exec[rs] [&] they came to y[e] Council [&] refused to accept the Exec[rs] hip [&] then it was Order[d] by y[e] Govern[r] [&] all y[e] Council y[t] y[e] Wid[o] Gargen Should Act [&] Doe as as well as she could in that affair [&] then y[e] Wid[o] in a peti[tn] did offer to deliver up all to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] so y[t] she might be freed But We did not take her Effects for y[e] s[d] Comp[a] seeing y[e] Woman to be Industrious [&] doe what she could, but then We left y[e] management to her [&] y[e] relacons Signed a paper to impow[r] her to Sell the Estate for the payment of her Husbands Debts [&] she has Since then acted as Administratrix [&] has payed Some Debts [&] has Sold the Estate [&] it is not in our

Captain Haswell stated that, having a right to part of Gargen's estate through his wife, and likewise on account of her two other daughters, he asked that he might be admitted to administer.

Captain Bazett stated that he was for the party that had the most right to administer the estate.

The secretary stated that, since the executors would not take the trouble upon them, the widow of Thomas Gargen had an undoubted right to administer.

The Governor stated that when any man died who was near to being insolvent, as was Thomas Gargen's case, the principal creditor had a right to administration. Had the Honourable Company been the principal creditor of Gargen's estate, that right would have lain with the Company. When Gargen died, he had made a will and named Richard Gurling and John Robinson executors. They had come to the council and refused to accept the executorship, on which it had been ordered by the Governor and all the council that the widow Gargen should act and do as well as she could in that affair. The widow had then in a manner offered to deliver up everything to the Honourable Company, so that she might be freed, but the council had not taken her effects for the Company, seeing the woman to be industrious and willing to do what she could. The council had instead left the management to her and her relations, and signed a paper empowering her to sell the estate for the payment of her husband's debts. She had since acted as administratrix, paid some debts and sold the estate, and it was not in [...]

Interpretations

The dispute over who should administer Gargen's estate brings three competing claims before the bench, with the Governor setting out the legal principle to resolve them. Haswell pressed his interest through his wife and her two other daughters, while the secretary held the widow's right undoubted once the named executors declined. The Governor's rule, that the principal creditor has the right of administration where a man dies near insolvent, framed the question as one of debt rather than kinship, the same approach the council had taken throughout the Gargen affair.

The Governor's account traces the whole history of the estate's management. Gurling and Robinson, named executors in Gargen's will, had refused the office before the council, on which the bench had ordered the widow to act, the same proceeding recorded when the estate first came before it. Rather than take her effects for the Company, the council had judged her industrious and empowered her by a signed paper to sell the estate and pay the debts. This recital shows the bench treating its earlier grant of authority to the widow as governing the present claims, the administration already settled on her by the council's own act.

The widow's offer to surrender the whole estate to the Company to free herself reveals the burden an insolvent estate laid on a widow. The council's refusal, on the ground that she was willing and able, turned the administration into a charge she was left to discharge rather than a benefit. Her subsequent sale of the estate and payment of debts, here invoked against Haswell's late claim to administer, shows that the practical work of winding up the estate had already passed under the authority given her, leaving little for a fresh grant of administration to govern.

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Our power now to take the Administration Out of her hands. with Justice because she has Sole her Estate to pay y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] [&] y[e] other Creditors. [&] Therefore tis my Opinion that she ought to have y[e] Administration [&] no body else has a right to it. (Signd) Isa: Pyke. Copy of y[e] Letter of Administration is as followeth (Viz[t] Island St Helena. Wee the Gov[r] [&] Council of y[e] said Island on behalf of the Hon[ble] United Company of Merch[ts] of England trad ing to the East Indies absolute Lords Proprietors of the s[d] Island To Geo: Sanders who lately married the Wid[o] of Tho[s] Gargen died on or about y[e] 15 of January 1714. Greeting. Whereas the said Tho[s] Gargen dec[d] as afores[d] having in his Life [&] At the time of his Death Goods, rights or Creditt within the Jurisdiction of the s[d] Island [&] died by his last Will [&] Testament made in Writing [&] Dated y[e] 8[th] day of Jan[ry] 1714 wherein he bequeathed his Estate to y[e] payment of his Debts [&] Several other purposes therein mentiond [&] Sett down. And left to his Wife Mercy Gargen his Whole Real Estate during her

The Governor concluded that it was not now in the council's power to take the administration out of the widow's hands with justice, because she had sold her estate to pay the Honourable Company and the other creditors. It was therefore his opinion that she ought to have the administration and no one else had a right to it. This was signed by Isaac Pyke.

A copy of the letter of administration followed.

The Governor and Council of the island, on behalf of the Honourable United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, absolute Lords Proprietors of the island, addressed George Sanders, who had lately married the widow of Thomas Gargen, deceased on or about 15 January 1714. Thomas Gargen, deceased as named, had at the time of his death goods, rights or credit within the jurisdiction of the island. He had died leaving his last will and testament, made in writing and dated 8 January 1714, in which he bequeathed his estate to the payment of his debts and several other purposes mentioned and set down therein, and left to his wife Mercy Gargen his whole real estate during her [...]

Interpretations

The Governor's conclusion fixes the principle on which the administration was settled, that the widow's prior sale of the estate to satisfy the Company and the creditors put the matter beyond the council's power to reassign. Having already sold the estate to pay her husband's debts under the authority the bench had given her, she could not justly be displaced. Pyke's signed opinion therefore confirmed her sole right, rejecting Haswell's claim by kinship and resolving the dispute on the ground that the work of administration was effectively done.

The letter of administration entered here is the formal instrument by which the council, acting as the colonial court of probate, granted authority over a deceased's estate. The Governor and Council issued it in the name of the Honourable Company as Lords Proprietors of the island, the same standing in loco of the crown by which the bench exercised jurisdiction over wills and orphans. The document recites the death, the existence of goods within the island's jurisdiction and the terms of the will, the formal foundation for the grant that followed.

The recital of Gargen's will of 8 January 1714 confirms the life interest at the centre of the whole dispute, the testator having left his whole real estate to his wife Mercy for her life while charging it with his debts. This is the same provision that had run through the estate's long history before the council, from the widow's first petition that the Company take the estate to the ruling that she pay interest on the debts from her husband's death. The letter of administration now placed the formal title to wind up the estate in the line that descended from that will.

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her Natural Life to possess [&] enjoy y[e] same [&] all Appurtenances thereof for her Own be hoof [&] Benefitt [&c] as by y[e] s[d] Will may more At large Appeare in w[ch] Will [&] Testament y[e] s[d] Tho[s] Gargen did appoint his Supposed friends Jn[o] Robinson [&] Rich[d] Gurling to be Exicut[rs] thereof who finding they were likely to have more trouble then proffit utterly renounced [&] refused accepting of y[e] Same Whereby y[e] full disposal [&] Grant of Administration of all [&] Singular y[e] Goods [&] Chattles of y[e] s[d] Dec[d] Also y[e] hearing of the computation calculate or Account of Such Administration [&] y[e] final release or discharge from y[e] Same are notoriously known to belong entirely [&] Solely to Us y[e] Gov[r] [&] Council of this place. Wee being desirous y[t] y[e] Goods [&] Chattles of y[e] s[d] dec[d] Tho[s] Gargen should be Well [&] faithfully administred employed [&] disposed of to proper Uses. Doe by Vertue of These presents Grant to you full power entirely to Administer [&] faithfully to dispose of the Goods [&] Chattles of y[e] s[d] dec[d] Tho[s] Gargens Also to demand, Collect, levy [&] cause payment to be made of all Debts or Dues Whatsoever belonging

The will had left the estate to the widow for her natural life, to possess and enjoy the same with all its appurtenances for her own use and benefit, as appeared more fully in the will and testament.

Thomas Gargen had appointed his supposed friends John Robinson and Richard Gurling to be executors of it. They, finding they were likely to have more trouble than profit, had utterly renounced and refused to accept the office. The full disposal and grant of administration of all the goods and chattels of the deceased, together with the hearing of the account of such administration and the final release or discharge from it, were therefore well known to belong entirely and solely to the Governor and Council of this place.

The Governor and Council, being desirous that the goods and chattels of the deceased Thomas Gargen should be well and faithfully administered, employed and disposed of to proper uses, by these presents granted Sanders full power entirely to administer and faithfully to dispose of the goods and chattels of the deceased Thomas Gargen. He was also empowered to demand, collect, levy and cause payment to be made of all debts or dues whatsoever belonging [...]

Interpretations

The grant sets out the council's own jurisdiction as the foundation of its authority to appoint an administrator. With the named executors having renounced because the office promised more trouble than profit, the disposal of the estate, the taking of the account and the final discharge were declared to belong solely to the Governor and Council. This is the bench asserting its standing as the island's court of probate, the same role by which it managed wills and orphans in the absence of any other competent court.

The powers conveyed to Sanders are the standard authorities of an administrator, framed to let him gather and settle the estate. He was empowered to dispose of the goods and chattels and to demand, collect, levy and enforce payment of all debts due to the deceased. This is the legal instrument Sanders had sought in his petition, the letter of administration giving him the standing to pursue the debt he claimed from Haswell as purchaser of the estate, the practical object behind the whole application.

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belonging to y[e] s[d] dec[d] in his Life [&] At y[e] time of his Death [&] to pay what Debts were Owing by y[e] s[d] dec[d]. at y[e] same time as far as such his Goods [&] Chattles will extend in Proportion according to their Valuation This power We Grant You having Asurance of yo[r] Fidelity, charging you by y[e] Oath y[t] You have taken in this behalf that You doe make or cause to be made a full, true, entire [&] faithfull Inventory y[e] all [&] Singular y[e] Goods [&] premises of y[e] said dec[d] Tho[s] Gargen y[t] hath been is or may be found on this Island to belong to him at y[e] time of his Decease [&] deliver y[e] same to Us on or before y[e] 10. of March next ensueing y[e] Date hereof [&] Also y[t] y[e] deliver an Account of yo[r] Administration here unto Us when y[e] shall be thereunto required. And therefore to you We do comitt [&] you We do Ordain consti tute [&] appoint So to be Sole Administrater of all [&] Singular such Goods [&] Chattles by these presents Dated [&] Given under Our hands [&] y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] Seal At Union Castle in James Vally this 12[th] day of February 1716/17 Signd

The debts due to the deceased belonged to him in his life and at the time of his death. Sanders was to pay the debts that were owing by the deceased at the same time, as far as his goods and chattels would extend, in proportion according to their valuation.

The Governor and Council granted this power having assurance of Sanders's fidelity. They charged him by the oath he had taken in this behalf that he make, or cause to be made, a full, true, entire and faithful inventory of all the goods and premises of the deceased Thomas Gargen that had been, were, or might be found on the island to belong to him at the time of his death. He was to deliver the same to the Governor and Council on or before 10 March next ensuing the date of the letter, and also to deliver an account of his administration to them whenever he should be required. The Governor and Council therefore committed the estate to Sanders, ordained, constituted and appointed him sole administrator of all such goods and chattels. The letter was dated and given under their hands and the Honourable Company's seal at Union Castle in James Valley on 12 February 1716/17.

Interpretations

The grant binds the administration to the payment of creditors in due proportion, Sanders being required to satisfy the debts owing by the deceased as far as the estate would reach, according to the valuation of the goods. This rateable distribution among creditors is the standard rule for an insolvent estate, the same principle the Governor had invoked when he held that the principal creditor had the right of administration. It ensured that the estate Gargen left near insolvent was shared among those he owed rather than taken by any one claimant.

The requirements imposed on Sanders set out the administrator's accountability to the council as the granting authority. He was charged on his oath to bring in a full and true inventory by 10 March next, and to render an account of his administration whenever required, the same documentary discipline the bench applied to estates and stores alike. The inventory and account were the means by which the council, as the island's court of probate, kept the winding up of the estate under its supervision.

The sealing of the instrument under the hands of the Governor and Council and the Honourable Company's seal at Union Castle marks the formal authority by which the grant took effect. The use of the Company's seal shows the bench acting as Lords Proprietors of the island, the same standing in place of the crown by which it exercised its probate jurisdiction. The dated and sealed letter completed Sanders's title as sole administrator, giving him the legal standing he had sought to enforce the estate's claims.

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(Signd) Isaac Pyke. Matthew Bazett. Antipas Tovey.

Upon Complaint of Rob[t] Angus, Jn[o] Nichols Inn[s] was by Warrant brought this day before Gov[r] [&] Council when it appearing by his Own confession y[t] he did lately beat [&] Wound y[e] s[d] Angus. It is Order[d] That he pay forty Shillings to Robert Angus, Ten Shillings to y[e] Church [&] five Shillings to y[e] poor, w[ch] he promised to doe [&] Humbly begg'd y[e] Gov[r] [&] Councils pardon [&] Angus[s] Upon his Knees The Gov[r] Sayes y[t] some people have Spread a Report about the Country y[t] the Hon[ble] Comp[as] plantations are much neglected [&] Out of Order [&] y[t] We shall be forced in a Short time to buy Yams again Whereupon he Sent M[r] Cason immedially to View all the Plantations who brought him y[e] following account (Viz[t] M[r] Casons Report of Yams in the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Plantations viz[t]

At the Hutts

Yams now fitt to Digg 70,000

Yams y[t] will be fitt to digg in 6 Months 50,000

Yams D[o] in 12 Months 36,000

Yams D[o] in 18 Months 60,000

Suckers new planted y[t] will be fitt in 20 M[os] 60,000

Yams y[t] want weeding 50,000

Totall at y[e] Hutts 326,000

The letter of administration was signed by Isaac Pyke, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey.

On the complaint of Robert Angus, Nichols junior was brought by warrant this day before the Governor and Council. It appearing by his own confession that he had lately beaten and wounded Angus, the council ordered that he pay 40 shillings to Robert Angus, 10 shillings to the church and 5 shillings to the poor, which he promised to do. He humbly begged the Governor and Council's pardon, and Angus's, upon his knees.

The Governor stated that some people had spread a report about the country that the Honourable Company's plantations were much neglected and out of order, and that the Company would be forced in a short time to buy yams again. He therefore sent Mr Cason immediately to view all the plantations, who brought him the following account.

Mr Cason's report of the yams in the Honourable Company's plantations was as follows.

At the Hutts:

Yams now fit to dig 70,000

Yams that will be fit to dig in 6 months 50,000

Yams the same in 12 months 36,000

Yams the same in 18 months 60,000

Suckers newly planted that will be fit in 20 months 60,000

Yams that want weeding 50,000

Total at the Hutts 326,000

Interpretations

The Angus assault is disposed of by the bench's usual graded fine, with the sum divided between the injured man and charitable uses. Nichols junior, brought by warrant on Angus's complaint and convicted on his own confession, paid 40 shillings to Angus himself, 10 shillings to the church and 5 shillings to the poor. The apportionment shows the council treating a private wounding as a matter both of compensation to the victim and of penalty to public uses, the offender's submission on his knees completing the satisfaction.

The yam report answers a rumour the Governor had heard about the country, that the Company's plantations were so neglected that it would soon have to buy yams again. Cason's survey of the plantations was ordered expressly to test this report, and the detailed reckoning of yams by their state of growth was meant to refute it. The account graded the crop from yams now fit to dig through those ready at six, twelve, eighteen and twenty months, with the quantity wanting weeding noted separately. This let the bench show a continuous supply in the ground, the yam being the staple provision the cattle famine had made all the more vital.

The figures reveal the systematic management of the island's chief foodstuff. By recording at each plantation the yams ready now and the successive crops maturing over nearly two years, the survey tracked the staple as a rolling provision rather than a single harvest. The total of 326,000 at the Hutts alone, the centre of the consolidated estate, shows the scale of the reserve the Company held against the want of cattle, the same close monitoring of yam stocks seen in the overseer's earlier reports.

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At Luffkins

Yams now fitt to digg 90,000

Yams y[t] will be fitt in 4 M[os] but wanting to be weeded 137,000

227,000

In Forrsdale Gutt

New planted [&] will be fitt to digg in 22 M[os] 25,000

Yams y[t] will be fitt to digg in Carnes Ground in 12 M[os] 60,000

At the Peak

Yams fitt now to digg but want weeding 46,000

At Thomstone Wood

Yams fitt now to dig but want weeding 60,000

At Perkins

Fitt to digg now 50,000

Will be in March next 40,000

D[o] in July 40,000

D[o] about next Xmas 50,000

180,000

Whereof none want weeding, but most all the Walls need repairing. A true Acc[t] p[r] me (Signd) Tho[s] Cason

Which Account shews the former Report to be false [&] groundless, wherefore it is orderd That Cap[t] Bazett sometime in the present Month view all the Plantations to see if M[r] Casons Report be true or not. If the Report of M[r] Cason be true, We shall not need to buy Yams for the Blacks We now have, nor if there were 50 more.

Mr Cason's report continued.

At Lufkins:

Yams now fit to dig 90,000

Yams that will be fit to dig in 4 months, but wanting to be weeded 137,000

Total at Lufkins 227,000

In Fernsdale Gut:

Newly planted, that will be fit to dig in 22 months 25,000

Yams that will be fit to dig in Carne's ground in 12 months 60,000

At the Peak:

Yams fit now to dig, but want weeding 46,000

At Tombstone Wood:

Yams fit now to dig, but want weeding 60,000

At Perkins:

Fit to dig now 50,000

Will be fit in March next 40,000

The same in July 40,000

The same about next Christmas 50,000

Total at Perkins 180,000

Of all these, none wanted weeding, but almost all the walls needed repairing. The report was a true account, signed by Thomas Cason.

This account showed the former report to be false and groundless. The council therefore ordered that Captain Bazett, sometime in the present month, view all the plantations to see whether Mr Cason's report was true or not. If Mr Cason's report proved true, the Company would not need to buy yams for the slaves it now had, even if there were 50 more.

Interpretations

The completed survey gathers the yam stock across the Company's several plantations, the Hutts, Lufkins, Fernsdale Gut, the Peak, Tombstone Wood and Perkins, into a single reckoning by state of growth. The purpose was to disprove the report that the plantations were neglected and that the Company must buy yams again. By showing large quantities ready to dig and successive crops maturing at each place, Cason's account was held to refute the rumour as false and groundless, the close grading of the crop serving as documentary evidence against loose talk in the country.

The order that Bazett verify Cason's report shows the bench testing one survey against another before acting on it. Rather than rest on a single account, the council directed a second view of all the plantations within the month, the same documentary caution it applied when checking claims against the books. The conclusion drawn, that if the report held true the Company need not buy yams even with 50 more slaves, ties the yam survey directly to the labour question debated in these sittings, the provision in the ground being weighed against the mouths the enlarged slave force would have to feed.

The note that almost all the walls needed repairing qualifies the otherwise favourable account and connects it to the survey of 1 November 1715, which had found the plantations and fences much out of repair. The yams might be plentiful, but the enclosures that protected them were failing, the same want of upkeep that Haswell and Bazett had cited in arguing for continued hire of the planters' slaves. The report thus answered the charge of neglect on the crop while confirming it on the fences.

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Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday y[e] 19. day of February 1716/17 At Union Castle in James Valley Isa: Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Capt Geo: Haswell Dep[r] Absent being Sick Pres[t] Matth: Bazett 3[d] [&] Ant: Tovey 4 in Coun[l]

The last Consultation Read [&] Approvd We have Letters to y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] w[ch] are now wrote fair [&] Signd But y[e] Gov[r] is of Opinion y[t] tis proper not to Send any Letter by the Cardonnell, because the Captain has refusd (tho often askt) to give Us an Acc[t] when He intends to sail. He has this day been here a Month, and that We have prest to know the Reason of his Staying. and writt to Him for that purpose He took no Notice of the Gov[rs] Letter but sent word to the Dep[t] Govern[r] that He would Sail when He thought fitt [&] that We had nothing to do touch[g] Him about it, for He would not give Us any Account. This is a rudeness that We have never met w[th] yet, and We wonder the more at it, because He has been very much oblig'd to Us both in his Voyage outward bound [&] now: We have shewd him great favours

The council met at a consultation held on Tuesday 19 February 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor; Matthew Bazett, third; and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. Captain George Haswell, deputy governor, was absent, being sick.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The council had letters to the Honourable Company which were now written fair and signed. The Governor was of opinion that it was proper not to send any letter by the Cardonnell, because the captain had refused, though often asked, to give an account of when he intended to sail. He had this day been here a month, and the council had pressed to know the reason for his staying and had written to him for that purpose. He had taken no notice of the Governor's letter, but had sent word to the deputy governor that he would sail when he thought fit, and that the council had nothing to do with him about it, for he would not give any account.

This was a rudeness the council had never met with yet, and it wondered the more at it because the captain had been very much obliged to the council both on his outward bound voyage and now, the council having shown him great favours.

Interpretations

The dispute turns on the master's refusal to disclose his sailing plans, which the council needed in order to entrust its despatches to the right ship. The letters to the directors being written fair and signed, the Governor judged it imprudent to send them by the Cardonnell when her captain would not say when he would sail. Control of the homeward mail depended on knowing a ship's movements, so the captain's silence put the council's correspondence at risk and led it to hold the letters back.

The captain here is William Mawson of the Cardonnell, the same commander whose conduct had troubled the bench before. His ship had been the subject of the protest of 11 June 1715 for failing to unload within the charter-party days, and of the order of 1 July 1715 making him debtor for undelivered cargo. His present refusal to account for his stay, and his message that the council had nothing to do with him, continued a pattern of defiance, the bench noting the favours shown him on both his voyages against his rudeness.

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favours, and He has paid Us with this Affront. M[r] Holliwell who keeps Acc[t] of the Customs has brought an Account of Custom of several particular Goods too long to be inserted here, [&] they being for the Cap[ts] [&] other principall officers own Expence, dont think it proper to charge them any thing, it never having been customary to charge them for Liquors [&c] for their own Expence [&] defraying of Charges on shore here. Cap[t] Mawsons is the greatest Article, but We won't make any President for Him [&] think it proper He be excused paying any Custom. The following Petition of Geo: Sanders was presented. Island St Helena To the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke E[sq] Govern[r] [&c] Council The hum[ble] Petition of Geo: Sanders Schoolmaster Sheweth That y[e] Petition having had frequent trouble (Since his Marriage w[th] the Wid[o] of Thomas Gargen dec[t]) in the Setling of the s[d] Estate, [&] now it is adjusted [&] Cap[t] Haswells time for payment of his debt to s[d] Estate being long expired, [&] no likely satisfacti[on] to be made w[thout] y[e] Worsh[p] [&] Council oblige him to do it, Wherefore y[e] Petition humbly requests He may have an Action enterd against the s[d] Cap[t] George Has

The council noted that the captain had repaid its favours with this affront.

Mr Holliwell, who kept the account of the customs, had brought an account of the custom on several particular goods, too long to be inserted here. These goods being for the captain's and the other principal officers' own expense, the council did not think it proper to charge them anything, it never having been customary to charge them for liquors and the like for their own use and for defraying their charges on shore here.

Captain Mawson's was the greatest article, but the council did not wish to make any precedent for him and thought it proper that he be excused paying any custom.

The following petition of George Sanders was presented.

George Sanders, schoolmaster, petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the Council. He set out that he had had frequent trouble, since his marriage with the widow of Thomas Gargen, deceased, in the selling of the estate. It was now adjusted, and Captain Haswell's time for payment of his debt to the estate being long expired, with no likely satisfaction to be made without the Governor and Council obliging him to do it, Sanders asked that an action be entered against Captain George Haswell [...]

Interpretations

The customs decision shows the bench distinguishing between dutiable trade and goods for an officer's own use. Holliwell, the customs keeper whose salary had been set at £20 0s 0d the annum from 25 March 1715, had returned the duty chargeable on various goods, but the council declined to levy it on what the captains and principal officers brought for their personal expense. The settled practice was to exempt liquors and the like consumed by ships' officers ashore, the custom falling on commercial cargo rather than on private provision.

The choice to excuse Mawson, even though his was the largest article, was deliberately framed to avoid setting a precedent. The council weighed charging him against the risk of creating a rule it would have to apply to others, and preferred to forgo the duty rather than open the question. This shows the bench managing the customs by reference to established usage and the danger of precedent, the same caution it showed elsewhere in declining to act in ways that might bind it in later cases.

The Sanders petition presses the same claim against Haswell now that the letter of administration of 12 February 1716/17 had given Sanders the standing to sue. The estate sale being adjusted and Haswell's time for payment long expired, Sanders sought a formal action against the deputy governor for the debt. The petition shows the newly appointed administrator moving at once to enforce the obligation that had been the practical object of his application, bringing a member of the bench before the council as a debtor to the estate.

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Haswell [&] s[d] (as in duty bound) shall ever pray [&c] Feb[ry] y[e] 19. 1716/17 (Signd) Geo: Sanders Order[d] that Cap[t] Bazett endeavour to persuade Cap[t] Haswell to pay down his Money according to his Agreement, otherwise tho We shall be unwilling to do it, yet We are obliged in Justice to grant this Petition [&] allow an Action for the Debt. The Storekeeper reports that M[r] Abram Melanio a Jew has brought to Him Some of our Bank Bills w[ch] He has taken among the People of the Island [&] desires Money or a Bill home for them, the whole dos not amount to above 8 or 9[ll], and He thinks for the Creditt of y[e] Bills We ought not to refuse it, And We all think the Same. Order[d] that the Storekeeper make him out Bills accordingly. The Storekeeper further reports, that He has receivd all the Goods brought from India in the Cardonnell [&] Arabella in good Order according to Invoice But those by y[e] Arabella was brought on Shore when there was a very great Surf, in so much that the Boat was stavd to Pieces, and y[e] Rice [&] Sugar received a great deal of Damage by lying in the Salt Water But We have takin care of it as well as We could [&] shall dispose of what is damagd before We sell any other The

The petition was dated 19 February 1716/17 and signed by George Sanders.

The council ordered that Captain Bazett endeavour to persuade Captain Haswell to pay down his money according to his agreement. Otherwise, though the council was unwilling to do it, it was obliged in justice to grant this petition and allow an action for the debt.

The storekeeper reported that Mr Abraham Melando, a Jew, had brought to him some of the Company's bank bills, which he had taken among the people of the island, and desired money or a bill home for them. The whole did not amount to above 8 or 9 pounds, and the storekeeper thought that, for the credit of the bills, the council ought not to refuse it. The council all thought the same. It ordered that the storekeeper make him out bills accordingly.

The storekeeper further reported that he had received all the goods brought from India in the Cardonnell and Arabella in good order according to the invoice. But those by the Arabella had been brought ashore when there was a very great surf, so much that the boat was staved to pieces, and the rice and sugar had received a great deal of damage by lying in the salt water. The council had taken care of it as well as it could and would dispose of what was damaged before it sold any other.

Interpretations

The order on the Sanders petition shows the bench balancing its reluctance to proceed against the deputy governor with its duty to give a creditor justice. Bazett was first to try persuading Haswell to pay according to his agreement, the council preferring a private settlement to a suit against one of its own. Failing that, it acknowledged it was bound in justice to allow the action, the same recognition that even a member of the bench must answer a just debt that ran through the whole Gargen affair.

The Melando episode reveals the council protecting the credit of its paper currency. The bank bills, the local cash notes signed by all five councillors and convertible into silver on demand, had passed among the inhabitants and been gathered up by Melando, who sought money or a homeward bill for them. The council's readiness to honour them, expressly for the credit of the bills, shows it upholding the convertibility on which the paper money depended, the same concern that lay behind the advertisement of 22 March 1715 against those who undervalued the notes.

The storekeeper's report of the damaged cargo records a hazard of landing goods in an open roadstead. The Arabella's rice and sugar were spoiled when the boat was staved to pieces in a heavy surf, the same difficulty of getting goods ashore that the crane surveys had addressed. The council's decision to dispose of the damaged stock before selling sound goods shows ordinary commercial prudence, clearing the spoiled provisions first so as not to be left with unsaleable stores.

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The aforesaid Goods to be Sold at the Prices following viz[t] The Sugar to be Sold at 8[d] Rice 3½[d] this being y[e] Usuall price Coarse Long Cloth 24/9 Fine Long Cloth @ 40[s] p[r] piece The Gov[r] reports that He has bought 2 Leagers of Batavia Arrack out of the Arabella at 4[ll] p[r] Gall[o] for the Use of the Hon[ble] Company. The Store keeper brought his Monthly account for December last as foll[h] (Viz[t] Island St Helena An Acc[t] of Store Goods Sold [&] deliverd to the Inhabitants of the said Island also for the Use of Union Castle [&] Plantation house from November y[e] 25 1716 to Decemb[r] the 25[th] following (Viz[t]

Arrack 735⅝ Gallon at 6/3 229 14 6½

Sugar 1128½[lb] 8[d] 37 12 4

Flour 1471[lb] 3½[d] 21 9 0½

Bread 458[lb] 3½[d] 6 13 7

Rice 181[lb] 3½[d] 2 12 9½

Soap 71[lb] 17[d] 5 - 7

Tea 2 Cattees 9[d] 13 1 - 6½[lb] at 9[d] 2 18 6 15 19 6

Pepper 5[lb] 5 -

Vineger 6⅛ Gallon 2/6 15 3¾

Carried over 320 2 8½

The council ordered that the goods named above be sold at the following prices.

Sugar 8 pence

Rice 3½ pence

These being the usual prices.

Coarse long cloth 24 shillings 9 pence per piece

Fine long cloth 40 shillings per piece

The Governor reported that he had bought two leaguers of Batavia arrack out of the Arabella at 4 shillings per gallon for the use of the Honourable Company.

The storekeeper brought in his monthly account for December last, as follows.

This was an account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants of the island, and also for the use of Union Castle and the plantation house, from 25 November 1716 to 25 December following.

Arrack 735⅝ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence £229 14s 6½d

Sugar 1,128½ pounds at 8 pence £37 12s 4d

Flour 1,471 pounds at 8 [...] £21 9s 0½d

Bread 458 pounds at 3½ pence £6 13s 7d

Rice 181 pounds at 3½ pence £2 12s 9½d

Soap 71 pounds at 17 [...] £5 0s 7d

Tea 2 catties at 9 [...] £13 1s 0d 6½ [...] at 9 [...] £2 18s 6d together £15 19s 6d

Pepper 5 [...] £0 5s 0d

Vinegar 6⅛ gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 15s 3¾d

Carried over, £320 2s 8¼d.

Interpretations

The pricing order shows the council setting fixed retail rates for the sound goods, the sugar and rice at their usual prices and the two grades of long cloth by the piece. This was the tiered pricing by which the store supplied the inhabitants at controlled rates, the damaged stock having been cleared first under the decision of the previous sitting. Long cloth was the fine white Indian calico, sold here in coarse and fine grades at set prices per piece.

The Governor's purchase of two leaguers of Batavia arrack from the Arabella at 4 shillings the gallon records the Company restocking its principal article of trade at wholesale. The arrack was bought in at this rate and retailed through the store at over 6 shillings the gallon, as the monthly account shows, the margin between the wholesale and retail price being the store's profit on the spirit. A leaguer was a large cask of some 150 gallons, the standard unit in which arrack was shipped.

The December account opens the new month's store business under the combined heading of goods sold to the inhabitants and supplied to Union Castle and the plantation house. The arrack at nearly 230 pounds dominates the takings, far above any other line, confirming once more its place as both the chief comfort of the settlement and the largest source of store revenue. The account runs by the established form of commodity, quantity and rate, then sum, the running total carried over to the next page.

243

250

Feb[ry]

Br[t] over 320 2 8½

Indian Goods (Viz[t]

Nealeas 18 peices @ 10/ 9 - -

Gurrhas 4 p[r] 12/6 2 10 -

Ginghams 1 p[r] 9 9

Long Cloth 4 p[r] 24/9 4 19 -

Neckcloths 1¼ p[r] 32/10 2 10½

Blew Baftas 1 p[r] 9 -

Romalls 2 2 6

Shirts 54 3/ 8 2 - 27 13 3½

Woollen Goods (Viz[t]

Durants 1 y[d] 1 9

Shalloon 11¾ y[d] 2/6 1 9 4½

Callimanco 2 y[ds] 2/6 5 -

Perpetuanous ½ yard 1 1½

Norwich Stuff 49 y[ds] 16½[d] 3 7 4½

Druggets 2½ p[r] 4[s] 0:10:0 3[s] 0:6:0 16 -

Scarlett Serge 2 y[ds] 4/10 9 8

Tufted white fus[t] Hams 4 y[ds] 2/4 9 4

Damask 12 y[ds] 1/9 1 1 - 8 - 7½

Bodice 2 pair 12/9 1 5 6

Hessings 7½ y[d] 14[d] 8 9

Indigo 2 oz 8[d] 1 4

Paper 3 quire 16[d] 4 -

Shoes 20 pair Island 4/ 4 - -

Cutlary Ware 6 Knives [&] 6 forks Box handle[s] 7 6

1 pair Scisers 1 - 8 6

Pins 9[m] 1/9 15 9

Muslin ½ pce bo[t] out of S[t] Geo: 1 8 9

Hooks [&] Lines, (Viz[t] Hooks 4 doz N[o] 7 @ 1[s] 6 3½ 13 8 16[d] 1 9¼ 1 18[d] 1 8½

Carried over 363 19 2¼

The storekeeper's account continued, dated February 1716/17.

Brought over, £320 2s 8¼d.

Under Indian goods:

Nealeas 18 pieces at 10 [...] £9 0s 0d

Gurrhas 4 pieces at 12 shillings 6 pence £2 10s 0d

Ginghams 1 piece £0 9s 9d

Long cloth 4 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence £4 10s 0d

Neckcloths 1½ pieces at 32 shillings 10 pence £2 10s 2d

Blue baftas 1 piece £0 9s 0d

Romalls 2 £0 2s 6d

Shirts 54 at 3 shillings £8 2s 0d

These Indian goods together made £27 13s 3½d.

Under woollen goods:

Durants 1 yard £0 1s 9d

Shalloon 11¾ yards at 2 shillings 6 pence £1 9s 4½d

Callimanco 2 yards at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 5s 0d

Perpetuana ½ yard £0 1s 1½d

Norwich stuff 49 yards at 16½ pence £3 7s 4½d

Drugget 2½ yards at 4 shillings £0 10s 0d

Drugget 3 yards at 6 [...] £0 6s 0d together £0 16s 0d

Scarlet serge 2 yards at 4 shillings 10 pence £0 9s 8d

Tufted white fustians 4 yards at 2 shillings 4 pence £0 9s 4d

Damask 2 yards at 1 shilling 9 pence £1 1s 0d

These woollen goods together made £8 7s 7½d.

Bodice 2 pairs at 12 shillings 9 pence £1 5s 6d

Hessings 7½ yards £0 8s 9d

Indigo 2 ounces at 8 [...] £0 1s 4d

Paper 3 quires £0 4s 0d

Island shoes 20 pairs at 4 shillings £4 0s 0d

Cutlery ware, 6 knives and 6 forks with box handles £0 7s 6d 1 pair of scissors £0 1s 0d together £0 8s 6d

Pins 9,000 at 1 shilling 9 pence £0 15s 9d

Muslin ½ piece, bought out of the St George £0 18s 9d

Hooks and lines:

Hooks 4 dozen, number 7, at 1 shilling 6 pence £0 6s 3¼d 8, number 13 to 16 £0 1s 9½d 1, number [...] £0 0s 1¾d

Carried over, £363 19s 2¼d.

Interpretations

This page sets out the Indian and woollen textiles that made up the bulk of the store's retail trade for the month. The Indian goods carried their trade names from the subcontinent, the nealeas and gurrhas plain cotton cloths, baftas a plain calico, romalls cotton kerchiefs, and long cloth the fine white calico sold by the piece. These were the staples of the East India textile trade, shipped through the Company's network and retailed at the island store at fixed prices.

The woollen goods range across the worsted and woollen cloths of the English trade. Durant was a glazed worsted also called everlasting, shalloon a light twilled lining cloth, callimanco a glossy checked worsted, perpetuana a durable worsted, and Norwich stuff the worsted cloth of that town. Damask was a figured cloth woven with a pattern, and the fustians and serge the stout cottons and woollens seen throughout the account. The store thus kept a full range of dress materials, supplying the settlement with both the fine imported calicoes and the hardwearing English stuffs.

The note that the muslin was bought out of the St George records goods taken by the store from a calling ship for resale. Muslin was a fine cotton cloth, and its purchase from the vessel shows the store stocking its shelves from passing shipping as well as from the Company's regular cargoes, the same practice by which the Governor bought arrack from the Arabella and tea from other ships for resale to the inhabitants.

244

251

1716/17

Br[t] over 363 19 2¼

Hooks [&] Lines (Viz[t] Lines 1 doz N[o] 11 9 8 3 D[o] 9 @ B 3 3 5 Bed Cords 2/6 12 6 1 7 1¼

Nailes, (Viz[t] 6[lb] of 9[s] at 9[s] 4 6

66 10 8½ 2 6 9

3 24 7½ 1 4½

3 30 7 7 6

10 flooring brads @ 9[s] 7 6

½ Tacks 10 3 3 2½

Iron mongers Ware (Viz[t]

3 Sugar Shovels @ 2/6 7 6

2 ground Hoes 2/6 17 6

2 paring Chisells 1/2 2 4

1 Gouge 5 -

1 Ragstone 2 -

4 pair H Hinges N[o] 6 4 8

1 p[r] ditto 11

6 p[r] d[o] @ 6[d] 3 -

1 frying pan 3 3

1 Gimblett bitt 0 3

1 d[o] larger 5

2 Closett Locks @ 3/4 6 8

1 Chest Lock 4 6

1 d[o] 2 9

4 p[r] of Dovetails 4 -

1 Iron pott q[t] 88[lb] @ d[o] 24 - 5 2 2

Thread (Viz[t] 4 oz d[o] @ 9[s] 3 -

1 d[o] 11

1 d[o] 11

1 d[o] 13

2 d[o] 2 10

2 2 - 11 1

4 doz Breast Buttons 4[d] 1 4

Carried over 374 4 1

The storekeeper's account continued, dated 1716/17.

Brought over, £363 19s 2¼d.

Hooks and lines:

Lines 1 dozen, number 11 £0 1s 8d number 3, 9 £0 3s 3d

Bed cords 5 at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 12s 6d

These together made £1 7s 1¼d.

Under nails:

6 pounds of the same, at 9 [...] £0 4s 6d

66, 10, at 8½ [...] £0 6s 9d

3, 24, at 7½ [...] £0 1s 4½d

3, 30, at 7 [...] [...]

Flooring brads, 10, at 9 [...] £0 7s 6d

Tacks, ½ £0 0s 10d

These nail entries together made £3 3s 2½d.

Under ironmongers' ware:

Sugar shovels 3 at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 7s 6d

Ground hoes 2 at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 17s 6d

Paring chisels 2 at 1 shilling 2 pence £0 2s 4d

Hodge 1 £0 0s 5d

Ragstone 1 £0 2s 0d

H hinges, 4 pairs, number 6 £0 4s 8d

The same, 1 pair £0 0s 11d

The same, 6 pairs at 6 [...] £0 3s 0d

Frying pan 1 £0 3s 3d

Gimlet bit 1 £0 0s 3d

The same, larger 1 £0 0s 5d

Closet locks 2 at 3 shillings 4 pence £0 6s 8d

Chest lock 1 £0 4s 6d

The same 1 £0 2s 9d

Pair of dovetails 4 £0 [...]

Iron pot 1, quantity 88 pounds, at [...] £0 24s 0d

These ironmongers' entries together made £5 2s 2½d.

Under threads:

4 ounces, the same £0 3s 0d

The same £0 0s 11d

The same £0 1s 1d

The same £0 1s 3d

The same £0 2s 10d

These thread entries together made £2 0s [...], then £0 11s 1d.

Breast buttons 4 dozen £0 1s 4d

Carried over, £374 4s 1[...]d.

Interpretations

This page extends the inhabitants' account through the fishing tackle, the nails and the ironmongery, the heavy hardware and tools retailed across the store counter. The graded lines and bed cords continue the supply of fishing and household cordage that ties to the fishery relief scheme, while the nails sorted by size and the flooring brads were the consumables of building and repair on the island.

The ironmongers' ware sets out the building fittings and tools the Company supplied as the sole source of such goods on the island. The sugar shovels, ground hoes, paring chisels, gimlet bits and the graded locks, hinges and dovetails were the fittings and implements for ground and house, sold each at a fixed rate. The iron pot of eighty-eight pounds and the frying pan added the heavier domestic vessels, the whole reflecting the constant demand of a settlement that could obtain manufactured hardware from no other quarter.

The recurrence of small thread and button entries alongside the heavy ironware shows the store serving every level of the settlement's needs from a single counter. The breast buttons and the graded sewing threads were the trimmings for clothing made up on the island, supplied beside the spades, locks and pots, the Company's store functioning at once as the draper, the ironmonger and the general supplier of the place.

245

252

Feb[ry]

Br[t] over 374 4 1

Combs (Viz[t] 2 Box @ 6[d] 1 -

2 Hornes 5 10 1 10

Silk 1¼ oz 4 4½

Gloves 3 p[r] Womens knitt thread 3/2 9 6

Thimble 1

Sweet Oyl 1 q[t] 3 -

Corks 1 doz 3

Soldiers Cloaths 1 Wastcoat 9 4

1 Sett of Shoe-makers Tools 2 10 -

Blanketts 1 large 11 3

House Linnen 1 y[d] 2 3

1 Tin Funnell 5 -

Shoe thread ½[lb] 1 3 378 17 2¼

New Goods out of ship Katharine

Buttons 7½ doz breast @ 6[d] 0 3 9 2 d[o] 5 - 10 1 d[o] Coat 1 - 0 5 7

Thread 1[lb] fine Brown 0:5:0 1 Colourd d[o] 0:5:0 0 10 -

Ribbon 16½ y[d] @ 12[d] 0:16:6 8 d[o] 14 0:10:8 3 y[d] 15 0:3:9 12 y[d] 18 0:18:0 2 8 11

Stockings (Viz[t] 4 Blew Coarse @ 2/2 0:8:8 1 p[r] Mens Silk 0:18:0 1 p[r] Mens thread 0:6:0 1 12 8

Shoes 8 pair Mens @ 6/2 2 9 4

Hooks 27 doz old Wives 4[s] 9 -

Carried over 7 15 6 Carried over 378 17 2¼

The storekeeper's account continued, dated February 1716/17.

Brought over, £374 4s 1d.

Combs box, 2 at 6 [...] £0 1s 0d horn, 2 £0 0s 10d together £0 1s 10d

Silk 1¼ ounce £0 4s 4½d

Gloves 3 pairs women's knit thread, at 3 shillings 2 pence £0 9s 6d

Thimble 1 [...]

Sweet oil 1 [...] £0 0s 3d

Corks 1 dozen £0 0s 3d

Soldiers' clothes, 1 waistcoat £0 9s 4d

Set of shoemaker's tools 1 £2 10s 0d

Blankets 1 large £0 11s 3d

House linen 1 yard £0 2s 3d

Tin funnel 1 £0 0s 5d

Shoe thread ½ [...] £0 1s 3d

These together made £378 17s 2½d.

New goods out of the ship Katharine:

Buttons 7½ dozen breast, at 6 [...] £0 3s 9d 2 dozen, the same £0 0s 10d 1 dozen coat £0 1s 0d together £0 5s 7d

Thread 1 pound fine brown £0 5s 0d 1 coloured, the same £0 5s 0d together £0 10s 0d

Ribbon 16½ yards at 12 pence £0 16s 6d 8 yards at 14 [...] £0 10s 8d 3 yards at 15 [...] £0 3s 9d 12 yards at 18 [...] £0 18s 0d together £2 8s 11d

Stockings 4 pairs blue, coarse, at 2 shillings 2 pence £0 8s 8d 1 pair men's silk £0 18s 0d 1 pair men's thread £0 6s 0d together £1 12s 8d

Shoes 8 pairs men's, at 6 shillings 2 pence £2 9s 4d

Hooks 27 dozen, old wives, at 4 [...] £0 9s 0d

Carried over, £7 15s 6d.

Carried over, £378 17s 2½d.

Interpretations

This page closes the old store stock and opens a fresh block headed new goods out of the ship Katharine, the recently landed cargo entered separately from the standing lines. The Katharine, commanded by Captain John Martin, had brought the goods priced and entered at the consultations of 31 July and 7 August 1716, and her stock now fed the store's retail trade. The method of carrying the new goods to their own running total before folding them into the grand sum let the storekeeper distinguish recent imports from older stock while keeping a single account.

The set of shoemaker's tools at fifty shillings is the most valuable single item on the page, and points to the shoemaking carried on within the settlement. The cattle famine had forced the import of dressed leather and tools to be worked up into shoes on the island by its own people, the indent of these sittings having ordered hides expressly for that purpose. The tools supplied the means to make the shoes from the imported leather, the island producing its own footwear against the shortage of native hides.

The old wives among the fish hooks is the trade name for a particular size or pattern of hook rather than any literal description, the tackle being graded by such names and numbers throughout the account. The continued ordering of hooks and lines in quantity ties to the fishery relief scheme the bench had established, when the directors sent over boats and the inhabitants were supplied with hooks and lines to improve their subsistence and pay down their debts.

246

253

1716/17

Brought ov[r] 7 15 6 378 17 2¼

Hatts (Viz[t] 1 Boy N[o] 1 0:6:6 1 d[o] 2 0:7:6 1 d[o] 3 0:9:0 2 Mens 5 @ 5[s] 2:-:- 3 3 -

Tobacco 242 @ 2/ 24 4 0

Pipes 13[h] Gross 3:18:3 28 2 8

Butchers Knives 37 @ 6[d] 18 6

Starch 2[lb] @ 9[d] 1 6

Black hoods 1 N[o] 3 15 -

Mohair 2½ oz @ d[o] 4 2

Crapes ½ p[r] N[o] 1 1 13 -

Brass Ware (Viz[t] 2 Tea Kettles 1 @ 12/6 1 00 10

Tin Ware (Viz[t] 1 Coffee pott 0:1:9 1 d[o] Sauce pan 0:1:2 1 d[o] d[o] 0:2:3 1 Lamp 0:1:10 7 -

Stationary Wares (Viz[t] 1 Penknife 0:2:1 3 Copy books @ 9[d] d[o] 0:2:3 1 paper of Ink powder @ 0:1:0 5 4

Pewterers Ware (Viz[t] 2½ doz Spoons @ 4/6 d[o] 0:11:3 2 Basons 5[s] 0:10:0 1 doz plates N[o] 2 1:6:6 1 porringer 0:1:3 2 9 -

Thicksetts 2 p[r] N[o] 1 @ 33/4 3:6:8 1 d[o] 2 1:18:- 1 d[o] 4 2:12:- 7 18 8

Fustians 1 d[o] 3 1:6:8 1 d[o] 5 1:16:8 3 3 4

Lubeck Canvas (Viz[t] 1 p[r] 4 7 y[d] at 12[d] yard 2 2 -

Carried ov[r] 59 14 1 378 17 2¼

The storekeeper's account continued, dated 1716/17.

Brought over, £7 15s 6d, and £378 17s 2½d.

Under hats:

Boys', 1, number 1 £0 6s 6d 1, number 2 £0 7s 6d 1, number 3 £0 9s 0d men's, 2, number 5, at 2 [...] [...] together £3 3s 0d

Tobacco 242 pounds at 2 shillings £24 4s 0d

Pipes 13½ gross £3 18s 3d together £28 2s 3d

Butcher's knives 37 at 6 [...] £0 18s 6d

Starch 2 [...] at 9 [...] £0 1s 6d

Black hoods 1, number 3 £0 15s 0d

Mohair 2½ ounces at 20 [...] £0 4s 2d

Crapes ½ piece, number 1 £1 13s 0d

Brass ware, 2 tea kettles, at 10 shillings 5 pence £1 0s 10d

Tin ware: Coffee pot, 1 £0 1s 9d Saucepan, 1 £0 1s 2d The same, 1 £0 2s 3d Lamp, 1 £0 1s 10d together £0 7s 0d

Stationery ware: Penknife, 1 £0 2s 1d Copy books, 3 at 9 [...] £0 2s 3d Paper of ink powder, 1 £0 1s 0d together £0 5s 4d

Pewterer's ware: Spoons, 2½ dozen at 4 shillings 6 pence £0 11s 3d Basins, 2 £0 10s 0d Plates, 1 dozen, number 2 £0 6s 6d Porringer, 1 £0 1s 9d together £0 9s 0d

Thicksetts 2 pieces, number 1, at 35 shillings 4 pence £3 6s 8d 1 piece, number 4 £1 15s 0d 1 piece, number 4 £2 12s 0d together £7 13s 8d

Fustians 1 piece, number 3 £1 6s 8d 1 piece, number 5 £1 16s 8d together £3 3s 4d

Lubeck canvas: 1 piece, 47 yards, at 12 [...] per yard £2 2s 0d

Carried over, £59 14s 1d.

Carried over, £378 17s 2½d.

Interpretations

This page continues the new goods block through the freshly landed hats, tobacco, textiles and household metalware. The tobacco at over twenty-four pounds, with its matching clay pipes by the gross, is the largest line on the page, confirming the leaf and pipe as a staple comfort sold to the garrison and inhabitants beside the arrack. The pipes by the gross show the scale at which the brittle clay smoking pipes were stocked, a constant consumable in heavy demand.

The textile lines repeat the stout cottons most in demand at the store. Thicksetts were a corded fustian and the fustians the plain stout cotton, both graded by number and priced by the piece, while the crapes were the fine gauzy cloth used for mourning. Lubeck canvas was a coarse linen cloth named from the German port, sold here by the yard. The store thus held the workaday cloths and the finer stuffs together, supplying every grade of material the settlement required.

The brass, tin and pewter wares give the settlement its domestic vessels from a single counter. Brass ware was the heavier kitchen goods such as tea kettles, tin ware the lighter tinned vessels including lamps, saucepans and a coffee pot, and pewterer's ware the spoons, basins, plates and porringers of the table. The stationery alongside, the penknife, copy books and paper of ink powder, points again to the schooling and office work of the place, the copy books being the materials from which children learned to write.

247

254

February

Brought over 59 14 1 378 17 7½

Ironmongers Ware (Viz[t] 2 Splinter Locks N[o] 2 0:2:0 2 d[o] 3 0:3:0 1 Stock Lock 4 0:7:6 2 felling Axes @ 3/4 0:6:8 19 2 60 13 3

New Goods amount to

Totall to y[e] Inhabitants 439 10 10½

Union Castle D[r] to Store Goods (Viz[t]

Arrack 85¾ Gall[s] @ 6/3 26 15 11¼

Sugar 113[lb] 8[d] 3 15 4

Bread 71[lb] 3½[d] 1 0 8½

flour 454[lb] 3½[d] 6 12 5

Rice 618[lb] 3½[d] 9 - 3

Sweet Oyle 5⅜ gall 12/ 3 4 6

Vineger 4½ gall 2/6 1 10½

Pepper 2[lb] 2 -

Tea 2 Cattees @ 9[s] 4:1:0 4[lb] @ 9[s] 1:16:0 5 17 -

Soap 31[lb] @ 17[d] 2 3 11

Kerseys 3 p[r] @ 39/4 @ d[o] 11 8 -

Druggett 48 y[d] 3/ 7 4 -

Shalloon 32 y[d] 2/6 4 - -

Long Cloath 1 p[r] 1 4 9

Dungrees 8 p[r] 5/8 2 5 4

Sacking 52 y[ds] 2/ 5 4 -

Mohair 1½ Ounce 20[d] 2 6

Twine 1[lb] 2 4

Glass Ware 4 panes 6 by 8 9[d] 3 -

Ironmongers Ware 1 pair of Dovetails 6

Carried over 90 8 4½

The storekeeper's account continued, dated February.

Brought over, £59 14s 1d, and £378 17s 2½d.

Under ironmongers' ware:

Splinter locks 2, number 2 £0 2s 0d 2, number 3 £0 3s 0d Stock lock 1, number 4 £0 7s 6d Felling axes 2 at 3 shillings 4 pence £0 6s 8d together £1 9s 2d

New goods amounted to £60 13s 3d.

The whole to the inhabitants came to £439 10s 10½d.

The account then set out Union Castle debtor to store goods.

Arrack 85⅜ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence £26 15s 11¼d

Sugar 113 pounds at 8 pence £3 15s 4d

Bread 71 pounds at 3½ pence £1 0s 8½d

Flour 454 pounds at 3½ pence £6 12s 5d

Rice 618 pounds at 3½ pence £9 0s 3d

Sweet oil 5⅞ gallons at 12 [...] £3 4s 6d

Vinegar 4½ gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence £1 1s 10½d

Pepper 2 [...] £0 2s 0d

Tea 2 catties at 4 shillings 1 penny £1 0s 0d 4 [...] at 1 shilling 16 [...] [...] together £5 17s 0d

Soap 31 pounds at 17 [...] £2 3s 11d

Kerseys 3 pieces at 9 shillings 4 pence £1 8s 0d

Drugget 48 yards at 3 shillings £7 4s 0d

Shalloon 32 yards at 2 shillings 6 pence £4 0s 0d

Long cloth 1 piece £1 4s 9d

Dungarees 8 pieces at 5 shillings 8 pence £2 5s 4d

Sacking 52 yards at 2 shillings £5 4s 0d

Mohair 1½ ounce at 20 [...] £0 2s 6d

Twine 1 [...] £0 2s 4d

Glass ware, 4 panes, 6 by 8 £0 3s 0d

Ironmongers' ware, 1 pair of dovetails £0 0s 6d

Carried over, £90 8s 4¼d.

Interpretations

This page closes the inhabitants' account and strikes the new goods total at over sixty pounds, bringing the whole sold to the inhabitants for the month to nearly four hundred and forty pounds. The separation of the new goods from the standing stock, each carried to its own total before being added in, gave the storekeeper a clear reckoning of recent imports against older lines while keeping a single monthly account for the Company's treasury.

The account then opens the second institutional heading, Union Castle debtor to store goods, charging the seat of government's own consumption against the Company. The same staples lead as in the inhabitants' account, arrack foremost at nearly twenty-seven pounds, followed by the bulk provisions of rice, flour, bread and sugar. The castle drew its supply from the same store stock that fed the settlement, the whole entered by the established form of commodity, quantity and rate, then sum.

The textiles charged to the castle, the kerseys, drugget, shalloon, long cloth, dungarees and sacking, show that the establishment took up cloth as well as provisions from the store. The drugget and the sacking in quantity point to the making up of slaves' clothing and the provision of coarse cloth for the household and stores, the castle account absorbing the materials worked up on the island as well as the food and drink of the table.

248

255

1716/17

Br[t] over 90 8 4¼

Nailes (Viz[t] 9[lb] of 3[s] at 9[s] 0:6:9 16 10 8½ 0:11:4 7 30 7 0:4:1 36 Spykes 6 0:18:0 2 - 2

Flagg Brooms 6 @ 6[d] d[o] 3 -

Brasiers Ware 1 Large brass Casks @ 9/9 2:18:6 1 p[r] Brass Scales @ 1[s] 2[d] 4:6 3 3 -

Beef 2 Cask q[t] 1035[lb] @ 5½[d] 23 14 4¼ 119 8 10¾

New Goods. (Viz[t]

Tin Ware 1 3 pint Sauce pan 0:1:8 1 porringer 0 0 9 2 5

Thread 1[lb] fine Brown 5 - 7 5

Plantations D[r] to Store Goods (Viz[t] 119 16 3¾

Arrack 4 Gall[s] @ 6/3 1 5 -

Sugar 9[lb] 8[d] 6 -

Flour 6[lb] 3½[d] 1 9

Shoe thread 2[lb] 2/6 1 9

Ironmongers Ware 1 Stock Lock N[o] 1 2 4 2 0 1

To the Inhabitants 378 17 7½ d[o] Head Goods 60 13 3 439 10 10½

To Union Castle 119 8 10½ d[o] New Goods 7 5 119 16 3¾

To Plantation house 1 17 9 d[o] New Goods 2 4 2 0 1

Totall of this months Acc[t] 561 7 3

The

The storekeeper's account continued, dated 1716/17.

Brought over, £90 8s 4¼d.

Under nails:

The same, 3, at 9 [...] £0 6s 2d

16, 10, at 8½ [...] £0 11s 4d

7, 30, 7 £0 4s 1d

36, spikes, 6 £0 18s 0d

Flag brooms 6 at 6 [...] £0 2s 2d

Brazier's ware, 2 large brass casks at 9 shillings 9 pence £2 18s 6d 1 pair brass scales £0 4s 6d together £3 3s 0d

Beef 2 casks, quantity 1,035 pounds, at 5½ [...] £23 14s 4½d

These together made £119 8s 10¾d.

New goods:

Tin ware, 1 three-pint saucepan £0 1s 8d 1 porringer £0 0s 9d together £0 2s 5d

Thread 1 pound fine brown £0 5s 0d

These new goods together made £0 7s 5d.

The account then set out the plantation house debtor to store goods.

Arrack 4 gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence £0 15s 0d

Sugar 9 [...] at 8 pence £0 6s 0d

Flour 6 [...] at 3½ pence £0 1s 9d

Shoe thread 2 [...] at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 1s 9d

Ironmongers' ware, 1 stock lock, number 1 £0 2s 4d

This came to £2 0s 1d.

The month's account was then summed as follows.

To the inhabitants £378 17s 7½d the same in new goods £60 13s 3d together £439 10s 10½d

To Union Castle £119 8s 10½d the same in new goods £0 7s 5d together £119 16s 3¾d

To the plantation house £1 7s 9d the same in new goods £0 2s 4d together £2 0s 1d

Total of this month's account £561 7s 3d

Interpretations

This page closes the Union Castle account, opens and completes the small plantation house account, and strikes the grand total for the month at over five hundred and sixty pounds. The three institutional headings, the inhabitants, Union Castle and the plantation house, are each totalled with their standing and new goods kept apart, then drawn together into a single sum. This is the storekeeper's full monthly reckoning in its established form, the same fourfold discipline by which the store's business was entered for the Company's treasury.

The beef entry is again the heaviest single charge to Union Castle, two casks of over ten hundredweight closing the castle's provision. The salting of beef in cask preserved meat for the establishment, and its continued supply on this scale shows the castle still drawing substantial preserved beef even against the famine that had cut the island's herds. The much smaller plantation house account, with arrack at four gallons against the castle's eighty-five, reflects the modest household kept at the plantation beside the seat of government.

The proportion between the three heads reveals where the store's goods went. The inhabitants took nearly four hundred and forty pounds, far more than the castle's hundred and twenty and the plantation house's two pounds together, confirming that the store's chief business was retail to the settlement rather than supply of the government's own tables. The arrack ran through all three accounts as the leading article, the spirit dominating the store's trade at every level of the island's life.

249

256

February.

The Following Invoices [&] Merchandize came by the Cardonnell [&] y[e] Arabella Fort St George Octob[r] 1716 Invoice of Goods [&] Merchandize laden by y[e] Hon[ble] Edw[d] Harrison Esq[r] Presid[t] [&] Gov[r] of Fort St George [&c] Council on board Ship Cardonnell Cap[t] W[m] Mawson Com[d] bound by divine permission to St Helena [&] goes consig ned to y[e] Worsh[p] Gov[r] h[ble] [&] Council there for Affairs of y[e] R[t] Hon[ble] United Comp[a] of Merch[ts] of England Trading to the East Indies and is on their Account [&] Risque, being mark'd [&] Numberd as p[r] Marg[t] (Viz[t] Fort St Davids Goods

LCF N2 1 Longcloth Fine 72 Co[s] @ 2[ll] 4 6[d] at 51 18 6[d] p[r] 103

Land Custome [&] Dustore @ 2½[ll] [p]er 2 11 35

Washing at 1 13[pe] 2 26 100 24 45

Packing at 1 9 [pe] 1 9 -

Boat [&] Cooly at 3[s] 3 -

freight 27 4 29 105 17 45

LCO N3 3 Longcloth Ord[r] White 72 Co[s] @ 2[ll] 4 6[d] at 29 4 [pe] 130 18 -

Land Custome [&] Dustore 2½[ll] 2 33 57

Washing at 1 4[ll] [pe] 5 127 20 28

Packing at 32[ll] 2 24

Boat [&] Cooly at 3 3 -

freight at 27 29 10 6 137 26 23

4 Co[s] N[o] 0 10 amounting to 243 7 68

Factors Provisions (viz[t] Batavia Sugar 5 Canisters poiz w[t] Co 2 17 16 at 12[ll] [p]er[la] 34 16 60

Batavia Arack 2 Leaguers @ 30[s] p[r] 60 94 15 60 337 23 44

Charges of Merchandize 24 Pag[e] 338 11 48

Errors Excepted (Signd) p[r] Tho: Frederick Accompt

Margin Notes:

Invoice

February

The following invoices and merchandise came by the Cardonnell and the Arabella.

The first invoice was dated at Fort St George on 11 October 1716. It covered goods and merchandise laden by the Honourable Edward Harrison Esquire, President and Governor of Fort St George, and the council there, on board the ship Cardonnell, Captain William Mawson commander, bound by divine permission to St Helena. The goods were consigned to the Worshipful Governor and council there for the affairs of the Right Honourable United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies. They were on the Company's account and risk, marked and numbered as in the margin.

Fort St David's goods:

Longcloth, fine, 72 pieces at 24 yards, 6 [...] number 2, 1 to 2, at £51 18s 0d each 103 pagodas

Land custom and dustore at 2 pagodas 4 [...] 2 pagodas 11 fanams 35 cash

Washing at 1 pagoda 13 [...] 2 pagodas 26 [...] 100 pagodas [...] fanams 45 cash

Packing at 1 pagoda 9 [...] 1 pagoda 9 [...]

Boat and cooly at 3 [...] 3 [...]

Freight at 27 [...] 4 pagodas 29 [...] 105 pagodas 17 fanams 45 cash

Longcloth, ordinary white, 72 pieces at 24 yards, 6 [...] number 3, 3 to 4, at £29 8s 0d each 130 pagodas 18 fanams

Land custom and dustore at 2 [...] 2 pagodas 33 fanams 57 cash

Washing at 1 pagoda 4 [...] 1 pagoda 27 [...] 20 pagodas 28 [...]

Packing at 32 [...] 2 [...] 24 [...]

Boat and cooly at 3 [...] 3 [...]

Freight at 27 [...] 2 pagodas 9 [...] 10 pagodas 6 [...] 137 pagodas 26 fanams 23 cash

4, 0 to 0, amounting to 243 pagodas 7 fanams 68 cash

Factors' provisions, namely:

Batavia sugar, 5 canisters, weight [...] 2 maunds 17 [...] 16 [...], at 12 [...] 34 pagodas 15 fanams 60 cash

Batavia arrack, 2 leaguers, at 30 [...] 60 [...] 94 pagodas 15 fanams 60 cash

Total of Fort St David's goods 337 pagodas 23 fanams 44 cash [/] 24 [...]

Charges of merchandise carried to page 338 11 pagodas 14 fanams 48 cash

Errors excepted, signed by Thomas Frederick, accountant.

Interpretations

The Cardonnell and the Arabella are recorded in the consolidated record as arriving from Madras on 22 January 1716/17 and 31 January 1716/17 respectively, both last from the Cape. These invoices are the lading papers for the goods whose receipt the storekeeper reported in good order at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17.

Edward Harrison signed as President and Governor of Fort St George, the East India Company's principal settlement on the Coromandel coast at Madras. The consignment routed through Madras matches the pattern of the spring supply network, by which Bengal and Bencoolen goods reached St Helena under Madras lading.

Longcloth was a plain cotton calico woven in long pieces on the Coromandel coast, the staple of the Indian piece-goods trade and the single largest cargo category in the St Helena storekeeper's accounts. The fine and ordinary grades were priced separately, the fine sort here valued at well over 50 pounds the piece against under 30 pounds for the ordinary white.

The accompanying charges show the full chain of costs added to prime cost before shipment. Land custom and dustore were the duties and warehouse or weighing fees levied at the Indian port. Washing, packing, boat and cooly, and freight covered the cleaning of the cloth, its baling, its carriage by porter and small boat to the ship, and the sea carriage. The cooly charge denotes hired Indian labour for moving goods to the waterside.

The accounts are kept in the Madras money of account rather than sterling. The pagoda was the gold coin current on the Coromandel coast, divided into 36 fanams, each fanam in turn divided into 80 cash, the small copper money in which the lowest column is reckoned. The figures are carried in the structured columns of the original invoice, the prime cost of each lot followed line by line by its charges and then its total laid against it.

Batavia sugar and Batavia arrack appear as factors' provisions, the arrack being the distilled spirit from the Dutch settlement at Batavia that ran through every St Helena store account as the leading article of sale. The Governor bought two leaguers of Batavia arrack out of the Arabella at 4 shillings the gallon, reported at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17, and these two leaguers in the invoice are perhaps the same parcel.

Speculations

The separate valuation of fine longcloth at nearly double the price of the ordinary white sort reflects a deliberate grading of a single commodity for different ends of the St Helena market. The fine cloth suited the better inhabitants and the Company table, the ordinary white the bulk trade and the slaves' clothing, allowing the store to price each grade to its buyer.

The itemising of every minor charge, down to the few units for boat and cooly hire, served the audit discipline the directors pressed on the eastern settlements. By laying each cost against the prime price the invoice let the St Helena bench and the directors in London test the markup at every stage, the same scrutiny the Governor applied on 18 August 1716 against Captain Martin's charge of overcharging on the Katharine cargo.

250

257

1716/17

Invoice of Stores Laden by y[e] Hon[ble] Robert Hedges Esq[r] President [&] Gov[r] of Fort William [&c] Councill in Bengall on board Ship Arabella Cap[t] Christ[r] Hinton Com[d] bound for the port of St Helena [&] goes consigned to y[e] Worsh[p] Govern[r] [&c] Council there for Acc[t] [&] risque of the Hon[ble] the United Company of Merch[ts] of Engl[d] tradeing to the East Indies marked [&] Numberd as p[r] Marg[t] (Viz[t]

A N[o] 1 [&] 2 2 Arrack Babavia Quarter Cask ea 30 Gall[s] @ 80[ll] p[r] Leag 40 - -

S 1 @ 5 5 Sugar Trisinda Bags q[t] 821[lb] @ Fact M[d] 11 11 deducted 1 Baz M[d] 10 @ 4 12 p[r] m[d] 47 8 -

R 1 @ 12 12 Rice Bags q[t] 2971½ or fact M[d] 2616 11 deducted 2 16 Baz M[d] 24 @ 1 20 p[r] hu[r] 2[ll] 17 9 6 105 1 6

Charges of Merchandize (viz[t] 29 Bags 2 7 9 Cooley hire 1 9 Buslabund 1 9 Weighmen [&] Cooleys 1 9 Boathire 2 - 3 14

Fort William y[e] 13 Sep[r] 1716 R[s] 108 15 6

Errors Excepted (Signd) p[r] J Williamson accompt

1716/17

Invoice of stores laden by the Honourable Robert Hedges Esquire, President and Governor of Fort William, and the council in Bengal, on board the ship Arabella, Captain Christopher Hinton commander, bound for the port of St Helena. The goods were consigned to the Worshipful Governor and council there, for the account and risk of the Honourable United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies, marked and numbered as in the margin.

Arrack, Batavia: number 1 and 2, 2 quarter casks, each about 30 gallons, at 80 [...] per leaguer 40 rupees

Sugar, Trisinda: 1 to 5, 5 bags, weight 821 [...], factory mark 11 11 deducted Bazaar maund, 10 at 4 rupees 12 [...] per maund 47 rupees 8 annas

Rice: 1 to 12, 12 bags, weight 1,971 [...], or factory maunds 26 [...] 16 2 16 deducted Bazaar maunds 24, at 1 rupee 20 [...] per maund [...] 17 rupees 9 annas 6 [...] 105 rupees 1 anna 6 [...]

Charges of merchandise, namely:

29 bags 2 rupees 7 annas 9 [...]

Cooly hire 1 rupee 9 [...]

Buslabund [...] 9 [...]

Weighmen and coolies [...] 9 [...]

Boat hire 2 [...] 3 rupees 14 annas

Total 108 rupees 15 annas 6 [...]

Dated at Fort William, 13 September 1716. Errors excepted, signed by J. Williamson, accountant.

Interpretations

The Arabella under Captain Christopher Hinton reached the island on 31 January 1716/17 from Madras but last from the Cape. This Bengal invoice was laden at Fort William well before that arrival, on 13 September 1716, and is the lading paper for part of the cargo the storekeeper reported received at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17, the rice and sugar among the goods damaged when the boat was staved in a great surf.

Robert Hedges signed as President and Governor of Fort William, the East India Company's principal settlement in Bengal at Calcutta. The shipment confirms the established pattern by which Bengal stores reached St Helena under a separate Bengal lading carried on the same homeward ship that bore the Madras goods.

The account is kept in Bengal money of account, in rupees, annas and the lower denomination. The rupee was the silver coin current in Bengal, divided into 16 annas. This differs from the Madras invoice of the Cardonnell, kept in pagodas and fanams, each presidency reckoning in its own coin.

The bazaar maund and the factory maund are distinguished in the weighing of the sugar and rice. The maund was the standard Indian weight, but the factory maund used in the Company's warehouse differed from the bazaar maund of the open market, so the clerk converted between the two and noted the deduction before striking the charge.

Buslabund denotes a packing or baling charge in the Bengal trade, the wrapping and cording of goods for carriage. With cooly hire, the weighmen and coolies and the boat hire, it forms the same chain of port-side handling costs as the Madras invoice, here added to the prime cost of the arrack, sugar and rice.

Trisinda sugar and Batavia arrack carry their place of origin in their names, the arrack being the distilled spirit of the Dutch settlement at Batavia and the leading article of every St Helena store account. The two quarter casks of about 30 gallons each are a far smaller parcel than the leaguers shipped from Madras.

Speculations

The explicit deduction of the factory weight from the gross before the charge was struck protected the Company against paying carriage and duty on warehouse tare rather than on saleable goods. By recording the deduction line by line the clerk let the St Helena storekeeper reconcile the weight landed against the weight billed, the check that mattered most when this very rice and sugar arrived damaged by seawater.

The carriage of distinct Madras and Bengal invoices on the one ship, each in its own presidency's coin and weights, reflects the separate accounting of the two settlements rather than any pooling of the cargo. The St Helena bench received the goods as one consignment but had to settle each invoice against its own presidency's reckoning, the pagoda account and the rupee account kept wholly apart.

251

258

February.

Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 26 Feb[ry] 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Present Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] [&] Antipas Tovey 4[th] in Council.

Last Consultation read [&] approved The Gunner brought in his Monthly Acco[t] for December [&] Jan[ry] which are as follow, viz[t] An Acco[t] of Gunners Stores expended from y[e] 1[st] of December 1716 to the 31[st] D[o] inclusive (Viz[t]

For the burying of Henry Rawlins Fals[e] fyring 1

To M[r] Byfeld ½

To the Use of y[e] Guard d[o] 6

Muskett Balls to the Guard 6 2

Flints to d[o] 24

Aprons of Lead stole from y[e] Lines 2

Match expended 21 21 2 24 2 - 7½

Signd Jn[o] French

For y[e] Month of January

Jan[ry] 3 An Alarm Fals[e] fyring 4 4

Arrivd y[e] great Catherine from India 7 7

To the Worsh[p] the Governor

For M[r] Byfeld (5[th] in Council) his going off to England 7 7

For y[e] Catharine Cap[t] Tucker sayling for England 7 7

22 An Alarm 4 4

Arrivd y[e] Cardonnell Cap[t] W[m] Mawson from India 9 9

31 A double Alarm 6 6

Arrivd y[e] Arabella Cap[t] Hinton from India 7 7

Arrivd y[e] Sarah Galley Cap[t] Bloom from Madagascar 7 7

For the Guard 3

Flints 36

Match 20

Signd Jn[o] French 20 86 54 60

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 February 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy, Matthew Bazett third and Antipas Tovey fourth in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The gunner brought in his monthly accounts for December and January, which follow.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 December 1716 to the 31st inclusive:

For the burying of Henry Rawlins [...] pounds of powder

To Mr Byfield half a pound of powder

To the use of the guard there 6 pounds of powder

Muskett balls to the guard 6

Flints to the guard 24

Aprons of lead stolen from the line 2

Match expended 21

Total 21 [...] 2 [...] 24 [...] 2 [...] [...] 7 and a half [...]

Signed by John French.

For the month of January:

3 January, an alarm 4 pounds of powder

[5 January], arrival of the Great Catherine from India 7 pounds of powder

[...], to the Worshipful the Governor 7 pounds of powder

15 January, for Mr Byfield, fifth in council, on his going off to England 7 pounds of powder

[...], for the Catherine, Captain Tucker, sailing for England 7 pounds of powder

22 January, an alarm 4 pounds of powder

[...], arrival of the Cardonnell, Captain William Mawson, from India 9 pounds of powder

31 January, a double alarm 6 pounds of powder

[...], arrival of the Arabella, Captain Hinton, from India 7 pounds of powder

[...], arrival of the Sarah Galley, Captain Blome, from Madagascar 7 pounds of powder

For the guard 3 pounds of powder

Flints 36

Match [...]

Total 20 [...] 86 [...] 54 [...] [...]

Signed by John French.

Interpretations

This is the consultation that stands at the cursor of the record, the gunner's December and January accounts entered the same day Cason's yam survey was read. The two accounts close the powder reckoning for the turn of the year before the survey business.

The powder issues serve as a record of every salute, alarm and ceremonial discharge, each ship's arrival and each departure marked by a fixed charge of powder. The seven pounds spent on the Great Catherine on her arrival, on the Governor, and on Mr Byfield and the Catherine at his departure on 15 January 1716/17 show the standing scale of ceremonial salute, the larger charges of nine and six pounds reserved for the Cardonnell and the double alarm of 31 January.

Henry Rawlins appears as the source of the abuse Renatus Snow witnessed against Antipas Tovey at the consultation of 14 January 1715/16, the same Rawlins now buried with a charge of powder from the gunner's stores. The burial of a soldier or inhabitant with a powder discharge was a customary mark of respect drawn on the Company's account.

The lead aprons stolen from the line are recorded as a loss rather than an issue, the apron being the sheet of lead laid over the touch-hole or vent of a gun to keep the powder dry. Their theft from the gun line at James Valley is entered in the account so the missing material is reckoned against the gunner's charge.

The account columns carry the powder in pounds with the lesser articles, muskett balls, flints, lead and match, set in their own columns and totalled across the foot. The figures are the structured reckoning of the original, each issue laid against its occasion and the whole struck at the bottom.

Speculations

The entry of stolen lead aprons in the same account as lawful issues let the gunner discharge himself of material he could no longer produce, the loss formally recorded rather than quietly absorbed. This protected him on any later muster of stores, the theft from the line carried as an explained deficiency the bench had seen and passed.

The fixed grading of the salutes, seven pounds for an Indiaman's arrival against four for an ordinary alarm and nine for the Cardonnell, shows the powder spent as a calculated instrument of ceremony rather than a uniform charge. The heavier discharge on certain ships marked their standing or their cargo, the gunner spending the Company's powder to the measure the occasion required.

252

259

1716/17

The Hon[ble] Comp[as] Overseer brought in the following Monthly Acco[t] for January. viz[t] An Acco[t] of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hoggs Goats [&c] taken Feb[r] y[e] 1[st] 1716/17

Neat Cattle 61 Cows 33 Heiffers 26 Bullocks 10 yearlings 54 Calves 6 Stears 3 Bulls 193

2 Killd since last Acc[t] viz[t] 1 Cow past Bearing 1 Bullock 1 D[o] tumbled down y[e] Fort hill [&] broke its Bones. 1 D[o] fell off y[e] Maine Edge into Sandy Bay 4 D[o] sent alive on board the Ship Catherine None increasd since last Acc[t]

80 Turkeys great [&] small 1 Killd 6 sent to y[e] Fort 21 Increasd Since last Acco[t]

Goats 100 Ewes 22 Wethers 78 Ewe Kidds 45 Ram D[o] 2 Rams 327 great [&] small

5 Killd since last Acc[t] none increasd

32 Geese great [&] small 2 Kidds but none increasd since last Acco[t]

Hoggs 39 Piggs 14 Sows 5 Shoats 2 Boars 60 great [&] small

9 Killd since last Acc[t] 3 d[o] d[o] w[th] the Cant. 2 Increasd.

76 Fowls great [&] small 37 Killd since last Acco[t] 37 Increasd

Sheep 49 Ewes 33 Wethers 24 Lambs 1 Ram 107

none Killd none increasd since last Acc[t]

11 Ducks great [&] small 12 Killd 2 sent to y[e] Fort none increasd

12 Asses 5. of the Females 7. of y[e] Male Kine.

Signd W[m] Worrall

Henry

1716/17

The Honourable Company's overseer brought in the following monthly account for January.

An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the like taken on 1 February 1716/17:

Neat cattle: 61 cows 33 heifers 26 bullocks 10 yearlings 54 calves 6 steers 3 bulls 193

2 killed since the last account: 1 cow past bearing 1 bullock 1 tumbled down the Fort hill and broke its bones 1 fell off the Main Ridge into Sandy Bay 4 sent alive on board the ship Catherine none increased since the last account

Goats: 180 ewes 22 wethers 78 ewe kids 45 ram [kids] 2 rams 327 great and small

5 killed since the last account none increased

Hogs: 39 piggs 14 sows 5 shoats 2 boars 60 great and small

9 killed since the last account 3 dead with the pant 2 increased

Sheep: 49 ewes 33 wethers 24 lambs 1 ram 107

none killed none increased since the last account

80 turkeys, great and small: 3 killed 6 sent to the Fort 21 increased since the last account

32 geese, great and small: 2 killed but none increased since the last account

76 fowls, great and small: 37 killed since the last account 37 increased

11 ducks, great and small: 12 killed 2 sent to the Fort none increased

12 asses: 5 of the female kind 7 of the male kind

Signed by W. Worrall and Henry [...].

Interpretations

This is the overseer's monthly stock account taken on 1 February 1716/17, entered at the same consultation of 26 February 1716/17 as the gunner's accounts and Cason's yam survey. William Worrall had brought in such a return every month, the previous one taken on 1 December 1716 and entered at the consultation of 18 December 1716.

The neat cattle stand at 193 against 177 in the December count, a rise of 16 over the month despite the losses recorded, the gain falling chiefly in the calves and younger beasts as the herd bred up. The goats fall from 350 to 327, a drop of 23, and the hogs from 50 to 60, a rise of 10, while the sheep ease from 108 to 107 and the asses hold at 12. The turkeys climb from 50 to 80, the geese hold near 36, the fowls fall from 74 to 76 with heavy slaughter offset by equal breeding, and the ducks fall from 11 to the same 11 after twelve were killed.

The account is a standing audit of the Company's living stock, every beast reckoned by kind and the changes since the previous count set out as deaths and increases. By naming the cause of each loss, the cow past bearing, the bullock, the beast that broke its bones on the Fort hill and the one that fell off the Main Ridge into Sandy Bay, the overseer discharged himself of the missing animals against any later muster.

The four neat cattle sent alive on board the Catherine are the live provisions shipped for the homeward voyage, the same departure on the Sunday before the consultation of 15 January 1716/17 that carried the writer Edward Byfield and the general letter, the Governor noting a parting present of turkeys and geese.

The pant appears as the recurring cattle and hog distemper of the island, three hogs dead of it here, the same murrain that carried off fifty pigs in the account of 10 January 1715/16 and ten hogs in November 1716. It was the principal natural loss the overseer had to account for beyond slaughter.

The stock is carried in the structured columns of the original, each species totalled as great and small, with the killed and increased set against each in its own bracket and the asses divided by sex at the foot.

Speculations

The recording of each death by its particular cause, with the accidental falls distinguished from the beasts killed for use, let the bench separate unavoidable loss from the overseer's management. A cow past bearing or a bullock taken for the table was a planned reduction, while the two beasts lost over the Fort hill and the Main Ridge were hazards of the ground, and the distinction protected Worrall on his account while showing the directors where stock was being lost to the terrain.

The steady climb of the neat cattle across the winter, from 171 in November to 177 in December and 193 now, marks the herd recovering toward the strength lost in the famine that had carried off 2,500 head, the breeding of calves outrunning the draw of the table and the ships. The fall in the goats over the same month, by contrast, suggests they were being drawn down faster than they bred, perhaps culled for meat as the cattle were spared under the cow-saving order.

253

260

February

Henry Batchellour having complaind against M[rs] Eleanor Doveton for striking him [&] beating out two of his Teeth. She appeard according to Summons, But it was provd that the said Henry Batchelour did not give Her any provocation wherefore We have only find Her Forty Shillings to be paid to the s[d] Batchellour. The Gunner complaind that Cap[t] Manson sent a Barrell of Ponder w[ch] when weighed, Barrell [&] all was but 90 w[t] @ [&] being now opened in Council provd to be y[e] Dust of Country ponder mixt w[th] Sweeping of the Ponder Roone, some Coffee Berries [&] Some Paddy which We was obligd to keep because the Cap[t] refusd to Exchange it.

February

Henry Batchellour complained against Mrs Eleanor Doveton for striking him and beating out two of his teeth. She appeared on summons. The council found it proved that Batchellour had given her no provocation, and so fined her 40 shillings to be paid to him.

The gunner complained that Captain Mawson had sent in a barrel of powder which, when weighed, came to only 90 pounds barrel and all. Opened in council, it proved to be the dust of country powder mixed with the sweeping of the powder room, some coffee berries and some paddy. The council was obliged to keep it because the captain refused to exchange it.

Interpretations

Captain Mawson commanded the Cardonnell, which arrived from Madras on 22 January 1716/17 and whose conduct the bench had already noted against him at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17, when he refused to say when he would sail and sent word that the council had nothing to do with him. The short and adulterated barrel of powder is one more entry in the running record of his dealings the Governor was assembling for the directors.

The barrel of powder was the standing in-kind levy on every Indiaman touching at the island, payable once outward and once homeward and reckoned by the council as needed for the island's defence. The fraud lay in the weight and the contents, a full barrel owed but only 90 pounds delivered, and that not sound powder but the floor-sweepings of the powder room eked out with country powder dust, coffee berries and paddy, the unhusked rice. Opening it in council fixed the proof of the cheat on the record.

Paddy denotes rice still in the husk, named here among the rubbish packed into the barrel to make up its bulk. With the coffee berries and the powder-room sweepings it shows the barrel filled with whatever lay to hand rather than with the merchantable powder the levy required.

The fine of 40 shillings on Eleanor Doveton matches the standing penalty the bench imposed for assault, the same sum laid on Nichols junior for beating and wounding Robert Angus at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17. The award of the whole fine to the injured man, rather than a division between him, the church and the poor, marks it as compensation for the lost teeth rather than a public penalty.

Speculations

The council's finding that Batchellour had given no provocation was the hinge of the case, fixing the whole blame on Doveton and the whole fine to Batchellour. Had provocation been proved the penalty would have been divided or reduced, so the express clearing of the man determined both the liability and the destination of the money.

The decision to keep the worthless barrel rather than force the exchange reflects the bench's want of any leverage over a departing commander who simply refused. Mawson had already declared the council had nothing to do with him, and with no nearer authority to compel him the council took the loss and entered the cheat in the record, the written proof its only remedy against a master beyond its reach.

254

261

1716/17

At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 27[th] day of Feb[r] 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] Cap[t] Bazett abs[t] viewing the Hon[ble] Comp[as] plantat[ns] Pres[t] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] [&] Antip[s] Tovey 4 in Councell

The Gov[r] says this Consultation was calld because of an Accident y[t] happend last Night, w[ch] might have been of ill Consequence, if not accidentally discoverd. Jn[o] Rowlston [&] Hen[ry] Mutton being 2 upon y[e] Guard whose Business it was to keep Watch at y[e] N[o] Tower of the Castle were found asleep ab[t] One y[e] morning, in the Teddy y[t] is before the Secret[ry] Office [&] a Candle Sticking on the Floor betw[n] them, w[ch] had burnt down to the Floor [&] had sett the Boards on Fire, the Govern[r] being taken ill just at that time of the Night calld up his Servant [&] sent Him to light a Candle who as soon as He had opened y[e] Hall door saw a Blaze on the Mount [&] found these two Men asleep as is abovemention[d] [&] by that Means prevented any further Danger. Upon their Examinations it appeard that they had the Candle of One of the Govern[rs] black Boys to game by [&] did play till they fell asleep, but as there is no great Damage done. Order[d]. That Rowlstone [&] Mutton ride y[e] Wooden Horse w[th] each of them 4 Musketts at y[e] heels [&] y[e] Black boy to be whipt.

1716/17

At a consultation held on Wednesday 27 February 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy and Antipas Tovey fourth in council. Captain Bazett was absent, viewing the Honourable Company's plantation.

The Governor said the consultation was called because of an accident the night before, which might have had ill consequence had it not been discovered by chance.

John Roulston and Stephen Mutton, being two upon the guard whose business it was to keep watch at the north tower of the castle, were found asleep at one in the morning. They lay before the secretary's office, with a candle sticking on the floor between them which had burnt down to the floor and set the boards on fire. The Governor, taken ill just at that time of night, called up his servant and sent him to light a candle. As soon as the servant had opened the hall door he saw a blaze on the mount and found these two men asleep as described, and by that means prevented any further danger.

On their examinations it appeared they had taken the candle of one of the Governor's black boys to game by, and did play till they fell asleep. As there was no great damage done, the council ordered that Roulston and Mutton ride the wooden horse, with four muskets at each of their heels, and that the black boy be whipped.

Interpretations

John Roulston appears in the consolidated record as one of those present at the deathbed of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove in November 1716, and probably the same man taken into the Company's pay as a soldier in the Bencoolen exchange of 27 July 1714. Here he stands as a sentinel at the north tower whose neglect nearly fired the castle.

The wooden horse was the standing garrison punishment for soldiers, a sharp wooden ridge the offender was made to straddle, the muskets tied to the heels to increase the pain by their weight. The same penalty had been imposed on Andrew Berg for two hours at the consultation of 13 August 1715, and its use here marks the sleeping sentries as a military rather than a civil offence.

The graded punishment fixed the blame by degree, the two soldiers on the wooden horse for sleeping on guard and gaming, the black boy whipped for the lesser part of lending his candle. The heavier penalty fell on the men charged with the watch, the corporal discipline of the slave reserved for the subordinate fault.

The candle burnt to the floor before the secretary's office gains weight from the council's recent care for that very room. At the consultation of 13 January 1716/17 the bench had confined the office books and papers to the Governor, council and clerks and forbidden any book being carried out of its place, so a fire kindled at the secretary's door threatened the records the council had just resolved to guard.

Speculations

The Governor's account turns on the chance of his own illness, the fire found only because he was taken ill and sent his servant for a candle at one in the morning. By entering this in the record the bench made plain that nothing in the watch itself had caught the blaze, the sentries set to keep guard being the very men asleep beside it, and that the castle was saved by accident rather than by its own defence.

The lightness of the sentence rested expressly on the want of great damage, the council weighing the outcome rather than the danger. Sleeping on guard and setting the castle alight might have drawn a far heavier penalty, but with the fire caught in time the bench fixed the wooden horse and a whipping, treating the offence by what it had cost rather than by what it had risked.

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Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Saturday y[e] 2 day of March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Pres[t] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] [&] Antipas Tovey 4 in Council

The Gov[r] calld this Consultation to know the Councils Opinion whether Cap[t] Will[m] Mackett Comand[r] of the Drake from Madagascar who arrivd here the last day of February w[th] Slaves shall be permitted to sell any here or not. M[r] Powell [&c] freemen desire that they may buy Blacks out of this Ship being in great want of them to supply their Plantations, the Captain having desired Liberty to sell, We are of opinion that We ought to allow it Him, w[ch] tho it will occasion drawing large Bills on the Hon[ble] Comp[a] We hope twill be the last of this Nature, for We take it to be for the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Interest [&] the good of Shipping, that y[e] Freemen have Blacks en[o] to improve their Plantations to Supply Ships w[th] all Sorts of Provisions. Order[d], that the following Advertizement be publisht accordingly By the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Island St Helena Govern[r] [&c] Council An Advertizement. Whereas Cap[t] Mackett Comand[r] of the Drake now arrivd from Madagascar has several Slaves w[ch] He is willing to sell at this place, These are therefore to give Notice to all the Planters Freemen [&] Inhabitants of this Island that they have free Liberty to purchase any Number of Slaves They desire, y[e] Ships are to agree with the s[d] Captain for And the Captain will take for his

Island of St Helena. March 1716/17.

At a consultation held on Saturday 2 March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy, Matthew Bazett third and Antipas Tovey fourth in council.

The Governor called this consultation to know the council's opinion whether Captain William Mackett, commander of the Drake, who arrived on the last day of February with slaves from Madagascar, should be permitted to sell any here or not.

Mr Powell and the other freemen desired that they might buy slaves out of this ship, being in great want of them to supply their plantations, the captain having desired liberty to sell. The council was of opinion that it ought to allow it him. Though it would occasion the drawing of large bills on the Honourable Company, the council hoped it would be the last of this nature. The council took it to be for the Honourable Company's interest and the good of shipping that the freemen have slaves enough to improve their plantations and so supply ships with all sorts of provisions.

The council ordered that the following advertisement be published accordingly.

By the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. An advertisement.

Captain William Mackett, commander of the Drake, now arrived from Madagascar, had several slaves which he was willing to sell at this place. Notice was therefore given to all the planters, freemen and inhabitants of this island that they had free liberty to purchase any number of slaves they desired, if they agreed with the captain. The captain would take for [...]

Interpretations

Captain William Mackett commanded the Drake, arrived on the last day of February 1716/17 from Madagascar, the second slave ship to reach the island in a month after the Sarah Galley under Captain Blome on 31 January 1716/17. The two arrivals together answered the want of plantation hands the bench had pressed on the directors since the muster before Captain Kettleby in January 1715/16.

The decision turns on the standing tension between the want of labour and the cost of supplying it. The freemen needed slaves to improve their plantations and raise provisions for the Company's shipping, but private purchases out of a Madagascar ship meant bills drawn on the Honourable Company in London, the very practice the bench had laboured to restrain through the bills-of-exchange reform of summer 1715. The council allowed the sale as the lesser harm, hoping it would be the last of its kind.

Mr Powell appears as Gabriel Powell, the substantial freeholder whose dealings recur through the record, here leading the freemen's request to buy. His want of plantation hands matches the general scarcity Haswell and the others had set out in their slave-labour opinions of 12 February 1716/17, when all held the hiring of the planters' slaves must continue for want of a proper complement.

The advertisement is the public instrument by which the council opened the ship's slaves to general purchase, the same form of notice under the Governor's hand it used for public business. By proclaiming free liberty to all planters, freemen and inhabitants to deal directly with the captain, the bench set the terms of sale as a matter between buyer and master while reserving to itself the licence that made the trade lawful.

Speculations

The council's express hope that this would be the last sale of its nature reveals a deliberate concession against its own policy rather than a settled practice. Having spent the previous summer restraining bills drawn on London, the bench permitted the very thing it had checked because the plantations could not be stocked otherwise, and recorded the reservation to show the directors it understood the cost it was incurring.

The justification that the freemen's slaves would supply ships with provisions tied the private purchase to the Company's own interest in victualling its homeward fleet. By framing the sale as serving the good of shipping rather than the planters' private gain, the council answered in advance any charge that it had loosened the bills policy for the freeholders' benefit, casting the labour as ultimately the Company's own provisioning chain.

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his payment the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Store Creditt. Signd p[r] order of y[e] Gov[r] [&c] Council this 2 of March 1716/17 (Signd) Antipas Tovey Sec[ry] The following Advertizement was publisht at the Island St Helena request of Cap[t] Will Mackett. By the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] [&c] Council An Advertizement. This is to give Notice that Cap[t] Will[m] Mackett will on Wednesday next (in case the High Surfe abates that the Blacks may be brought Safely on Shore) expose to a publick Sale at the Sessions House in James Valley the following Negro[s] to the highest Bidder. viz[t] 4. Children from 7 to 12 years Old. 4. Boys [&] Girls from 12 to 17 years Old. 6. Men of able Bodies [&] in good health. [&] 4. Women d[to] And if this Sortment meets w[th] a good Sale the same Number Shall be Sold again. If any dispute arise by 2 Bidders y[e] then the Slave disputed for Shall be put up again. All persons are to advance two Shillings at least at each bidding No publick Sale will be made after that day the Cap[t] resolving to sail very Suddenly Signd p[r] order of Gov[r] [&c] Council this 4[th] of March 1716/17 (Signd) Antipas Tovey Sec[ry]

Margin Notes:

Whereas

1716/17

The captain would take for his payment the Honourable Company's store credit. Signed by order of the Governor and council on 2 March 1716/17, by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

The following advertisement was published at the request of Captain William Mackett.

By the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. An advertisement.

Notice was given that Captain William Mackett would, on the Wednesday next, if the high surf abated so that the slaves might be brought safely on shore, expose to a public sale at the Sessions House in James Valley the following slaves, to the highest bidder:

4 children from 7 to 12 years old 4 boys and girls from 12 to 17 years old 6 men of able bodies and in good health 4 women, ditto

If this assortment met with a good sale, the same number would be sold again. If any dispute arose between two bidders, then the slave disputed for would be put up again. All persons were to advance 2 shillings at least at each bidding. No public sale would be made after that day, the captain resolving to sail very suddenly.

Signed by order of the Governor and council on 4 March 1716/17, by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

Interpretations

This advertisement carries into effect the council's decision of 2 March 1716/17 to let Captain William Mackett of the Drake sell his Madagascar slaves at the island. The first notice gave the general liberty to purchase, this second fixed the time, place and method as a public auction at the Sessions House.

The slaves were graded for sale by age, sex and bodily condition, the four children, four older boys and girls, six able men and four women set out as the lots the bidders would compete for. This open ranking of human beings by working capacity is the plain mechanism of the slave market the bench had agreed to open, the men of able bodies and good health standing as the most valuable class.

The store credit named as the captain's payment is the device that made the sale answer the council's reservation of 2 March 1716/17. Rather than drawing bills on London at once, the purchasers' payments ran through the Honourable Company's store account, the captain taking his return in credit there against the goods and provisions the store held.

The Sessions House near the United Castle was the standing venue for the island's courts of judicature, used for the Bever trial of 24 January 1715 and the Toby trial of 10 May 1715. Its use here for a slave auction shows the same public building serving the council's commercial business as well as its judicial business.

The conditions of sale set out a working auction procedure: a minimum advance of 2 shillings at each bidding, a disputed lot to be put up again, and a further like number to follow if the first assortment sold well. The whole was pressed against the captain's resolve to sail very suddenly, the single day's sale bounded by the ship's departure.

Speculations

The condition that the slaves be brought ashore only if the high surf abated ties the sale to the same hazard of landing that had already damaged the Arabella's rice and sugar, staved in a great surf and reported at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17. The captain protected himself by making the sale contingent on safe landing, unwilling to risk his cargo on the open beach in heavy seas.

The offer to sell a second like number if the first sold well reveals the captain testing the strength of the market before committing his whole cargo. By exposing a measured assortment first, he could judge the island's demand and the prices it would bear, holding the remainder back against a poor sale rather than flooding a small market and depressing his return.

The bar on any sale after the single appointed day, set against the captain's sudden departure, gave the buyers a fixed and pressing window that worked to lift the bidding. The scarcity of time, joined to the freemen's known want of plantation hands, concentrated the whole demand into one auction and pressed the planters to bid up rather than wait for terms that would not come again.

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Whereas the Govern[r] has taken Care every time any Small Ship, or other weakly mannd has arrivd to cause all the Boats of the Island to be hauld a shore near the Fort to prevent any roguish desigre in Seizing [&] running away w[th] Such Ship or Vessell, And there being at this time a Small Ship or Ketch in the Road, The Gov[r] h[as] orderd the follow[g] Advertizement to be publisht. Island St Helena By the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] An Advertizement These are to will [&] require all manner of Persons who have any Boats or Shares that they do imediately bring all their severall [&] respective Boats to James Valley [&] hawl them up forthwith upon the Beach before the Fort; And whoever shall refuse or neglect the Obedience of this Order must expect to ans[r] at their own perill for their Contempt hereof. Signd p[r] order of the Govern[r] [&c] this 6[th] March 1716/17 Antipas Tovey Secret[ry]

March 1716/17

Every time a small ship or other weakly manned vessel had arrived, the Governor had taken care to have all the boats of the island hauled ashore near the Fort, to prevent any rogues from seizing such a ship or vessel and running away with it. A small ship or ketch then being in the road, the Governor ordered the following advertisement to be published.

Island of St Helena.

By the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. An advertisement.

All persons who had any boats or shares were required to bring their several and respective boats immediately to James Valley and haul them up forthwith upon the beach before the Fort. Whoever refused or neglected to obey this order must expect to answer for their contempt at their own peril.

Signed by order of the Governor and council on 6 March 1716/17, by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

Interpretations

This advertisement records a standing security measure rather than a fresh decision, the Governor noting his settled practice of hauling the island's boats ashore whenever a weakly manned vessel lay in the road. The small ship or ketch now present prompted the public order, the same caution the council had shown over the theft of the Company's longboat in mid-November 1715.

The risk addressed was the seizure of a vulnerable ship by men seeking to run away with it, the very design that had surfaced repeatedly in the recent record. The seamen's conspiracy to take a ship and make themselves free, reported at the consultation of 5 February 1716/17, and the desertions from the Queen and the Eagle Galley show why a thinly crewed vessel in the road was treated as a standing temptation to be guarded against.

The boats and shares named in the order reflect the part-ownership of the island's boats among the inhabitants, a man holding a share rather than a whole vessel. By requiring all such owners to bring their boats under the Fort, the council removed the means of reaching and boarding the ship, the beach before the Fort serving as a guarded muster point under the guns.

The advertisement is the public instrument enforcing the measure, the contempt clause binding every boat-owner on pain of answering for disobedience. The same form of notice under the secretary's hand that the council used for the slave sale of 4 March 1716/17 served here to command the inhabitants' boats ashore.

Speculations

The timing of the order, four days after the slave sale of the Drake was advertised and two after it was to be held, suggests the ketch in the road was watched with particular care while strangers and newly landed slaves were about the island. With the seamen's punch-house plot of 5 February 1716/17 fresh in mind, the Governor moved to deny any disaffected men the boats by which a small vessel might be reached and carried off.

The framing of the measure as the Governor's invariable practice, taken every time such a ship arrived, served to present the order as routine precaution rather than alarm at a particular threat. By recording it as a standing rule the council avoided signalling that any specific danger attached to the vessel then in the road, while still securing the boats against the known pattern of attempted seizure.

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Island St Helena

At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 7[th] March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Pres[t] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] [&] Antip[s] Tovey 4 in Council

There has been for this four or five days the greatest Surfe that has been known here in our Time w[ch] has broke the Crane [&] entirely ruind the new Wharf that was built there, in so much that it can't be repaird with less Charge than a 100[ll]. The Gov[r] demanded of M[r] Holliwell the Custom Master why he sufferd two Bales of Goods y[t] came on shore from the Cardonnell, to pass w[thout] Noting it. He Sayes he was not privy to their coming ashoar The Gov[r] rec[d] the following Letter from Cap[t] Gilbert of y[e] Britt: Merch[t] This is to acquaint you that to morrow (or Friday at furthest) I design to sail for England, unless y[e] Worsh[p] shall give me contrary Orders, I give you this notice S[r] that if you have any Packett, it may be ready for Y[e] humb[le] Servant Tho: Gilbert St Helena March 6[th] 1717. Order[d] that as the Letter [&c] are ready, They be deliverd him to morrow.

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Wednesday 7 March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy, Matthew Bazett third and Antipas Tovey fourth in council.

For the past four or five days there had been the greatest surf ever known here in living memory, which had broken the crane and entirely ruined the new wharf built there, so much so that it could not be repaired for less than 100 pounds.

The Governor asked Mr Holliwell the custom master why he had allowed two bales of goods that came from the Cardonnell to pass without noting them. He said he had not been aware of their coming ashore.

The Governor read the following letter from Captain Gilbert of the British Merchant. Gilbert wrote to acquaint him that the next day, or Friday at furthest, he intended to sail for England unless the Worshipful Governor should give him contrary orders. He gave this notice so that, if there were any packet, it might be ready for him. The letter was subscribed Thomas Gilbert and dated at St Helena, 6 March 1716/17.

The council ordered that, as the letter and the like were ready, they should be delivered to him the next day.

Interpretations

This consultation continues the run of bad weather that had already damaged the Arabella's rice and sugar, staved in a great surf and reported at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17. The surf now broke the crane and ruined the new wharf, a heavier blow estimated at 100 pounds to repair.

The crane and wharf at James Valley were the island's single point for landing goods, the same crane whose siting the council had weighed in the survey of 18 October 1715, when a road and crane at Downings Cove was costed at 1,000 pounds and rejected. Its destruction by the surf cut off the means of landing and shipping cargo, the loss reckoned at once in money against the Company's account.

Captain Gilbert commanded the British Merchant, which carried home with the Arabella the consultations to 29 January 1716/17. His letter giving notice of his sailing is the occasion for the council to make ready its homeward packet, the general correspondence the bench despatched by each returning ship.

Holliwell the custom master kept the account of goods landed, his salary set at 20 shillings the year [...] from 25 March 1715 and confirmed in his charge of the customs through the recent sittings. His failure to note the two bales from the Cardonnell is a lapse in the very duty the office existed to perform, the recording of all goods coming ashore, and follows the bench's recent indulgence to Captain Mawson over his own goods at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17.

Speculations

The two unnoted bales from the Cardonnell gain weight from Captain Mawson's standing record of evasion, the short and adulterated powder barrel of the consultation of 27 February 1716/17 and his refusal to deal with the council on 19 February 1716/17. The Governor's pointed question to the custom master suggests a suspicion that goods were being slipped ashore unrecorded, the lapse pressed because it touched a commander already marked for his dealings.

The readiness of the homeward packet for Captain Gilbert reflects the council's practice of holding its correspondence prepared against the uncertain departure of any returning ship. With the masters refusing to fix their sailing, as Mawson had done, the bench kept the letters made up so that a single day's notice from a willing commander like Gilbert would not leave the despatch behind.

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St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12[th] March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley. Pres[t] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] Matth: Bazett 3 in Council

Persuant to annuall Custom the following Advertizem[t] was publisht. Island St Helena By the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Council. An Advertizement These are to enjoyn [&] require all Masters [&] Mist[rs] that are House Keepers on the s[d] Island to bring in or cause to be brought a true [&] just Account of all Persons in their respective Familys both White: [&] Blacks, as also an Acco[t] of their Stock of Neat Cattle in their Severall kinds with an Acco[t] of their Lands both freehold [&] leasd, which they have or last year had in their own posession or any other Person for them, [&] deliver the same Acco[t] in writing into y[e] Secretary's Office w[ch] in United Castle in James Valley betwen y[e] day of the date hereof, and the 22[d] Instant at furthest Likewise These are further to require all Persons to give an Acco[t] in writing of what Neat Cattle they turn upon the Hon[ble] Comp[as] waste Land from time to time the ensuing Year unto Will[m] Worrall the Hon[ble] Comp[as] chief Overseer at their Plantation House. To all which a ready Compliance is expected upon the penalty

Island of St Helena. March 1716/17.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor and Matthew Bazett third in council.

In keeping with annual custom, the following advertisement was published.

Island of St Helena.

By the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. An advertisement.

All masters and mistresses who were householders on the island were required to bring in, or cause to be brought, a true and just account of all persons in their respective families, both white and black. They were also to bring an account of their stock of neat cattle in their several kinds, together with an account of their lands, both freehold and leased, which they then held or had held the previous year in their own possession or any other person held for them. They were to deliver this account in writing into the secretary's office at the United Castle in James Valley between the date of the advertisement and the 22nd of the month at furthest.

All persons were further required to give an account in writing of what neat cattle they turned upon the Honourable Company's waste land from time to time over the coming year, to William Worrall the Honourable Company's chief overseer at the plantation house. Ready compliance with all of this was expected upon the penalty [...]

Interpretations

This is the annual census advertisement, published in keeping with established custom rather than as a fresh measure. The same yearly count of inhabitants, stock and land had been taken before, the census advertisement of 3 March 1713 and the church wardens' head-money warrant of 18 January 1714/15 marking the recurring exercise by which the council fixed the island's people and property.

The return gathered three distinct records in one instrument: the household population by colour, the stock of neat cattle by kind, and the lands held by freehold and by lease. This combined account gave the bench a working register of the island's labour, livestock and tenure, the documentary baseline the administration had built up since Tovey compiled the families' land and cattle register between 8 March 1715 and 21 March 1715.

The separate return of cattle turned upon the Company's waste land served a different purpose, the control of grazing on Company ground. By requiring every owner to account to William Worrall for the beasts he put on the waste, the council kept track of the private stock feeding on its land, the same concern that had run through the Sandy Bay goat-pound disputes and the resumption of the Company's grazing rights at Chapel Valley in December 1714.

William Worrall as chief overseer was the officer who already rendered the monthly stock accounts, the most recent taken on 1 February 1716/17 and entered at the consultation of 26 February 1716/17. Directing the private grazing returns to him gathered the reckoning of the inhabitants' cattle on the waste in the same hand that kept the Company's own.

Speculations

The deadline of ten days, from the date of the advertisement to the 22nd at furthest, set a fixed window that pressed the householders to render their accounts before the season's other business. By naming a single date the council could check who had failed to comply and enforce the penalty, the short term turning a general custom into a dated obligation.

The requirement that owners account both for cattle held the previous year and for those turned on the waste over the coming year built a continuous record across the seasons rather than a single snapshot. This let the bench follow the movement of private stock onto and off its land through the year, the forward return guarding against beasts being slipped onto the Company waste unrecorded after the count was taken.

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penalty of 4[d] fine to be levied on their Goods [&] Chettels for every Offence contrary hereunto. Wherefore all Persons are hereby requird to take Notice accordingly Signd p[r] ord[r] of Gov[r] [&] Council this 12 March 1716/17 Antipas Tovey Secret[ry]

The Gunner brought in his Expence for y[e] M[o] Feb[ry] An Acco[t] of Gunn[rs] Stores expended from y[e] 1[st] of February 1716/17 to y[e] 28 D[o] following. viz[t]

Feb[r] 15[th] An Alarm Fals[e] fyring 4 4

D[o] Arrivd the British Merch[t] from India 7 7

27 An Alarm 4 4

28 At Munden's point to bring a Ship too Shott Cake 1 1 7

D[o] Arrivd the Drake from Madagascar

For the Guard 8

Hand spikes 4

Cartridge paper Qu[n] 4

Match 28 28 4 4 1 1 15 30

(Signd) Jn[o] French

March 1716/17

A penalty of a 40-shilling fine was to be levied on the goods and chattels of any householder for every offence against this order. All persons were therefore required to take notice accordingly.

Signed by order of the Governor and council on 12 March 1716/17, by Antipas Tovey, secretary.

The gunner brought in his account of expenses for the month of February.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 February 1716/17 to the 28th following:

15 February, an alarm 4 pounds of powder

[15 February], arrival of the British Merchant from India 7 pounds of powder

27 February, an alarm 4 pounds of powder

28 February, at Munden's Point to bring a ship to 1 [shot] [...] 1 [...] 7 pounds of powder

[28 February], arrival of the Drake from Madagascar [...]

For the guard 8 pounds of powder

Hand spikes 4

Cartridge paper 4 quires

Match 28

Total 28 [...] 4 [...] 4 [...] 1 [...] 1 [...] 15 [...] 30 [...]

Signed by John French.

Interpretations

This gunner's account for February 1716/17 was brought in after the census advertisement of 12 March 1716/17, the second such return to follow the December and January accounts entered at the consultation of 26 February 1716/17. It carries the powder reckoning forward to the close of February.

The powder issues record each alarm, salute and discharge through the month, the seven pounds spent on the British Merchant on her arrival matching the standing scale of ceremonial salute the gunner had used for the Great Catherine and the Cardonnell in January. The arrival of the Drake from Madagascar on 28 February is the slave ship whose sale the council would shortly open by the advertisements of 4 March 1716/17.

The seven pounds spent at Munden's Point to bring a ship to records the use of powder for the fort's standing authority over the road, the gun fired across an approaching vessel's bows to compel it to come to anchor and announce itself. Munden's Point was the principal seaward battery, and the entry shows a shot fired in earnest rather than in salute, perhaps against the very small ship or ketch whose presence had prompted the boat-securing order of 6 March 1716/17.

The lesser stores, hand spikes, cartridge paper and match, are carried in their own columns beside the powder. Hand spikes were the levers used to handle and traverse the guns, cartridge paper the material for making up powder charges, and match the slow-burning cord for firing, all reckoned among the gunner's expended stores and struck across the foot of the account.

Speculations

The shot fired at Munden's Point to bring a ship to, entered between the alarm of 27 February and the arrival of the Drake, suggests the battery was put to use enforcing the very caution the boat-securing order would later record. With a weakly manned vessel watched in the road, the gun compelling an approaching ship to announce itself served the same security concern the Governor pressed through hauling the boats ashore, the powder spent to hold strange shipping under the fort's control.

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St Helena At a Consultation held on Saturday the 16[th] March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Pres[t] Matth[w] Bazett 3[d] [&] Antipas Tovey 4[th] in Councell

Cap[t] Will[m] Mackett having Sold ab[t] sixty Blacks to sundry Inhabitants of this Island desires to have Bills of Exchange for the Ballance of his Account. Order[d] That the Accomptant do place the Credit to his Acco[t] [&] that Bills be drawn accordingly. The Secret[ry] demands of Cap[t] Mackett 2 p[r] Cent for the Sale of his Slaves here. Cap[t] Bazett says He knows no president for it, He has been at severall Outerys [&] does not know that any Body can demand more than six Shillings p[r] day. Cap[t] Haswell says ever since He has been on the Island He does not know any thing paid at an Outery more that what the Persons who Sold the Goods pleasd to pay. The Govern[r] says He thinks M[r] Toveys demand is extortion [&] that he deserves to be fined for making Such a Demand. The Gov[r] Says likewise that M[r] Tovey was drunk when he writt the Acco[t] [&] that no Body knows what to make of it. The Gov[r] says, that He thinks Ten Shillings en[o] for the Marshall. The reason, the Secretary says, why He won't sign Cap[t] Macketts Bill is, because He does not pay him for the Outery as he demands

Island of St Helena. March 1716/17.

At a consultation held on Saturday 16 March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy, Matthew Bazett third and Antipas Tovey fourth in council.

Captain William Mackett, having sold about sixty slaves to various inhabitants of this island, desired to have bills of exchange for the balance of his account. The council ordered the accountant to place the credit to his account and bills to be drawn accordingly.

The secretary demanded of Captain Mackett 2 per cent for the sale of his slaves here. Captain Bazett said he knew no precedent for it. He had been at several public sales and did not know that anybody could demand more than 6 shillings a day. Captain Haswell said that, ever since he had been on the island, he did not know of anything paid at a sale beyond what the persons who sold the goods chose to pay.

The Governor said he thought Mr Tovey's demand was extortion and that he deserved to be fined for making such a demand. The Governor said also that Mr Tovey had been drunk when he wrote the account and that nobody knew what to make of it. The Governor said that he thought 10 shillings enough for the marshal.

The reason the secretary gave why he would not sign Captain Mackett's bill was because the captain did not pay him for the sale as he demanded.

Interpretations

This consultation settles the payment for Captain William Mackett's sale of his Madagascar slaves out of the Drake, the auction opened by the advertisements of 4 March 1716/17 having sold about sixty slaves. The bills of exchange now drawn for the balance are the very instrument the council had hoped on 2 March 1716/17 would be the last of its kind, the purchases running into a charge on the Honourable Company in London.

The dispute turns on the secretary's claim to a commission of 2 per cent on the sale, a charge Antipas Tovey demanded as his fee for transacting the auction. Bazett and Haswell both denied any precedent for it, holding that a seller paid only what he chose and that the recognised charge was the daily rate of 6 shillings, not a percentage of the proceeds. The quarrel exposes the want of any settled scale of fees for a slave sale conducted through the council.

The Governor's open charge that Tovey was drunk when he drew the account, and his refusal to sustain the demand as extortion, mark a sharp breach within the bench itself. Tovey had stabbed Francis Wrangham while drunk on 7 March 1715/16 and stood suspended for it, and the renewed imputation of drunkenness over the account shows the Governor's continuing distrust of his secretary's conduct in office.

The marshal's fee the Governor thought sufficient at 10 shillings touches the standing schedule the bench had set on the marshal's petition of 3 May 1715, where summoning and the like were rated in shillings and pence. The secretary's refusal to sign Mackett's bill until his own demand was met made the captain's homeward credit hostage to an internal fee dispute, the bill held back over the very commission the rest of the bench rejected.

Speculations

The secretary's withholding of his signature from Mackett's bill was a deliberate use of his office to force his fee, the bill needing his hand before the captain could draw his credit. By making the instrument depend on his subscription Tovey turned a procedural duty into leverage, the same kind of pressure a clerk could exert wherever his signature was a necessary step, here met by the Governor's flat refusal to let the demand stand.

The Governor's reach for the precedents Bazett and Haswell supplied, the 6-shilling day rate and the want of any percentage charge, shows the bench resolving the fee by analogy to its known schedules rather than by any rule made for slave sales. The novelty of conducting such an auction through the council had left no settled commission, and the Governor fixed the secretary's due by the marshal's familiar scale instead, treating 10 shillings as the measure of the service actually rendered.

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March 1716/17

2 p[r] Cent. Whereupon the Gov[r] by approbation of the rest of Council suspended M[r] Tovey from being Secretary.

March 1716/17

The secretary insisted on his demand of 2 per cent. The Governor, with the approval of the rest of the council, thereupon suspended Mr Tovey from being secretary.

Interpretations

This completes the dispute carried over from the consultation of 16 March 1716/17, where Antipas Tovey had demanded a commission of 2 per cent on Captain William Mackett's sale of his Madagascar slaves and had withheld his signature from the captain's bill. His refusal to abandon the demand brought his suspension from the secretaryship.

The suspension marks the second time within a year that Tovey was put out of his office by the bench, the first following his drunken stabbing of Francis Wrangham on 7 March 1715/16. Where that suspension answered a violent crime, this one answered his conduct over fees, the Governor having already called the demand extortion and named him fit to be fined at the consultation of 16 March 1716/17.

The action shows the bench exercising its authority over its own members, the same power it had used in overruling Captain Haswell's claim to administer the Gargen estate at the consultation of 12 February 1716/17. By removing the secretary on the approval of the rest of the council, the Governor enforced against an officer of the bench the principle that even its own members must answer for misconduct in office.

Speculations

The Governor's care to act with the approval of the rest of the council, rather than by his own hand alone, gave the suspension the weight of a collective judgement against a colleague. By recording the concurrence of Haswell and Bazett, who had themselves denied any precedent for the secretary's demand at the consultation of 16 March 1716/17, the Governor fixed the removal as the bench's act and not a private quarrel between him and Tovey.

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Island St Helena

At a Consultation held on Tuesday 19[th] March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Pres[t] Geo: Haswell dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3 in Council.

Last Consultation read [&] approvd of. Henry Batchelor presented the following Petition Island St Helena To the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Council The most hum[ble] Petition of Hen[ry] Batchelor Sold[r] Humbly Sheweth That whereas Grace Coulson Wid[o] did sometime since in a most degrading [&] vilifying manner grossly abuse your Petion[r] w[thout] any provocation by calling him rotten pockey Old dogg, that if He had not been poxt M[rs] Doveton could not have knockt his Teeth out, repeating the same abusive Words severill times, [&] further added, that y[r] Petion[r] was the worst of Rogues [&] Dogs upon the Island, [&] would endeavour to have him Searcht, for She was Sure He was poxt, For all w[ch] abuses [&] Strain of y[r] Petion[rs] reputation He being a Single Man, y[r] Petion[r] humbly prays Satisfaction may be made Him as y[e] Worsh[p] [&] Council in y[r] Prudence [&] Justice think meet And as in duty bound shall for ever pray [&c] Mar[ch] Ep[r] 19[th] 1716/17 Signd Hen[ry] his Batchelor mark

M[rs] Coulson appeard according to Sumons, [&] owns she calls Batchelor Rogue, but denyed y[e] rest of his Complaint. Jos: Bates says he heard M[rs] Coulson abuse the s[d] Batchelor as in his Petition is Exprest. Order[d]

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 19 March 1716/17 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy and Matthew Bazett third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

Henry Batchelor presented the following petition.

Batchelor petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council, setting out that Grace Coulson, widow, had some time since grossly abused him in a most degrading and vilifying manner, without any provocation, by calling him a rotten pocky old dog. He stated that if he had not been pocky, Mrs Doveton could not have knocked his teeth out, and that Coulson repeated the same abusive words several times. He further set out that she had added that he was the worst of rogues and dogs upon the island and would try to have him searched, for she was sure he was pocky. For all these abuses and the injury to his reputation, he being a single man, Batchelor prayed that satisfaction might be made to him as the Worshipful Governor and council in their prudence and justice should think fit. The petition was signed by Henry Batchelor by his mark and dated 19 March 1716/17.

Mrs Coulson appeared on summons and owned that she had called Batchelor a rogue, but denied the rest of his complaint. Joseph Bates said he had heard Mrs Coulson abuse Batchelor as set out in his petition.

Interpretations

This petition draws together two matters already on the record. Henry Batchelor had complained at the consultation in February 1716/17 that Eleanor Doveton struck him and beat out two of his teeth, for which she was fined 40 shillings, and now charges Grace Coulson with the slander that he was pocky, the accusation that touched the violence of the earlier case.

Grace Coulson appears as the long-resident widow planter, a substantial householder of five slaves and one white in the church rate of January 1714/15, whose dealings recur through the record from the recovery of Black Oliver in the Dutch occupation to the enticement of her slave Abigail in January 1714/15. Here she stands accused of public defamation rather than as a petitioner.

The petition is a suit for defamation, the injury being the public imputation that Batchelor was pocky, that is infected with the pox, a venereal disease. The slander struck at his reputation and, as he urged, at his standing as a single man whose marriage prospects such a charge would damage. The threat to have him searched, to have his body examined to prove the infection, sharpened the public nature of the wrong.

The corroboration of Joseph Bates is the evidence on which the case would turn, the marshal of the island confirming the words as the petition set them out against Coulson's partial denial. Bates had been appointed marshal in place of the dismissed William Postley on 27 September 1715, and his oath as a sworn officer carried weight against the widow's admission of only the lesser term.

Speculations

Batchelor's pleading that the slander would not stand but for his having been pocky, since otherwise Doveton could not have knocked his teeth out, links the defamation to the assault as a single grievance. By tying the two together he pressed the council to treat the words as compounding the injury already found against Doveton, the public charge of disease adding to the bodily hurt for which he had already won 40 shillings.

Coulson's narrow admission, owning only that she called him a rogue while denying the imputation of pox, was a deliberate retreat to the defensible word. Calling a man a rogue was common abuse the bench would scarcely punish, while the charge of being pocky was the actionable slander, and by conceding the harmless term she sought to escape the damaging one, a line the evidence of Bates was set to break.

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March 1716/17

Order[d] That M[rs] Coulson be fined 1[s] to y[e] s[d] Batchelor [&] pay Charges of Council. The Petition of Geo: Sanders was presented viz[t] Island St Helena To the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] [&c] Council The hum[ble] Petition of Geo: Sanders Sold[r] most humbly Sheweth That forasmuch as Cap[t] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Govern[r] having lately paid the debt of 44[ll] for the Estate He purchasd lately belonging to Tho[s] Gargen deceasd [&] thereby enabled to perfect an Inventory of the whole, y[r] Petion[r] in pursuance to the Letter of Administration doth now offer up an Acco[t] thereof together w[th] the Sale of the personall Estate. Wherefore y[r] s[d] Petion[r] humbly prays that an Order may be granted for the dividing the s[d] Estate, and that He may be Informed or orderd how much to pay unto the Heirs of that Estate aforesaid w[ch] y[r] Petion[r] is in great Hopes will put an End to any further Trouble to y[e] Worsh[p] [&] Council as well as to y[r] Petion[r] And as in duty bound shall for ever pray [&c] Mar[ch] Ep[r] 19[th] 1716/17 (Signd) Geo: Sanders Order[d] that the Inventory as now deliverd be entred in a proper Book, for that purpose, and the s[d] Sanders to pay the Debts due from the Estate, and then He shall be answerd ab[t] the dividing it. Stephen Praise Pledger desired to rent a parcell of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] waste Land called Sextons ground. Order[d] that it be referd to the Gov[r] [&] Cap[t] Bazett whether to lett him have it or not. During

March 1716/17

The council ordered that Mrs Coulson be fined 10 shillings to Henry Batchelor and pay the charges of council.

The petition of George Sanders was presented.

Sanders petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council, setting out that, since Captain George Haswell the deputy governor had lately paid the debt of 440 pounds for the estate he had purchased belonging to Thomas Gargen deceased, Sanders was thereby enabled to perfect an inventory of the whole. He now offered up an account of it, together with the sale of the personal estate, in pursuance of the letter of administration. Sanders prayed that an order might be granted for dividing the estate, and that he might be informed or directed how much to pay to the heirs of that estate, which he hoped would put an end to any further trouble both to the Worshipful Governor and council and to himself. The petition was signed by George Sanders and dated 19 March 1716/17.

The council ordered that the inventory now delivered be entered in a proper book kept for that purpose, and that Sanders pay the debts due from the estate, after which he would be answerable for the dividing of it.

Stephen Praise Pledger desired to rent a parcel of the Honourable Company's waste land called Sexton's ground. The council ordered that it be referred to the Governor and Captain Bazett, whether to let him have it or not.

Interpretations

This consultation closes the Batchelor defamation suit and carries forward the long-running Gargen estate. The fine of 10 shillings on Grace Coulson, with the charges of council, is the smaller civil penalty for the slander, the whole sum awarded to the injured Batchelor as compensation rather than divided as a public fine.

George Sanders had married the widow of Thomas Gargen about March 1716 and held the letter of administration over the estate granted in her right on 12 February 1716/17. The payment of the 440-pound debt by Captain Haswell, the purchaser of the estate, removes the very obstruction the bench had laboured over, having ordered Bazett to persuade Haswell to pay and threatened an action for the debt at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17.

The dispute over the Gargen estate ran back through the whole administration, the widow first seeking to surrender the whole estate to pay her husband's debts on 1 November 1715 and the contest over who should administer coming to a head on 12 February 1716/17, when the Governor ruled the widow alone had the right against Haswell's claim through his wife. Haswell's payment of the purchase debt now lets the administration move at last to a final dividing among the heirs.

The order that the inventory be entered in a proper book and the debts paid before any division follows the court of orphans procedure the bench applied to deceased estates, the entry in the book of orphans' accounts and the rule that the Company and creditors be satisfied first. Sanders is made answerable for the division only after the debts are cleared, the standing order of priority observed.

Stephen Praise Pledger appears as a son of Praise Pledger deceased, the family holding land and a house in James Valley, here seeking to rent Sexton's ground. Sexton's was Company waste land previously granted in pieces to Frances Goodwin and to John Alexander, and the reference of his request to the Governor and Bazett follows the standing letting conditions the bench applied to such waste.

Speculations

Sanders's express hope that the division would end all further trouble to the bench and to himself reflects the weariness of an estate that had occupied the council across more than a year. By framing his petition as a means of closing the matter, he pressed the bench to settle the dividing now that Haswell's payment had at last made an inventory of the whole possible, the long obstruction over the purchase debt finally removed.

The council's refusal to grant Pledger's request outright, referring it instead to the Governor and Bazett to weigh whether to let him have the ground, kept the disposal of Company waste under the bench's standing scrutiny rather than its general leave. The same conditions of fitness and want of debt that governed earlier lettings were left to be applied to him, the reference reserving the decision until his case could be measured against them.

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March 1716/17

During the time of the British Merch[t] lying here one Will[m] Grean a Sold[r] was absent from his Duty. Cap[t] Bazett reports that He verily thinks the s[d] Grean made his Escape off the Island in that Ship, and the s[d] Grean being indebted to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] thinks the Cap[t] ought to pay it. The Gov[r] [&] Cap[t] Haswell say, they think it better for him to be off the Island than on it, for reasons not proper to be entred. Cap[t] Haswell says, the Planters have desird they mayn't pay Reven for the Blacks lately bought out of the Drake till they have had them a year, it being the usuall Custom of the Island. Cap[t] Bazett says, he knows it is customary not to pay Order[d] that the Planters shan't be obliged to pay for their Blacks till this time 12 M[os], but to give a Memorand[m] of every one they bought in y[e] Account given this March. The Hon[ble] Comp[as] chief Overseer brought in his M[o]ly Account for Febry. viz[t] An Acco[t] of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hoggs, Goats [&c] taken March y[e] 1[st] 1716/17

Neat Cattle 61 Cows 32 Heifers 26 Bullocks 10 yearlings 54 Calves 6 Stears 3 Bulls 192

1 barren Heifer Killd since last Acco[t] none increasd

75 Turkeys gr[t] [&] small 11 Killd since last Acco[t] 6 bought none increasd

32 Geese great [&] small none Killd, none increasd

March 1716/17

While the British Merchant lay here, William Green, a soldier, was absent from his duty. Captain Bazett reported that he truly thought Green had made his escape off the island in that ship, and that since Green was indebted to the Honourable Company, he thought the captain ought to pay it. The Governor and Captain Haswell said they thought it better for him to be off the island than on it, for reasons not proper to be entered.

Captain Haswell said the planters had desired that they might not pay rent for the slaves lately bought out of the Drake until they had held them a year, this being the usual custom of the island. Captain Bazett said he knew it was customary not to pay. The council ordered that the planters should not be obliged to pay for their slaves until 12 months from this time, but to give a memorandum of every one they bought in the account given this March.

The Honourable Company's chief overseer brought in his monthly account for February.

An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the like taken on 1 March 1716/17:

Neat cattle: 61 cows 32 heifers 26 bullocks 10 yearlings 54 calves 6 steers 3 bulls 192

1 barren heifer killed since the last account none increased

75 turkeys, great and small: 11 killed since the last account 6 bought none increased

32 geese, great and small: none killed, none increased

Interpretations

This consultation joins the Drake slave sale to a matter of garrison desertion. William Green, a soldier absent while the British Merchant lay in the road, is thought by Bazett to have escaped on that ship, the same vessel under Captain Gilbert that the council had readied its homeward packet for at the consultation of 7 March 1716/17. A William Green stood among the twenty subscribers of the Eagle Galley round-robin paper of 29 June 1715, and another deposed in the Snow kidnapping enquiry of 28 August 1716, though the name is taken as written.

The Governor and Haswell's refusal to enter their reasons for thinking Green better off the island marks a deliberate silence in the record. Where the bench usually set out its grounds, here it withheld them, content to let the soldier go and to pursue his Company debt against the captain who carried him rather than to record what made his presence unwelcome.

The decision on the Drake slaves settles the terms of the sale opened by the advertisements of 4 March 1716/17 and the bills drawn on 16 March 1716/17. By the custom of the island the planters were not to pay for newly bought slaves until they had held them a year, and the council confirmed the twelve-month indulgence while requiring a memorandum of every slave bought to be entered in the census account given this March. The grace period answered the risk that a newly landed slave might sicken or die before proving useful.

The memorandum required in the March account ties the slave purchases to the annual census advertised on 12 March 1716/17, the count of persons, cattle and land into which each newly bought slave was now to be entered. This bound the private purchases into the Company's standing register of the island's population and stock, fixing a record of who held which of the Drake's slaves.

The overseer's monthly account taken on 1 March 1716/17 continues William Worrall's standing returns, the neat cattle easing from 193 to 192 after a single barren heifer was killed and none bred over the month. The turkeys fall from 80 to 75, eleven killed and six bought in with no increase, while the geese hold steady at 32.

Speculations

The bench's pursuit of Green's Company debt against the captain of the British Merchant, rather than against the absconding soldier, shows it fixing liability on the party within reach. A deserter gone to sea was beyond recovery, but the commander who carried him off could be charged, the same logic by which the council held shipmasters answerable for the men they took from the island.

The twelve-month grace before payment, joined to the required memorandum of each slave bought, balanced the planters' protection against the Company's need to track the sale. The custom shielded the buyers from paying for slaves that might not survive the year, while the entry in the census ensured that the deferred debts and the newly distributed labour were both recorded against the day the planters would be obliged to pay.

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March 1716/17

Hoggs 40 Piggs 12 Sows 12 Shoats 2 Boars 66 gr[t] [&] small

5 Killd since last Acco[t] 9 Increasd

27 Fowls great [&] small 19 Killd D[o] to y[e] Fort none increasd [&] bought

Sheep 49 Ewes 33 Wethers 24 Lambs 1 Ram 107 in all

none Killd none increasd since last Acco[t]

5 Ducks 6 Killd since last Acco[t] none increasd

5 Asses Females 7 d[o] Males 12 in all

Goats 176 Ewes 20 Wethers 80 Ewe Kidds 52 Lam[b] d[to] 2 Rams 330

6 Killd 9 Increasd since last Acco[t]

(Signd) W[m] Worrall

March 1716/17

Hogs: 40 piggs 12 sows 12 shoats 2 boars 66 great and small

5 killed since the last account 9 increased

Sheep: 49 ewes 33 wethers 24 lambs 1 ram 107 in all

none killed none increased since the last account

Goats: 176 ewes 20 wethers 80 ewe kids 52 lamb kids 2 rams 330

6 killed 9 increased since the last account

27 fowls, great and small: 19 killed since the last account none increased, 6 bought

5 ducks: 6 killed since the last account none increased

5 asses, female 7 ditto, male 12 in all

Signed by W. Worrall.

Interpretations

This completes the overseer's monthly stock account taken on 1 March 1716/17, the hogs, sheep, goats, fowls, ducks and asses following the neat cattle, turkeys and geese of the preceding page. William Worrall signed the whole as chief overseer, the standing monthly return now carried to its foot.

The figures show the movement of stock across February. The hogs rise from 60 to 66, nine bred against five killed, and the goats fall sharply from 327 to 330 in the count yet with six killed and nine increased, the small net gain leaving the herd near its level. The sheep hold steady at 107, none killed and none bred, while the asses stay at 12. The fowls collapse from 76 to 27 with nineteen killed and six bought in, and the ducks fall from 11 to 5 after six were killed without any increase.

The fowls and ducks were drawn down hardest over the month, the poultry yielding the readiest meat for the table and the ships. Nineteen fowls killed against no breeding, and six ducks killed out of eleven, mark the birds as the stock most freely consumed, the six fowls bought in showing the overseer replenishing what slaughter had stripped.

The account is carried in the structured columns of the original, each species totalled as great and small or in all, with the killed and increased set against it in its own bracket and the asses divided by sex at the foot.

Speculations

The steady draw on the poultry against the careful sparing of the breeding stock shows the overseer managing the flock as a renewable larder. The fowls and ducks could be killed freely and bought back, while the sheep were left wholly untouched and the goats and hogs allowed to breed up, the slaughter falling on the kinds that mattered least to the island's long stock.

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March

Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 26 of March 1717. At Union Castle in James valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Pres[t] Geo: Haswell Dep[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3

The Last Consultation was rec[d] [&] approved of. The Govern[r] reports that William Huff Soldier was Accused of to him, by John Orchard on Sunday last, for Speaking Some Seditious words. Which words are as follows. John Orchard Accuseth William Huff [&] Sayeth Mar[ch] Ep[r] 24[th] 1716/17 that he heard Said Will[m] Huff Say this day at Noen that the Freemen and Soldiers would tomorow morning by Eight of the Clock be Alloge ther by the Ears: To w[t] Jn[o] Orchard makes oath. Upon which the Govern[r] Committed him to the Prison and Sent for him to day before the Councill to know what is best to be done with him. We having Punnished this Huff all Sorts of ways and can do no good with him But yet be cause tis not proper Such a bad man Should goe altogether without Punnishment. Wee Order that for his Impudence in Inventing and Spreading Such False Story's w[ch] tend to the disturbing.

Island of St Helena. March.

At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 March 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy and Matthew Bazett third.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor reported that William Huff, a soldier, had been accused to him by John Orchard on the Sunday last for speaking some seditious words. The words follow. Orchard accused William Huff, swearing that he had heard Huff say this day at noon that the freemen and soldiers would tomorrow morning by eight of the clock be altogether by the ears. John Orchard made this on oath, dated 24 March 1716/17.

On this the Governor committed Huff to prison and sent for him to appear before the council, to know what was best to be done with him.

The council, having punished this Huff all sorts of ways and able to do no good with him, but because it was not proper such a bad man should go altogether without punishment, ordered that for his impudence in inventing and spreading such false stories which tended to the disturbing [...]

Interpretations

William Huff appears across the record as the incorrigible lewd and disorderly soldier of the garrison, kept in irons for mutinous words from 8 July 1713 and released in February 1714, committed as a lewd person on 16 November 1714, convicted of theft on 12 September 1715, and most recently set on the wooden horse with his face blacked and reckoned as no other than a black at the consultation of 6 November 1716 for keeping company with the Company slave Betty. His house had been searched first in the seamen's conspiracy of 5 February 1716/17 because there was seldom any roguery he was not concerned in.

The charge is the speaking of seditious words, Huff reported to have foretold that the freemen and soldiers would be at blows by eight the next morning. The phrase by the ears means at violent quarrel, and the danger lay in the prediction of a clash between the garrison and the inhabitants, the kind of disorder the bench treated as tending to mutiny.

The accusation rests on the sworn oath of John Orchard, taken on 24 March 1716/17, the formal deposition by which a single witness fixed the words on the accused. Orchard had figured before as a licensed retailer whose licence was withdrawn and as a sworn deponent in earlier matters, and his oath here is the evidence on which the Governor committed Huff to prison.

The council's reasoning, that Huff had been punished every way without effect yet could not be left wholly unpunished, marks the limit the bench had reached with a man it judged incorrigible. The punishments tried on him, irons, prison, the brick kiln, the wooden horse and the public blacking, had failed to reform him, and the order now framed answered his conduct as a settled nuisance rather than a first offence.

Speculations

The bench's open admission that it had punished Huff all ways without doing any good reveals a deliberate weighing of what penalty remained worth imposing on a man past correction. The council fixed on a fresh punishment not in any hope of reforming him but because it was not proper so bad a man should escape, the penalty grounded in the impropriety of impunity rather than in any expectation of effect.

The danger the bench saw in Huff's words lay less in any real plot than in the spreading of a false story that might itself provoke the clash it foretold. By treating the offence as inventing and spreading a tale tending to disturbance, the council answered the risk that talk of the freemen and soldiers coming to blows could set the two against each other, the rumour punished for what it might cause rather than for any design behind it.

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1716/17

Disturbing the minds of the Inhabitants. That he be obliged to work fourteen days for the Hon: Comp[a] Gratis This day arrived the Hamilton Galley Cap[t] Charles Burnham Comand[r] from Madagascar (But last from the Cape of Good Hope) with Slaves for the Hon[ble] Comp[a] Ordered That Cap[t] Haswell goe on board and make Choice of Said Slaves which are to be Ten Men and four Women good [&] serviceable.

1717

The order was that, for inventing and spreading such false stories which tended to disturb the minds of the inhabitants, Huff be obliged to labour fourteen days for the Honourable Company without pay.

This day the Hamilton Galley, Captain Charles Burnham commander, arrived from Madagascar but last from the Cape of Good Hope, with slaves for the Honourable Company.

The council ordered that Captain Haswell go on board and make choice of the slaves, which were to be ten men and four women, good and serviceable.

Interpretations

This completes the sentence on William Huff carried over from the consultation of 26 March 1717, the fourteen days of unpaid labour for the Company the penalty for his seditious talk. The use of his labour rather than a fine matches the bench's earlier handling of him, having set him to the brick kiln in chains and to the Company's works when he could not pay, the standing device of turning a worthless offender's body to account.

The Hamilton Galley under Captain Charles Burnham is the third slave ship to reach the island in the space of two months, after the Sarah Galley on 31 January 1716/17 and the Drake on the last day of February. Where the Drake's slaves were sold to the planters by public auction, these come directly for the Honourable Company, the bench choosing for its own plantations rather than opening them to private purchase.

The selection of ten men and four women, good and serviceable, answers the want of plantation hands the council had pressed since the muster before Captain Kettleby in January 1715/16. The slave-labour opinions of 12 February 1716/17 had held the Company short of a proper complement, Tovey reckoning the full need at 200 hands, and these fourteen are a direct addition to the Company's own working stock.

Captain Haswell as deputy governor is sent to make the choice on board, the same officer who had surveyed all the plantations and reported their slave needs at the consultation of 1 November 1715. His charge to pick only the good and serviceable reserved the Company the soundest of the cargo, the men and women fit for the labour of the plantations and fences.

Speculations

The direct purchase of these slaves for the Company, set against the auction of the Drake's slaves to the planters, shows the bench distinguishing the supply of its own plantations from the relief of the freeholders. The Drake's sale had been a concession drawing bills on London that the council hoped would be the last of its kind, while the Hamilton Galley's slaves answered the Company's own measured shortage, chosen by its own officer for its own ground.

The instruction to take only the good and serviceable let Haswell reject the sickly or unfit before any price was settled, the Company securing the value of its purchase by inspection on board. The recent muster of the island's own lame and decrepit slaves before Captain Kettleby in January 1715/16 had shown how many useless hands the Company already carried, and the care to choose soundly now guarded against adding more.

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Aprill.

Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Wednesday the 3 of Aprill 1717. at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Pres[t] Geo: Haswell D[e]p[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3

The Last Consultation was rec[d] [&] approvd of. The Govern[r] Says, there is a Report Run about the Island like Wild fire that there is a new Government comeing here from England, How true the Report is he cant tell. But he wonders how the Rabble of the People of the Island Should have Such a Correspondence in England. The Govern[r] Says he is Sure he has don all that lay in his power to Promote their Interest [&] for the good of the Island and that he has not only Stayd and Contrivd, but he has taken a great Deal of pains in Acting it, full as much as any of his predecessors. And he did Expect Commen dations at least if not a reward. But if this be his reward the Company are Unworthy of his Service. And because there is no Report but may have Some truth in it He thinks twill be very hard when another Govern[r] Comes to lye in the Streets, and therefore desires that Some House or other in the valley may be fitted up at the Comp[as]

Island of St Helena. April.

At a consultation held on Wednesday 3 April 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy and Matthew Bazett third.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor said there was a report running about the island like wildfire that a new government was coming here from England. How true the report was he could not tell, but he wondered how the rabble of the people of the island should have such a correspondence in England. The Governor said he was sure he had done all that lay in his power to promote their interest and for the good of the island. He had not only studied and contrived but had taken a great deal of pains in carrying it out, fully as much as any of his predecessors. He had expected commendations at least, if not a reward. If this were his reward, the Company were unworthy of his service.

Since no report but might have some truth in it, the Governor thought it would be very hard when another governor came to lie in the streets. He therefore desired that some house or other in the valley might be fitted up at the Company's [...]

Interpretations

This consultation records the Governor's response to a rumour of his own supersession, a report that a new government was coming from England spreading fast about the island. Isaac Pyke had governed since before the proclamation of King George at the island on 6 June 1715, and the talk of his replacement touched the standing of the whole administration.

The Governor's complaint of the rabble's correspondence in England reveals his suspicion that the report was fed from the island itself. The bench had lately treated the disclosure of its proceedings as a grave offence, resolving at the consultation of 13 January 1716/17 that whoever revealed the secrets of the council was a traitor to the Company, and Pyke's wonder at the people's English correspondence reflects the same concern that disaffection was reaching home over his head.

The Governor's recital of his pains for the island, set against his expectation of commendation rather than displacement, is the defence of a record he judged equal to any predecessor's. His administration had built the documentary baseline, the irrigation works, the slave musters and the long restraint of bills on London, and the protest that the Company were unworthy of his service if supersession were his reward is the language of an officer affronted by the rumour.

The request for a house in the valley to be fitted up against a new governor's coming turns the rumour to a practical end. The Governor noted that any report might hold some truth, and rather than be caught without a residence he sought provision for his successor in advance, the want of a fit habitation a real difficulty given the ruin of the plantation house Worrall had reported through 1716.

Speculations

The Governor's framing of the house as provision for a successor, rather than for himself, let him press a practical preparation without conceding that the rumour was true. By acting on the chance that some new government might come, while professing not to know whether it would, he secured a residence against the event without admitting his own removal, the request hedged on the very uncertainty he complained of.

The open expression of grievance, entered in the record as the Governor's own words, served to lay his case before the directors who would read the consultation. By setting out his pains and his expectation of reward against the threat of displacement, Pyke used the council book itself to answer the English correspondence he suspected, putting his defence on the record that would reach the same masters the rumour sought to reach.

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Companys Charge for him, for he has not been So dilligent as Some that was here before him and therefore has no place of his own to live in. Order[d] That M[r] Francis's back rooms be fitted up while Washt and Glazd for the Govern[rs] use. The Govern[r] Demands of Capt: Haswell the Accomptant when he thinks the Store Books will be furnisht. Capt: Haswell Says he will have them Fin nished in a months time. The Govern[r] Demands of Capt: Bazett when the Inventory of Store Goods will be ready. Capt: Bazett Says, they have been daily about it when other business in the Stores did not hinder them, and Shall in a very little time have it ready. The Govern[r] Says, He is willing to have the business in the Secretarys Office Neglected for a little time, and that the Persons therein Em ployd Do Asist the Accompt[t] and Storekeeper, and that they mayn't be hinderd So much as they have been. Order[d]. That after the End of this present Week there be no Serving out Goods till Thursday the 18[th] Inst[t] and that An Advertizement be published Accordingly that every body may Provide.

April 1717

The house was to be fitted up at the Company's charge for the new governor, since the present successor had not been so diligent as one who had served here before him and so had no place of his own to live in.

The council ordered that Mr Francis's back rooms be fitted up, whitewashed and glazed, for the governor's use.

The Governor asked Captain Haswell the accountant when he thought the store books would be finished. Captain Haswell said he would have them finished in a month's time.

The Governor asked Captain Bazett when the inventory of store goods would be ready. Captain Bazett said they had been daily about it when other business in the stores did not hinder them, and would have it ready in a very little time.

The Governor said he was willing to have the business in the secretary's office neglected for a little time, and that the persons employed there assist the accountant and storekeeper, so that they might not be hindered so much as they had been.

The council ordered that, after the end of the present week, there be no serving out of goods until Thursday the 18th of the month, and that an advertisement be published accordingly so that everybody might provide.

Interpretations

This continues the Governor's provision against a new government carried over from the consultation of 3 April 1717, the house in the valley now fixed as Mr Francis's back rooms to be whitewashed and glazed. The reference to a successor wanting a place of his own ties the work to the rumoured replacement, the residence made ready against an incoming governor's arrival.

The Governor's questions to Haswell and Bazett press the two officers on the great accounting tasks then in hand. The store books in Haswell's charge as accountant and the inventory of store goods in Bazett's were the records the directors required, the inventory the same exact count the Governor had ordered taken at Christmas and ready by 1 March to ground the indent of stores. Both officers now promised completion within a short term.

The Governor's willingness to let the secretary's office stand neglected reflects the recent suspension of Antipas Tovey from the secretaryship at the consultation in March 1717 over his demand of 2 per cent on the Drake slave sale. With the secretary put out, the Governor diverted the office clerks to assist the accountant and storekeeper, turning the vacancy to the pressing accounting work rather than leaving it idle.

The order stopping the serving out of goods from the end of the week until 18 April is the standing device for clearing time to make up the store accounts. The same measure had been used before, the issue of goods restricted to certain days to release the storekeeper's establishment for accounting, and the public advertisement gave the inhabitants notice to provide themselves before the stores closed.

Speculations

The Governor's diversion of the idle secretary's clerks to the accountant and storekeeper turned Tovey's suspension to immediate practical use. With the great tasks of the store books and the inventory pressing toward the directors, the want of a secretary freed hands that could be set to the more urgent business, the Governor making the vacancy serve the accounting rather than letting the office work lapse for its own sake.

The stop on serving out goods for the better part of two weeks shows the bench buying a clear run for the accounts at the cost of the inhabitants' convenience. By fixing a single date for resumption and advertising it in advance, the council gave fair warning to provide while securing the storekeeper's establishment an uninterrupted spell to finish the inventory the directors awaited, the same balance of supply against audit struck in the earlier restrictions on issue days.

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provide themselves with Such Necessarys as they want. M[r] Thomas Cason Lieut[t] desires that his House rent may be Allowd him till the Barracks are finnisht, According to the usuall Custome. We all think M[r] Cason to be a very deserving man and wont break an old Custom to his Disad vantage. And Therefore Order[d] That M[r] Newngham in whose House He at present lives, have Creditt for three Pounds a year for the time he has been in it, and untill the said Barracks are finnishd. The Govern[r] Says that the Hon[ble] Comp[a] in one of their Letters, Ordered that M[r] Johnsons House in the valley Adjoyning to their Garden Should be bought of him. But M[r] Johnson being unwilling to Sell it The Govern[r] has Hird the Said House of him at Six Pounds p[r] annu[m] and the Surgeon (having no other Convenient Lodging) lives in the Fore part of it at present. And the Govern[rs] Blacks with Some of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Lives in the back part, Which the Govern[r] mentions tho it be known to all of us before because he would have it Appear by the Consulta tion Books how farr the Hon[ble] Comp[a] are M[r] Johnsons Tennants. William Portley Overseer of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Plartation calld Perkins Complains against a black.

April 1717

The inhabitants were to provide themselves with such necessaries as they wanted.

Mr Thomas Cason, lieutenant, desired that his house rent might be allowed him until the barracks were finished, according to the usual custom. The council thought Cason a very deserving man and would break an old custom to his disadvantage. It therefore ordered that Mr Wrangham, in whose house Cason at present lived, have credit for 3 pounds a year for the time he had been in it, and until the barracks were finished.

The Governor said the Honourable Company, in one of their letters, had ordered that Mr Johnson's house in the valley adjoining their garden should be bought of him. But Mr Johnson being unwilling to sell it, the Governor had hired the house of him at 6 pounds a year. The surgeon, having no other convenient lodging, lived in the fore part of it at present, and the Governor's slaves, with some of the Honourable Company's, lived in the back part. The Governor mentioned this, though it was known to all of the council before, because he would have it appear by the consultation books how far the Honourable Company were Mr Johnson's tenants.

William Portley, overseer of the Honourable Company's plantation called Perkins, complained against a black [...]

Interpretations

This consultation gathers several matters of housing and tenancy, opening with the lieutenant Thomas Cason's claim to house rent until the barracks were built. Cason had served the administration since being made assistant on 26 September 1712 and had lately surveyed the Company's yams in February 1716/17, and the bench, holding him a deserving man, allowed his landlord Francis Wrangham credit of 3 pounds a year for the time Cason had lodged there.

The arrangement pays the rent to the householder Wrangham rather than to the tenant Cason, the credit entered to the man whose house was used. Wrangham appears across the record as a planter and former churchwarden, most recently stabbed by Antipas Tovey on 7 March 1715/16, and the credit for Cason's lodging is entered to his store account in the ordinary way.

The Governor's account of Mr Johnson's house sets out the Company's standing as a tenant where it had been ordered to buy. The directors had directed the purchase of Joshua Johnson's house adjoining the Company garden, but Johnson being unwilling to sell, the Governor hired it at 6 pounds a year, the surgeon lodged in the front and the Governor's and Company's slaves in the back. Joshua Johnson was a substantial householder of the church rate of January 1714/15 whose slave Simon had been convicted of theft at the Court of Judicature of 5 October 1715.

The Governor's stated reason for entering the matter, that the consultation books should show how far the Company were Johnson's tenants, marks a deliberate use of the record. Though the council already knew the arrangement, he had it written down so the directors could see that their order to buy had been met instead by a hiring, the want of any sale set plainly against their instruction.

William Portley appears as the overseer of the Company plantation called Perkins, the same man recorded as marshal under the variant spelling and earlier dismissed from that office on 27 September 1715. Perkins's plantation had carried 180,000 yams in Cason's survey of 19 February 1716/17, and Portley's complaint against a slave opens a matter of plantation discipline.

Speculations

The Governor's care to enter the Johnson tenancy on the record, despite its being known to all the council, shows him guarding the administration against any later charge of disobeying the directors' order to buy. By setting out that Johnson refused to sell and that the Company therefore hired, he fixed in the consultation book the reason their instruction had not been carried out, the written account his protection should the directors question why the purchase was never made.

The bench's willingness to break an old custom to Cason's disadvantage, expressly declined in his favour, treats the house-rent allowance as a discretionary reward for a valued officer rather than a fixed entitlement. The same standing of a deserving man that had won Cason his place and his surveys now won him the rent, the council bending its own practice to keep faith with an officer it relied upon.

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a black man Slave of Serj[t] Slaughters namd Peter who is now run away, for coming frequently into the Plantation and has Stolen Severall Yams, and one Hogg. Order[d] That Serjeant Slaughter have Notice given him. that if he dont take Immediate Care to have his black Catcht, He Shall be Obliged to pay for all the Damage he has already done and may do before he is taken. Cap[t] Charles Burnham having Sold Some Sickly Blacks here to the People of the Island amounting to Sixty Pounds, desired he might have Bills of Exchange for the Credit Given him for paym[t] upon the Hon[ble] Company, which We opened him and bore date the 30 March 1717. Ralph Orme montross having Servd the Hon[ble] Comp[a] his Contracted time [&] upwards, requested by Petition to be dischargd. Granted. And that the Gunn[r] do therefore make Choice of another man to fill up the vacancy of Montross at Shall be approvd of by the Govern[r]

April 1717

The inhabitants were to provide themselves with such necessaries as they wanted.

Mr Thomas Cason, lieutenant, desired that his house rent might be allowed him until the barracks were finished, according to the usual custom. The council thought Cason a very deserving man and would break an old custom to his disadvantage. It therefore ordered that Mr Wrangham, in whose house Cason at present lived, have credit for 3 pounds a year for the time he had been in it, and until the barracks were finished.

The Governor said the Honourable Company, in one of their letters, had ordered that Mr Johnson's house in the valley adjoining their garden should be bought of him. But Mr Johnson being unwilling to sell it, the Governor had hired the house of him at 6 pounds a year. The surgeon, having no other convenient lodging, lived in the fore part of it at present, and the Governor's slaves, with some of the Honourable Company's, lived in the back part. The Governor mentioned this, though it was known to all of the council before, because he would have it appear by the consultation books how far the Honourable Company were Mr Johnson's tenants.

William Portley, overseer of the Honourable Company's plantation called Perkins, complained against a black [...]

Interpretations

This consultation gathers several matters of housing and tenancy, opening with the lieutenant Thomas Cason's claim to house rent until the barracks were built. Cason had served the administration since being made assistant on 26 September 1712 and had lately surveyed the Company's yams in February 1716/17, and the bench, holding him a deserving man, allowed his landlord Francis Wrangham credit of 3 pounds a year for the time Cason had lodged there.

The arrangement pays the rent to the householder Wrangham rather than to the tenant Cason, the credit entered to the man whose house was used. Wrangham appears across the record as a planter and former churchwarden, most recently stabbed by Antipas Tovey on 7 March 1715/16, and the credit for Cason's lodging is entered to his store account in the ordinary way.

The Governor's account of Mr Johnson's house sets out the Company's standing as a tenant where it had been ordered to buy. The directors had directed the purchase of Joshua Johnson's house adjoining the Company garden, but Johnson being unwilling to sell, the Governor hired it at 6 pounds a year, the surgeon lodged in the front and the Governor's and Company's slaves in the back. Joshua Johnson was a substantial householder of the church rate of January 1714/15 whose slave Simon had been convicted of theft at the Court of Judicature of 5 October 1715.

The Governor's stated reason for entering the matter, that the consultation books should show how far the Company were Johnson's tenants, marks a deliberate use of the record. Though the council already knew the arrangement, he had it written down so the directors could see that their order to buy had been met instead by a hiring, the want of any sale set plainly against their instruction.

William Portley appears as the overseer of the Company plantation called Perkins, the same man recorded as marshal under the variant spelling and earlier dismissed from that office on 27 September 1715. Perkins's plantation had carried 180,000 yams in Cason's survey of 19 February 1716/17, and Portley's complaint against a slave opens a matter of plantation discipline.

Speculations

The Governor's care to enter the Johnson tenancy on the record, despite its being known to all the council, shows him guarding the administration against any later charge of disobeying the directors' order to buy. By setting out that Johnson refused to sell and that the Company therefore hired, he fixed in the consultation book the reason their instruction had not been carried out, the written account his protection should the directors question why the purchase was never made.

The bench's willingness to break an old custom to Cason's disadvantage, expressly declined in his favour, treats the house-rent allowance as a discretionary reward for a valued officer rather than a fixed entitlement. The same standing of a deserving man that had won Cason his place and his surveys now won him the rent, the council bending its own practice to keep faith with an officer it relied upon.

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Island St Helena

At a Consultation Held held on Tuesday the 9[th] of Aprill 1717 At Union Castle in James valley. Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] Pres[t] George Haswell D[e]p[ty] Matth[w] Bazett 3

The Last Consultation was read [&] approovd. The Govern[r] reports that he has rec[d] the following Letter from M[r] Tovey. Worsh[p] S[r] [&c] The reason I Demanded two p[r] Cent of Capt William Mackett for the Sale of his Blacks, was because I thought it my duty and the lest I could ask, for that I have been informd tis the Custom in the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Factory's in India, for the Secty to have five p[r] Cent for the out cry of any Goods or Merchandize (He paying the Cryer [&c] If he was there himself. But if not he Employed Some Factor to do it for him, who had one p[r] Cent Allowd him for it. out of the Said five p[r] Cent) So that I askd the Least that was paid a Sec[ty] in India and tho no Such Custom is known here to all (because no Such dealings till this were worth demand ing pay for) Yet tis well known a Marshall when he Out cryed Goods here Comonly had Six

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 9 April 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke Esquire Governor, George Haswell deputy and Matthew Bazett third.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor reported that he had received the following letter from Mr Tovey.

Tovey wrote to the Worshipful Governor and the rest, setting out that the reason he had demanded 2 per cent of Captain William Mackett for the sale of his slaves was because he thought it his due and the least he could ask. He had been informed it was the custom in the Honourable Company's factories in India for the secretary to have 5 per cent for the auction of any goods or merchandise, the secretary paying the cryer and the like if he was there himself, but if not, employing some factor to do it for him, who had 1 per cent allowed him out of the 5 per cent. So that he had asked the least that was paid as a fee in India. Although no such custom was known here, because there had been no such dealings until this were worth demanding pay for, yet it was well known that a marshal, when he auctioned goods here, commonly had six [...]

Interpretations

This letter is Antipas Tovey's written defence of the very demand that had cost him the secretaryship, his suspension recorded after he insisted on his 2 per cent commission on the Drake slave sale at the consultation in March 1717. Having been put out of office by the Governor with the council's approval, he now sets out in writing the grounds the bench had rejected as extortion at the consultation of 16 March 1716/17.

The argument rests on the practice of the Honourable Company's Indian factories, where Tovey claims the secretary took 5 per cent on any auction of goods. The factory was the Company's trading settlement and warehouse in India, and the secretary's commission there, with 1 per cent allowed to a factor who cried the sale in his stead, is offered as the established scale against which his own demand of 2 per cent was moderate.

The cryer named in the arrangement is the officer who conducted the public outcry, calling the bids at auction, the same function the marshal performed at the island. Tovey's account distinguishes the secretary who attended the sale himself from one who employed a factor to cry it, the 1 per cent the factor's fee for the actual crying out of the goods.

Tovey's admission that no such custom was known at the island, because no such dealings had occurred until the Drake sale was worth charging for, concedes the very point Bazett and Haswell had made against him at the consultation of 16 March 1716/17. His answer is that the novelty of the transaction left no local scale, so the Indian custom should govern, the want of precedent here met by the practice of the factories abroad.

Speculations

Tovey's appeal to the Indian factory custom was a deliberate move to supply by foreign precedent the local rule the bench had found wanting. Bazett and Haswell had rejected his demand precisely because no such fee was known at the island, and by citing the 5 per cent of the Company's factories he sought to fill that gap, casting his 2 per cent as a moderate fraction of an established charge rather than an invention of his own.

His pointing to the marshal's customary fee for crying goods, which the page breaks off in setting out, prepared a fallback grounded in the island's own practice. Having first claimed the Indian scale, he turned to the local marshal's charge to show that even here a fee was paid for conducting a sale, building his case on both the foreign custom and the nearest domestic analogy so that some payment, if not his full demand, must be allowed.

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Six pence in the pound for it, and the Person that takes the Acco[t] Genrally takes most pains (as I did for Capt Mackett) But if I am wrong herein, or any thing Else I wholly Submit it to your Worship [&c] and the other Gentlem[n] in Council, For as I had no other End therein but to Preserve my own perquisites which hitherto have not amounted to Ten pounds p[r] annu[m]: and if this is my due, as I humbly conceive it is, I should wrong my Family not to Endeavour to gett it, which is more then I have gott besides in Fees [&c] Ever Since I was Secret[ry] So I hope your Worsh[p] [&c] will not Construe any thing to my prejudice herein, who thought of nothing Less then that I Should Offend You, for whose Opinion I had alwayes the greatest deference [&] Esteem, being. Worsh[p] S[r] [&c] Tuesday the 18[th] Yo[r] Obed[t] Serv[t] Aprill 1717. Antip[s] Tovey

The Govern[r] Says in answer to this Letter, M[r] Tovey is utterly wrong, for there is no Such allowance in India as he has mentiond in his Letter, But in England there is five p[r] Cent taken for Goods in a Seperate Stock Ship upon the Prime Cost outward bound

April 1717

A marshal commonly had sixpence in the pound for it, and the person that takes the account generally takes most pains, as Tovey did for Captain Mackett. He set out that if he were wrong in this, or anything else, he wholly submitted it to the Worshipful Governor and the other gentlemen in council. He had no other end in it but to preserve his own perquisites, which had not amounted to 10 pounds a year. If this were his due, as he humbly conceived it was, he should do his family wrong not to try to get it, this being more than he had got besides in fees ever since he was secretary. He hoped the Worshipful Governor and the rest would not construe anything to his prejudice in the matter, having thought of nothing less than that he should offend them, for whose opinion he always held the greatest deference and esteem. The letter was subscribed by Antipas Tovey as the obedient servant of the Worshipful Governor and the rest, and dated Sunday 7 April 1717.

The Governor said in answer to this letter that Mr Tovey was utterly wrong, for there was no such allowance in India as he had mentioned in his letter. But in England there was 5 per cent taken for goods in a separate stock ship upon the prime cost outward bound [...]

Interpretations

This completes Antipas Tovey's letter of 7 April 1717 defending his demand of 2 per cent on the Drake slave sale and begins the Governor's answer. Tovey had been suspended from the secretaryship after insisting on the commission at the consultation in March 1717, and the exchange of letter and reply is his attempt to recover his ground against the bench that put him out.

Tovey's claim rests on the marshal's customary fee of sixpence in the pound for crying an auction, the local charge he had begun to cite before the previous page broke off. Sixpence in the pound is a rate of 2.5 per cent, set against his own demand of 2 per cent, and his argument is that the man who takes the trouble of the account deserves at least as much as the marshal who merely cries the sale.

The perquisites Tovey pleads are the incidental fees of his office beyond his salary, which he reckons had not reached 10 pounds a year. His defence is framed as a duty to his family not to forgo what was due, the commission worth more than all his other secretarial fees together, and the submission to the bench's judgement is the form of an officer seeking restoration rather than pressing a quarrel.

The Governor's flat contradiction, that there was no such allowance in India as Tovey alleged, strikes at the foundation of the whole claim. Where Tovey had grounded his demand on the 5 per cent of the Company's Indian factories, the Governor denies any such custom exists there, and points instead to the English practice of a separate stock ship, where 5 per cent was taken on goods upon the prime cost outward bound.

The separate stock ship the Governor names was a vessel trading on a private or separate account distinct from the Company's united trade, the Mercury under Captain Lytton having been such a ship in the road in March 1715. The 5 per cent there was reckoned on the prime cost of goods sent out, a different basis from the sale price of slaves, and the Governor's citation turns Tovey's own appeal to custom against him.

Speculations

Tovey's reckoning of his perquisites at under 10 pounds a year was a calculated plea of poverty in office, framing the commission as a needed addition to a thin income rather than a grasping demand. By setting the worth of the disputed fee above all his other secretarial earnings together, he sought to move the bench by the smallness of his lawful gains, casting his insistence as the care of a family man rather than the extortion the Governor had named it.

The Governor's correction of the precedent, denying the Indian custom while supplying the English one, shows him meeting Tovey on the ground of custom only to deny him its benefit. By granting that 5 per cent was taken in England but on the prime cost of outward goods in a separate stock ship, not on the sale of slaves through the council, he exposed Tovey's authority as misapplied, the figure right but the case wholly different, and so left the demand without any true precedent to rest on.

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outward bound, but the Comp[as] Secret[ry] in England never dar take Such p[r] Cent for Such Goods, tho they be Sold in the Companys own Hall, and Capt Mackett did pay Custom here by deliver ing Blacks for the Said Hon[ble] Comp[as] Use, and therefore the Govern[rs] Opinion is That no Such p[r] Cent can be Lawfully demanded from him. The rest of the Council are of the Same is of the Same Opinion. The Govern[r] reports that this morning he had an Account from Stepny one of his own Blacks, That M[r] Wranghams Black M[r] Powells Blacks, and M[r] Francis's Blacks. all latly bought out of the Drake, had contrived together to Steal one of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] boats and goe to their own Country again Whereupon the Govern[r] Sent for the before named planters and they having heard what Stepney declard in their Presence to be the Same as he Sayd before Sent into the Country for their Said accusd Blacks to come down, and doe Sup pose they will give them due Correction. John Orchard Planter made Complaint against Gabriell Powill for denying him the Liberty of puting Some Cattle into Pasture According to a former agreement his wife (when

April 1717

The Governor said that 5 per cent was taken in England on goods outward bound, but the Company's secretary in England never dared take such a percentage for goods sold in the Company's own hall. Captain Mackett had paid custom here by delivering slaves for the Honourable Company. The Governor's opinion was therefore that no such percentage could lawfully be demanded from him. The rest of the council were of the same opinion.

The Governor reported that this morning he had an account from Stepney, one of his own slaves, that the slaves of Mr Wrangham, Mr Powell and Mr Francis, all lately bought out of the Drake, had plotted together to steal one of the Honourable Company's boats and go to their own country again. On this the Governor sent for the planters named, and they, having heard what Stepney declared in their presence to be the same as he had said before, sent into the country for their accused slaves to come down, and the council supposed they would give them due correction.

John Orchard, planter, made complaint against Gabriel Powell for denying him the liberty of putting some cattle into pasture according to a former agreement. His wife, when [...]

Interpretations

This completes the Governor's answer on the secretary's fee and records two fresh matters. On the commission, the Governor distinguishes the 5 per cent taken in England on outward goods from any charge on goods sold in the Company's own hall, where even the secretary at home took nothing. Captain Mackett had paid his custom at the island in kind by delivering slaves to the Honourable Company, so no percentage on his sale could lawfully be demanded, and the whole council concurred against Antipas Tovey, whose suspension over that very demand had been recorded in March 1717.

The plot among the newly bought slaves ties directly to the Drake sale settled at the consultations of 4 and 16 March 1716/17. The slaves of Wrangham, Powell and Francis, all purchased out of that ship, are reported to have agreed to steal a Company boat and return to Madagascar, the same design of seizing a vessel that had run through the seamen's conspiracy of 5 February 1716/17 and the boat-securing order of 6 March 1716/17.

The information came from the Governor's own slave Stepney, who declared the plot and repeated it before the accused slaves' masters. The use of a slave as informer against other slaves, his account tested by being said again in the planters' presence, is the mechanism by which the design was fixed before the masters were left to correct their own slaves.

John Orchard the planter appears in a dispute with Gabriel Powell over grazing, Orchard charging that Powell had refused him the liberty of pasturing cattle under a former agreement. Powell is the substantial freeholder who had led the freemen's request to buy the Drake's slaves at the consultation of 2 March 1716/17, and the grazing quarrel is a private contest between two planters brought before the bench.

Speculations

The Governor's leaving the correction of the plotting slaves to their own masters, rather than the bench taking it up, reflects a deliberate division of authority over slave discipline. The slaves were private property bought out of the Drake, and their masters were sent to fetch and correct them, the council reserving its own hand while supposing the planters would punish a design that threatened the Company's boat as much as the masters' new purchases.

The reliance on Stepney's information, retested before the accused slaves' owners, shows the bench grounding its action on an informer of the same condition as the accused. The repetition of his account in the planters' presence served to verify it before any correction followed, the slave's word made to stand by being affirmed openly rather than taken on a single private report.

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(when a Widdow) made with Charles Steward Dec[d] whose Executor M[r] Powill is. M[r] Powill Says Capt Haswell having half M[r] Stewards Land, told the Said Orchard when he came to him about puting Some of his Cattle in Pasture To go to Capt Haswell and bring him word what he Said to it. The Said Orchard Says he did goe to Capt Haswell, and he forbid him driving any Cattle in his Pasture. And produced the following agreement which his wife formerly made with M[r] Steward aforesaid. Island St Helena Know all men by these presents that I Mary Maxwell of y[e] Island St Helena Relict of Sam[ll] Maxwell, [decd] dec[d] For and in Consideration of the Summe of two thousand Yams to me in hand paid by Charles Steward of the s[d] Island free planter have Bargained Sold and Sett over [&] Delivered and by these presents According to y[e] Just [&] due form of Law in that Case made [&] Provided doe Bargain Sett over [&] Deliver Unto the Said Charles Steward free plant[r] my whole Right [&] Title into Six Acres of Cabbidge tree Land being p[ar]t of 20. Acres of land bought of James Greenber formerly Known by the Name of Charles Land, the s[d] Charles Steward his Heirs Execut[rs] Administral[rs] or assigns being to Allow the s[d] Mary Maxwell the Grazeing of two head of Cattle in his or their Pasture or pastures or four head for Six months, or According as the Said Mary Maxwell shall think fitt provided it shall be According to the before mentioned quantity of two in the year, During the Said Mary Maxwells Naturall life and

April 1717

The agreement had been made by Orchard's wife, when a widow, with Charles Steward deceased, whose executor Mr Powell was.

Mr Powell said that Captain Haswell, having half of Steward's land, had told Orchard, when he came to him about putting some of his cattle into pasture, to go to Captain Haswell and bring him word what he said to it. Orchard said he did go to Captain Haswell, and Haswell forbade him driving any cattle into his pasture. Orchard produced the following agreement which his wife had formerly made with Mr Steward.

Island of St Helena.

By this agreement Mary Maxwell of the island of St Helena, relict of Samuel Maxwell deceased, set out that for and in consideration of the sum of 2,000 yams paid to her in hand by Charles Steward of the island, free planter, she had bargained, sold and delivered over, and by these presents, according to the just and due form of law made and provided in that case, did bargain, sell over and deliver to the said Charles Steward, free planter, her whole right and title to 6 acres of cabbage tree land, being part of 20 acres of land bought of James Greentree and formerly known by the name of Charles's land. In return Charles Steward, his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns were to allow Mary Maxwell the grazing of 2 head of cattle in his or their pasture or pastures, or 4 head for 6 months, or as Mary Maxwell should think fit, provided it be according to the before-mentioned quantity of two in the year. During the said Mary Maxwell's life she was to have [...]

Interpretations

This continues the grazing dispute between John Orchard and Gabriel Powell opened at the consultation of 9 April 1717, and turns on a land bargain reaching back into the Maxwell and Steward holdings. Powell appears as executor of Charles Steward deceased, the estate he and Richard Gurling had administered and whose value was set at about 1,200 pounds in Powell's petition of 24 May 1715.

The right Orchard claims came to him through his wife, formerly the widow of Samuel Maxwell, who had sold land to Charles Steward in exchange for perpetual grazing. The cause therefore binds three estates, the Maxwell land passing to Steward, the Steward land now divided so that Captain Haswell held half in right of his marriage to Steward's widow, and the grazing right descending to Orchard through his wife. Haswell's forbidding of the cattle is the act complained of, the deputy governor refusing the very pasturage the old bargain secured.

The embedded agreement is a deed of bargain and sale, the legal instrument by which Mary Maxwell conveyed 6 acres of cabbage tree land to Charles Steward. The land was part of 20 acres bought of James Greentree and known as Charles's land, the cabbage tree denoting the indigenous wooded ground that marked elevation and fertility. The consideration was not money but 2,000 yams, the staple provision of the island serving here as the price of land.

The grazing reserved to Mary Maxwell is the heart of the deed, a right in kind retained against the land sold. She was to have the grazing of 2 head of cattle in Steward's pasture in perpetuity, or 4 head for 6 months as she chose, the right binding Steward's heirs, executors and assigns. This is the obligation that now ran with the divided Steward land and that Orchard sought to enforce against Haswell as one of those successors.

Speculations

The reservation of grazing for life in exchange for the land, rather than a price in money, fixed the bargain as a continuing burden on the land sold rather than a single closed sale. Mary Maxwell gave up the soil but kept its use for her cattle, binding every later holder of Steward's pasture, which is precisely why the right could be pressed years afterward against Haswell as the successor to half the land, the deed structured to follow the ground into whosever hands it passed.

The valuation of the 6 acres in yams rather than sterling reflects a transaction settled in the island's own provision economy, where the staple crop served as both food and currency. Pricing the land at 2,000 yams let two planters deal without recourse to scarce coin or bills, the bargain measured in the commodity the land itself produced and the same commodity the grazing right was meant to help the seller go on raising.

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and the Said Mary Maxwell for my Self my Heirs [&] execut[rs] Adm[rs] [&c] unto the Said Charles Steward his Heirs [&] against all [&] all manner of p[er]sons Shall [&] will Warr[t] and for ever Defend by these Presents In Witness whereof I have hereunto Sett my hand [&] Seal the day of 1705/6 Signd Seald [&] Deliv[r]d in the presence of us.

Order[d] That the Said John Orchard have Liberty to turn his Cattle into Pasture according to the aforesaid agreement, but the Number of four head for half a year or two head a whole year, and in whose pasture they Shall Graze, is left to the Persons Concernd to agree upon. Richard Swallow Jun[r] made Compl[t] against George Sanders (who married Tho[s] Gargens Wid[o]) for Denying to pay him y[e] Sume of Tenn Pounds, which he Says the Said Gargen was Oblig[d] to pay unto Each of Rich[d] Alexanders Children, and his wife being one of them, made Demand of Said money according to the tenor [&] meaning of Said Bond, a Copy of which is as follows. Island St Helena Know all men by these p[r]esents that We Thomas Gargen, John Robinson and Thomas Perkins do hereby Acknowledge our Selves to Stand.

April 1717

Mary Maxwell, for herself, her heirs, executors and administrators, bound herself to warrant the grant to Charles Steward, his heirs, against all manner of persons, and for ever to defend it by these presents. In witness of this she had set her hand and seal on the [...] day of [...] 1705/6. It was signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of witnesses.

The council ordered that John Orchard have liberty to turn his cattle into pasture according to the agreement, but the number of 4 head for half a year, or 2 head a whole year. In whose pasture they should graze was left to the persons concerned to agree upon.

Richard Swallow junior made complaint against George Sanders, who had married the widow of Thomas Gargen, for denying to pay him the sum of 10 pounds. Swallow said Gargen had been obliged to pay this to each of Richard Alexander's children, his wife being one of them, and made demand of the money according to the tenor and meaning of a bond, a copy of which follows.

Island of St Helena.

By this bond Thomas Gargen, John Robinson and Thomas Perkins acknowledged themselves to stand [...]

Interpretations

This completes the Maxwell deed of 1705/6 and resolves the grazing dispute between John Orchard and Gabriel Powell, then opens a fresh claim against the Gargen estate. The deed closes with a warranty clause, Mary Maxwell binding herself and her heirs to defend Charles Steward's title against all comers, the standing assurance in a bargain and sale by which the seller guaranteed the buyer's possession.

The council's order enforces the old grazing right but fixes its measure, allowing Orchard 4 head for half a year or 2 head for a whole year, the terms the deed itself had set. By leaving the choice of pasture to the parties, the bench settled the right while declining to direct which of the divided Steward holdings should bear it, the dispute with Haswell and Powell left to private agreement.

The new complaint draws George Sanders into yet another demand on the Gargen estate he administered. Sanders had married the widow of Thomas Gargen and held the letter of administration granted in her right on 12 February 1716/17, and had only just brought in his inventory and sought a final division at the consultation of 19 March 1716/17 after Haswell paid the 440-pound purchase debt. Richard Swallow now charges him with refusing a legacy of 10 pounds owed to each of Richard Alexander's children.

The claim reaches back to the long-contested Alexander estate, Richard Alexander being the former holder of land seized under Roberts's government and restored to his widow Mercy, who afterwards married Gargen. Swallow's wife is named as one of Alexander's children entitled under a bond, and the suit binds the Alexander and Gargen estates together, the debt charged on Gargen's administration through his marriage to the Alexander widow.

The embedded bond is the instrument on which the claim rests, Thomas Gargen with John Robinson and Thomas Perkins acknowledging themselves bound. A bond of this kind fixed a debt with sureties, Robinson and Perkins standing jointly with Gargen, and its copy is entered so the council could measure Swallow's demand against its tenor.

Speculations

The council's enforcement of the grazing right while reducing it to a fixed annual measure addressed the practical danger in a perpetual right left unquantified. An open liberty to pasture cattle could be stretched against a successor who never bargained for it, so the bench tied the right to the exact terms of the deed, 4 head for half a year or 2 for a whole, protecting both Orchard's entitlement and Haswell's pasture from an indefinite burden.

The reappearance of the Gargen estate in a third successive claim, after the administration dispute and the purchase debt, suggests the estate carried scattered obligations that surfaced only as each creditor came forward. Swallow's demand, grounded on a bond with sureties rather than the will, shows the estate answerable not only to its own legatees but to debts Gargen had contracted toward the Alexander children, the administration drawing in liabilities from the family Gargen had married into.

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Stand Indebted unto Rynn Wills [&] John Alexander Execut[rs] of the Last Will [&] Testam[t] of Rich[d] Alexander dec[d] for the use and Bennefit of five Children belonging to the Said Rich[d] Alexander in the Sume of Five Hundred Eighty Pounds, Eleaven Shilings One penny half Penny and for the true paym[t] thereof to be made unto the Said Rynn Wills [&] John Aların[d] Execut[rs] as aforesaid We do hereby bind our Selves, our Heirs Execut[rs] [&] Adminis[trs] firmly by these presents The Condition of this obligation is Such That Whereas the above bound Thomas Gargen having Married the Widd[o] of Rich[d] Alexander dec[d] and made the following agreem[t] with the Execut[rs] Touching the Devision of the Estate and the Childrens Parts, and providing for the Children, As in Consultation of the 27[th] of Aprill, may Appear (Viz[t] First That two Hundred Ninety Pounds five shillings [&] Six pence three farthings being the whole Personall Estate of the Said Rich[d] Alexander Shall be Given the Said Gargen upon the Conditions following which Said Sume he dos hereby Acknowledge to have received in Cash. Goods, [&] debts Standing out. That he Shall take Care, Maintain with Cloathing, meat, Drink, Wasping and Lodging, and bring up the aforesaid five Children in the Fear of God, [&] Sett them to Trades, or Some Honest callings, and that

April 1717

By this bond Thomas Gargen, John Robinson and Thomas Perkins acknowledged themselves indebted to Ripin Wills and John Alexander, executors of the last will and testament of Richard Alexander deceased, for the use and benefit of five children belonging to Richard Alexander, in the sum of £580 11s 1½d. They bound themselves, their heirs, executors and administrators firmly by these presents for the true payment of it to Wills and Alexander as executors.

The condition of this obligation was such that Thomas Gargen, having married the widow of Richard Alexander deceased, had made the following agreement with the executors concerning the division of the estate and the children's parts, and the provision for the children, as appeared in the consultation of 27 April.

First, that the sum of £290 5s 6¾d, being the whole personal estate of Richard Alexander, should be given to Gargen upon the conditions following, which sum he acknowledged to have received in cash, goods and debts standing out.

That he should take care to maintain with clothing, meat, drink, washing and lodging, and bring up the five children in the fear of God, and set them to trades or some honest callings. And that [...]

Interpretations

This embedded bond is the instrument behind Richard Swallow's claim of 10 pounds against George Sanders, opened at the consultation of 9 April 1717 and continued here. The bond binds Thomas Gargen with his sureties John Robinson and Thomas Perkins to the executors of Richard Alexander, and its terms reach back to the agreement of 27 April, an entry of the earlier Alexander settlement under the previous administration.

The structure is a penal bond securing a maintenance obligation. The named sum of £580 11s 1½d is the penalty, double the kind of figure that secured performance, while the true subject is the personal estate of £290 5s 6¾d that Gargen received on marrying the Alexander widow. By taking the estate he bound himself to maintain and bring up the five children, the bond holding him to that charge on pain of the larger sum.

Ripin Wills and John Alexander stand as executors of Richard Alexander's will, the men in whom the children's right was vested. Wills appears across the record as a planter and frequent juror, and John Alexander as the clerk and executor active throughout the administration, the two now holding the bond for the benefit of the five children against Gargen and his estate.

The maintenance terms set out the full charge Gargen undertook in return for the estate, the clothing, food, washing and lodging of the five children, their upbringing in religion and their placing in trades or honest callings. This is the standard form of the island's orphan provision, the guardian taking the estate and binding himself to rear and establish the children, the same pattern the court of orphans applied to maintenance allowances and trade-setup grants.

The claim now falls on George Sanders because he married the same widow after Gargen's death and administers Gargen's estate under the letter granted on 12 February 1716/17. The 10 pounds Swallow demands for his wife, one of the five Alexander children, is part of the obligation the bond fixed on whoever held the estate, the debt descending through two marriages to rest on Sanders's administration.

Speculations

The use of a penal bond at double the estate's value, with two sureties beyond Gargen himself, was a deliberate device to secure the children's maintenance against a stepfather who took their inheritance into his own hands. By exposing Gargen and his sureties Robinson and Perkins to a penalty far exceeding the £290 5s 6¾d he received, the executors ensured the children's upbringing was guaranteed by more than Gargen's own solvency, the bond structured so that failure to maintain them would cost far more than the estate was worth.

The descent of this obligation through the Alexander widow's successive marriages, from Alexander to Gargen and now to the bench's view of Sanders, shows the maintenance charge attaching to the estate rather than to any one husband. Each man who took the widow and her late husband's property took with it the duty to the children, which is why Swallow could press a bond made by Gargen against Sanders, the administration carrying the burden the estate had always borne.

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that they Shall be no Charge to the Island, and that He give Ten pound at Least for Setting out of Each of them to Such trade or Calling as they are Inclind to take. And that he presently give Each of the five Children a Milch Cow for Breed. which w[th] the Increase to be in Comon and Joyltly among them.) Now if the said Thomas Gargen His Heirs, Execut[rs] Administral[rs] [&] assigns Shall well [&] truly perform all and every the aboves Articles, According to the true intent [&] meaning of the agreement between them as aforesaid that then this Obligation Shall be void and of no Effect otherwise to remain in Full force Power [&] Vertue. In Witness whereof both party's have hereunto Interchangeably Sett their hands [&] Seales this 30 Day of July 1711. Seald Signed [&] Deliverd Rypin Wills in the presence of Us. Jn[o] Alexander Daniell Griffith 3 in Coun[l] Thom[s] Free 4 C[o] Coun[l] Wee are of Opinion that by vertue of the Said Bond, the Said Richard Swallow in right of his wife hath Just Claim to the Ten pound he Demands. And. Therefore Sanders is Accordingly Ordered to pay it unto him, and take his receipt. The

April 1717

The five children were to be no charge to the island, and Gargen was to give 10 pounds at least for setting out each of them to such trade or calling as they were inclined to take. He was also presently to give each of the five children a milch cow for breeding, the increase to be held in common and jointly among them.

If Thomas Gargen, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns should well and truly perform all and every one of the above articles, according to the true intent and meaning of the agreement, then this obligation should be void and of no effect, otherwise to remain in full force, power and virtue. In witness of this, both parties had interchangeably set their hands and seals on 30 July 1711. The bond was signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Daniel Griffith, third in council, and Thomas Free, clerk of the council. It was subscribed by Ripin Wills and John Alexander.

The council was of opinion that, by virtue of the bond, Richard Swallow in right of his wife had a just claim to the 10 pounds he demanded. It therefore ordered Sanders to pay it to him and take his receipt.

Interpretations

This completes the Alexander maintenance bond behind Richard Swallow's claim and gives the council's decision. The bond, dated 30 July 1711, bound Thomas Gargen on his marriage to the Alexander widow to maintain her five children and to set each out in a trade with at least 10 pounds, the very sum Swallow now claims for his wife as one of those children.

The provision of a milch cow to each child, with the increase held in common, is the standard orphan dowry of the island recorded elsewhere as the cow-per-child with breeding increase held jointly. A milch cow was a cow in milk, and the joint holding of its calves gave the children a shared and growing stock, the same pattern the court of orphans applied to maintenance settlements across the period.

The closing form of the bond is a defeasance clause, the obligation to be void if the articles were performed and otherwise in full force. This is the standard mechanism of a penal bond, the larger penalty hanging over the obligor until the underlying duty was discharged, here the maintenance and establishment of the five Alexander children.

The witnessing names date the instrument firmly within the previous administration. Daniel Griffith, third in council, died on 6 May 1712, and Thomas Free was the clerk afterwards dismissed from Company service who died on 16 July 1714, so both attesting officers were long gone by the time the bond was enforced, the document outliving the men who saw it sealed.

The council's decision binds George Sanders to pay the 10 pounds, holding that Swallow in right of his wife had a just claim under the bond. Sanders administers the Gargen estate under the letter granted on 12 February 1716/17, and the order to pay and take a receipt fixes the legacy as a debt the estate must answer, one more charge settled against the administration he had sought to close at the consultation of 19 March 1716/17.

Speculations

The requirement that the children be no charge to the island, written into the bond alongside their maintenance, shows the settlement framed to protect the parish as well as the children. By binding Gargen to clothe, feed and establish them from the estate he received, the executors ensured the five would not fall to public relief, the same concern that ran through the island's handling of orphans and that placed the burden squarely on the property rather than the community.

The council's enforcement of an eleven-year-old bond against a man twice removed from the original obligor turned on the instrument's binding of heirs, executors, administrators and assigns. Because the bond reached every successor to Gargen's estate, the bench could hold Sanders to a duty Gargen had undertaken in 1711, the careful drafting of the obligation to follow the estate making the legacy recoverable from whoever now administered it.

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The Following Petitions were Presented. Island St Helena To the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Gov[r] [&c] Council. The Humble Petition of Edmu[nd] Nichols Planter. Most Humbly Sheweth That whereas yo[r] Petition[r] being destitute of any Land to make plantation [&] Build upon, Humbly prays yo[r] Wos[hp] [&] Council To grant yo[r] Petition[r] a Parcell of the Hon[ble] Companys waste Land Contaning about 15. Acres Lying [&] next next Adjoyning to his fathers land at the head of Old Womans valley, and yo[r] Petit[rs] father is very will ing this Land Should be So lett rather then to a Stranger for severall good reasons, and therefore hopes that Motive will the more Induce Yo[r] Worsh[p] [&c] to grant yo[r] Petition[r] the afores[d] Land. And (as in duty bound) Shall for ever pray [&c] Ap[r] y[e] 6[th] 1717. (Signd) Edmund Nichols Capt: Bazett makes his Objection [&] Says he thinks there is an Ord[r] of Council That no waste Land Should be lett, that lies between Nichols's Land and the high Peak. Ordered. That M[r] Alexander be directed to Search the Council Books between this and next Consultation day to See if there's Such an Order or

Island of St Helena

The following petitions were presented.

Edmund Nichols, planter, petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. Nichols set out that, being without any land to make a plantation and build upon, he hoped the Worshipful Governor and council would grant him a parcel of the Honourable Company's waste land containing about 15 acres, lying next to his father's land at the head of Old Woman's Valley. He added that his father was very willing this land should be let to him rather than to a stranger, for several good reasons, and hoped this motive would the more incline the Worshipful Governor and council to grant him the land. The petition was signed by Edmund Nichols and dated 6 April 1717.

Captain Bazett made his objection and said he thought there was an order of council that no waste land should be let which lay between Nichols's land and the High Peak.

The council ordered that Mr Alexander be directed to search the council books between this and the next consultation day to see whether there was such an order [...]

Interpretations

This petition seeks a grant of Company waste land, the standing means by which the island's free planters acquired ground for settlement. Edmund Nichols appears as the planter fined 40 shillings at the consultation of 24 July 1716 for dealing with the Company's slaves, and probably the same man who claimed the ambergris found in Manatee Bay at the consultation of 29 August 1716, here applying for 15 acres at the head of Old Woman's Valley.

The grant is governed by the standing conditions for letting Company waste, the same rules applied when Christopher Hell was refused the Man Cupps at the consultation of 24 May 1715, requiring that the tenant be able to manure the land, hold a slave for the labour and not lie too deep in the Company's debt. The preference for letting to a neighbour rather than a stranger is the practical ground Nichols urges, his father willing the land go to his son.

Captain Bazett's objection rests on a remembered order of council reserving the waste between Nichols's land and the High Peak. High Peak was the site of the Company's own plantation, with adjacent waste sought by others for pasturage, and a standing reservation there would bar the grant whatever the petitioner's fitness, the bench guarding ground near its own holding.

The reference to John Alexander to search the council books is the standing method of verifying a claimed order against the record. Alexander was the clerk and frequent searcher of the books, and the bench, rather than rely on Bazett's recollection, directed the consultation books to be examined before the next sitting, the written record made the test of whether the reservation existed.

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or not, and if there be no Such Order, as Capt[a] Bazett Says there is, Then it be referd to the Govern[r] and Council or any two of them. to Consider what Shall be done in this Matter. Island St Helena To the Worsh[p] Isaac Pyke Esq[r] Govern[r] [&c] Councill. The Humble Petition of William Alexander, Single man. Most Humbly Sheweth. That whereas yo[r] Petition[r] being born upon this Island, and having no Inclination to goe off, Humbly prays yo[r] Worsh[p] [&] Council to grant him a Peice of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Waste Land called Sextons Ground, (formerly granted to severall) which he hopes with the help and asistance off his ffriends [&] relations to Improve for a Sufficient Settlement and lively hood hereafter. And your Petition[r] is the more desireous to Rent this peice of Land because it lies next Ad joyning to his fathers free Land and will Save a Considerable Charge in the fencing it in, and be always (when he is in the Country) Under his Eye [&] direction, which your Petition[r] hopes to be for his Advantage and more Certaine Dependance for your Petitioner well doing

April 1717

If there were no such order, as Captain Bazett said there was, then the matter was to be referred to the Governor and council, or any two of them, to consider what should be done.

Island of St Helena.

William Alexander, single man, petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council. Alexander set out that, being born upon this island and having no inclination to go off, he prayed the Worshipful Governor and council to grant him a parcel of the Honourable Company's waste land called Sexton's ground, formerly granted to several others. He hoped, with the help and assistance of his friends and relations, to improve it for a sufficient settlement and livelihood hereafter. He was the more desirous to rent this piece of land because it lay next to his father's free land and would save a considerable charge in fencing it in. It would also be always under his eye and direction when he was in the country, which he hoped would be for his advantage and a more certain dependence for his well doing [...]

Interpretations

This petition for Sexton's ground follows the same form as Edmund Nichols's application at the consultation of 7 April 1717 [...], a free planter seeking Company waste land next to his father's holding. William Alexander appears as a single man born on the island, perhaps of the Alexander family long established there, the parcel he seeks already noted as formerly granted to several others.

Sexton's ground was Company waste previously let in pieces, granted to Frances Goodwin on 20 December 1710 and to John Alexander on 8 April 1712, and lately sought by Stephen Praise Pledger at the consultation of 19 March 1716/17, whose request was referred to the Governor and Bazett. The same parcel now draws a competing application from William Alexander, the ground passing repeatedly before the bench.

The petition turns on the standing conditions for letting Company waste, the same rules of fitness and labour the council applied throughout. Alexander's grounds are practical: the land lay next to his father's free land, saving the charge of fencing a separate parcel, and would stand under his eye when he was in the country. The fencing of waste was the threshold condition for tenure, and adjacency to existing fenced land cut that burden.

The reliance on the help of friends and relations to improve the land answers the requirement that a tenant be able to manure and stock his holding. A single man could not work waste alone, and Alexander's pleading of family assistance is the means by which he met the bench's expectation that the land would be improved rather than left idle, the same test that governed every grant of Company waste.

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doeing. Who (as in duty bound) Shall ever pray. [&c] (Signd) Will[m] Alexander. Granted. John Palser Briggs made Complaint against William Coals for refusing to pay him a debt of thirty two Shillings for and on Account of Dorothy Hayse which she owd him for Stone work. The Said William Coals appeared [&] Says he never promised to pay him any money Either for himself or the Said Dorothy Hayse for that he had done work for her, and paid her the Ballance of their Account. The beforenamed Dorothy Hayse being Present Says, the Said William Coals upon making up an Old Acco[t] remaind Debtor to her in the Sume of Thirty two Shillings which she desired him to pay for her to John Palser Briggs, who being therewith Content dischargd her from the debt. Ordered. That the Said William Coals pay the Said Jn[o] Palser Briggs the Aforesaid Sume

April 1717

The petition was signed by William Alexander. Granted.

John Palser Briggs made complaint against William Coals for refusing to pay him a debt of 32 shillings, for and on account of Dorothy Hayse, which she owed him for stone work. William Coals appeared and said he had never promised to pay him any money, either for himself or for Dorothy Hayse, since he had done work for her and paid her the balance of their account. Dorothy Hayse, being present, said that William Coals, upon making up an old account, remained debtor to her in the sum of 32 shillings, which she desired him to pay for her to John Palser Briggs. Briggs, being content with this, discharged her from the debt.

The council ordered that William Coals pay John Palser Briggs the said sum [...]

Interpretations

This entry first records the grant of Sexton's ground to William Alexander, settling the petition continued from the consultation of 9 April 1717 [...] in his favour. The bare word of grant disposes of the parcel that had drawn competing applications, the bench preferring the island-born single man whose father's land adjoined it.

The Briggs complaint is a case of assigned debt, the mechanism by which a sum owed by one party is directed to a third. Dorothy Hayse owed John Palser Briggs for stone work and was herself a creditor of William Coals on an old account of 32 shillings, so she directed Coals to pay Briggs in discharge of her own debt, the obligation passing from Hayse to Coals without money changing hands between her and Briggs.

Dorothy Hayse appears as the widow of William Hayes senior, a creditor of the French estate and holder of 20 acres, here the pivot of the three-cornered debt. William Coals is probably the planter son of Henry Coales confirmed in 20 acres, and his denial of any promise to pay turned on his claim to have settled directly with Hayse, the dispute resolved when she confirmed the balance still standing.

The council's order enforces the assignment, directing Coals to pay Briggs the 32 shillings. By treating Hayse's direction and Briggs's acceptance as a valid transfer of the debt, the bench fixed Coals's liability to a creditor he had no original dealing with, the discharge of Hayse depending on Coals answering the sum to Briggs in her place.

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Summ of thirty two Shillings, Accord ing to his promise. And Charges of Council. The Govern[r] Says, He finds by the Consultation Books that Some times upon an Extraordinary Occasion, Some of the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Blacks had been Either Sold or Exchangd. And he desires Such a Liberty which he believes will be as much to the Hon[ble] Companys advantage as to his own Sattisfaction. First. There is a wench named Mary who has all along waited upon his Sister which he desires to keep, and will give for her a Black wench of his own Named Eliza and her Son named Timothy, This Eliz: abeth used to waite upon his wife, and is Reputed to be one of the Handsomest Black Wenches upon the Island. 2[dly]. And there is a Boy Named Dick belonging to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] aged about Ten years, for whom he will give a bigger Boy or a man. This proposall, We think is very reasonable, and no way Detrimentall to the Hon[ble] Company. John

April 1717

William Coals was to pay John Palser Briggs the sum of 32 shillings according to his promise, together with the charges of council.

The Governor said he found by the consultation books that sometimes, upon an extraordinary occasion, some of the Honourable Company's slaves had been either sold or exchanged. He desired such a liberty, which he believed would be as much to the Honourable Company's advantage as to his own satisfaction.

First, there was a female slave named Mary, who had all along waited upon his sister, whom he desired to keep. In return he would give a female slave of his own named Elizabeth and her son named Timothy. This Elizabeth used to wait upon his wife, and was reputed one of the handsomest female slaves upon the island.

Second, there was a boy named Dick belonging to the Honourable Company, aged about ten years, for whom he would give a bigger boy or a man.

This proposal the council thought very reasonable and no way detrimental to the Honourable Company.

Interpretations

This entry closes the Briggs assigned-debt case and records the Governor's own proposal to exchange slaves with the Company. The 32 shillings ordered against William Coals, with the charges of council, settles the three-cornered debt directed through Dorothy Hayse, while the Governor's exchange opens a separate matter of his private dealings with the Company's stock.

The Governor grounds his request on precedent found in the consultation books, that the Company's slaves had at times been sold or exchanged upon extraordinary occasion. This is the same reliance on the written record the bench applied to test claimed orders, here the Governor justifying his own liberty by the practice the books disclosed, the slaves on the Company plantations and in domestic service being Company property the bench could trade.

The exchanges are framed as swaps of one slave for another rather than purchases for money, the standing means of adjusting the holding of human beings between the Company and a private owner. Isaac Pyke offered his own Elizabeth and her son Timothy for the Company's Mary who served his sister, and a bigger boy or a man for the Company's boy Dick of about ten, the trades valued by working capacity and domestic suitability.

The valuing of Elizabeth as one of the handsomest female slaves on the island, set against Mary's long service to the Governor's sister, exposes the criteria by which such exchanges were weighed. The bench judged the proposal reasonable and no way detrimental, measuring the Company's gain in the slaves received against those given up, the same calculation of value that governed the slave musters and the choosing of the Hamilton Galley's slaves on 26 March 1717.

Speculations

The Governor's care to anchor his request in the precedent of the consultation books, before making any proposal, was a deliberate guarding of his own position in dealing privately with Company property. As the officer who had just suspended Tovey over fees and pressed the masters on their accounts, Pyke could ill afford a charge of turning the Company's slaves to his own use, so he set the practice on the record first and had the council pronounce the exchange no way detrimental, the bench's approval his protection against any later imputation.

The structuring of both transactions as exchanges of comparable or greater value, Elizabeth and her son for Mary and a larger boy or man for the ten-year-old Dick, was framed to leave the Company no loser in numbers or in labour. By offering grown and serviceable slaves for those he sought, the Governor cast the trade as serving the Company's advantage as much as his own convenience, the equivalence the very thing that let the council approve a private dealing in its slaves.

284

291

Aprill 1717.

John Long was brought by the Gov[rs] Warrant at compl[t] of Capt: Haswell, for Insulting him in the following manner. (Viz[t] There being a Report Spreid about the Country that there is a new Govern[r] [&] Council Comeing here, whereupon John Long rejoyceing at the News Said openly in the Country now I will go down to the ffort and affront Capt: Haswell for in a little time I shall be on a Levell with him, and he Immediatly went from his House in the Country to the Fort which is above Seven Miles, and finding Capt[a] Haswell Says to him I have heard the news [&] now I Shell be as good a man as you, and do not value you[r] A little while agoe you threatned to Cane me, and Sayd I was Saucy, now strike me, if you Dare, and then John Long Clincked his fist and Shokt it very near to Capt[a] Haswells face and bid him Strike him now, if he Durst Saying I dont care a Turd for you, with much other foul Language. Upon this the Govern[r] Committed John Long to the prison He haveing been all a Long an abu sive turbulent fellow, and was Indicted last year for wounding John French the Gunner by Stabbing him with a Sword, But John Long now pretended to be very Sorry for his fault and askd Capt: Haswells Pardon, who forgave him and So he was discharged. The Witnesses to prove this were Rich[d] Gurling John Robinson, and Walter Morris. Tis

April 1717

John Long was brought before the council on the Governor's warrant, at the complaint of Captain Haswell, for insulting him.

A report had spread through the country that a new governor and council were coming. Long was delighted by the news. He said openly in the country that he would go down to the Fort and affront Captain Haswell, since he would shortly be the deputy governor's equal. He left his house and walked the seven miles down to the Fort. Finding Haswell there, he said he had heard the news and was now as good a man as he, and would show him no respect. He reminded Haswell that he had lately threatened to cane him and had called him saucy. He now dared him to strike. Long clenched his fist, shook it close to Haswell's face and challenged him to strike if he dared. He said he did not care a turd for him, and used much other foul language.

The Governor committed Long to prison. He had always been an abusive and turbulent man, and had been indicted the previous year for wounding the gunner John French with a sword. Long now claimed to be very sorry for his conduct and begged Haswell's pardon. Haswell forgave him, and he was discharged. The witnesses who proved the case were Richard Gurling, John Robinson and Walter Morris.

Interpretations

The rumour of a new government, which the Governor had complained of at the consultation of 3 April 1717, here broke into open insolence against the deputy governor. John Long appears across the record as a turbulent free planter. He had been convicted at the general sessions of 12 September 1715 of wounding the gunner John French with a sword at Rappadore on or about 26 August 1715, the same offence the entry recalls.

Long's contempt rested on his belief that the coming change would make him Haswell's equal. The deputy governor had earlier threatened to cane him and called him saucy, marks of the distance between a councillor and a planter. Long's challenge inverted that order, staked on its expected collapse.

Captain Haswell was the deputy governor whose authority the rumour threatened. The council had recently overruled him in the Gargen administration on 12 February 1716/17 and pressed him to pay the estate debt. The gravity of Long's offence lay in the public contempt of the office, not in any blow actually struck.

Long's discharge on his submission followed the bench's usual handling of contempt met by penitence. The witnesses Richard Gurling, John Robinson and Walter Morris proved the words, fixing the affront on the record even as the personal pardon closed the matter.

Speculations

Long announced his purpose before he acted on it, then walked seven miles to carry it out. This marks the affront as a deliberate test of the rumoured change rather than a sudden quarrel. He treated the report of a new government as already shifting the balance, and the long journey shows an act staked on the deputy governor's expected fall.

The bench accepted Long's submission and Haswell's pardon, yet still recorded the witnesses and Long's whole history of violence. With him already indicted for stabbing the gunner, the council entered the full account so that his pattern of turbulence stood documented. The pardon closed the present matter while the record guarded against treating such a man as reformed.

285

292

Aprill 1717.

Tis very Strange the Directors for the Hon[ble] Company Should have Such Mistaken Notions of these people who never did nor Could Live Peaceable and Contented under Government, there being too many of them of John Longs Temper and tis Pitty We have not Some of the Comittee to live among them for that would Certeunly make them Judge of these Peoples Tempers better. Capt: Bazett brought in his monthly Acco[t] from Decemb[r] the 25[th] 1716. to the 25[th] Janwary following; And also his report about the Hon[ble] Companys plantations, which were both Exam[d] and Approved of, and are as follows. An Acco[t] of Store Goods Sold [&] Delivered to the Inhabitants, Also for the Use of Union Castle and Plantation House from the 25[th] Dec[r] 1716. to the 25[th] Jan[ry] following (viz:

Arrack 426⅔ Gall at 6/3 133 7 2¾

Sugar 718[lb] at 8[d] p[r] to 23 18 10

Bread 484[lb] at 3½[d] p[r] to 7 1 2

Flour 326[lb] at 3½[d] p[r] to 4 15 1

Rice 69[lb] at 3½[d] p[r] to 1 - 1½

Soape 43[lb] at 17[d] p[r] to 3 - 11

Sweet Oyle ½ Gall 6 -

Vinegar 2 Gall at 2/6 5 -

Carried over 173 14 3¾

April 1717

It was very strange that the directors of the Honourable Company should hold such mistaken notions of these people, who never did nor could live peaceably and contentedly under government, too many of them being of John Long's temper. It was a pity the council had not some of the committee to live among them, for that would certainly make them judge these people's tempers better.

Captain Bazett brought in his monthly account from 25 December 1716 to the 25th of January following, and also his report about the Honourable Company's plantations. Both were examined and approved, and follow.

An account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, also for the use of Union Castle and the plantation house, from 25 December 1716 to the 25th of January following:

Arrack 426 and a half gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence per gallon £133 7s 2¼d

Sugar 718 and a half [pounds] at 8 pence per pound £23 18s 10d

Bread 484 [pounds] at 3 and a half pence per pound £7 1s 2d

Flour 326 [pounds] at 3 and a half pence per pound £4 15s 1d

Rice 69 [pounds] at 3 and a half pence per pound £1 0s 1½d

Soap 43 [pounds] at 17 pence per pound £3 0s 11d

Sweet oil [...] gallons £0 6s 0d

Vinegar 12 gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence per gallon £0 5s 0d

Carried over £173 14s 3¼d

Interpretations

This entry joins the Governor's continuing defence against the rumoured new government to Captain Bazett's monthly store account. The Governor turns John Long's insolence at the consultation recorded on the preceding page into an argument against the directors, urging that they misjudge the islanders and that a committee living among them would learn the people's true temper.

The store account is the storekeeper's standing monthly return of goods sold and delivered, the same series Bazett brought in through the recent sittings, the December account of £561 7s 3d entered at the consultation of 19 February 1716/17. This account runs from 25 December 1716 to 25 January following, divided as usual between the inhabitants, Union Castle and the plantation house.

Arrack stands first and far the largest article, 426 and a half gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence the gallon making over 133 pounds of the total. This is the distilled Batavia spirit that ran through every store account as the leading source of the Company's retail revenue, the gallon priced here at 6 shillings 3 pence against the wholesale 4 shillings the Governor paid for it out of the Arabella.

The remaining goods are the staple supplies the store furnished as the island's sole general supplier, the sugar, bread, flour, rice, soap, sweet oil and vinegar that fed and provisioned the inhabitants and the Company's tables. Sweet oil was the fine olive oil used in cooking and for lamps, and the modest sums against these articles set against the great arrack figure show how far drink dominated the store's trade.

The figures are carried in the structured columns of the original invoice, each commodity with its quantity, its rate per unit and its resulting sum, the whole struck at the foot as carried over to the next page.

Speculations

The Governor's use of the store account day to renew his complaint against the directors shows him pressing his case into the very record the directors would read. By tying the islanders' turbulence to John Long's recent affront and proposing that a committee live among them, he set his answer to the rumour of his supersession before the masters in the consultation book itself, the routine business of the account carrying his defence home.

286

293

Aprill 1717.

Brought Over 173 14 3¾

Lime Juice ½ Gall at 5[s] p[r] Gall 6 -

Tea 19 Cattees at 9[s] 8 11 - 11[lb] of Ditto at 9[s] 4 19 - 13 10 -

Tobacco 113 at 2[s] p[r] to 13 6 -

Pipes 34¾ doz at 6[d] 17 4½ 14 3 4½

Pepper 2[lb] at 12[d] 2 -

Shirts 30 at 3[s] 4 10 -

Nealas 3 p[r] at 10[s] 1 10 -

Long Cloath 7 p[r] at 24/9 8 13 3

Gurrhas 3 p[r] at 12/6 1 17 6

Blew Baftas 1 p[r] out of S[t] George 10 -

Ginghams 1 p[r] 9 9

Saunoes 2 p[r] at 16/5 1 12 10 1 p[r] of Ditto 15 2 2 8 -

Neckcloaths 2 d[o] at 2/9 5 6

Hooks [&] Lines (viz[t]

Hooks 5 doz N[o] 1 at 2½[d] 1 ½ 9 doz d[o] 2 3 2 3 7½ doz 3 6 3 9 2 doz 4 7 1 2 ½ doz 5 ½ 2 doz 7 @ 15[s] 2 6 ½ doz 9 10 13 2

Lines 3 N[o] 2 at 5[s] 1 3

Pinns 6 M at 1/9 10 6

Ferritts 1 Yard Silk d[o] 6 -

Carried Over 223 3 10½

April 1717

Brought over £173 14s 3¼d

Lime juice [...] gallons at 5 pence per gallon £0 6s 0d

Tea 19 catties at 9 [...] £8 11s 0d

11 [catties] of ditto at 9 [...] £4 19s 0d £13 10s 0d

Tobacco 113 [pounds] at 2 [...] per pound £13 6s 0d

Pipes 34 and three-quarter dozen at 6 pence [...] £17 4½ [...] 14 3¼

Pepper 2 [...] at 12 [...] £0 2s [...]

Shirts 30 at 3 [...] £4 10s 0d

Necalas 3 [...] at 10 [...] £1 10s 0d

Long cloth 7 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence £8 13s 3d

Gurrahs 3 pieces at 12 shillings 6 pence £1 17s 6d

Blue baftas 1 piece out of the St George £0 10s 0d

Ginghams 1 piece £0 9s 9d

Saunoes 2 pieces at 16 shillings 5 pence £1 12s 10d

1 piece of ditto £0 15s 2d £2 8s 0d

Neckcloths 2 dozen at 2 shillings 9 pence £0 5s 6d

Hooks and lines, namely:

Hooks, 5 dozen number 1 at 2 and a half [...] £0 1s 0½d

9 dozen number 2 at 3 [...] £0 2s 3d

7 and a half dozen number 3 at 6 [...] £0 3s 9d

2 dozen number 4 at 7 [...] £0 1s 2d

half a dozen number 5 £0 0s ½d

2 dozen number 7 at 15 [...] £0 2s 6d

half a dozen number 9 £0 0s 10d

Lines, 3 number 2 at 5 [...] £0 1s 3d £0 13s 2d

Sinnews 6 [...] at 1 shilling 9 pence £0 10s 6d

Ferrets 1 yard silk [...] £0 0s 6d

Carried over £223 3s 10½d

Interpretations

This continues Captain Bazett's monthly store account from the consultation recorded on the preceding page, carrying forward the running total and adding the dry goods and fishing tackle to the provisions already listed. The whole is the storekeeper's standing return of goods sold and delivered between 25 December 1716 and 25 January 1716/17.

The Indian piece goods make up the bulk of these entries, the longcloth, gurrahs, baftas, ginghams and saunoes that were the staple of the Company's textile trade. Gurrahs were a coarse Indian cotton cloth, baftas a plain calico, saunoes a fine muslin and ginghams a striped or checked cotton, all woven in India and sold through the store to the inhabitants. The blue baftas are noted as taken out of the St George, the East Indiaman under Captain Anthony Ryan that had reached the island on 11 November 1715, the cloth still being sold from her cargo more than a year later.

The tea is reckoned in catties, the Chinese commercial weight of about a pound and a third, the same measure in which the China-ship tea of the January 1716/17 indent was ordered. Its appearance in the retail account at 9 [...] the catty shows the China trade goods reaching the island's general sale, the tea no longer reserved during scarcity as it had been for the Governor and senior establishment in 1714.

The hooks and lines form a graded fishing-tackle account, the hooks sorted by number from 1 to 9 and sold by the dozen at rising rates. These are the very hooks and lines the directors had sent for the relief of the island under the fishery scheme, distributed to the inhabitants by Bazett under the order of 26 July 1715 to help the people subsist by fishing through the provision scarcity.

The lesser items close the account, the tobacco, pipes, pepper, shirts, neckcloths, sinnews and silk ferrets, the ferrets being a narrow woven tape used for binding and the sinnews a cord or thread. The figures are carried in the structured columns of the original, each commodity with its quantity, rate and resulting sum, the whole struck at the foot as carried over.

287

294

Aprill 1717.

Brought Over 223 3 10½

Silk 3 ounces at 2/6 7 6

Threads. Viz[t]

4 ounces at 9[s] 3 -

1 ounce d[o] 11

15 ounce at 13[s] 16 3

3 ounce at 15[s] 3 9

1 ounce d[o] 1 5

1 ounce d[o] 3 6 1 8 10

Combs 2 Horn d[o] at 5[s] 10

1 ditto 4

1 ditto 7 1 9

Bodice 1 p[r] 12 9

Corks 1 doz 3

Blankett 1½ p[r] at 16[s] p[r] 1 8 6

Shoes 9 p[r] of Island d[o] at 4[s] 1 16 - 1 p[r] of English Pumps 4 2 - -

Stationary Ware. viz[t]

3 Testaments at 1/9 5 3

3 Quires of Paper at 1/4 4 - 9 3

Fustians. viz[t]

1½ Yard plain white d[o] at 2[s] 2 6

3 Yards Corded d[o] at 2/7 7 9 10 3

Shalloons 14 yards at 2/6 1 15 -

Iron Mongers Ware viz[t]

1 Box plate 2

1 Spring Closett lock 2 7 2 9

April 1717

Brought over £223 3s 10¼d

Silk 3 ounces at 2 shillings 6 pence £0 7s 6d

Threads, namely:

4 ounces at 9 [...] £0 3s 0d

1 ounce ditto £0 0s 11d

15 ounces at 13 [...] £0 16s 3d

3 ounces at 15 [...] £0 3s 9d

1 ounce ditto £0 1s 5d

1 ounce ditto £0 3s 6d £1 8s 10d

Combs 2 horn ditto at 5 [...] £0 0s 10d

1 ditto £0 0s 4d

1 ditto £0 0s 7d £0 1s 9d

Bodice 1 piece £0 12s 9d

Corks 1 dozen £0 0s 3d

Blankets 1 and a half pieces at 18 [...] per piece £1 8s 6d

Shoes 9 pairs of Holland ditto at 4 [...] £1 16s 0d

1 pair of English pumps £0 4s 0d £2 0s 0d

Stationery ware, namely:

3 testaments at 1 shilling 9 pence £0 5s 3d

3 quires of paper at 1 shilling 4 pence £0 4s 0d £0 9s 3d

Fustians, namely:

1 and a half yards plain white ditto at 20 pence £0 2s 6d

3 yards corded ditto at 2 shillings 7 pence £0 7s 9d £0 10s 3d

Shalloons 14 yards at 2 shillings 6 pence £1 15s 0d

Ironmongers' ware, namely:

1 box plate £0 0s 2d

1 spring closet lock £0 2s 7d £0 2s 9d

Interpretations

This continues Captain Bazett's monthly store account, carrying the running total forward and adding the haberdashery, cloth, footwear, stationery and ironwork sold between 25 December 1716 and 25 January 1716/17. The whole remains the storekeeper's standing return of goods delivered to the inhabitants, Union Castle and the plantation house.

The textiles among these entries are the finer cloths of the store's trade. Fustians were a stout cotton and linen cloth, plain or corded, and shalloons a light woollen used chiefly for linings, both sold by the yard for garment-making. With the silk, threads and blankets they show the store furnishing the materials of clothing and household use, the inhabitants buying cloth by the yard rather than ready-made.

The footwear distinguishes Holland shoes from English pumps, the nine pairs of Holland shoes being of Dutch make and the single pair of English pumps a lighter shoe. The pumps match the slave dress shoes recorded elsewhere as English and Spanish pumps supplied to skilled Company slaves, the store stocking both the working and the better sorts.

The stationery ware names three testaments and three quires of paper, the testaments being copies of the New Testament. Their sale through the store reflects the standing concern for religion on the island, the same care that ran through the orphan settlements requiring children to be brought up in the fear of God, the books furnished alongside the paper for ordinary use.

The ironmongers' ware closes these entries with a box plate and a spring closet lock, the small metal goods the store supplied for building and furnishing. The figures throughout are carried in the structured columns of the original, each commodity with its quantity, rate and resulting sum, the sub-totals struck against each group.

288

295

Aprill 1717

Brought over £

Iron Mongers Ware bro[.]t over 2.9

1 Chest Lock 4.6

1 Ragg Stone 6

3 p[.r] Side Hinges at 1[..]6[.]d 1.6

3 p[.r] ditto at [...] 11 2.9

2 Iron Potts q[.] 21 Each a[.] 7[.]d 1.4.6 4.16.6

Nayles viz[.t]

3 [...] 3 D[.o] at 9[.d] 2.3

[...] 4 Trunk 1.2

2 Tacks at 20[.d] 3.4

[...] Batten Brads 1.1

39 10 ditto at 8[.d] 1.2.8

7 Flooring Brads at 9[.d] 5.3

10 20[.d] Nayles at 8[.d] 6.8

4 24 ditto 7[.1/4] 2.6 2.4.11

House Linnen 1 yard 0.2.3

Glass Ware [...] Looking Glass [.]2[.-]

Wooden Ware viz[.t]

1 Scumming dish 6

1 Straining ditto 6 1.[-]

Indigo [...] Ounce 1.8

Hatts 1 Cour[.s.e] Fell[.] d[.] damag[.d] sold 3.[-]

Totall of Old Goods 237.8.6[.1/4]

New Goods viz[.t]

Fustians 1[.t] W[...] 1.6.8

Stockings 2 p[.r] sold ditto [.]o 4.4

D[.o] 1 p[.r] [...]ns Thread [.]o 0.6.0

1 p[.r] Womens silk [.]o 0.14.0

2 p[.r] Womens fine Wo[...]ed 0.13.0

1 p[.r] Boys Knitt d[.o] 0.3.0

1 p[.r] Boys Worsted 0.[.]2.7 2.3.1 £3.9.9 237.8.6

Margin Notes:

Iron Mongers Ware bro[.]t over

April 1717

Brought over

Ironmonger's ware brought over: £0 2s 9d

1 chest lock: £0 4s 6d

1 rag stone: £0 0s 6d

3 pairs of side hinges at 6 pence: £0 1s 6d

3 pairs of the same at 11 pence: £0 2s 9d

2 iron pots weighing 21 pounds, each at 7 pence:

£0 14s 6d

Subtotal for the ironmonger's ware: £4 16s 6d

Nails

3 hundred double tens at 9 pence: £0 2s 3d

4 trunk: £0 1s 2d

2 tacks at 20 pence: £0 3s 4d

half a hundred batten brads: £0 1s 1d

39 tens of the same at 8 pence: £0 1s 2d 8d

7 flooring brads at 9 pence: £0 0s 3d

10 twenties of nails at 8 pence: £0 6s 8d

4 twenty-fours of the same at 7 and a half pence:

£0 2s 6d

Subtotal for the nails: £2 4s 11d

House linen, 1 yard: £0 2s 3d

Glassware and looking glass: £0 2s 0d

Wooden ware

1 scumming dish: £0 0s 6d

1 straining dish of the same: £0 0s 6d

Subtotal for the wooden ware: £0 1s 0d

Indigo, 1 ounce: £0 0s 8d

Hats, 1 coarse felt damaged, sold: £0 3s 0d

Total of the old goods: £237 8s 6¼d

New goods

Fustians, 1 piece weighing [...], sold: £1 6s 8d

Stockings, 2 pairs of the same sold at 4 shillings 4 pence: £0 4s 4d

The same, 1 pair French thread: £0 6s 0d

1 pair of women's silk: £0 14s 0d

2 pairs of women's fine worsted: £0 13s 0d

1 pair of boys' knit: £0 3s 0d

1 pair of boys' worsted: £0 2s 7d

Subtotal for the new goods: £2 3s 1d

Total: £3 9s 9d and £237 8s 6d

Interpretations

Fustians were a stout cloth of cotton and linen used for hard-wearing garments, while worsted denoted a smooth woollen yarn spun from combed long wool. The graded stockings, in silk, French thread, worsted and knit, ranged from costly women's silk at 14 shillings the pair down to boys' knit at 3 shillings, marking the social range of the garrison and settlement buyers.

Indigo was a blue dyestuff from the plant of the same name, traded across the Indian Ocean and valued for colouring cloth. Its appearance by the single ounce suggests a remnant of a larger consignment broken down for retail at the island.

Speculations

The division of the leaf into old goods and new goods points to a deliberate accounting separation between long-held warehouse stock being cleared and a fresh consignment newly landed. The old goods closed at a running total of £237 8s 6¼d, while the new goods opened a fresh tally at £2 3s 1d, so that the disposal of ageing stores could be kept distinct from current trade.

289

296

April 1717

Old Goods brought Over £237.8.6[.1/4]

New Goods brought Over £ 3.9.9

Buttons 4[.1/2] doz[.] Coat d[.o] 4.6

Mohair 1[.3/4] ounce at 1[.e.d] 2.11

Brass Ware 1 Stand [.] Snuffers 3.6

Shoes viz[.]

2 p[.r] Womens Shoes at 6/2 12.4

1 p[.r] Mens ditto 6.2

Hooks [.] doz[.] Old wives d[.o] 1.8

Iron Mongees Ware viz[.]

2 felling Axes at 3/4 0.6.8

1 Splinter Lock N[.o] 3 0.1.6

2 ditto 0.2.0

1 ditto 4 0.2.0

1 ditto 7 0.4.0 16.2

Stationary Ware viz[.t]

1 Copy Book 0.0.9

1 p[.ap.r] of Ink Powder 0.1.0

1 Pen-knife 0.2.1 3.10

Threads viz[.]

1[.1/2] Fine Brown d[.o] 0.7.6

1[.1/2] Coll[.o.d] Ditto 0.7.6 15.[-]

Ribbon viz[.t]

5[.1/4] yard d[.o] at 1[.e.d] p[.] yard 0.5.3

8 yards d[.o] at 14[.d] 9.9.4

3 y[.] [.] of ditto 15 0.3.9

6 y[.] [.] of ditto 18 0.9.9.[-]

Hatts 2 N[.o] 5 [.] 2[.o] 2.0.0

Butchers knives 14 at 6[.d] 0.7.0 3.14.4

Carried Over £ 10.10.2 237.8.6[.1/4]

April 1717

Old goods brought over: £237 8s 6¼d

New goods brought over: £3 9s 9d

Buttons, 4½ dozen, coat the same: £0 4s 6d

Mohair, 1¾ ounce at [...] pence: £0 2s 11d

Brassware, 1 stand of snuffers: £0 3s 6d

Shoes

2 pairs of women's shoes at 6 shillings 2 pence: £0 12s 4d

1 pair of men's the same: £0 6s 2d

Hooks, 5 dozen, old wives' the same: £0 1s 8d

Ironmonger's ware

2 felling axes at 3 shillings 4 pence: £0 6s 8d

1 splinter lock number 3: £0 1s 6d

2 of the same, number 4: £0 2s 0d

1 of the same, number 7: £0 4s 0d

Subtotal: £16 2s 0d

Stationery ware

1 copy book: £0 0s 9d

1 paper of ink powder: £0 1s 0d

1 penknife: £0 2s 1d

Subtotal: £3 10s 0d

Threads

1½ fine brown the same: £0 7s 6d

1½ coloured the same: £0 7s 6d

Subtotal: £15 0s 0d

Ribbon

5¼ yards of the same at 12 pence per yard: £0 5s 3d

8 yards of the same at 14 pence: £9 9s 4d

3 yards of the same, 15: £0 3s 9d

6 yards of the same, 18: £0 9s 0d

Hats, 2 number 5 at 20: £2 0s 0d

Butcher's knives, 14 at 6 pence: £0 7s 0d

Subtotal: £3 14s 4d

Carried over: £10 10s 2d and £237 8s 6¼d

Interpretations

Mohair was a fine yarn or cloth made from the hair of the Angora goat, imported through the eastern trade and used for buttons, trimmings and light garments. Its sale here by the fraction of an ounce marks it as a costly material parcelled out in very small quantities.

Splinter locks were a cheap form of spring latch, numbered by size and pattern, the higher numbers commanding higher prices. The graded sequence from number 3 to number 7 let the storekeeper stock and price a single fitting across several sizes from one supplier.

The ironmonger's, stationery, thread and ribbon goods were each gathered under their own head with a separate subtotal, continuing the warehouse practice of grouping stores by trade category before carrying the figures forward.

290

297

April 1717

Old Goods brou[.t] Over £237.8.6[.1/4]

New Goods Brought Over £ 10.10.2

Tin Ware 1 Lamp 0.1.10

2 2 q[.t] Sauce Pans 0.4.6

1 3 Pint ditto 0.1.8 8.[-]

Pewter viz[.]

6 Spoons 0.2.3

2 Porringers at 15[.d] 0.2.6

1 Bason 0.5.0 9.9 11.7.11

Totall of New Goods

Totall to the Inhabitants £248.16.5[.1/4]

Union Castle D[.r] to Store Goods from Decemb[.r] [.] 25 171[.6] to Janu[.y] the 25 following viz[.]

Arrack 75[.1/2] Gall[.s] at 6/3 23.11.10[.1/2]

Sugar 13[.e] at 8[.d] p[.] [...] 4.8.[-]

flour 327 at 3[.1/2] 4.9.6[.1/2]

Bread 57 at 3[.1/2] 16.7[.1/2]

Soap 26 at 17[.d] 6.[-].2

Rice 412 at 3[.1/2] 5.[-]

Tea 5 at 9[.d] 3.[-]

Pepper 3 at 1[.e.d] 3.[-]

Oyle 4[.1/2] Gall[.s] at 1[.e.d] 14.[-]

Vinegar 1[.1/2] Gall[.] at 2/6 3.9

Lime juice 5 Gall[.] at 5[.d] [.].3.9

Brass Ware 4 Brass Cocks at 8/3 13.[-]

Tin Ware 1 3 pint Coffee p[.o.t.t] [.].1.9

Long Cloath 1 piece at 4.9 £ 50.13.3[.1/2]

April 1717

Old goods brought over: £237 8s 6¼d

New goods brought over: £10 10s 2d

Tinware, 1 lamp: £0 1s 10d

2 quart sauce pans of the same: £0 4s 6d

1 three-pint of the same: £0 1s 8d

Subtotal: £8 0s 0d

Pewter

6 spoons: £0 2s 3d

2 porringers at 15 pence: £0 2s 6d

1 basin: £0 5s 0d

Subtotal: £9 9s 0d

Total of new goods: £11 7s 11d

Total to the inhabitants: £248 16s 5¼d

The Union Castle owed for store goods supplied from 25 December 1716 to 25 January following

Arrack, 75½ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence: £23 11s 10½d

Sugar, 138 pounds at 8 pence per pound: £4 8s 0d

Flour, 327 at 3½: £4 9s 6½d

Bread, 57 at 3½: £1 16s 7½d

Soap, 26 at 17: £1 6s 10d

Rice, 412 at 3½: £2 5s 2d

Tea, 5 at 9 pence: £0 3s 9d

Pepper, 3 at [...] pence: £0 3s 0d

Oil, 4½ gallons at 12 pence: £2 14s 0d

Vinegar, 1½ gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 3s 9d

Lime juice, 5 gallons at 5: £0 1s 0d

Brassware, 4 brass cocks at 1 shilling 8 pence: £0 13s 0d

Tinware, 1 three-pint coffee pot: £0 1s 9d

Long cloth, 1 piece at [...]: £0 4s 9d

Total: £50 13s 3½d

Interpretations

Arrack was a distilled spirit of the East Indies, made from fermented palm sap or rice and shipped through the Company's eastern stations. It dominated this victualling bill at over £23, by far the largest single charge, reflecting the heavy demand for spirits aboard an Indiaman provisioning at the island.

The account charged the Union Castle for stores drawn down between 25 December 1716 and 25 January 1717, the ship treated as a debtor to the warehouse for everything supplied during her stay. The single closing figure of £50 13s 3½d set out the sum the commander or owners owed the Company for the voyage's provisioning.

Long cloth was a plain cotton textile woven in long lengths on the Coromandel coast, a staple of the Indian trade carried both for sale and for shipboard use. Its appearance among food and household stores marks it as part of the mixed provisioning a ship took on rather than a separate cargo line.

Speculations

The provisioning bill mixed bulk victuals with a handful of durable goods, brass cocks, a coffee pot and a piece of long cloth set among the arrack, flour and rice. The durable items point to the ship replacing fittings and stores worn or lost on the outward passage, the warehouse serving as a chandlery as well as a victualler during the four-week stay.

291

298

April 1717

Brought Over £ 50.13.3[.1/2]

Holland Duck 2 Bolts at 4.19 9.18.[-]

6 yards of ditto at 4/3 1.5.6 11.3.6

Cork Wood 1[.1/2] 1

Nayles viz[.]

5[.1/2] Tacks at 20[.d] 4.2

22[.1/2] of Nayles at 11[.d] 1.[-].7[.1/2]

7 of 3 at 9[.d] 5.3

76 10 d[.o] at 8[.1/2] 2.13.10

12 of 20 d[.o] 8[.d] 8.[-]

18 of 24 d[.o] 7[.1/2] 11.3

4 of 30 d[.o] 7[.d] 2.6

2 of Inch Brads at 9[.d] 3.8 5.9.3[.1/2]

Beef [.] Pork viz[.]

1 Cask Beef q[.] 85 p[.] oz 115[.lb]

1 Cask of d[.] q[.] 116 p[.] oz 580

695 at 5[.1/2] p[.] lb 15.18.6[.1/2]

1 Cask Pork q[.] 26 p[.] oz 104[.lb]

6 Hams 60

164 at 8[.d] 5.9.4

Totall £ 88.14.11[.1/2]

April 1717

Brought over: £50 13s 3½d

Holland duck, 2 bolts at 4 shillings 9 pence: £9 18s 0d

6 yards of the same at 4 shillings 3 pence: £1 5s 6d

Subtotal: £11 3s 6d

Cork wood, 1½: £0 1s 0d

Nails

5 tacks at 20 pence: £0 4s 2d

22 of nails at 11: £1 0s 7½d

7 of the same at 9: £0 5s 3d

76 tens of the same at 8½: £2 13s 10d

12 of twenties of the same at 8: £0 8s 0d

18 of twenty-fours of the same at 7½: £0 11s 3d

4 of thirties of the same at 7: £0 2s 6d

2 of inch brads at the same: £0 3s 8d

Subtotal: £5 9s 3½d

Beef and pork

1 cask of beef weighing 85 pieces or 115 pounds

1 cask of the same weighing 116 pieces or 580 pounds

695 at 5½ pence per pound: £15 18s 6½d

1 cask of pork weighing 26 pieces or 104 pounds

6 hams, 60

164 at 8 pence: £5 9s 4d

Total: £88 14s 11½d

Interpretations

Holland duck was a strong closely woven linen canvas from the Dutch provinces, used for sails, heavy clothing and tarpaulins. Sold here by the bolt at nearly £10 the pair, it was among the most valuable single items on the bill, reflecting a ship's standing need for sailcloth and durable cover.

The provisioning of salt beef and pork was reckoned by both the piece and the pound, the cured meat packed in casks and priced by total weight at 5½ pence per pound for the beef and 8 pence for the pork and hams. Counting the pieces alongside the poundage let the storekeeper verify the contents of each cask against its declared weight before charging it to the ship.

Speculations

The two beef casks were weighed and then merged into a single charge of 695 pounds, while the pork cask and the hams were likewise combined at 164 pounds before pricing. Pooling the casks by meat type rather than charging each separately simplified the account, the storekeeper pricing each kind at one rate across the whole quantity supplied.

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April 1717

Plantation House D[.r] to Store Goods from Decemb[.r] 25 171[.6] to Jan[.y] [.] Wh[.r.s.] following viz[.t]

Arrack 3 Gall at 6/3 18.9

Nayles 1[.1/2] 10 d[.o] at 8[.1/2] 1.3[.1/4]

[.1/2] 20 d[.o] 9[.1/2]

6 20 d[.o] at 8[.d] 4.[-] 5.4[.1/4]

Totall to Plantation House 1.4.5[.1/4]

Totall to Union Castle 88.14.11[.1/2]

Totall to y[.] Inhabitants of Old Goods 237.8.6[.1/4]

Ditto to D[.o] new Goods 11.7.11 248.16.5[.1/4]

Totall £ 338.15.6

An Acco[.t] of the Hon Comp[.as] Yams at all their Plantations taken the 28 day of Febru[.ry] 171[.6] Viz[.t] by Capt[.] Bacott

In Treedales Gutt 25000

In M[.r] Carnes Ground fitt to digg in 4 months time 57000

In Lushins Ground in Upland and Gutt fitt to Digg 75000

In the old plantation fitt to Digg in Eight months 133000

Carried over 75000 133000 25000 82000

Margin Notes:

Shall of Each Plantation

young yams

generall state how fitt to Digg yamms fitt to Digg

April 1717

The Plantation House owed for store goods supplied from 25 December 1716 to 25 January following

Arrack, 3 gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence: £0 18s 9d

Nails

1 of tens of nails at 8 pence: £0 1s 3¾d

½ of thirty nails: £0 0s 9½d

6 of twenty nails at 8 pence: £0 4s 0d

Subtotal: £0 5s 4¾d

Total to the Plantation House: £1 4s 1¾d

Total to the Union Castle: £88 14s 11½d

Total to the inhabitants for old goods: £237 8s 6¼d

Total to the inhabitants for new goods: £11 7s 11d

Subtotal: £248 16s 5¼d

Total: £338 15s 6d

An account of the Honourable Company's yams at all their plantations, taken on 28 February 1717 by Captain Bazett

In Freedale's Gut:

yams growing: 25,000

yams fit to dig: 25,000

In Mr Carne's ground, fit to dig in 4 months' time:

general state and time fit to dig: 57,000

yams fit to dig: 57,000

In Lufkin's ground, in upland and gut, fit to dig:

general state and time fit to dig: 75,000

In the old plantation, fit to dig in eight months:

general state and time fit to dig: 133,000

Carried over:

general state and time fit to dig: 75,000

old plantation: 133,000

growing yams: 25,000

total: 82,000

Interpretations

The yam survey of 28 February 1717 by Captain Bazett continued the periodic stock-taking of the Company's planted ground, each plot recorded by quantity and by the time still needed before the crop could be lifted. Yams were the staple provision crop of the island, grown in bulk to feed the garrison and the Company's slaves and to victual ships, and counted in tens of thousands across the several plantations.

The columns separated the general state of each plot from the portion already fit to dig, so that the council could distinguish the standing crop from what could be drawn immediately. Carne's ground at four months and the old plantation at eight months marked the staggered maturing of the crop, ensuring a supply spread across the year rather than ripening at once.

Speculations

The carried-over figures do not reconcile, the listed plots running to far more than the 82,000 shown as the total, which points to the tally gathering only part of the survey before the count continued on the following leaf. The separate columns for the standing crop and the diggable portion let Bazett report both the full planted stock and the immediately usable provision, a distinction that mattered when the garrison and ships needed feeding from reserves not yet mature.

293

300

April 1717

Yams Brought Over 75000 133000 25000 82000

In Lushins plain young yams 15000

Totall of Lushins plantation 223000

In Perkins Ground yams fitt to digg 80000

In ditto 44000 fitt to digg in 6 Mon[.] 44000

In ditto fitt to digg in Eleven Mon[.] 46000

In ditto cutt young 15000

Totall of Perkins Yams 185000

At the Peak yams fitt to Digg 72000

young yams in ditto 5000

Totall of Yams at the Peak 77000

At the Hetts yams fitt to digg 62000

Ditto that wants Weeding 50000

Ditto yams fitt to digg in 6 Mo[.] 52000

D[.o] yams fitt to digg in 12 Mo[.] 31000

D[.o] yams fitt to digg in 14 Mon[.] 57000

D[.o] yams fitt to digg in 20 Mon[.] 60000

Totall at the Hetts 312000

Besides y[.] yams at Tonstone Wood 339000 420000 120000 879000

Margin Notes:

Totall of all 4 Plantations

Totall of Each Plantation

young yamms

yamms cutt that runs fitt to digg

yams fitt to digg

April 1717

The four columns record, in order, the yams fit to dig, the general state and time fit to dig, the young yams growing, and the total of each plantation.

Yams brought over:

yams fit to dig: 75,000

general state and time fit to dig: 133,000

young yams: 25,000

total: 82,000

In Lufkin's plain, young yams:

young yams: 15,000

Total of Lufkin's plantation:

total: 203,000

In Perkins's ground, yams fit to dig:

yams fit to dig: 80,000

In the same, 44,000 fit to dig in 6 months:

general state and time fit to dig: 44,000

In the same, fit to dig in eleven months:

general state and time fit to dig: 46,000

In the same, cut young:

young yams: 15,000

Total of Perkins's yams:

total: 185,000

At the Peak, yams fit to dig:

yams fit to dig: 72,000

Young yams in the same:

young yams: 5,000

Total of yams at the Peak:

total: 77,000

At the Hutts, yams fit to dig:

yams fit to dig: 62,000

The same, that want weeding:

yams fit to dig: 50,000

The same, yams fit to dig in 6 months:

general state and time fit to dig: 52,000

The same, yams fit to dig in 12 months:

general state and time fit to dig: 31,000

The same, yams fit to dig in 14 months:

general state and time fit to dig: 57,000

The same, yams fit to dig in 20 months:

young yams: 60,000

Total at the Hutts:

total: 312,000

Besides the yams at Turnstone Wood:

yams fit to dig: 339,000

general state and time fit to dig: 420,000

young yams: 120,000

total: 879,000

Interpretations

The survey carried the yam count across the Company's main plantations, Lufkin's, Perkins's, the Peak and the Hutts, each broken down by the portion ready to lift and the portion maturing over the months ahead. The Hutts held by far the largest standing crop at 312,000, the plantation that fed the Company's slaves housed there and a principal source of provision for the garrison and shipping.

The closing line set the grand total at 879,000 yams across all plantations, with the columns showing 339,000 already fit to dig against the larger balance still growing. The breakdown by maturing time, from six to twenty months, let the council plan provision drawdowns through the year and judge how much could safely be committed to ships and the garrison without exhausting the reserve.

Speculations

Two of the Hutts entries flagged crop at risk, 50,000 yams wanting weeding set among the diggable stock, marking provision that would be lost without labour applied in time. Recording the neglected portion separately let the council direct slave labour to the plots in danger rather than treat the whole standing crop as secure.

The note of a further reserve at Turnstone Wood, folded into the grand total rather than surveyed plot by plot, suggests an outlying store counted only in the aggregate. Holding it apart from the detailed plantation figures points to ground less closely managed than the main four, its yams reckoned as a bulk addition to the island's total provision.

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301

Island St Helena

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 17 of Aprill 1717 At Union Castle in James Valley

Pres[.t] Isaac Pyke[.] Esq[.r] Govern[.r] Geo Haswell Dep[.t] Matt[.w] Bazett 3[.d] in Council

Last consultation was read [.] approv[.d]

Here is a Ship come in from whome the Gov[.r] has recev[.d] the following Letter which He is very much surpriz[.d] at

S[.r]

According to the Hon[.l] Comp[.s] instructions have sent our Boat to know how things are [.] hope shall find you in health [.] all things in Peace [.] quietness I am S[.r] yo[.r] hum[.l] Servant I. Clarke

Ship Stringer Galley From China Aprill y[.] 16[.t] 1717

The Govern[.r] says that surely they must have some strange Notions at the Cape concerning this Island for this Letter looks as if they took every thing here to be in the utmost Confusion

We had indeed a parcell of Rogues about 2 years since [...] the Eagle who during the time they continued on the Island gave us a great deal of trouble We are sure W[.] prevented Her running away with the Ship by taking them out of Her and they proved such wicked [.] turbulent Fellows that if it had been possible they would have run away with the Island But they contrived nothing tho[.] never so devilish and Secrett but what by our Care [...]

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 17 April 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

A ship had come in, from which the Governor received a letter that surprised him greatly. Captain Clark of the Stringer Galley, writing from off China on 16 April 1717, reported that he had sent his boat in accordance with the Honourable Company's instructions to learn how matters stood, hoping to find the island in health and all things in peace and quiet.

The Governor remarked that the people at the Cape must hold some strange ideas about the island, since the letter read as though they supposed everything here to be in the utmost confusion.

The Governor acknowledged that the island had indeed been troubled some two years earlier by a band of rogues from the Eagle. During their stay they had caused great difficulty, and had been prevented from making off with the ship only by being put ashore. They proved so wicked and unruly that they would have run away with the island itself had it been possible. Yet they achieved nothing, however wicked and secret their designs, but what by the council's care

Interpretations

The Stringer Galley's arrival prompted the council to record the letter because it revealed how reports of disorder at the island had spread along the trade route. Clark wrote as though expecting to find the settlement in turmoil, which the Governor read as proof that an alarming account had reached the Cape of Good Hope and circulated among the homeward shipping.

The trouble two years earlier referred to the mutiny and designed piracy of the Eagle Galley's company, the affair examined at the consultations of 29 June 1715 and 2 July 1715. The Governor's defensive account, stressing that the plotters had been put ashore and had achieved nothing, points to a concern that the island's reputation for good order was now in question among the directors and the captains who carried news between the stations.

295

302

April

and Observation came to our knowledge and We prevented all their bad Designs [.] got rid of them and have kept the Island ever since in Quitt and is now in a flourishing Condition vastly different from what We found it

For which if the Peoples Storys here be true of a new Government coming out We are very ill rewarded and We must say if they give to their other Govern[.r] hereafter no more Encouragement than We have had it will never be worth their while to Study the Good of the Place

Capt Haswell desires to hire a piece of the Hon[.r] Comp[.s] waste Land adjoyning to His Plantation that has never yet been any way of advantage to the Company [.] is in a manner barren and because it requires a great deal of Trouble [.] Charge in the Fencing desires some Consideration offering to plant the same with Wood

Order[.d] that the consideration of this be left to the Govern[.r] [.] Capt Bazett who will go [.] view it and consider what Allowance ought to be made for y[.] Fencing [.] planting it with Wood

M[.r] Antipas Tovey desires liberty of hiring a small Piece of Ground that lies between His Rich[.] Trvallams Perkins [.] Hardings Land quantity ab[.t] 3 or 4 Acres w[.h] will be very advantagious to Him [.] no Detriment to Others Order[.d] that He have a Lease of it accordingly

April 1717

The council's care and vigilance brought the plotters' designs to light, and the council defeated every one of their schemes and rid the island of them. The island had remained quiet ever since and now stood in a flourishing condition, very different from what the council had found on taking charge.

The Governor observed that if the local rumours of a new government proved true, the council would be poorly rewarded for this. He added that if no more encouragement was given to any future governor than the present council had received, it would never be worth anyone's while to study the good of the place.

Captain Haswell asked to hire a piece of the Honourable Company's waste land adjoining his plantation. The ground had never been of any use to the Company and was practically barren. Since it would take much trouble and expense to fence, he asked for some allowance, offering to plant it with wood.

The council ordered that the matter be left to the Governor and Captain Bazett, who would view the land and consider what allowance ought to be made for fencing it and planting it with wood.

Antipas Tovey asked leave to hire a small piece of ground lying between the land of Richard Trawallow, Perkins and Harding, of about three or four acres. The council noted it would be much to his advantage and no detriment to others. The council ordered that he have a lease of it accordingly.

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Island St Helena 1717

At a Consultation held on Wednes- day the 24[.th] of Aprill 1717 At[.] Union Castle in James valley

Pres[.t] Isaac Pyke Esq[.r] Govern[.r] George Haswell Dp[.t.y] Matt[.w] Bazett 3

Last Consultation read and Approv[.d] of

The Govern[.r] and Capt Bazett say they have seen that Piece of Land which Capt Haswell desire[.d] [.] that it contains about Six Acres

Order[.d] That he have [.] Lease of it for twenty one years paying the same as other Leases of the Hon[.ble] Comp[.s] are us[.d] to doe

The Gov[.rs] asks the Councils opinion whether every thing can be writt to the Hon[.] Comp[.s] by the ship Strin- gee[.] [.] who arriv[.d] her the 17 Inst[.] they were of opinion that having writt so lately there's no Need of sending by this ship now going away here being Governo[.r] Harrison in the road We think it proper not to send our Letters by him

The Govern[.r] says that Capt Lewis of the King George has brought Eight Leagers of Arrack which he offers to sell to the Hon[.] Comp[.s] We

Island of St Helena 1717

At a consultation held on Wednesday 24 April 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor and Captain Bazett reported that they had viewed the piece of land Captain Haswell wanted, and that it contained about six acres. The council ordered that he have a lease of it for twenty-one years, paying the same rent as other leases of the Honourable Company's land.

The Governor asked the council whether anything could be written to the Honourable Company by the Stringer Galley, which had arrived on 17 April 1717. The council was of the opinion that, having written so recently, there was no need to send anything by this ship now departing. Since Governor Harrison lay in the road, the council thought it more proper to send its letters by him.

The Governor reported that Captain Lewis of the King George had brought eight leaguers of arrack, which he offered to sell to the Honourable Company.

Interpretations

The council weighed the choice of carrier for its homeward despatch, declining the Stringer Galley in favour of Governor Harrison then in the road. Sending by a homebound governor rather than a passing galley offered a more reliable and trusted conveyance for official letters, and having written lately the council had little fresh to report.

A leaguer was a large cask used in the East India trade for liquids, holding roughly 150 gallons. Eight leaguers of arrack from the King George amounted to a substantial parcel of spirits, the kind of bulk purchase the warehouse made to maintain its stock for the garrison, the slaves and the victualling of ships.

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April

We are of Opinion that is for the Hono[.ble] Companys advantage to buy it

The Govern[.r] asks how We must pay for that Arrack because he is informed by Gov[.r] Harrison that the Hon[.] Comp[.s] at home are not pleas[.d] with our drawing so many Bills nor with the great Indent of Stores that went home p[.r] S[.t] George

We have no other way to buy this Arrack but by drawing Bills for there's no money on the Island

Ordered that Bills be drawn on the Hon[.ble] Company for the amount of this Arrack [.] Rice and that henceforward no bills be drawn upon any Account of the Hon[.ble] Comp[.s] but what shall be for Arrack Rice or wheat or for live Cattle sold to the Hon[.] Company

Capt[.] Bazett says that he Wishes there was money Currant on the Island to pay those People who have Creditt in the Stores which would prevent the drawing of Bills for the people who take these bank notes do Expect to have Bills of Exchange for them on demand and sometimes for fifty or a hund[.r] pound when they have so much Creditt in the Stores As for Instance when Capt Mackett was here

April 1717

The council was of the opinion that it was to the Honourable Company's advantage to buy the arrack.

The Governor asked how the council was to pay for the arrack, since Governor Harrison had told him that the Honourable Company at home were displeased with the council drawing so many bills, and with the large indent of stores sent home on the St George. The council had no other means of buying the arrack but by drawing bills, there being no money on the island.

The council ordered that bills be drawn on the Honourable Company for the cost of the arrack and rice, and that from then on no bills be drawn on any account of the Honourable Company except for arrack, rice or wheat, or for live cattle sold to the Honourable Company.

Captain Bazett said he wished there was current money on the island to pay the people who held credit in the stores, which would prevent the drawing of bills. The people who took the bank notes expected to have bills of exchange for them on demand, sometimes for fifty or a hundred pounds when they held that much credit in the stores. As an instance, he cited the time when Captain Mackett was here

Interpretations

The council restricted its own future drawing of bills to a fixed list of purchases, arrack, rice, wheat and live cattle, in direct response to the directors' displeasure at the volume of bills and the size of the indent sent home on the St George. Bills of exchange were the island's only means of paying for goods in the absence of coin, so confining them to essential provisioning was a deliberate curb on the credit the settlement drew against London.

The island's paper currency lay at the root of the difficulty Bazett described. Holders of credit in the stores expected bank notes to be convertible into bills of exchange on demand, sometimes for substantial sums, which forced the council to keep drawing on the Honourable Company. The want of current coin meant store credit and bills had to do the work money would otherwise have done.

Speculations

The council's resolution answered a defined conflict between local need and the directors' objection, settling on a narrow class of permitted bills rather than halting them altogether. Allowing arrack, rice, wheat and cattle to remain on the list kept the warehouse able to provision ships and the garrison, while cutting off the wider drawing that had drawn the directors' complaint, a compromise framed to satisfy London without starving the settlement of supply.

298

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here He Sold severall Blacks a great many of them for Store Creditt and Some People that bought Blacks had not Creditt and was oblig[.d] to borrow of those who had it in the Stores to pay for them and in Such Cases he cant See how it is to be refused

In answer to that the Govern[.r] Says He thinks We ought to give the Hon[.] Company Entire Satisfaction as much as Possible and therefore when We are obliged to draw any Bills hereafter We Shall be very Particular as to the reasons of them

And to prevent the drawing of Bills for the future the Govern[.r] thinks the following Method may be of Some use

First That we keep to the afore Written Resolution of drawing no Bills but for Arrack Rice Wheat [.] live Cattle deliver[.d]

And those who have Creditt in the Hon[.ble] Comp[.as] Stores and goe off to England must have Bills But those who have Creditt and do not go Home if they have any Sums to be remitted p[.] bills of Exchange We will write first to the Hon[.] Company [.] acquaint them

1717

Captain Mackett had sold several blacks during his stay, a great many of them for store credit. Some people who bought blacks held no credit and had to borrow from those who had it in the stores to pay for them. In such cases Bazett could not see how a bill could be refused.

The Governor answered that the council ought to give the Honourable Company entire satisfaction as far as possible. Whenever the council was obliged to draw any bills in future, it would be very particular as to the reasons for them.

To prevent the drawing of bills in future, the Governor thought the following method might be of some use.

First, that the council keep to the resolution already recorded of drawing no bills except for arrack, rice, wheat and live cattle delivered.

Those who held credit in the Honourable Company's stores and left for England must have bills. Those who held credit but did not go home, if they had any sums to remit by bills of exchange, the council would first write to the Honourable Company and acquaint them

Interpretations

Captain Mackett's slave sales showed how the store-credit system financed even private purchases of slaves, buyers without credit borrowing from holders of it and the lenders then demanding bills of exchange to realise their balances. Each such sale ultimately drew on the Honourable Company in London, which explains why the directors saw the volume of bills swell beyond what the island's own trade seemed to justify.

The Governor's scheme distinguished departing creditors from resident ones. A person leaving for England had to have bills, since store credit was worthless off the island, but a resident wishing to remit money would now wait while the council first wrote to the Honourable Company. Interposing prior notice to London turned the bill from an instrument drawn on demand into one drawn only with the directors' knowledge, shifting control of the island's credit outflow towards home.

299

307

Aprill. them with it to have their leave before We give any as was once done in the Case of Mr.- Powell for five hundred pound. And that no Ship have Bills Unless for Arrack. Rice wheat &c[a] For any more- then the Goods they take out of the Stores- amount to. The Governr: asks Capt: Haswell when the Accounts will be finnisht. Capt: Haswell Says that the Writers are- (Copying them over, and that they will be- ready to send by the latter end of ye Shiping) The Governor: Says that they must be don and sent home this Season, or Else he will- send the Books as they be whether there- be Copy's of them or no. The Ship King George has brought us- a Letter from Bengall wth an Invoice- Containing the following Particulars Vizt:

Four half Legars of Arrack containing 288. Gallons.

S[ev]enteen Baggs Sugr qt: [...] Qu: [...] 24: 3: 21

Forty one Baggs Rice qt: 60: 0: 14.

April 1717

The council would acquaint the Honourable Company with such remittances and have their leave before giving any bills, as was once done in the case of Mr Powell for five hundred pounds.

The Governor further proposed that no ship have bills, except for arrack, rice, wheat and the like, for any more than the goods they took out of the stores amounted to.

The Governor asked Captain Haswell when the accounts would be finished. Captain Haswell said the writers were copying them over and they would be ready to send by the latter end of the shipping. The Governor said they must be done and sent home this season, or else he would send the books as they were, whether there were copies of them or not.

The King George had brought a letter from Bengal with an invoice containing the following particulars.

Four half leaguers of arrack, containing 288 gallons.

Seventeen bags of sugar:

24 hundredweight 3 quarters 21 pounds

Forty-one bags of rice:

60 hundredweight 0 quarters 14 pounds

Interpretations

The Governor's threat to send the books home uncopied cut at the established practice of retaining a fair copy of the accounts on the island while the originals went to London. Despatching the only set would leave the settlement without its own record, a sanction aimed at the writers' slowness that shows the directors' demand for the accounts outweighed the island's administrative convenience.

The cap on ships' bills closed the remaining channel of open credit, no commander could now draw beyond the value of the stores his ship actually took. Tying the bill to the goods delivered turned each ship's account into a settled exchange rather than a running line of credit against the Honourable Company.

The Bengal invoice recorded the sugar and rice by hundredweight, quarters and pounds, the standard avoirdupois reckoning in which a hundredweight held four quarters of 28 pounds each. The shipment of arrack in half leaguers, four casks holding 288 gallons between them, supplemented the eight full leaguers Captain Lewis had separately offered for sale at the consultation of 24 April 1717.

300

308

And. 200. Shirts made of Cossaes. We also receiv'd Duplicate of a Letter from Fort St: George. Specifying Severall Goods- on board the Ship Dartmouth which will be very Acceptable. [...]

Island St: Helena At a Consultation held Tuesday the 30th: of Aprill 1717 At Union Castle in James Valley.

Isaac Pyke Esqr: Govr:

Prest: George Haswell Dpty

Mattw: Bazett 3[d]

Last Consultation read & approv'd of. The Church Wardens for the year past- According to an Advertizement Issued out for that Purpose brought and deliver'd the following Paper. Containing the Names of Parrish Officers- to Succeed them, and the old Overseers of the high- ways for the Said year vizt:

1717

The invoice also listed 200 shirts made of cossaes.

The council likewise received a duplicate of a letter from Fort St George specifying several goods on board the Dartmouth, which would be very acceptable.

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 30 April 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The churchwardens for the past year, in accordance with an advertisement issued for the purpose, brought and delivered a paper containing the names of the parish officers to succeed them and the old overseers of the highways for that year.

Interpretations

Cossaes were a fine plain muslin woven in Bengal, one of the named cotton cloths of the Company's eastern trade. Shirts ready-made of the cloth and shipped by the 200 supplied the garrison and inhabitants directly, sparing the island the labour of making up garments from piece goods.

The annual return of parish officers followed a fixed cycle, the outgoing churchwardens nominating their successors and the highways overseers under an advertisement calling for the names. The parish, rather than the council itself, carried the routine offices of local administration, with the council confirming the slate each year at the end of April.

301

309

Aprill. 1717. St: Helena ye 22d: Aprill 1717. Parrish Officers Chosen at a Vestry in- James Valley by the Inhabitants of Said- Island for the year 1717. vizt

For ye West James Vessey John Coles.

For ye East John Worrall Isaac Wood.

Church- Wardens.

For ye West John Harding John Crosby

For ye East Thoms: Allis Isaac Leech

Overseers of- high way's.

Out of which persons. The Govrn: Appointed- for Church Wardens the Ensuing year. Isaac Wood & James Vessey. And as to the Overseers We find a Mistake- in returning Thomas Allis he being one of- the Overseers for the year past. The Old Church Wardens was Sent for to know. their reason for so doing, who Say they now well remember that John Knipe was Chosen for- the East Side wth Isaac Leech as Overseers.

April 1717

The paper was dated at St Helena on 22 April 1717 and listed the parish officers chosen at a vestry in James Valley by the inhabitants of the island for the year 1717.

Churchwardens

For the west: James Vessey and John Coles

For the east: John Worrall and Isaac Wood

Overseers of the highways

For the west: John Harding and John Crosby

For the east: Thomas Allis and Isaac Leech

Out of these the Governor appointed Isaac Wood and James Vessey churchwardens for the coming year.

As to the overseers, the council found a mistake in the return of Thomas Allis, since he was already one of the overseers for the past year. The old churchwardens were sent for to explain, and they said they now well remembered that John Knipe had been chosen for the east side with Isaac Leech as overseers.

Interpretations

The vestry returned a double slate, two names for each office on each side of the island, from which the Governor selected the officers to serve. The arrangement preserved the inhabitants' voice in nominating while keeping the final appointment in the Governor's hands, the parish offices filled by a blend of election and executive choice.

The division of every office between west and east shows the parish administered in two geographical halves, each with its own churchwardens and highways overseers. Splitting the duties matched the island's scattered settlement, where roads and parish business on each side needed an officer resident near at hand.

The detection of Allis's invalid return turned on the rule against consecutive service, an overseer for the past year could not be returned again for the next. Sending for the old churchwardens to correct the slate from memory shows the vestry record itself was thin, the council relying on the officers' recollection to establish that Knipe, not Allis, had been chosen.

302

310

Wherefore Ordered. That. John Knipe & Isaac Leech be- Appointed Overseers of the high ways for the East Side the Island. the ways & roads all- that way being Very bad and require[s]- Carefully to be repair'd, and another reason is why We appoint two Persons to Act where- one us'd to do is because the Last Parrish- Officers made Choice of two persons for t'other Side that are not much better than beggars,- whereas they ought to have Chose good &- Substantiall men into those Offices, and to- have some regard to their Creditt & reputation On Sunday the 28th: Inst: Arrived the Shipp[s]- Grantham Capt: Thoms: Collet Comandr: from- Bengall, and also the Mercury Capt: White from- Madagascar, who brought for the use of the- Hon: Compa: Thirty good Blacks. viz twenty- men and ten women. On the 29th: Sailed the King George, & Arrived- here the Borneo Capt: Daniel Burgess Comdr:- from Bencoolen but last from the Cape of- Good Hope, and brought us a Letter from the- Gentlemen at Bencoolen who return'd us-

1717

The council therefore ordered that John Knipe and Isaac Leech be appointed overseers of the highways for the east side of the island. The ways and roads on that side were very bad and required careful repair. The council gave a further reason for appointing two persons where one used to serve. The last parish officers had chosen two persons for the other side who were little better than beggars, whereas they ought to have chosen good and substantial men for those offices, with some regard to their credit and reputation.

On Sunday 28 April 1717 the Grantham, Captain Thomas Collet commander, arrived from Bengal, together with the Mercury, Captain White, from Madagascar. The Mercury brought thirty good blacks for the use of the Honourable Company, twenty men and ten women.

On 29 April 1717 the King George sailed. The Borneo, Captain Daniel Burgess commander, arrived from Bencoolen but last from the Cape of Good Hope. She brought a letter from the gentlemen at Bencoolen, who returned thanks

Interpretations

The council's insistence on substantial men for parish office made property and standing a qualification for local administration. Overseers of the highways commanded the labour of the inhabitants and their slaves on the roads, so men without credit or reputation could not compel compliance, and the council doubled the appointment to compensate for the weakness of the western pair already chosen.

The Mercury's delivery of thirty slaves from Madagascar answered the standing shortage of plantation labour, Bazett having given his written opinion on 12 February 1717 that the ten slaves then newly arrived were not a tenth of what the plantations wanted. Madagascar was the Company's principal source of slaves for the island, the cargo of twenty men and ten women apportioned to field labour with a smaller number of women for domestic and lighter service.

303

311

Aprill. thanks for the 5. Children of Co[e]ls by the- Ship Cardonnell, But has Sent us no Sort of- Goods for our Stores these three years Not= =withstanding the Hon: Compas: Orders, and- their reason they give for it in that Letter, is- because they dont think it [...], which We- take for too triffling an Excuse and looks- as if they did not regard their Masters Orders.) The Governr: desires the Council to bring In. in- writing by Tuesday next, the heads of Such things- as they think proper to be writt to the Honble:- Company in our next Letter. Now there being two India Ships in the- road. We dont think it Proper to draw any- Bills on the Hono: Compa: for any Sort of goods- nor to take any more than What their Accounts- amounts to for Provisions, and so permitt all- People to buy Goods out of them for the- Provisions they sell, being resolv'd to give no- bills as aforesaid. The Goods brought us from Bengall- by the Grantham is as follows.

Four half Legars of Arrack containing. 255. Gallons.

April 1717

The gentlemen at Bencoolen returned thanks for the five children of Coals sent by the Cardonnell. They had sent no sort of goods for the stores these three years, notwithstanding the Honourable Company's orders. The reason given in their letter was that they did not think it expedient, which the council took for too trifling an excuse, one that looked as if they did not regard their masters' orders.

The Governor asked the council to bring in writing by the following Tuesday the heads of such matters as they thought proper to be written to the Honourable Company in the next letter.

With two India ships now in the road, the council did not think it proper to draw any bills on the Honourable Company for any sort of goods, nor to take any more than their accounts amounted to for provisions. The council resolved to permit all people to buy goods out of the ships in exchange for the provisions they sold, no bills being given as already resolved.

The goods brought from Bengal by the Grantham were as follows.

Four half leaguers of arrack, containing 255 gallons.

Interpretations

The rebuke to Bencoolen recorded a failure of the supply chain between the Company's own stations, the Sumatran settlement having sent nothing for the island's stores in three years despite standing orders. Framing the excuse as disregard of their masters' orders prepared the ground for a complaint home, the island building its case in the record before the next letter to the directors.

The council extended its bill restriction to the two India ships in the road by routing trade through barter. Inhabitants could buy goods from the ships directly with the provisions they sold, so commerce continued without any bill being drawn on the Honourable Company, the resolution of 24 April 1717 enforced by making private exchange carry what the Company's credit had previously financed.

The five children of Coals sent to Bencoolen by the Cardonnell were slave children of the Coals estate, transferred between stations as Company property. Their despatch shows the island supplying labour to the eastern settlements even while pressing its own shortage, the traffic in slaves running in both directions across the Company's network.

304

312

Baggs 18. Sugar [...] 26: 1: 17

  1. Rice 57: 1: 9.

Shirts one Bale Containing 200.

Stockins one Bale Containing. 364 pair.

All being very Acceptable to the People here. The Governr: asks Capt: Bazett if the- Inventory is done. Capt: Bazett Says he has been about it at- all Leisure times, and were he not Oblig'd to be- So often Serving out Goods 'twould been done- by this time, but as it is, he will gett it finnisht- as Soon as Possible. The Governr: desires Capt: Haswell to gett the Store Books ready as Soon as he Can, and to- loose no time, because he has Mention'd to the- Hon: Compa: in the Letter by Ship King George that he is forwarding & getting them ready. every day early & late. Capt: Bazett brought in his Monthly Accots:- from Janu: the 25 1716/7 to the 25th ffebry follow= =ing which was Examin'd & Ordered to be- Enter'd as follows.

1717

Sugar, 18 bags from Tusenda:

26 hundredweight 1 quarter 17 pounds

Rice, 43 bags:

57 hundredweight 1 quarter 9 pounds

Shirts, one bale containing 200.

Stockings, one bale containing 364 pairs.

All were very acceptable to the people here.

The Governor asked Captain Bazett whether the inventory was done. Captain Bazett said he had been about it at all leisure times. Had he not been obliged to serve out goods so often, it would have been done by now, but as matters stood he would finish it as soon as possible.

The Governor asked Captain Haswell to get the store books ready as soon as he could and to lose no time. He had told the Honourable Company in the letter by the King George that Haswell was pressing forward and getting them ready every day, early and late.

Captain Bazett brought in his monthly accounts from 25 January 1717 to 25 February following, which were examined and ordered to be entered as follows.

Interpretations

The Governor's admission bound the council to its own correspondence, having already assured the directors by the King George that the books were being prepared early and late, he now had to make Haswell's progress match the claim. The letter home thus became an instrument of internal pressure, the deadline fixed not by the work but by what London had been told.

Bazett's defence of the unfinished inventory turned on the conflict between his two duties, the daily serving out of goods from the warehouse and the periodic stock-taking of its contents. With no second storekeeper the same officer both moved the stores and counted them, so every issue of goods interrupted the reckoning and shifted the figures he was trying to fix.

305

313

Baggs 18. Sugar [...] 26: 1: 17

  1. Rice 57: 1: 9.

Shirts one Bale Containing 200.

Stockins one Bale Containing. 364 pair.

All being very Acceptable to the People here. The Governr: asks Capt: Bazett if the- Inventory is done. Capt: Bazett Says he has been about it at- all Leisure times, and were he not Oblig'd to be- So often Serving out Goods 'twould been done- by this time, but as it is, he will gett it finnisht- as Soon as Possible. The Governr: desires Capt: Haswell to gett the Store Books r[...]dy as Soon as he Can, and to- loose no time [...]use he has Mention'd to the- Hon: Compa: in the Letter by Ship King George that he is forwarding & getting them ready. every day early & late. Capt: Bazett brought in his Monthly Accots:- from Janu: the 25 1716/7 to the 25th ffebry follow= =ing which was Examin'd & Ordered to be- Enter'd as follows.

1717

Sugar, 18 bags from Tusenda:

26 hundredweight 1 quarter 17 pounds

Rice, 43 bags:

57 hundredweight 1 quarter 9 pounds

Shirts, one bale containing 200.

Stockings, one bale containing 364 pairs.

All were very acceptable to the people here.

The Governor asked Captain Bazett whether the inventory was done. Captain Bazett said he had been about it at all leisure times. Had he not been obliged to serve out goods so often, it would have been done by now, but as matters stood he would finish it as soon as possible.

The Governor asked Captain Haswell to get the store books ready as soon as he could and to lose no time. He had told the Honourable Company in the letter by the King George that Haswell was pressing forward and getting them ready every day, early and late.

Captain Bazett brought in his monthly accounts from 25 January 1717 to 25 February following, which were examined and ordered to be entered as follows.

Interpretations

The Governor's admission bound the council to its own correspondence, having already assured the directors by the King George that the books were being prepared early and late, he now had to make Haswell's progress match the claim. The letter home thus became an instrument of internal pressure, the deadline fixed not by the work but by what London had been told.

Bazett's defence of the unfinished inventory turned on the conflict between his two duties, the daily serving out of goods from the warehouse and the periodic stock-taking of its contents. With no second storekeeper the same officer both moved the stores and counted them, so every issue of goods interrupted the reckoning and shifted the figures he was trying to fix.

306

314

1717.

Brought over

£ 176 4 5

Shoe Thread.

3lb at 2/6

- 7 6

Indigo.

1 ounce

- 8

Saile Needles

1 dozn

Thread

2 Oz of 9d at

- 1 7 - 2 3

1. Oz dto

- 1 6

Cocks

33 dozn at 3d p dozn

- 2 6 - 4 -

1lb Cork Wood

- 8 3

[...]

- 8 - 8 11

Silk

1½ oz. at 2/6

- 3 9

Lines.

5 No. 12. at 2/3

- 11 3

Nayles vizt

1. 2. ditto

- 11

13. 3. ditto at 9d p lb

- 9 9

¼. 3 Batten Brads

- 3½

36. 10. ditto at 8½d

1 5 6

22. 20 ditto at 8d

- 14 8

4. 24 ditto at 7½d

- 2 6

3. 30. ditto at 7d

- 1 9

8. weight Nayles

- 4 2 19 4½

Iron Mongers Ware vizt

3 pair Pott Hooks at 2/

- 6 -

Glass Ware vizt

2. Cannary Glasses at 18d

- 3 -

10. Ale ditto at 2/6

1 5 - 1 8 -

Shoes 1pr: Childrens pumps

- 1

1 pr: Boys Shoes

- 4 9 - 5 9

Carried over

£ 183 1 2½

1717

Brought over: £176 4s 5d

Shoe thread, 3 pounds at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 7s 6d

Indigo, 1 ounce: £0 0s 8d

Sail needles, 1 dozen: £0 1s 7d

Subtotal: £0 2s 3d

Thread, 2 ounces at 9 pence: £0 1s 6d

1 ounce of thread: £0 2s 6d

Subtotal: £0 4s 0d

Cocks, 33 dozen at 3 pence per dozen: £0 8s 3d

1 pound of cork wood: £0 0s 8d

Subtotal: £0 8s 11d

Silk, 1½ ounces at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 3s 9d

Lines, 5 number 12 at 2 shillings 3 pence: £0 11s 3d

Nails

1 of 2 nails: £0 0s 11d

13 of 3 nails at 9 pence per pound: £0 9s 9d

¼ of 3 batten brads: £0 0s 3½d

36 of 10 nails at 8½ pence: £1 5s 6d

22 of 20 nails at 8 pence: £0 14s 8d

4 of 24 nails at 7½ pence: £0 2s 6d

3 of 30 nails at 7 pence: £0 1s 9d

8 weight nails: £0 4s 0d

Subtotal: £2 19s 4½d

Ironmonger's ware

3 pairs of pot hooks at 2 shillings: £0 6s 0d

Glassware

2 Canary glasses at 18 pence: £0 3s 0d

10 ale glasses at 2 shillings 6 pence: £1 5s 0d

Subtotal: £1 8s 0d

Shoes, 1 pair of children's pumps: £0 1s 0d

1 pair of boys' shoes: £0 4s 9d

Subtotal: £0 5s 9d

Carried over: £183 1s 2½d

Interpretations

Canary glasses were small drinking glasses made for Canary wine, the sweet fortified white of the Canary Islands, and stood apart from the larger ale glasses priced at twice as much. Stocking both shapes shows the warehouse retailing tableware graded to the drink, the island's households buying their glass by the kind of liquor it served.

The lines sold by number were cordage gauged by size, the figure 12 marking the thickness of the line, sold for fishing, sounding and light rigging. Together with the sail needles and shoe thread on the same leaf, the entries show the store provisioning the small crafts and repairs of a maritime settlement rather than bulk trade alone.

307

315

Aprill.

Brought Over

£ 183 1 2½

Stationary Ware. vizt

1. Ho[rn]e Book

- - 4

10. quires of paper at 16d

- 13 4 - 13 8

Tin Ware 1 funnell

- - 5

Soldiers Cloaths. 2 Coats at 20/8

2 1 4

185 16 7½

New Goods. Vizt

Buttons

5½ dozn brest at 6d p do

2: 9

4 dozn Coat do

0: 4: 0 - 6 9

Mohair

1¾ oz at 20d:

- 2 11

Ribbon vizt

5 Yards do at 14d

0: 5: 10

3 Yards. at 18.

0: 4: 6 - 10 4

Starch.

7lb at 9d

- 5 3

Shoes vizt

6 pr Mens ditto at 6/2

1: 17: 0

5 pr Womens do at do

1: 10: 10 3 7 10

Stockings vizt

1 pr blew Course do

0: 2: 2

1 pr Mens Thread do

0: 4: 9 - 6 11

Stationary Ware vizt

3 Copy Books at 9d

0: 2: 3

1 Spelling Book

0: 1: 8

1. do Smaller

0: 1: 0 - 4 11

Knives. vizt

5. Butchers ditto at 6d

2 6

Carried over

£ 5 7 5

Carried Over

£ 185 16 7½

April 1717

Brought over: £183 1s 2½d

Stationery ware

1 home book: £0 0s 4d

10 quires of paper at 16 pence: £0 13s 4d

Subtotal: £0 13s 8d

Tinware, 1 funnel: £0 0s 5d

Soldiers' clothes, 2 coats at 20 shillings 8 pence: £2 1s 4d

Subtotal: £185 16s 7½d

New goods

Buttons, 5½ dozen breast at 6 pence per dozen: £0 2s 9d

4 dozen coat buttons: £0 4s 0d

Subtotal: £0 6s 9d

Mohair, 1¾ ounces at 20 pence: £0 2s 11d

Ribbon

5 yards of ribbon at 14 pence: £0 5s 10d

3 yards at 18 pence: £0 4s 6d

Subtotal: £0 10s 4d

Starch, 7 pounds at 9 pence: £0 5s 3d

Shoes

6 pairs of men's shoes at 6 shillings 2 pence: £1 17s 0d

5 pairs of women's shoes at the same rate: £1 10s 10d

Subtotal: £3 7s 10d

Stockings

1 pair of blue coarse stockings: £0 2s 2d

1 pair of men's thread stockings: £0 4s 9d

Subtotal: £0 6s 11d

Stationery ware

3 copy books at 9 pence: £0 2s 3d

1 spelling book: £0 1s 8d

1 smaller spelling book: £0 1s 0d

Subtotal: £0 4s 11d

Knives

5 butcher's knives at 6 pence: £0 2s 6d

Carried over: £5 7s 5d

Carried over: £185 16s 7½d

Interpretations

The spelling books among the stationery point to schooling on the island, the store supplying the texts from which children learned their letters, stocked in two sizes for different ages or means. Copy books for handwriting practice on the same leaf complete the picture of education provisioned through the Company's warehouse rather than any separate trade.

The two soldiers' coats at over £1 each stand out as the costliest items on the leaf, garrison clothing sold through the store and charged against the men. The army coat was a substantial woollen garment, its price several weeks of a private soldier's pay, which explains the store's role in clothing the garrison on credit against wages.

308

316

1717

Brought Over £185 16 7½

New Goods brought over 5:7 5

Fustians. Vizt

½ piece ditto No 7 0:13:4

½ ps - ditto 5 0:19:2

1 ps - ditto 1 2:3:4

1 ps ditto 9 1:13:4

5 9 2

Thicksett ½ piece No 2 17 6

Scarlett Cloth 6¾ yards at 15s pyd 4 15 7½

Tin Ware vizt

3 Porringers at 5d 0:1:3

1 ditto Larger 0:0:7

1 Lamp 0:1:10

1 Three Pint Sauce Pann 0:1:8

5 4

Lubeck Canves 4½ yards at 12d 4 6

Hatts 1 ditto No 5 1 - -

Pewter 1 Porringer 1 3

Iron Mongers Ware

1 felling Axe 0:3:4

3 Splinter Locks at 18d 0:4:6

1 Large ditto No 7 0:4:0

11 10

New Goods 18 12 7½

£204 9:3

To the Inhabitants

1717

Brought over: £185 16s 7½d

New goods brought over: £5 7s 5d

Fustians

½ piece of fustian, number 7: £0 13s 4d

½ piece of fustian, number 5: £0 19s 2d

1 piece of fustian, number 1: £2 3s 4d

1 piece of fustian, number 9: £1 13s 4d

Subtotal: £5 9s 2d

Thickset, ½ piece, number 2: £0 17s 6d

Scarlet cloth, 6¾ yards at 15 shillings per yard: £4 15s 7½d

Tinware

3 porringers at 5 pence: £0 1s 3d

1 larger porringer: £0 0s 7d

1 lamp: £0 1s 10d

1 three-pint sauce pan: £0 1s 8d

Subtotal: £0 5s 4d

Lubeck canvas, 4½ yards at 12 pence: £0 4s 6d

Hats, 1 number 5: £0 1s 0d

Pewter, 1 porringer: £0 1s 3d

Ironmonger's ware

1 felling axe: £0 3s 4d

3 splinter locks at 18 pence: £0 4s 6d

1 large splinter lock, number 7: £0 4s 0d

Subtotal: £0 11s 10d

Total of new goods: £18 12s 7½d

To the inhabitants: £204 9s 3d

Interpretations

Scarlet cloth at 15 shillings the yard was by far the dearest textile on the leaf, a fine broadcloth dyed with cochineal and reserved for officers' wear and formal dress. A purchase of nearly £5 for under seven yards marks a buyer of rank, the cloth retailing at fifteen times the price of the Lubeck canvas beside it.

Thickset was a stout twilled cotton cloth with a short nap, cut for breeches and hard-wearing garments, while Lubeck canvas was a coarse linen shipped through the Baltic port of that name. Together with the numbered fustians they show the store carrying a graded range of textiles, each kind numbered by quality and priced by the piece or the yard.

309

317

Aprill.

Union Castle Dr. to Store Goods from January the 25th. 171⅚ to Februry ye 25th. following vizt.

Arrack 58 Gallns. at 6/3 p Gall. £18 4 10¼

Sugar. 143 at 8d. plb. 4 15 4

Flour. 398 at 3½ plb. 5 16:1

Bread. 96lb. at 3½. 1 8 -

Rice. 720 at 3½. 10 10 -

Oyle. 2 quarts Sweet dto. -6 -

Soap. 38lb. at 1/5. 2 13 10

Lime Juice 5½ Gallns. at ½. 1 7 6

Vinegar. 2 Gallons at 2/6. -5 -

Tea. 6lb. at 9s. plb. 2 14.

Pepper. 3lb. -3 -

Long Cloth. 3 pieces at 24/9. 3 14 3

Chints. 3 ps. patney do. at 11/9. 1 15 3

Indigo. 8 ounces at 8d. -5 4

Corks. 20 dozn. at 3. -5 -

Blanketts. 5 pr. at 15/6. 3 17 6

Shoe Thread ½lb. -1 3

Twine. 1lb. 2:4

House Brushes. vizt.

2: Small do. at 2. 4

2: Middling do. 2/10. 5 8

-9 8

Iron Mongers Ware vizt.

2: Plate bolls No. 8. 3 8

Carried Over. £58 17 10¼

April 1717

The Union Castle owed for store goods supplied from 25 January 1717 to 25 February following

Arrack, 58 gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence per gallon: £18 4s 10¼d

Sugar, 143 at 8 pence per pound: £4 15s 4d

Flour, 398 at 3½ pence per pound: £5 16s 1d

Bread, 96 pounds at 3½: £1 8s 0d

Rice, 720 at 3½: £10 10s 0d

Oil, 2 quarts sweet: £0 0s 6d

Soap, 38 pounds at 1 shilling 5 pence: £2 13s 10d

Lime juice, 5½ gallons at 5: £1 7s 6d

Vinegar, 2 gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 5s 0d

Tea, 6 pounds at 9 per pound: £2 14s 0d

Pepper, 3 pounds: £0 3s 0d

Long cloth, 3 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence: £3 14s 3d

Chintz, 3 pieces patney at 11 shillings 9 pence: £1 15s 3d

Indigo, 8 ounces at 8 pence: £0 5s 4d

Cocks, 20 dozen at 3: £0 5s 0d

Blankets, 5 pairs at 15 shillings 6 pence: £3 17s 6d

Shoe thread, ½ pound: £0 1s 3d

Twine, 1 pound: £0 2s 4d

House brushes

2 small brushes at 2: £0 0s 4d

2 middling brushes, 2 shillings 10 pence: £0 5s 8d

Subtotal: £0 9s 8d

Ironmonger's ware

2 plate bolts, number 8: £0 3s 8d

Carried over: £58 17s 10¼d

Interpretations

Chintz was a painted or printed cotton cloth of India, the patney sort taking its name from Patna in Bengal, glazed and patterned for clothing and furnishing. Sold by the piece alongside the plain long cloth, it shows the ship drawing finished Indian textiles from the island store for the homeward market or shipboard use.

The second month of the Union Castle's provisioning ran to £58 17s 10¼d against £50 13s 3½d for the first, recorded at the consultation of 9 April 1717, the arrack again the largest charge at over £18. A second month's bill of this size points to a long stay in the road, the ship maintained almost wholly from the Company's warehouse through January and February.

Speculations

Sweet oil appeared by the quart where the earlier bill had it by the gallon, and the rice rose from 412 pounds to 720, the largest single provision taken. The shifting proportions across the two bills trace a ship eking out her sea stock, bulk staples like rice and flour replacing the broader first order as the stay lengthened and the hold's own stores ran down.

310

318

Brought Over. £58 17 10¼

Nayles. Vizt.

10lb. 2: ditto at 11d. -9 2

  1. 10 ditto at 8½d. 3 5 2

2: 24. 7¼d. 0 1 3

23: 30. 7. -13 5

24: Spikes. 6. 12 -

7: Coopers Rivetts at 11d. -6 5

5 7 5

Beef & Pork Vizt.

1: Cask Beef. Contg. 520. at 5¼lb. 11 18 4

1: Cask Pork Contg. 420. at 8 - 14 - -

25 18.4

90 3 7¼

New Goods. Vizt.

Ribbon. 9¼ Yards at ½. 0:10:9½

11¾ Yards do. at 18. 0:17:7½. 1 8 5

Tin Ware. 1 Lamp. -1 10

English Duck. 1 Bolt. 3 2 9

Pewter. 2 Chamber Potts. 0 10 6

5 3 6

Totall to Union Castle. £95 7 1¼

Plantation.

The italics were a mistake. Union Castle in these accounts is the Company's fortified seat in James Valley, the place where the consultations were held, not a vessel. The earlier rewrites treated it correctly as a place, and the debtor heading in these store accounts refers to goods supplied to the castle itself. Here are the two affected responses corrected.

April 1717

The Union Castle owed for store goods supplied from 25 January 1717 to 25 February following

Arrack, 58 gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence per gallon: £18 4s 10¼d

Sugar, 143 at 8 pence per pound: £4 15s 4d

Flour, 398 at 3½ pence per pound: £5 16s 1d

Bread, 96 pounds at 3½: £1 8s 0d

Rice, 720 at 3½: £10 10s 0d

Oil, 2 quarts sweet: £0 0s 6d

Soap, 38 pounds at 1 shilling 5 pence: £2 13s 10d

Lime juice, 5½ gallons at 5: £1 7s 6d

Vinegar, 2 gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 5s 0d

Tea, 6 pounds at 9 per pound: £2 14s 0d

Pepper, 3 pounds: £0 3s 0d

Long cloth, 3 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence: £3 14s 3d

Chintz, 3 pieces patney at 11 shillings 9 pence: £1 15s 3d

Indigo, 8 ounces at 8 pence: £0 5s 4d

Cocks, 20 dozen at 3: £0 5s 0d

Blankets, 5 pairs at 15 shillings 6 pence: £3 17s 6d

Shoe thread, ½ pound: £0 1s 3d

Twine, 1 pound: £0 2s 4d

House brushes

2 small brushes at 2: £0 0s 4d

2 middling brushes, 2 shillings 10 pence: £0 5s 8d

Subtotal: £0 9s 8d

Ironmonger's ware

2 plate bolts, number 8: £0 3s 8d

Carried over: £58 17s 10¼d

Interpretations

Chintz was a painted or printed cotton cloth of India, the patney sort taking its name from Patna in Bengal, glazed and patterned for clothing and furnishing. Sold by the piece alongside the plain long cloth, it shows the castle drawing finished Indian textiles from the store for the garrison's use.

The second month of the Union Castle's account ran to £58 17s 10¼d against £50 13s 3½d for the first, recorded at the consultation of 9 April 1717, the arrack again the largest charge at over £18. The castle was the seat of the garrison and the council, its household and soldiers maintained month by month from the Company's warehouse.

Speculations

Sweet oil appeared by the quart where the earlier bill had it by the gallon, and the rice rose from 412 pounds to 720, the largest single provision taken. The shifting proportions across the two months trace the castle's consumption running down some stores faster than others, bulk staples like rice and flour dominating as the kitchen and garrison drew on the warehouse.

1717

Brought over: £58 17s 10¼d

Nails

10 of 2 nails at 11: £0 9s 2d

92 of 10 nails at 8½: £3 5s 2d

2 of 24 nails at 7½: £0 1s 3d

23 of 30 nails at 7: £0 13s 5d

24 spikes at 6: £0 12s 0d

7 coopers' rivets at 11 pence: £0 6s 5d

Subtotal: £5 7s 5d

Beef and pork

1 cask of beef containing 520 pounds at 5½ per pound: £11 18s 4d

1 cask of pork containing 420 at 8 pence: £14 0s 0d

Subtotal: £25 18s 4d

Running total: £90 3s 7¼d

New goods

Ribbon, 9½ yards at 14: £0 10s 9½d

11¾ yards of ribbon at 18: £0 17s 7½d

Subtotal: £1 8s 5d

Tinware, 1 lamp: £0 1s 10d

English duck, 1 bolt: £3 2s 9d

Pewter, 2 chamber pots: £0 10s 6d

Subtotal: £5 3s 6d

Total to the Union Castle: £95 7s 1¼d

Interpretations

Coopers' rivets among the nails point to cask repair at the castle, the hoops and staves of the garrison's stores of meat and liquids kept sound by its own hands. A household drawing hundreds of pounds of salt meat and dozens of gallons of liquids depended on tight casks, so the small charge sat behind the far larger ones for beef, pork and arrack.

English duck stood beside the Holland duck sold earlier in the month at the consultation of 9 April 1717, the domestic canvas distinguished from the Dutch by name and sold by the bolt for covers and heavy use. Stocking both shows the warehouse drawing its canvas from more than one source and pricing the kinds separately.

The whole of the Union Castle's two-month account closed at £95 7s 1¼d, nearly twice the first month's £50 13s 3½d recorded at the consultation of 9 April 1717. Within the total the old-goods supply ran to £90 3s 7¼d and the new goods to £5 3s 6d, the storekeeper keeping the two stocks distinct even within a single debtor's account.

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319

Aprill. 1717.

Plantation House Dr. to Store Goods for vizt.

Arrack 3½ Gall. at 6/3. £1 1 10½

Sugar. 6lb. at 8d. -4 -

Rice 100lb. at 3½. 14 13 1½

Iron Mongers Ware vizt.

6: ground hoes at 2/6. -15 -

Nayles Vizt.

6lb. 10d. ditto at 8½ plb. -4 3

6: 20 dto. at 8d. -4 -

-8 3

New Goods vizt.

3: Butchers knives. -1 6

Totall to plantation House. 17 3 9

Totall to Union Castle. 95 7 1¼

Totall to the Inhabitants. 204 9 3

Totall Sum of this Month. £317 0 1¼

[...]

April 1717

The Plantation House owed for store goods supplied as follows

Arrack, 3½ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence: £1 1s 10½d

Sugar, 6 pounds at 8 pence: £0 4s 0d

Rice, 1,005 pounds at 3½: £14 13s 1½d

Ironmonger's ware

6 ground hoes at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 15s 0d

Nails

6 of 10 nails at 8½ per pound: £0 4s 3d

6 of 20 nails at 8 pence: £0 4s 0d

Subtotal: £0 8s 3d

New goods

3 butcher's knives: £0 1s 6d

Total to the Plantation House: £17 3s 9d

Total to the Union Castle: £95 7s 1¼d

Total to the inhabitants: £204 9s 3d

Total sum of this month: £317 0s 1¼d

Interpretations

Rice made up almost the whole of the Plantation House charge, more than 1,000 pounds at £14 13s 1½d issued in a single month as ration for the Company's slaves there. The grain came from the Bengal cargoes newly landed, while the ground hoes on the same account equipped the field labour, the cost of feeding and tooling the plantation carried as ordinary debits against its head.

The storekeeper closed the month by gathering the three debtor accounts, the Plantation House at £17 3s 9d, the Union Castle at £95 7s 1¼d and the inhabitants at £204 9s 3d, making £317 0s 1¼d in all. The figure sat just below the £338 15s 6d of the December-January month recorded at the consultation of 9 April 1717, every parcel leaving the warehouse charged to a named account so the directors could follow the island's consumption month by month.

Speculations

The plantation drew its month's diet from imported rice even though Bazett's survey of 28 February 1717 counted 339,000 yams already fit to dig across the plantations. Feeding the slaves on Bengal grain while so much of the root crop stood ready points to a deliberate sparing of the yam reserve, held back for the victualling of ships and the long months in which the growing crop at the Hutts and Perkins's ground would not bear digging.

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320

Island St. Helena.

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 7th. day of May 1717. At Union Castle in James valley.

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. George Haswell Dptywr. Matthew Bazett. 3.

Last Consultation read and Approved of.

On Saturday last the 4th. of this Instant may. arrived the Ship Dartmouth Capt. Thomas Blow Comandr. from China & madrass but last from the Cape, and brought us. for the Hon. Compas. Accot. the following Goods (vizt)

6: Bales Long Cloth. Ordinary q:9 Corge or 180 ps.

Chint Saunoes. one Bale q: 100½ ps.

Sugar 20 Baggs q: 6 = 4 = 11: Gross wt. ho. lb.

3: Legars of Batavia Arrack.

The Governr. Acquaints the Council that the Companys Yaul is Stoved by a Great Surf at the Crane, and are now quite without any Yaul. Wherefore.

Ordered That another Yaul be bought as Soon as Possible, the Hon. Compys. being in great want of one, both for fishing and other Necessary uses.

Captn. Burgess Comander of the Borneo Says he has brought a quantity of Sugar and offers Some to Sale for the Honble. Companys use, upon which the Governr. Says he

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 7 May 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

On Saturday 4 May 1717 the Dartmouth, Captain Thomas Blow commander, arrived from China and Madras but last from the Cape. She brought the following goods for the Honourable Company's account.

6 bales of ordinary long cloth, containing 9 corge or 180 pieces

Chintz sannoes, one bale containing 100 pieces

Sugar, 20 bags weighing 6 candies 4 maunds 11 pounds

3 leaguers of Batavia arrack

The Governor informed the council that the Company's yawl had been stove in by a great surf at the crane, leaving the island quite without any boat of the kind. The council ordered that another yawl be bought as soon as possible, the Honourable Company being in great want of one both for fishing and other necessary uses.

Captain Burgess, commander of the Borneo, said he had brought a quantity of sugar and offered some for sale for the Honourable Company's use.

Interpretations

The Dartmouth's cargo answered the duplicate letter from Fort St George received at the consultation of 24 April 1717, which had specified the goods aboard her. The advance invoice let the council check what was landed against what had been shipped, the standing safeguard against loss or embezzlement on the passage.

A corge was the counting unit of the Indian cloth trade, twenty pieces to the corge, so the six bales at 9 corge held the 180 pieces stated. Sannoes were a plain cotton cloth of Bengal, here printed as chintz, while the sugar came reckoned in the Madras weights of candies and maunds, the candy of twenty maunds weighing roughly 500 pounds.

The loss of the yawl fell at the same exposed landing where the greatest surf in living memory had broken the crane and ruined the new wharf, reported at the consultation of 7 March 1717. The yawl was the island's general-purpose boat for fishing and harbour service, and its destruction left the settlement dependent on ships' boats for every errand on the water.

Speculations

The order to buy a yawl as soon as possible, rather than build one, points to the ships then in the road as the intended source. An island without timber to spare or a boatyard could replace a stove boat quickly only by purchase from a visiting commander, and the council moved while several Indiamen lay at anchor.

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321

May. 1717.

he has promised to take So much of the Captb. as the Ballance of his Accots. in the Stores amounts to, and no more.

Isaac Wood Corpll. desires leave to Enclose a Small piece of Ground that lies behind his House in James valley for a back yard.

Ordered That he have Liberty to Enclose So much as Shall range in a Straight Line with Mr. Francis back wall, and the length of his House, next to Mr. Powells lower Corner.

The Parson desires We would Entertaine a Physitian named Thomas Hopkins belonging to the Borneo, who is willing to Stay here if he could have Encouragement.

To which We answer. That if he has a mind to Stay here, he may. But as to the Encouragemt. of allowing him a Suitable Sallary We have no Authority for it, nor do we think it Propir to Employ or Entertaine any body to trye Practices on people here.

Capt. Haswell, and the Executrs. of Mr. Charles Steward desired the following Receipt might be Registerd, they having paid the money due to Capt. Minter, to Governor. Harrison on his behalf, there being three obligations of one Tenour and date for Said money Signed by the Said Steward & Thomas Perkins.

May 1717

The Governor said he had promised to take only so much of Captain Burgess's sugar as the balance of the captain's account in the stores amounted to, and no more.

Corporal Isaac Wood asked leave to enclose a small piece of ground lying behind his house in James Valley for a back yard. The council gave him liberty to enclose as much as ranged in a straight line with Mr Francis's back wall and the length of his own house, next to Mr Powell's lower corner.

The parson asked the council to take on a physician named Thomas Hopkins, belonging to the Borneo, who was willing to stay on the island if he could have encouragement. The council answered that he might stay if he had a mind to. As to encouraging him with a suitable salary, the council had no authority for it, nor did it think it proper to employ anyone to test his treatments on the people of the island.

Captain Haswell and the executors of Mr Charles Steward asked that the following receipt be registered. They had paid the money due to Captain Minter to Governor Harrison on his behalf, there being three obligations of identical wording and date for the money, signed by Steward and Thomas Perkins.

Interpretations

The payment to Governor Harrison closed the dispute over the three bills for £37 16s 0d that Captain Minter had produced at the consultations of 14 and 17 January 1716, drawn by Thomas Perkins and Charles Steward under their bond of 18 June 1713 for fortification goods. With Minter in England, Harrison then in the road served as his receiver, and registering the receipt in the council book protected the payers against any later demand on the two duplicate obligations still outstanding. A bond drawn in three identical originals could in principle be presented three times, so the public record of discharge was the executors' safeguard against double recovery.

The refusal of Thomas Hopkins protected the position of Joseph Du May, the island's only surgeon since Thomas Price's discharge on 5 January 1716, and continued the policy of the consultation of 29 January 1717, when unlicensed men were warned off his patients. Permitting Hopkins to stay while denying him a salary separated residence from employment, the Company controlling medical practice on the island through its payroll rather than through any licence to reside.

The cap on the sugar purchase applied the resolution of 30 April 1717 that no ship should have more than its store account amounted to. Buying from Captain Burgess only up to the Borneo's balance turned the transaction into a set-off between the two accounts, no bill on the Honourable Company needing to be drawn.

Speculations

The timing of the Steward settlement points to the executors seizing Harrison's presence in the road as the safest channel for the money. Paying a homeward-bound governor who could carry both the cash and the receipt to Minter ended at one stroke a debt the bench had left hanging since January 1716, on terms the record itself could verify.

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322

May. 1717.

Recd. this 27th. Day of Aprill 1717. of Gabriell Powell and Richard Gurling Executrs. of Charles Steward decd. the Sume of Forty Pounds, fourteen Shillings in full for the debt herein Mentioned, due from the Estate of the Said Steward and Thomas Perkins; And whereas there remains Standing out a Note given by Steward and Perkins to Capt. Lawrence Minter for the Said debt. I do hereby indemnifie Gabriell Powell & Richd. Gurling from all future Demands on this Accot. and Promise to See the Said Notes Cancelled or deliverd up, Witness my hand in St. Helena.

Edwd. Harrison.

There being no Bills to be drawn, nor other matter of Moment that has Offered Since our Last; worth troubling our Honble. Masters with, and every thing on this place being in good Order, there's no Necessity of Sending any Letter till the Grantham Sailes hence, however the Governr. Says he will write a Short one p the Dartmouth.

The Governr. Proposes to the Council, to consider what we shall do for Cloathing, for the Honble. Compas. Blacks; the Cold weather being near at hand will pinch them very much, and Occasion fits of Sickness.

Capt. Haswell Says there is no Goods in the Stores Propper for Cloathing them, and therefore thinks it necessary Some Strong Dungarees or other Stuff be bought out of the Shipps.

May 1717

The receipt, dated 27 April 1717, recorded that Edward Harrison received from Gabriel Powell and Richard Gurling, executors of Charles Steward deceased, the sum of £40 14s 0d in full for the debt due from the estate of Steward and Thomas Perkins. A note given by Steward and Perkins to Captain Lawrence Minter for that debt still remained outstanding. Harrison therefore indemnified Powell and Gurling against all future demands on the account and promised to see the notes cancelled or delivered up, signing the receipt under his hand at St Helena.

The council saw no necessity of sending any letter home until the Grantham sailed, since no bills were to be drawn and nothing of moment had arisen worth reporting to the directors. Everything on the island stood in good order. The Governor said he would nevertheless write a short letter by the Dartmouth.

The Governor asked the council to consider how the Honourable Company's blacks should be clothed. The cold weather now near at hand would pinch them severely and bring on bouts of sickness.

Captain Haswell said there were no goods in the stores proper for clothing them. He therefore thought it necessary that some strong dungarees or other stuff be bought out of the ships.

Interpretations

Harrison's indemnity met the danger of paying a debt while the instrument remained in other hands. The note Steward and Perkins had given Captain Minter could in principle still be presented, so the executors took both a promise to see the notes cancelled or delivered up and an indemnity against all future demands, registered in the council book as their permanent protection. The £40 14s 0d paid exceeded the £37 16s 0d of the bills Minter produced at the consultations of 14 and 17 January 1716, the difference probably answering interest on the debt.

Dungarees were a coarse strong cotton cloth of India, cheap and hard-wearing, the standard stuff for clothing seamen and slaves. The warehouse held fine trade textiles, long cloth, chintz and sannoes from the season's cargoes, but nothing rough enough for slave clothing, so the durable cloth had to be bought from the ships in the road. Care of the Company slaves' clothing had rested with Captain Bazett since the order of 7 January 1717, and the Governor's concern that cold would bring sickness treated the slaves' health as Company property, fit labour preserved by an outlay on cloth.

The decision to hold the general letter until the Grantham sailed followed from the bill restriction of 24 April 1717. Letters home served chiefly to advise the directors of bills drawn and of matters needing their orders, so with no bills out and the island quiet the full packet could wait, the Dartmouth carrying only a short note.

Speculations

Buying the dungarees out of the ships had to be squared with the council's own resolutions against drawing bills for goods. The purchase would probably run as a set-off against the ships' store accounts, the method the Governor had already promised Captain Burgess for his sugar at the consultation of 7 May 1717, cloth taken against provisions supplied rather than paid for by any bill on the Honourable Company.

315

323

May.

Captn. Bazett Says there is a Moderate Stock of Druggett in the Stores, but tis too good for Blacks ware, and will do them but little Service.

The Governr. Says He thinks We must take Some of the Ordinary Course Stuff in the Stores, Called Videry, or Night Canves, and Line them wth. Blew or Course Long Cloth; the blew has been in the Stores twelve or fourteen years, and it had better be used then lye there and Rott.

The Governr. farther Says He has gott thirty piec of Cambaes, which was Sent him from Bencoolen for a debt owing him by a Gentleman there, and is willing to use it for the Hon. Compas. Blacks and leaves it to the Council to vallue them at what price they please.

The Council viewd those thirty Peices, and vallued them at fifteen Shillings ppiece.

At the request of the Store keeper. Ordered. That Mr. Fairfax do assist him in writing business, or any Employ that he may be of Service to him.

Capt. Haswell depty Governr. & Willm. Alexander Singleman, haveing Petitiond to Hire Some of the Hon. Compys. Waste Land, had this day Leases Signd & Deliverd them. viz: Six Acres to Capt. Haswell and fifteen Acres to William Alexander which the Surveyor is to

May 1717

Captain Bazett said there was a moderate stock of drugget in the stores, but it was too good for the blacks' wear and would do them little service.

The Governor thought the council must take some of the ordinary coarse stuff in the stores called vitery, or slight canvas, and line it with blue or coarse long cloth. The blue cloth had lain in the stores twelve or fourteen years, and it had better be used than lie there and rot.

The Governor further said he had thirty pieces of cambays, sent him from Bencoolen in payment of a debt owed him by a gentleman there. He was willing to use the cloth for the Honourable Company's blacks and left it to the council to value the pieces at whatever price they pleased. The council viewed the thirty pieces and valued them at £0 15s 0d apiece.

At the storekeeper's request the council ordered that Mr Fairfax assist him in writing business, or in any employment in which he might be of service to him.

Captain Haswell the deputy governor and William Alexander, a single man, had petitioned to hire some of the Honourable Company's waste land. Leases were signed and delivered to them that day, six acres to Captain Haswell and fifteen acres to William Alexander.

Interpretations

Drugget was a plain woollen or wool-mixed cloth of middling quality, too costly here for slave clothing, while vitery was a cheap plain cotton of the Indian coast and cambays took their name from the cotton cloths of Cambay in Gujarat. The Governor's scheme dressed the slaves in coarse cotton shells lined with blue or coarse long cloth for warmth, turning dead stock to the purpose, since the blue cloth had sat unsold for twelve or fourteen years and lining was the last use left to it.

The handling of the Governor's thirty pieces guarded against the standing danger of an officer selling his private goods to the Company at his own price. The cloth had come to him personally in settlement of a Bencoolen debt, so he surrendered the valuation wholly to the council, which fixed it at £0 15s 0d apiece, £22 10s 0d for the parcel, the record showing the buyer rather than the seller set the price.

The order giving Mr Fairfax to the storekeeper answered Bazett's complaint at the consultation of 30 April 1717 that constant serving out of goods had kept his inventory unfinished. Clerical help in the writing business was the council's remedy for accounts the Governor had pressed to see completed that season.

The delivery of signed leases completed the grant the Governor and Captain Bazett had viewed and approved at the consultation of 24 April 1717, Haswell's parcel confirmed at six acres on the usual terms. Execution and delivery of the lease, recorded in consultation, was the formal act that passed the holding to the tenant.

Speculations

The lining scheme reduced what the council would otherwise have to buy from the ships in the road. Captain Haswell had proposed at the consultation of 7 May 1717 that strong dungarees be bought out of the ships, so consuming the stores' own rotting blue cloth and coarse stuff first cut the outside purchase to the balance the warehouse could not supply, at a time when the council was avoiding every avoidable charge on the Honourable Company.

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have a Warrant to measure and Sett out to them the bounds thereof.

Mr. Henry Francis free Planter desired his Bill of Sale from Mr. Carne and Frances his wife, for a House he bought of them, formerly Capt. Thomas Goodwins Scituate in James Valley, might be Registerd for the better Security thereof.

Ordered That the Said Bill of Sale be Registerd in the Register Book According to his desire and the Originall Returnd him Attested by the Secretry. of being So registerd.

Island St. Helena.

By the Worshipfull. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. &ca. Council.

An Advertizement.

Whereas divers Blacks belonging to the Inhabitants of this Island Do frequently Run away & absent themselves in & about the out Parts of the Island, for Severall months and Do Steal & Destroy Provisions of all Sorts to the Great Detriment of the whole Island, And for that the owners of Such Run away Blacks is very Remiss & negligent in the take ing them. Whoever therefore are willing to undertake the Employmt. or Charge of Catching the Renagado Blacks are to repair to ye Govr. & make their Proposals to him who will agree wth. them for ye Same & will Establish them in ye Office or Employmt.

Dated at Union Castle in James valley & Signd by Order of Govr. & Count. this 7 of May 1717.

p Jno. Alexander

May 1717

The surveyor was to have a warrant to measure the two parcels and set out their bounds to the tenants.

Mr Henry Francis, free planter, asked that his bill of sale from Mr Carne and Frances his wife be registered for its better security. The deed covered a house he had bought of them in James Valley, formerly Captain Thomas Goodwin's. The council ordered the bill of sale registered in the register book as he wished, the original to be returned to him attested by the secretary as having been registered.

An advertisement was issued by the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council. It set out that many blacks belonging to the inhabitants frequently ran away and hid in the outer parts of the island for several months together, stealing and destroying provisions of all sorts to the great detriment of the whole island, while the owners of the runaways were very remiss and negligent in retaking them. Anyone willing to undertake the employment of catching the renegade blacks was to apply to the Governor and make proposals, and he would agree terms with them and establish them in the office. The advertisement was dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 7 May 1717 and signed by order of the Governor and council by John Alexander.

Interpretations

The advertisement created a paid public office of slave-catcher by open tender, applicants invited to name their own terms to the Governor before being established in the employment. The council intervened because runaway slaves were private property whose depredations had become a public charge, the owners' negligence in retaking them forcing the government to remedy a private default at the island's expense.

Registration gave Francis's purchase its legal armour. Entry in the register book made the council's record the proof of title, and the secretary's attestation on the returned original let the deed itself show on its face that it stood registered, protecting the buyer against any later sale or claim on the same house.

John Alexander signed the notice as clerk of the council, the public instruments passing under his hand while the secretary Tovey remained suspended over the Drake slave-sale fee from the consultation of 9 April 1717.

Speculations

Inviting proposals rather than fixing a bounty let the Governor test what the catching trade would cost before committing the Company to a rate. Establishing the successful applicant in a standing office, instead of paying by the head, points to a problem expected to persist, the council buying continuous pursuit rather than single recaptures.

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325

Island St. Helena.

An Account of Families the Secretarys Office between the

Persons Names. Vizt.

Whites: Men. Women. Youths. Maidens. Boys to 12 yrs. Girles to 13 yr. Children. Totall. Blacks: Men. Women. Boys. Girles. Totall.

Capt. Geo: Haswell Dpty. Govr. Whites: 1 . . . . . 1. 2 Blacks: 2 . 2 1. 5

Capt. Matthw. Bazett 3d. in Counll. Whites: 1 . 1 3 2 . 7 Blacks: 1 1 1. 3

Mr. Antip: Tovey. 4th. in Counll. Whites: 1 . . . . 2. 3 Blacks: 3 . . . 3

Mr. Joshua. Thomlinson Chapln. Whites: 1 . . . . . 1 Blacks: 6 2 2 2. 12

Thoms. Cason Lieutt. Whites: . . . 2 . . 2 Blacks: 2 2 6 . 10

John Alexander. Ensign. Whites: 1 2 . . . 4. 7 Blacks: 3 1 2 1. 7

John French Gunner. Whites: 1 . . 1 1 1. 4 Blacks: 2 1 1 1. 5

John Goodwin Writer. Whites: 1 1 . . . 2. 4 Blacks: 2 1 1 1. 5

Thoms. Southen. Serjts. Whites: 1 . 1 3 4 . 9 Blacks: 2 1 1 . 4

Jno. Worrall. Serjts. Whites: 1 . . . 2 2. 5 Blacks: 1 2 1 1. 5

Willim. Slaughter. Serjts. Whites: 1 . 1 . 2 3. 7 Blacks: 2 . . . 2

Tho: Dutch (& Grand Son. Whites: 1 . . 1 . 3. 5 Blacks: . . . . .

Christo: Kell. Gunrs. Mate. Whites: . . . . 1 1 1. 3 Blacks: . . . . .

Isaac Leech. Gunrs. Mate. Whites: 1 . . . . 2. 3 Blacks: 1 . . . 1

Isaac Wood Corporall. Whites: 1 . 1 1 1 0. 4 Blacks: 3 2 2 1. 8

Saml. Jessey. qur. Gunnrs. Whites: 1 1 1 1 2 3. 9 Blacks: 2 1 . 2. 5

Willi: Worrall. qur. Gunnrs. Whites: 1 . . . . 2. 3 Blacks: 2 . . . 2

Lewis Latoure. Monthos: Whites: 1 . . . . 1. 2 Blacks: . . . . .

Humphry. Edwards. Monthos: Whites: . 1 . 1 . 4. 6 Blacks: . . . . .

Thoms. Hayse. Monthos: Whites: 1 . . . . 4. 5 Blacks: . . . . .

Giles Hayse. Monthos: Whites: 1 . . . . 1. 2 Blacks: . . . . .

Ralph Orme. Monthos: Whites: 1 . . . . 2. 3 Blacks: . . . . .

Willi: Portley. Monthos: Whites: . . . . . . . Blacks: 1 . 1 . 2

John Orchard. Monthos: Whites: 1 . . . . . 1 Blacks: . . . . .

Frans. Fung Armorr. & his Maid Servt. Whites: 1 . . . 1 3. 5 Blacks: . . 1 . 1

Carried Over. Whites: 21: 5: 5: 14 16 41. 102 Blacks: 35 14 21 10. 80

Island St. Helena.

An Account of Families the Secretarys Office between the

Persons Names. Vizt.

Capt. Geo: Haswell Dpty. Govr. Whites: Men 1. Children 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 2. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 5.

Capt. Matthw. Bazett 3d. in Counll. Whites: Men 1. Youths 1. Maidens 3. Boys to 12 yrs 2. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3.

Mr. Antip: Tovey. 4th. in Counll. Whites: Men 1. Children 2. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 3. Totall 3.

Mr. Joshua. Thomlinson Chapln. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 6. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 12.

Thoms. Cason Lieutt. Whites: Maidens 2. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 2. Women 2. Boys 6. Totall 10.

John Alexander. Ensign. Whites: Men 1. Women 2. Children 4. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 7.

John French Gunner. Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Girles to 13 yr 1. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5.

John Goodwin Writer. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 2. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5.

Thoms. Southen. Serjts. Whites: Men 1. Youths 1. Maidens 3. Boys to 12 yrs 4. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 4.

Jno. Worrall. Serjts. Whites: Men 1. Girles to 13 yr 2. Children 2. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Women 2. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5.

Willim. Slaughter. Serjts. Whites: Men 1. Youths 1. Girles to 13 yr 2. Children 3. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2.

Tho: Dutch (& Grand Son. Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Children 3. Totall 5.

Christo: Kell. Gunrs. Mate. Whites: Boys to 12 yrs 1. Girles to 13 yr 1. Children 1. Totall 3.

Isaac Leech. Gunrs. Mate. Whites: Men 1. Children 2. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Isaac Wood Corporall. Whites: Men 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Children 0. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 8.

Saml. Jessey. qur. Gunnrs. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 2. Children 3. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Girles 2. Totall 5.

Willi: Worrall. qur. Gunnrs. Whites: Men 1. Children 2. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2.

Lewis Latoure. Monthos: Whites: Men 1. Children 1. Totall 2.

Humphry. Edwards. Monthos: Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Children 4. Totall 6.

Thoms. Hayse. Monthos: Whites: Men 1. Children 4. Totall 5.

Giles Hayse. Monthos: Whites: Men 1. Children 1. Totall 2.

Ralph Orme. Monthos: Whites: Men 1. Children 2. Totall 3.

Willi: Portley. Monthos: Blacks: Women 1. Girles 1. Totall 2.

John Orchard. Monthos: Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

Frans. Fung Armorr. & his Maid Servt. Whites: Men 1. Girles to 13 yr 1. Children 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1.

Carried Over. Whites: Men 21. Women 5. Youths 5. Maidens 14. Boys to 12 yrs 16. Girles to 13 yr 41. Totall 102. Blacks: Men 35. Women 14. Boys 21. Girles 10. Totall 80.

318

326

Neat Cattle. & Acres of Land.

Capt. Geo: Haswell Dpty. Govr. Neat Cattle: Cows 11. Steers 2. Yearlings 4. Calves 8. Totall 25. Acres of Land: Acres free 31. Acres Hired 21. Totall 52.

Capt. Matthw. Bazett 3d. in Counll. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 13. Bullocks 6. Heifers 6. Yearlings 11. Calves 11. Totall 48. Acres of Land: Acres free 35. Acres Hired 20. Totall 55.

Mr. Antip: Tovey. 4th. in Counll.

Mr. Joshua. Thomlinson Chapln. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Steers 2. Yearlings 4. Calves 4. Totall 14.

Thoms. Cason Lieutt. Neat Cattle: Cows 8. Bullocks 2. Heifers 6. Steers 3. Calves 8. Totall 27. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 45. Totall 45.

John Alexander. Ensign. Neat Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 13. Bullocks 3. Heifers 3. Steers 3. Calves 12. Totall 36. Acres of Land: Acres free 58. Totall 58.

John French Gunner.

John Goodwin Writer. Neat Cattle: Cows 5. Heifers 5. Calves 3. Totall 13. Acres of Land: Acres free 78. Acres Hired 5. Totall 83.

Thoms. Southen. Serjts. Neat Cattle: Cows 10. Heifers 4. Steers 3. Yearlings 6. Calves 9. Totall 32. Acres of Land: Acres free 29. Totall 29.

Jno. Worrall. Serjts. Neat Cattle: Cows 5. Yearlings 4. Calves 5. Totall 14. Acres of Land: Acres free 12. Acres Hired 8. Totall 20.

Willim. Slaughter. Serjts. Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 3. Yearlings 2. Calves 4. Totall 11. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 3. Totall 3.

Tho: Dutch (& Grand Son.

Christo: Kell. Gunrs. Mate. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 2. Totall 2.

Isaac Leech. Gunrs. Mate. Neat Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 2. Heifers 5. Steers 1. Calves 5. Totall 19. Acres of Land: Acres free 5. Acres Hired 6. Totall 11.

Isaac Wood Corporall. Neat Cattle: Cows 18. Heifers 12. Yearlings 6. Calves 18. Totall 54. Acres of Land: Acres free 48. Acres Hired 30. Totall 78.

Saml. Jessey. qur. Gunnrs. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 3. Calves 5. Totall 12. Acres of Land: Acres free 32. Totall 32.

Willi: Worrall. qur. Gunnrs. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 2. Heifers 5. Steers 1. Calves 4. Totall 16. Acres of Land: Acres free 5. Acres Hired 12. Totall 17.

Lewis Latoure. Monthos:

Humphry. Edwards. Monthos: Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Calves 4. Totall 11. Acres of Land: Acres free 30. Acres Hired 1. Totall 31.

Thoms. Hayse. Monthos: Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Calves 1. Totall 2.

Giles Hayse. Monthos: Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Calves 2. Totall 6.

Ralph Orme. Monthos: Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 1. Yearlings 1. Calves 1. Totall 4. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 10. Totall 20.

Willi: Portley. Monthos: Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 2. Calves 1. Totall 4.

John Orchard. Monthos: Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 2. Heifers 2. Calves 2. Totall 8.

Frans. Fung Armorr. & his Maid Servt.

Carried Over. Neat Cattle: Bulls 3. Cows 114. Bullocks 20. Heifers 57. Steers 17. Yearlings 38. Calves 107. Totall 356. Acres of Land: Acres free 373. Acres Hired 163. Totall 536.

May 1717

The cattle and land columns run, in order, bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers, steers, yearlings and calves with a total of neat cattle, then acres of free land and acres of hired land with a total of acres. Each line below carries the same person as the name column, from the head of the table down.

Captain George Haswell, deputy governor, had 11 cows, 2 steers, 4 yearlings and 8 calves, totalling 25 neat cattle. He held 31 acres of free land and 21 acres hired, 52 acres in all.

Captain Matthew Bazett, third in council, had 1 bull, 13 cows, 6 bullocks, 6 heifers, 11 yearlings and 11 calves, totalling 48 neat cattle. He held 35 acres free and 20 hired, 55 acres in all.

Mr Antipas Tovey, fourth in council, had no cattle or land entered.

Mr Joshua Thomlinson, chaplain, had 4 cows, 2 steers, 4 yearlings and 4 calves, totalling 14 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Thomas Cason, lieutenant, had 8 cows, 2 bullocks, 6 heifers, 3 steers and 8 calves, totalling 27 neat cattle. He held 45 acres, all hired.

John Alexander, ensign, had 2 bulls, 13 cows, 3 bullocks, 3 heifers, 3 steers and 12 calves, totalling 36 neat cattle. He held 58 acres, all free.

John French, gunner, had no cattle or land entered.

John Goodwin, writer, had 5 cows, 5 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 13 neat cattle. He held 78 acres free and 5 hired, 83 acres in all.

Sergeant Thomas Southen had 10 cows, 4 heifers, 3 steers, 6 yearlings and 9 calves, totalling 32 neat cattle. He held 29 acres, all free.

Sergeant John Worrall had 5 cows, 4 yearlings and 5 calves, totalling 14 neat cattle. He held 12 acres free and 8 hired, 20 acres in all.

Sergeant William Slaughter had 2 cows, 3 heifers, 2 yearlings and 4 calves, totalling 11 neat cattle. He held 3 acres, all hired.

Thomas Dutch and his grandson had no cattle or land entered.

Christopher Kell, gunner's mate, had no cattle, and held 2 acres of hired land.

Isaac Leech, gunner's mate, had 6 cows, 2 bullocks, 5 heifers, 1 steer and 5 calves, totalling 19 neat cattle. He held 5 acres free and 6 hired, 11 acres in all.

Corporal Isaac Wood had 18 cows, 12 heifers, 6 yearlings and 18 calves, totalling 54 neat cattle. He held 48 acres free and 30 hired, 78 acres in all.

Samuel Jessey, quarter gunner, had 4 cows, 3 bullocks and 5 calves, totalling 12 neat cattle. He held 32 acres, all free.

William Worrall, quarter gunner, had 4 cows, 2 bullocks, 5 heifers, 1 steer and 4 calves, totalling 16 neat cattle. He held 5 acres free and 12 hired, 17 acres in all.

Lewis Latoure, matross, had no cattle or land entered.

Humphrey Edwards, matross, had 4 cows, 2 heifers, 1 steer and 4 calves, totalling 11 neat cattle. He held 30 acres free and 1 hired, 31 acres in all.

Thomas Hayse, matross, had 1 cow and 1 calf, totalling 2 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Giles Hayse, matross, had 2 cows, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 2 calves, totalling 6 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Ralph Orme, matross, had 1 cow, 1 heifer, 1 yearling and 1 calf, totalling 4 neat cattle. He held 10 acres free and 10 hired, 20 acres in all.

William Postley, matross, had 1 cow, 2 heifers and 1 calf, totalling 4 neat cattle, with no land entered.

John Orchard, matross, had 2 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 heifers and 2 calves, totalling 8 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Francis Fung, armourer, with his maid servant, had no cattle or land entered.

The closing line summed the whole at 3 bulls, 114 cows, 20 bullocks, 57 heifers, 17 steers, 38 yearlings and 107 calves, 356 neat cattle in all, with 373 acres of free land and 163 acres hired, 536 acres together.

Interpretations

The roll descends the garrison establishment in strict order of rank, from the deputy governor and council through the chaplain, lieutenant, ensign, gunner and writer to the sergeants, gunner's mates, corporal, quarter gunners, matrosses and armourer. Matrosses were the soldiers who assisted the gunners in loading, firing and moving the great guns, and quarter gunners kept the pieces in order under the master gunner, so the census doubles as a muster of the artillery trades on which the island's defence rested.

Neat cattle meant horned bovine stock, the columns dividing each herd by age and use, bullocks and steers the castrated males for draught and beef, heifers the young females yet to calve. A stock of 114 cows against only 3 bulls, with 107 calves and 38 yearlings coming on, shows breeding deliberately preserved, the herd still shaped by the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 that had forbidden killing any cow, heifer or calf until after 20 July 1716.

Ralph Orme's 10 free and 10 hired acres match his surrender of 9 October 1716, when he gave up ten of the twenty leasehold acres taken in right of his marriage as more than he could cultivate. Antipas Tovey's empty line likewise dates the table, his lease of three or four acres having been signed and delivered only at the consultation of 7 May 1717 with the bounds still to be surveyed.

Property followed rank down the page. The deputy governor, Bazett, Alexander, Goodwin and Corporal Wood each held 50 acres or more, while most matrosses held nothing, the gradient confirming why the council had insisted at the consultation of 30 April 1717 that parish offices needed substantial men and found so few below the senior ranks.

Speculations

A general survey of households, stock and land taken in May 1717 points to material gathered for the homeward packet the council had reserved for the Grantham. With rumours of a new government unsettling the island since the affront of 9 April 1717, a full statement of the settlement's people, cattle and acres would let the Governor place its flourishing condition on record with the directors in his own figures.

319

327

Whites. Blacks.

Persons Names.

Brought Over. Whites: Men 21. Women 5. Youths 5. Maidens 14. Boys to 12 yrs 16. Girles to 13 yrs 41. Totall 102. Blacks: Men 35. Women 14. Boys 21. Girles 10. Totall 80.

Joseph Bates. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Benja: Pledger. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1.

Edmund Bodley.

Jephthah Fowler. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

George Sanders. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3.

Thoms: Allis & a Servt. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 4. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 3. Girles 1. Totall 4.

Robert Angus. Toylrs. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

John Anderson. Toylrs. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

John Adams. Toylrs. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

Robt. Addis Orphans.

Jno. Bagley & 2 Apprents: Whites: Men 2. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 4. Totall 10. Blacks: Men 1. Girles 1. Totall 2.

Arthur Bradley. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 3. Totall 6.

Richd. & Anthony Beale. Whites: Men 2. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Orlando Bagley. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 2. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Children 4. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5.

Robert Bell. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 2. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 2. Women 2. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 6.

William Beale. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 4. Totall 6. Blacks: Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 2.

Thoms: Burnham. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 3. Totall 6.

John Coles. Whites: Men 2. Women 1. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Children 4. Totall 10. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 5. Totall 8.

John Coleson. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Grace Coulson. Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 2. Women 3. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 8.

Francis Carne & Son. Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Girles to 13 yrs 2. Children 1. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 7. Women 4. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 16.

Mary Conaway. Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

John Crosbey &ca. Whites: Men 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Totall 3.

William Coales. Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 2. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Gilbert Colgraves Orphs.

Jona: Doveton. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 3. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 4. Women 3. Boys 3. Girles 3. Totall 13.

James Draper. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 5. Totall 8. Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2.

Mary Easthope. Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Children 1. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Henry Francis & Servt: man. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Children 2. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 6. Women 4. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 12.

Whites: Men 21. Women 40. Youths 10. Maidens 13. Boys to 12 yrs 19. Girles to 13 yrs 25. Children 86. Totall 214. Blacks: Men 73. Women 34. Boys 39. Girles 23. Totall 169.

May 1717

The white columns run men, women, youths, maidens, boys to 12 years, girls to 13 years and children, with a total of whites, and the black columns run men, women, boys and girls, with a total of blacks.

The brought-over line carried 21, 5, 5, 14, 16 and 41 across the white columns, totalling 102 white people, and 35 black men, 14 black women, 21 black boys and 10 black girls, totalling 80 black people.

Joseph Bates had 1 white man and 1 black man.

Benjamin Pledger had 1 white man and 1 black boy.

Edmund Bodley had no household entered.

Jephthah Fowler had 1 white man and no blacks.

George Sanders had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 3 white children, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 3 black people.

Thomas Allis and a servant had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 4 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 3 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 4 black people.

Robert Angus, John Anderson and John Adams, tailors, each had 1 white man and no blacks.

Robert Addis's orphans had no household entered.

John Bagley and 2 apprentices had 2 white men, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy, 1 white girl and 4 white children, totalling 10 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black girl, totalling 2 black people.

Arthur Bradley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 3 white children, totalling 6 white people, and no blacks.

Richard and Anthony Beale had 2 white men and 1 black man.

Orlando Bagley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white maidens, 1 white boy and 4 white children, totalling 9 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 5 black people.

Robert Bell had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white girl and 2 white children, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 2 black women, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people.

William Beale had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 4 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people.

Thomas Burnham had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white girl and 3 white children, totalling 6 white people, and no blacks.

John Coles had 2 white men, 1 white woman, 2 white youths, 1 white maiden and 4 white children, totalling 10 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 5 black boys, totalling 8 black people.

John Coleson had 1 white man and 1 black man.

Grace Coulson had 1 white woman, with 2 black men, 3 black women, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 8 black people.

Francis Carne and his son had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 6 white people, with 7 black men, 4 black women, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 16 black people.

Mary Conaway had 1 white woman and 1 black man.

John Crosby and company had 1 white man, 1 white boy and 1 white girl, totalling 3 white people, and no blacks.

William Coales had 1 white man, 1 white maiden, 1 white girl and 2 white children, totalling 5 white people, and 1 black man.

Gilbert Colgrave's orphans had no household entered.

Jonathan Doveton had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white boy, 1 white girl and 3 white children, totalling 7 white people, with 4 black men, 3 black women, 3 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 13 black people.

James Draper had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white girl and 5 white children, totalling 8 white people, and 2 black men.

Mary Easthope had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 1 white child, totalling 3 white people, and 1 black man.

Henry Francis and a servant man had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden and 2 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 6 black men, 4 black women, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 12 black people.

The closing line ran 21, 40, 10, 13, 19, 25 and 86 across the white columns, totalling 214 white people, with 73 black men, 34 black women, 39 black boys and 23 black girls, totalling 169 black people.

Interpretations

The census graded the white population far more finely than the black. Whites were divided into seven steps of sex and age, with boys cut at 12 years, girls at 13 and youths standing between boyhood and manhood, because the roll measured the settlement's coming strength in arms and marriageable women. Blacks were entered in four columns only, men, women, boys and girls, the count of property rather than of a community.

This portion of the roll covers the free inhabitants, following the garrison establishment, and groups them as the soldiers were grouped, the three single tailors Angus, Anderson and Adams braced together as a trade. Several lines stand for estates rather than households, Edmund Bodley, Robert Addis's orphans and Gilbert Colgrave's orphans entered by name with empty columns so that every propertied family kept its place on the roll.

The blank line for Gilbert Colgrave's orphans reflects their lodging. The two boys, the cousins to whom the dying Joseph Cotgrove left his estate by the verbal will of November 1716, lived at John Bagley's and Thomas Allis's, so their persons were counted in those households while the orphans' estate held its own line, the inheritance contest standing referred to the orphans' court of 11 February 1717.

Speculations

Grace Coulson's household of 1 white woman commanding 8 blacks shows the census recording widows as heads of slaveholding establishments in their own right. Her line, like Mary Conaway's and Mary Easthope's, points to the roll's purpose of fixing responsibility for every black on the island on a named owner, the running black total of 169 already more than double the white men of fighting age.

320

328

Neat Cattle. Acres of Land.

Brought Over. Neat Cattle: Bulls 3. Cows 114. Bullocks 20. Heifers 57. Steers 17. Yearlings 38. Calves 107. Totall 356. Acres of Land: Acres free 373. Acres Hired 163. Totall 536.

Joseph Bates.

Benja: Pledger. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 3. Calves 2. Totall 8. Acres of Land: Acres free 5. Totall 5.

Edmund Bodley. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Yearlings 2. Calves 2. Totall 8.

Jephthah Fowler.

George Sanders. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 3. Heifers 4. Calves 3. Totall 11. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 21. Totall 21.

Thoms: Allis & a Servt. Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 7. Acres of Land: Acres free 18. Acres Hired 30. Totall 48.

Robert Angus. Toylrs.

John Anderson. Toylrs.

John Adams. Toylrs.

Robt. Addis Orphans. Neat Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 8. Bullocks 4. Heifers 1. Steers 3. Calves 8. Totall 26. At Board.

Jno. Bagley & 2 Apprents: Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 8. Heifers 3. Calves 8. Totall 20. Acres of Land: Acres free 36. Acres Hired 3. Totall 39.

Arthur Bradley. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Calves 4. Totall 9. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 20. Totall 20.

Richd. & Anthony Beale. Neat Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 9. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 3. Yearlings 3. Calves 7. Totall 27. Acres of Land: Acres free 60. Totall 60.

Orlando Bagley. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 8. Bullocks 3. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Yearlings 2. Calves 8. Totall 25. Acres of Land: Acres free 23. Acres Hired 76. Totall 99.

Robert Bell. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 3. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 1. Totall 10. Acres of Land: Acres free 15. Acres Hired 31. Totall 46.

William Beale. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Calves 3. Totall 8.

Thoms: Burnham. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 4. Totall 11. Acres of Land: Acres free 22½. Acres Hired 6. Totall 28½.

John Coles. Neat Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 24. Bullocks 6. Heifers 6. Yearlings 15. Calves 22. Totall 75. Acres of Land: Acres free 30. Acres Hired 25. Totall 55.

John Coleson. Neat Cattle: Cows 8. Bullocks 1. Heifers 3. Calves 8. Totall 20. Acres of Land: Acres free 15. Totall 15.

Grace Coulson. Neat Cattle: Cows 8. Bullocks 2. Heifers 2. Calves 8. Totall 20. Acres of Land: Acres free 15. Acres Hired 5. Totall 20.

Francis Carne & Son. Neat Cattle: Cows 15. Bullocks 5. Heifers 3. Yearlings 13. Calves 11. Totall 47. Acres of Land: Acres free 89. Acres Hired 11. Totall 100.

Mary Conaway. Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Bullocks 1. Calves 1. Totall 3. Acres of Land: Acres free 5. Acres Hired 30. Totall 35.

John Crosbey &ca. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Yearlings 1. Calves 3. Totall 7. Acres of Land: Acres free 7. Totall 7.

William Coales. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Steers 2. Calves 3. Totall 8. Acres of Land: Acres free 15. Acres Hired 5. Totall 20.

Gilbert Colgraves Orphs. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Yearlings 2. Calves 3. Totall 10. At Board.

Jona: Doveton. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 19. Bullocks 6. Heifers 3. Steers 9. Calves 19. Totall 57. Acres of Land: Acres free 142½. Acres Hired 9. Totall 151½.

James Draper. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Steers 1. Yearlings 1. Calves 3. Totall 8. Acres of Land: Acres free 23. Acres Hired 5. Totall 28.

Mary Easthope.

Henry Francis & Servt: man. Neat Cattle: Cows 6. Heifers 6. Steers 4. Calves 6. Totall 22. Acres of Land: Acres free 40½. Acres Hired 23½. Totall 64.

Neat Cattle: Bulls 13. Cows 264. Bullocks 57. Heifers 100. Steers 46. Yearlings 77. Calves 246. Totall 803. Acres of Land: Acres free 934. Acres Hired 463½. Totall 1397½.

May 1717

The farming columns for this portion run from Arthur Bradley down to Henry Francis, the lines above Bradley falling outside the images supplied.

Arthur Bradley had 3 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer and 4 calves, totalling 9 neat cattle. He held 20 acres, all hired.

Richard and Anthony Beale had 2 bulls, 9 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 3 steers, 3 yearlings and 7 calves, totalling 27 neat cattle. They held 60 acres, all free.

Orlando Bagley had 1 bull, 8 cows, 3 bullocks, 1 heifer, 2 steers, 2 yearlings and 8 calves, totalling 25 neat cattle. He held 23 acres free and 76 hired, 99 acres in all.

Robert Bell had 3 cows, 3 bullocks, 1 heifer, 2 steers and 1 calf, totalling 10 neat cattle. He held 15 acres free and 31 hired, 46 acres in all.

William Beale had 3 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 8 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Thomas Burnham had 4 cows, 1 heifer, 2 steers and 4 calves, totalling 11 neat cattle. He held 22½ acres free and 6 hired, 28½ acres in all.

John Coles had 2 bulls, 24 cows, 6 bullocks, 6 heifers, 15 yearlings and 22 calves, totalling 75 neat cattle. He held 30 acres free and 25 hired, 55 acres in all.

John Coleson had 8 cows, 1 bullock, 3 heifers and 8 calves, totalling 20 neat cattle. He held 15 acres, all free.

Grace Coulson had 8 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 heifers and 8 calves, totalling 20 neat cattle. She held 15 acres free and 5 hired, 20 acres in all.

Francis Carne and his son had 15 cows, 5 bullocks, 3 heifers, 13 yearlings and 11 calves, totalling 47 neat cattle. They held 89 acres free and 11 hired, 100 acres in all.

Mary Conaway had 1 cow, 1 bullock and 1 calf, totalling 3 neat cattle. She held 5 acres free and 30 hired, 35 acres in all.

John Crosby and company had 3 cows, 1 yearling and 3 calves, totalling 7 neat cattle. They held 7 acres, all free.

William Coales had 3 cows, 2 steers and 3 calves, totalling 8 neat cattle. He held 15 acres free and 5 hired, 20 acres in all.

Gilbert Colgrave's orphans had 3 cows, 1 heifer, 1 steer, 2 yearlings and 3 calves, totalling 10 neat cattle, with no land entered. The margin noted them at board.

Jonathan Doveton had 1 bull, 19 cows, 6 bullocks, 3 heifers, 9 steers and 19 calves, totalling 57 neat cattle. He held 142½ acres free and 9 hired, 151½ acres in all.

James Draper had 3 cows, 1 steer, 1 yearling and 3 calves, totalling 8 neat cattle. He held 23 acres free and 5 hired, 28 acres in all.

Mary Easthope had no cattle or land entered.

Henry Francis and his servant man had 6 cows, 6 heifers, 4 steers and 6 calves, totalling 22 neat cattle. He held 40½ acres free and 23½ hired, 64 acres in all.

The closing line summed the running totals at 13 bulls, 264 cows, 57 bullocks, 100 heifers, 46 steers, 77 yearlings and 246 calves, 803 neat cattle in all, with 934 acres of free land and 463½ acres hired, 1,397½ acres together.

To complete the page, the strip carrying the lines from Joseph Bates down to John Bagley and his apprentices is still needed.

Interpretations

The Beale brothers' 60 free acres are the family land restored to them at the consultation of 7 June 1715, when Richard and Anthony were granted possession of the 60 acres lying waste though fenced. The roll thus catches the orphans two years on, established with a herd of 27 head on the holding they had petitioned to recover.

The note that Gilbert Colgrave's orphans stood at board explains their empty land column and their blank household line. The two boys lived as boarders in John Bagley's and Thomas Allis's households under the verbal will proved on 4 December 1716, while their estate kept 10 head of cattle in its own name, the stock preserved for them until the orphans' court settled the inheritance.

Wealth on this page sat with the old planter families rather than the garrison. Jonathan Doveton's 151½ acres and Francis Carne's 100 dwarf the holdings on the military page, and the running totals of 803 cattle and 1,397½ acres show the free planters holding the great bulk of the island's private stock and ground.

Speculations

The half-acre figures in the land columns, 22½, 40½, 142½ and the closing 463½, point to acreages drawn from actual surveys and registered deeds rather than round estimates. A roll compiled to that precision suggests the council worked from the register book and surveyors' returns, the same machinery that had just been set in motion for the new leases by the warrant of 7 May 1717.

321

329

Whites. Blacks.

Persons Names. vizt.

Brought Over. Whites: Men 21. Women 40. Youths 10. Maidens 13. Boys to 12 yrs 19. Girles to 13 yrs 25. Children 86. Totall 214. Blacks: Men 73. Women 34. Boys 39. Girles 23. Totall 169.

Tho: Free & womn: Servt. with her Bastard Child. Whites: Men 1. Women 2. Children 4. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 10.

Frenches Orphans. Whites: Youths 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2.

Rich: Gurling. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 4. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 7.

Robt: Gurling & 2 Orphs. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Children 2. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Totall 2.

James Greentree. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 5. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 5. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 9.

Mary Harper Senr: Whites: Women 1. Totall 1.

Mary Harper Junr: Whites: Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 4. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Totall 2.

Dorothy Hayse. Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1.

Jno: Harding &ca: Whites: Men 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Totall 4.

Sutton Isaack Senr: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 4.

Sutton Isaack Junr: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Children 4. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 3.

Josha: Johnson (& 2 Youths). Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 2. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 5. Totall 10. Blacks: Men 4. Boys 3. Girles 3. Totall 10.

John Knipe. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2.

Thomas Leech. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 2. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Francis Leech. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

John Long. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3.

Stephen Lufkin. Whites: Men 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 2. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Jane Mudge & Grd: daughtrs: Whites: Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 1. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

John Marsh. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

Walter Morris. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Mrs. Mary Mashborne. Whites: Women 1. Children 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 6.

Elizth: Maxwell Orph: Whites: Girles to 13 yrs 1. Totall 1.

Robert Marsh. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Children 2. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 7.

Martin Norman. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1.

Jno: Nichols Senr: & Sons. Whites: Men 3. Youths 1. Maidens 3. Children 2. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 2. Girles 1. Totall 3.

Samuel Price. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 2. Totall 4.

Whites: Men 42. Women 58. Youths 19. Maidens 19. Boys to 12 yrs 23. Girles to 13 yrs 30. Children 132. Totall 323. Blacks: Men 106: Women 43. Boys 55. Girles 38. Totall 242.

May 1717

The roll continued on the same columns, whites divided into men, women, youths, maidens, boys to 12 years, girls to 13 years and children with their total, and blacks into men, women, boys and girls with theirs.

The brought-over line carried 21 white men, 40 white women, 10 white youths, 13 white maidens, 19 white boys, 25 white girls and 86 white children, totalling 214 white people, with 73 black men, 34 black women, 39 black boys and 23 black girls, totalling 169 black people.

Thomas Free and a woman servant had 1 white man, 2 white women and 4 white children, totalling 7 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 10 black people. The next line entered the servant's bastard child with 1 white youth and 1 white maiden, totalling 2.

French's orphans had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 4 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 7 black people.

Richard Gurling had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 4 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people.

Robert Gurling and 2 orphans had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 2 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people.

James Greentree had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white girl and 5 white children, totalling 9 white people, with 5 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 9 black people.

Mary Harper senior had 1 white woman and no blacks.

Mary Harper junior had 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 4 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people.

Dorothy Hayse had 1 white woman and 1 white youth, totalling 2 white people, and 1 black woman.

John Harding and company had 1 white man, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden and 1 white boy, totalling 4 white people, and no blacks.

Sutton Isaack senior had 1 white man and 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 4 black people.

Sutton Isaack junior had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth and 4 white children, totalling 7 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people.

Joshua Johnson and 2 youths had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white youths, 1 white girl and 5 white children, totalling 10 white people, with 4 black men, 3 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 10 black people.

John Knipe had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 3 white children, totalling 5 white people, and 2 black men.

Thomas Leech had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white girl and 2 white children, totalling 5 white people, and 1 black man.

Francis Leech had 1 white man and no blacks.

John Long had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 3 white children, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 3 black people.

Stephen Lufkin had 1 white man, 1 white boy and 2 white children, totalling 4 white people, and 1 black man.

Jane Mudge and her granddaughter had 1 white woman, 1 white girl and 1 white child, totalling 3 white people, and 1 black man.

John Marsh had 1 white man and no blacks.

Walter Morris had 1 white man and 1 black man.

Mrs Mary Mashborne had 1 white woman and 1 white child, totalling 2 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 6 black people.

Elizabeth Maxwell, orphan, had 1 white girl and no blacks.

Robert Marsh had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth and 2 white children, totalling 5 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 7 black people.

Martin Norman had 1 white man and no blacks.

John Nichols senior and his sons had 3 white men, 1 white youth, 3 white maidens and 2 white children, totalling 9 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people.

Samuel Price had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 2 white children, totalling 4 white people, and no blacks.

The closing line ran 42 white men, 58 white women, 19 white youths, 19 white maidens, 23 white boys, 30 white girls and 132 white children, totalling 323 white people, with 106 black men, 43 black women, 55 black boys and 38 black girls, totalling 242 black people.

Interpretations

The free inhabitants run in alphabetical order of surname, this page carrying the letters F to P where the previous carried B to F, while the garrison page ran by rank. The two orderings show the census serving two purposes at once, a muster of the military establishment and a register of the civil population arranged for reference.

The separate entry for the servant's bastard child shows the roll fixing responsibility for every soul on a named household. An illegitimate child was a potential charge on the parish, so the compiler set the child against Thomas Free's line rather than leave it unattached, the household standing as the unit through which the island governed maintenance.

The running totals gave the council its measure of the island's racial balance, 106 black men against 42 white men with the count still open. That proportion of better than two to one underlay the advertisement of 7 May 1717 for an officer to catch the renegade blacks, and the standing policy of tying landholding to armed white men.

Widows and orphans kept their own lines as heads of estates. Mrs Mary Mashborne, widowed when the deputy governor Edward Mashborne died on 31 March 1715, headed a household of 6 blacks, and the single girl entered as Elizabeth Maxwell carried the Maxwell name under which the grazing rights of the 1705/6 deed had been allowed at the consultation of 9 April 1717.

Speculations

The census quantified for the first time how far the slave population had grown toward parity, 242 blacks against 323 whites with most white strength in women and children. Setting those figures before the directors alongside the catching office of 7 May 1717 would justify both the expense of the new officer and the council's repeated requests for soldiers and supplies, the numbers turning a standing anxiety into a documented case.

322

330

Neat Cattle. Acres of Land.

Brought Over. Neat Cattle: Bulls 13. Cows 264. Bullocks 57. Heifers 100. Steers 46. Yearlings 77. Calves 246. Totall 803. Acres of Land: Acres free 934¼. Acres Hired 463½. Totall 1397¾.

Tho: Free & womn: Servt. with her Bastard Child. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Bullocks 4. Heifers 3. Steers 3. Calves 4. Totall 22. Acres of Land: Acres free 40. Acres Hired 27. Totall 67.

Frenches Orphans.

Rich: Gurling. Neat Cattle: Cows 15. Bullocks 8. Heifers 4. Yearlings 12. Calves 15. Totall 54. Acres of Land: Acres free 31. Acres Hired 11. Totall 42.

Robt: Gurling & 2 Orphs. Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 1. Calves 1. Totall 3. Acres of Land: Acres free 30. Acres Hired 6. Totall 36.

James Greentree. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 12. Bullocks 3. Heifers 8. Steers 3. Calves 10. Totall 37. Acres of Land: Acres free 79. Acres Hired 58. Totall 137.

Mary Harper Senr:

Mary Harper Junr: Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 4. Bullocks 3. Heifers 2. Calves 4. Totall 14. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 13½. Totall 13½.

Dorothy Hayse. Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 5. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 15. Totall 25.

Jno: Harding &ca: Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Totall 7. Acres of Land: Acres free 19. Acres Hired 12. Totall 31.

Sutton Isaack Senr: Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Yearlings 2. Calves 3. Totall 9. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 2½. Totall 12½.

Sutton Isaack Junr: Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 2. Calves 3. Totall 8. Acres of Land: Acres free 15. Acres Hired 2½. Totall 17½.

Josha: Johnson (& 2 Youths). Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 12. Bullocks 2. Heifers 7. Steers 2. Calves 13. Totall 37. Acres of Land: Acres free 94. Acres Hired 33. Totall 127.

John Knipe. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 2. Steers 3. Calves 4. Totall 13. Acres of Land: Acres free 14½. Acres Hired 20. Totall 34½.

Thomas Leech. Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 1. Yearlings 2. Calves 1. Totall 5. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Totall 10.

Francis Leech. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 4. Totall 11.

John Long. Neat Cattle: Cows 6. Heifers 3. Steers 4. Calves 5. Totall 18. Acres of Land: Acres free 20. Acres Hired 5. Totall 25.

Stephen Lufkin. Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Yearlings 2. Calves 2. Totall 7. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 1. Totall 11.

Jane Mudge & Grd: daughtrs: Neat Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 2. Heifers 3. Calves 5. Totall 15. Acres of Land: Acres free 20. Totall 20.

John Marsh. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Calves 4. Totall 10.

Walter Morris. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 1½. Totall 11½.

Mrs. Mary Mashborne. Neat Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 1. Heifers 2. Yearlings 4. Calves 2. Totall 14.

Elizth: Maxwell Orph: Neat Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Yearlings 1. Calves 6. Totall 18. Acres of Land: Acres free 1½. Totall 1½.

Robert Marsh. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 11. Bullocks 4. Heifers 2. Steers 2. Yearlings 5. Calves 8. Totall 33. Acres of Land: Acres free 40. Acres Hired 10. Totall 50.

Martin Norman. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 1. Heifers 3. Calves 4. Totall 12.

Jno: Nichols Senr: & Sons. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 4. Bullocks 2. Heifers 2. Steers 2. Calves 4. Totall 15. Acres of Land: Acres free 40. Totall 40.

Samuel Price. Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Totall 1. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 20. Totall 20.

Neat Cattle: Bulls 19. Cows 379. Bullocks 91. Heifers 152. Steers 72. Yearlings 105. Calves 350. Totall 1168. Acres of Land: Acres free 1428¼. Acres Hired 702½. Totall 2130¾.

May 1717

The farming columns continue for the same names in the same order, bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers, steers, yearlings and calves with a total of neat cattle, then acres free and acres hired with a total of acres.

The brought-over line carried 13 bulls, 264 cows, 57 bullocks, 100 heifers, 46 steers, 77 yearlings and 246 calves, 803 neat cattle in all, with 934¼ acres free and 463½ hired, 1,397¾ acres together.

Thomas Free and the woman servant had 1 bull, 7 cows, 4 bullocks, 3 heifers, 3 steers and 4 calves, totalling 22 neat cattle, with 40 acres free and 27 hired, 67 acres in all. The bastard child's line carried nothing.

French's orphans had 15 cows, 8 bullocks, 4 heifers, 12 yearlings and 15 calves, totalling 54 neat cattle, with 31 acres free and 11 hired, 42 acres in all.

Richard Gurling had 1 cow, 1 heifer and 1 calf, totalling 3 neat cattle, with 30 acres free and 6 hired, 36 acres in all.

Robert Gurling and the 2 orphans had 1 bull, 12 cows, 3 bullocks, 8 heifers, 3 steers and 10 calves, totalling 37 neat cattle, with 79 acres free and 58 hired, 137 acres in all.

James Greentree had no cattle or land entered.

Mary Harper senior had 1 bull, 4 cows, 3 heifers, 2 steers and 4 calves, totalling 14 neat cattle, with 13½ acres, all hired.

Mary Harper junior had 2 cows, 1 heifer and 2 calves, totalling 5 neat cattle, with 10 acres free and 15 hired, 25 acres in all.

Dorothy Hayse had 2 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer and 2 steers, totalling 7 neat cattle, with 19 acres free and 12 hired, 31 acres in all.

John Harding and company had 3 cows, 1 heifer, 2 yearlings and 3 calves, totalling 9 neat cattle, with 10 acres free and 2½ hired, 12½ acres in all.

Sutton Isaack senior had 3 cows, 2 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 8 neat cattle, with 15 acres free and 2½ hired, 17½ acres in all.

Sutton Isaack junior had 1 bull, 12 cows, 2 bullocks, 7 heifers, 2 steers and 13 calves, totalling 37 neat cattle, with 94 acres free and 33 hired, 127 acres in all.

Joshua Johnson had 4 cows, 2 heifers, 3 steers and 4 calves, totalling 13 neat cattle, with 14½ acres free and 20 hired, 34½ acres in all.

John Knipe had 1 cow, 1 heifer, 2 yearlings and 1 calf, totalling 5 neat cattle, with 10 acres, all free.

Thomas Leech had 4 cows, 1 heifer, 2 steers and 4 calves, totalling 11 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Francis Leech had 6 cows, 3 heifers, 4 steers and 5 calves, totalling 18 neat cattle, with 20 acres free and 5 hired, 25 acres in all.

John Long had 2 cows, 1 heifer, 2 yearlings and 2 calves, totalling 7 neat cattle, with 10 acres free and 1 hired, 11 acres in all.

Stephen Lufkin had 5 cows, 2 bullocks, 3 heifers and 5 calves, totalling 15 neat cattle, with 20 acres, all free.

Jane Mudge and her granddaughter had 4 cows, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 4 calves, totalling 10 neat cattle, with no land entered.

John Marsh had no cattle, and held 10 acres free and 1½ hired, 11½ acres in all.

Walter Morris had no cattle or land entered.

Mrs Mary Mashborne had 5 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers, 4 yearlings and 2 calves, totalling 14 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Elizabeth Maxwell, orphan, had 6 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 2 steers, 1 yearling and 6 calves, totalling 18 neat cattle, with 1½ acres, all free.

Robert Marsh had 1 bull, 11 cows, 4 bullocks, 2 heifers, 2 steers, 5 yearlings and 8 calves, totalling 33 neat cattle, with 40 acres free and 10 hired, 50 acres in all.

Martin Norman had 4 cows, 1 bullock, 3 heifers and 4 calves, totalling 12 neat cattle, with no land entered.

John Nichols senior and his sons had 1 bull, 4 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 heifers, 2 steers and 4 calves, totalling 15 neat cattle, with 40 acres, all free.

Samuel Price had 1 calf, and held 20 acres, all hired.

The closing line summed the running totals at 19 bulls, 379 cows, 91 bullocks, 152 heifers, 72 steers, 105 yearlings and 350 calves, 1,168 neat cattle in all, with 1,428¼ acres of free land and 702½ acres hired, 2,130¾ acres together.

Interpretations

Martin Norman's line catches him exactly as the courts had left him, a herd of 12 head and not a single acre. The jury verdicts of 17 September 1716 had stripped him of every claimed lease, and the cattle are the stock he drove down from the hills that same month, 8 head by the overseer's account of 2 October 1716, now grown to 12 and grazed landless while he drew the parish allowance of 2s 6d a week granted on 7 August 1716.

Mrs Mary Mashborne's 14 cattle without land fit her standing since the deputy governor Edward Mashborne died on 31 March 1715. The order of 5 April 1715 permitted her to remain at the plantation house until she could provide herself a habitation, so her household of 6 blacks and her stock subsisted on Company premises with no acreage of her own to enter.

Several lines carry herds far larger than their ground, Elizabeth Maxwell's 18 cattle on 1½ acres the sharpest case. The Maxwell estate's beasts ran on reserved pasture rather than owned land, the same grazing reservation from the 1705/6 deed that the council had just enforced for John Orchard at the consultation of 9 April 1717, cattle rights and land tenure moving separately on the island.

Speculations

The roll let the council see at a glance whose herds outran whose ground, with landless stocks like Norman's, Mashborne's, the Maxwell orphan's and Thomas Leech's all grazing on hired pasture, commons or other men's land. A register matching every beast to an owner and every owner to his acres gave the bench the evidence it needed for the grazing and trespass disputes that filled its sittings, of which Orchard against Powell, settled on 9 April 1717, was only the latest.

323

331

Whites. &c. Blacks.

Persons Names. Vizt.

Brought Over. Whites: Men 42. Women 58. Youths 19. Maidens 19. Boys to 12 yrs 23. Girles to 13 yrs 30. Children 132. Totall 323. Blacks: Men 106: Women 43. Boys 55. Girles 38. Totall 242.

Gabl: Powell & Sons in law. Whites: Men 2. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Children 3. Totall 8. Blacks: Men 6. Women 3. Boys 2. Girles 4. Totall 15.

Jno: Robinson & Son. ditt: Whites: Men 2. Women 1. Maidens 1. Children 2. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 6.

James Rider. Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 4. Totall 4.

Giles Smith. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Children 3. Totall 6.

Cha: Stewards Orphns: Whites: Youths 1. Children 3. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 4. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 7.

Richd: Swallow & Apprents: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 3. Maidens 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Children 7. Totall 14. Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Totall 5.

Rich: Swallow Junr: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Children 1. Totall 3.

Margt: Sich & Grd: daughtr: Whites: Women 1. Children 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 4. Girles 5. Totall 14.

Wm. Seale & maid Servt: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Children 5. Totall 8. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 0. Girles 1. Totall 3.

Nicholas Shreve. Whites: Men 1. Youths 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1.

Tho: Swallow & Grd: daughtrs: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 2. Girles to 13 yrs 2. Children 1. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 5.

John Twaits. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys to 12 yrs 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 3. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3.

James Vessey. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 3. Children 3. Totall 8. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3.

Simon Whaley. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys to 12 yrs 2. Children 3. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.

Ripin Wills & Grd: daughtd: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 3. Totall 6.

Francis Wrangham. Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Girles to 13 yrs 1. Children 3. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 10.

Elizth: Wrangham. Whites: Maidens 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 2.

Whites: Men 58. Women 71. Youths 25. Maidens 30. Boys to 12 yrs 27. Girles to 13 yrs 35. Children 170. Totall 416. Blacks: Men 143: Women 58. Boys 71. Girles 55. Totall 327.

Officers Soldrs: & Servts: Whites: Men 140. Totall 140.

Whites: Men 198. Women 71. Youths 25. Maidens 30. Boys to 12 yrs 27. Girles to 13 yrs 35. Children 170. Totall 556.

A true List according to the Yearly Accot: given in to the 25th. March 1717: for ye year. 1716.

recd: p John Alexander.

May 1717

The roll concluded on the same columns, the brought-over line carrying 42 white men, 58 white women, 19 white youths, 19 white maidens, 23 white boys, 30 white girls and 132 white children, totalling 323 white people, with 106 black men, 43 black women, 55 black boys and 38 black girls, totalling 242 black people.

Gabriel Powell and his sons-in-law had 2 white men, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden and 3 white children, totalling 8 white people, with 6 black men, 3 black women, 2 black boys and 4 black girls, totalling 15 black people.

John Robinson and his son-in-law had 2 white men, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 2 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people.

James Rider had 1 white man and 4 black men.

Giles Smith had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 3 white children, totalling 6 white people, and no blacks.

Charles Steward's orphans had 1 white youth and 3 white children, totalling 4 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 7 black people.

Richard Swallow and an apprentice had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 3 white youths, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 7 white children, totalling 14 white people, with 4 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 5 black people.

Richard Swallow junior had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 1 white child, totalling 3 white people, and no blacks.

Margaret Sich and her granddaughter had 1 white woman and 1 white child, totalling 2 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women, 4 black boys and 5 black girls, totalling 14 black people.

William Seale and a maid servant had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 5 white children, totalling 8 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people.

Nicholas Shreve had 1 white man and 1 white youth, totalling 2 white people, and 1 black woman.

Thomas Swallow and his granddaughters had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white maidens, 2 white girls and 1 white child, totalling 7 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 5 black people.

John Twaits had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white boy, 1 white girl and 3 white children, totalling 7 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people.

James Vessey had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 3 white maidens and 3 white children, totalling 8 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people.

Simon Whaley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white boys and 3 white children, totalling 7 white people, and 1 black man.

Ripin Wills and his granddaughter had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 1 white girl, totalling 3 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 3 black boys, totalling 6 black people.

Francis Wrangham had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white girl and 3 white children, totalling 6 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 10 black people.

Elizabeth Wrangham had 1 white maiden, with 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people.

The subtotal line ran 58 white men, 71 white women, 25 white youths, 30 white maidens, 27 white boys, 35 white girls and 170 white children, totalling 416 white people, with 143 black men, 58 black women, 71 black boys and 55 black girls, totalling 327 black people.

The next line added the officers, soldiers and servants at 140 men, and the closing line summed the whole at 198 white men, 71 white women, 25 white youths, 30 white maidens, 27 white boys, 35 white girls and 170 white children, totalling 556 white people, the black columns standing unchanged at 327.

John Alexander certified under his hand that this was a true list according to the yearly account given in to 25 March 1717 for the year 1716.

Interpretations

The certificate fixes what the whole table was. The census was the island's yearly return for 1716, made up to 25 March 1717, the old-style close of the accounting year, and entered in the consultation book as part of the annual accounts the Governor was pressing to send home this season, the same accounts he had demanded of Captain Haswell at the consultation of 30 April 1717.

The garrison's rank and file entered the count only as a single block of 140 men, without women or children, kept distinct from the householders itemised above. Stripped of that block, the civilian white men numbered just 58 against 143 black men, the bare figure behind the island's standing anxiety over arms, runaways and the catching office advertised on 7 May 1717.

Charles Steward's orphans stand as a household with no adult white at its head, 1 youth and 3 children commanding 7 blacks under the management of the executors. Those executors, Gabriel Powell and Richard Gurling, had their final discharge from the estate's chief debt registered only at the consultation of 7 May 1717, on Edward Harrison's receipt of 27 April 1717.

Speculations

The black totals carried down unchanged past the garrison line point to a return confined to private property. The Honourable Company's own slaves, the largest single holding on the island and lately reinforced by the thirty landed from the Mercury on 28 April 1717, stand nowhere in the 327, so the true black population comfortably exceeded the certified figure, a distinction the directors would understand from a list framed as the inhabitants' yearly account.

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332

Neat Cattle. Acres of Land.

Brought Over. Neat Cattle: Bulls 19. Cows 379. Bullocks 91. Heifers 152. Steers 72. Yearlings 105. Calves 350. Totall 1168. Acres of Land: Acres free 1428¼. Acres Hired 702½. Totall 2130¾.

Gabl: Powell & Sons in law. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 53. Heifers 34. Steers 14. Calves 49. Totall 153. Acres of Land: Acres free 216. Acres Hired 39. Totall 255.

Jno: Robinson & Son. ditt: Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Heifers 2. Yearlings 2. Calves 6. Totall 18. Acres of Land: Acres free 20. Acres Hired 25. Totall 45.

James Rider. Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 3. Calves 3. Totall 9. Acres of Land: Acres free 30½. Acres Hired 2½. Totall 33.

Giles Smith. Neat Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Calves 2. Totall 7. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 31. Totall 41.

Cha: Stewards Orphns: Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 24. Bullocks 11. Heifers 7. Yearlings 5. Calves 28. Totall 76. Acres of Land: Acres free 20. Acres Hired 40. Totall 60.

Richd: Swallow & Apprents: Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 10. Bullocks 5. Heifers 1. Yearlings 5. Calves 11. Totall 33. Acres of Land: Acres free 39. Acres Hired 36. Totall 75.

Rich: Swallow Junr: Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 1. Calves 2. Totall 6.

Margt: Sich & Grd: daughtr: Neat Cattle: Cows 13. Bullocks 5. Heifers 3. Steers 5. Calves 14. Totall 40. Acres of Land: Acres free 70. Acres Hired 8. Totall 78.

Wm. Seale & maid Servt: Neat Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 6. Heifers 5. Calves 6. Totall 23. Acres of Land: Acres free 40. Totall 40.

Nicholas Shreve.

Tho: Swallow & Grd: daughtrs: Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 6. Bullocks 3. Heifers 5. Steers 3. Calves 6. Totall 24. Acres of Land: Acres free 40. Acres Hired 31. Totall 71.

John Twaits. Neat Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 2. Calves 4. Totall 10. Acres of Land: Acres free 15½. Acres Hired 16. Totall 31½.

James Vessey. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 10. Bullocks 6. Heifers 6. Yearlings 8. Calves 8. Totall 39. Acres of Land: Acres free 20. Acres Hired 12. Totall 32.

Simon Whaley. Neat Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 2. Totall 3. Acres of Land: Acres free 13¼. Acres Hired 10. Totall 23¼.

Ripin Wills & Grd: daughtd: Neat Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 2. Heifers 3. Calves 3. Totall 11. Acres of Land: Acres free 40. Totall 40.

Francis Wrangham. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 15. Bullocks 7. Heifers 10. Steers 6. Calves 12. Totall 51. Acres of Land: Acres free 65. Acres Hired 11. Totall 76.

Elizth: Wrangham. Neat Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 6. Heifers 6. Calves 5. Totall 18. Acres of Land: Acres free 10. Acres Hired 2. Totall 12.

Neat Cattle: Bulls 29. Cows 545. Bullocks 176. Heifers 218. Steers 87. Yearlings 125. Calves 509. Totall 1689. Acres of Land: Acres free 2077½. Acres Hired 966. Totall 3033½.

May 1717

The farming columns conclude for the same names in the same order.

The brought-over line carried 19 bulls, 379 cows, 91 bullocks, 152 heifers, 72 steers, 105 yearlings and 350 calves, 1,168 neat cattle in all, with 1,428¼ acres free and 702½ hired, 2,130¾ acres together.

Gabriel Powell and his sons-in-law had 3 bulls, 53 cows, 34 bullocks, 14 heifers and 49 calves, totalling 153 neat cattle, with 216 acres free and 39 hired, 255 acres in all.

John Robinson and his son-in-law had 1 bull, 7 cows, 2 heifers, 2 yearlings and 6 calves, totalling 18 neat cattle, with 20 acres free and 25 hired, 45 acres in all.

James Rider had 3 cows, 3 bullocks and 3 calves, totalling 9 neat cattle, with 30½ acres free and 2½ hired, 33 acres in all.

Giles Smith had 2 cows, 2 heifers, 1 steer and 2 calves, totalling 7 neat cattle, with 10 acres free and 31 hired, 41 acres in all.

Charles Steward's orphans had 1 bull, 24 cows, 11 bullocks, 7 heifers, 5 yearlings and 28 calves, totalling 76 neat cattle, with 20 acres free and 40 hired, 60 acres in all.

Richard Swallow and his apprentice had 1 bull, 10 cows, 5 bullocks, 1 heifer, 5 yearlings and 11 calves, totalling 33 neat cattle, with 39 acres free and 36 hired, 75 acres in all.

Richard Swallow junior had 3 cows, 1 bullock and 2 calves, totalling 6 neat cattle, with no land entered.

Margaret Sich and her granddaughter had 13 cows, 5 bullocks, 3 heifers, 5 steers and 14 calves, totalling 40 neat cattle, with 70 acres free and 8 hired, 78 acres in all.

William Seale and the maid servant had 6 cows, 6 bullocks, 5 heifers and 6 calves, totalling 23 neat cattle, with 40 acres, all free.

Nicholas Shreve had no cattle or land entered.

Thomas Swallow and his granddaughters had 1 bull, 6 cows, 3 bullocks, 5 heifers, 3 steers and 6 calves, totalling 24 neat cattle, with 40 acres free and 31 hired, 71 acres in all.

John Twaits had 4 cows, 2 bullocks and 4 calves, totalling 10 neat cattle, with 15½ acres free and 16 hired, 31½ acres in all.

James Vessey had 1 bull, 10 cows, 6 bullocks, 6 heifers, 8 yearlings and 8 calves, totalling 39 neat cattle, with 20 acres free and 12 hired, 32 acres in all.

Simon Whaley had 1 cow and 2 heifers, totalling 3 neat cattle, with 13¼ acres free and 10 hired, 23¼ acres in all.

Ripin Wills and his granddaughter had 3 cows, 2 bullocks, 3 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 11 neat cattle, with 40 acres, all free.

Francis Wrangham had 1 bull, 15 cows, 7 bullocks, 10 heifers, 6 steers and 12 calves, totalling 51 neat cattle, with 65 acres free and 11 hired, 76 acres in all.

Elizabeth Wrangham had 1 bull, 6 cows, 6 heifers and 5 calves, totalling 18 neat cattle, with 10 acres free and 2 hired, 12 acres in all.

The closing line summed the whole island at 29 bulls, 545 cows, 176 bullocks, 218 heifers, 87 steers, 125 yearlings and 509 calves, 1,689 neat cattle in all, with 2,067½ acres of free land and 966 acres hired, 3,033½ acres together.

Interpretations

The Steward estate's 76 cattle, the largest herd on the page, kept the property of Charles Steward intact for his orphan heirs under the executors Powell and Gurling, the estate Powell's petition of 24 May 1715 had valued at £1,200 0s 0d. With Gabriel Powell's own 153 cattle and 255 acres heading the page, executor and estate together commanded the greatest single block of stock and ground on the island.

The closing figures completed the yearly account for 1716 in its material part. The directors now had the island measured at 556 whites and 327 private blacks, 1,689 neat cattle and 3,033½ acres occupied, of which 2,067½ were freehold against 966 hired from the Honourable Company, the rental estate covering just under a third of the settled ground.

The herd's structure held the pattern set across every page, 545 cows and 509 calves against only 29 bulls and 87 steers, a breeding stock still rebuilding under the discipline of the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715 rather than a slaughter herd, with beef for shipping drawn from the modest stock of bullocks and steers.

Speculations

A return this complete, certified to 25 March 1717 and entered while the homeward packet waited for the Grantham, armed the Governor for the arguments the season had forced on him. The figures supported at once the council's plea for restraint over bills, its case for more soldiers against 327 private blacks and the claim that the island stood flourishing under the present government while rumours of its replacement circulated.

325

333

Island St. Helena.

May.

At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 14 day of May 1717. at Union Castle in James valley.

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. Capt: Geo: Haswell Dpty. Matthw. Bazett. 3d.

Last Consultation read and approvd of.

The two Ships now in the road. vizt. Grantham and Success, being ready to Saile, the Governr. Asks the Councils opinion what they think Proper to be wrote to the Hon: Compa: or whether We Should Write any thing or not.

Capt: Bazett Sayes that there having nothing Occurrd of any Moment Since our Last by the Dartmouth, thinks theres no necesity of Writing any thing by these Ships.

Capt: Haswell is of the Same opinion.

And therefore as We Send no Letter to the Hon: Compa: by these Ships, it will be proper to Send their Accounts with the Duplicate of that Letter p the Dartmouth.

Richard Gurling Executr. to the Last Will and Testament of Jno. Crosbey free Planter lately deceased, brought the Said Jno. Crosbeys Will this day in Order of having the Same proved, which was Accordingly done by the Oaths of John Bagley

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 14 May 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor; Captain George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The two ships now in the road, the Grantham and the Success, were ready to sail. The Governor asked the council what they thought proper to write to the Honourable Company, or whether anything should be written at all. Captain Bazett said nothing of any moment had occurred since the last letter by the Dartmouth, so there was no necessity of writing anything by these ships. Captain Haswell was of the same opinion. Since no letter would go to the Honourable Company by these ships, the council judged it proper to send the accounts with a duplicate of the letter carried by the Dartmouth.

Richard Gurling, executor of the last will and testament of John Crosby, free planter lately deceased, brought in Crosby's will that day to have it proved.

Interpretations

The decision unwound the plan of the consultation of 7 May 1717, which had reserved the full homeward packet for the Grantham. With nothing new to report, the council sent her off carrying only the accounts and a duplicate of the short Dartmouth letter, the duplicate the standard insurance against loss at sea, while the accounts were the yearly books the Governor had pressed for since the consultation of 30 April 1717 with his threat to send them home uncopied.

John Crosby's death dates itself against the census just entered, where his household stood at 3 whites with 7 cattle on 7 acres in the return made up to 25 March 1717. The probate brought by Richard Gurling shows the council in its standing role as the island's probate court, wills proved before the bench on the oaths of witnesses and entered in the consultation book as the record of title.

Speculations

Sending accounts without any covering letter suited a council under scrutiny from home. After the directors' displeasure over bills and the great indent, reported at the consultation of 24 April 1717, every fresh letter risked fresh commitments, so the bench let the figures travel alone and confined its words to the duplicate already written, the safest possible voice while rumours of a new government hung over the island.

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334

May. 1717.

and Walter Morris free planters.

Ordered That the Said Will be receivd & approvd of, and Entered into a Book for that Purpose

Likewise that the Executr. Rich: Gurling do take an Inventory of the Said decd. John Crosbeys Estate & deliver the Same unto us as Soon as Possible.

Lucas Mason made Complt. against William Beale planter for refusing to pay him a debt of four pound five Shillings & three pence for & on Account of John Maynard Carpenter, at his going off the Island as Appears by his Bill containing the following Particulars.

Mr. Maynard Carpentr. Dr. to Lucas Mason.

For 3 ounces gold thread at 13 p oz. 1:19:3

For 2 dozn. & a half of Coat Buttons. Gold at 14. 1:15:

For 2 dozn. & half brest buttons do. a 4/6. 0:11:3

£4:5:3

William Beale Says the Said Maynard gave him a Letter of Attorney at his going off the Island, and did therein Mention to pay unto Lucas Mason the Sume of three Pounds three Shillings & Six Pence, and no more wherefore desires the Said Mason. may make Oath to his debt aforesaid, Which he Accordingly did. And therefore

Ordered That the Said William Beale pay the Sume demanded, and take into his Custody a suit of Cloaths the Said Mason has in his Possession belonging to Maynard the Carpenter, for Security

May 1717

The will of John Crosby was proved on the oaths of John Bagley and Walter Morris, free planters. The council ordered the will received, approved and entered in a book kept for that purpose. The executor Richard Gurling was likewise ordered to take an inventory of John Crosby's estate and deliver it to the council as soon as possible.

Lucas Mason complained against William Beale, planter, for refusing to pay him a debt of £4 5s 3d due for and on account of John Maynard, carpenter, at his going off the island. The debt appeared by Maynard's bill, which contained the following particulars.

Mr Maynard the carpenter owed Lucas Mason:

Gold thread, 3 ounces at 13 shillings per ounce: £1 19s 0d

Gold coat buttons, 2½ dozen at 14 shillings per dozen: £1 15s 0d

Breast buttons of the same, 2½ dozen at 4 shillings 6 pence: £0 11s 3d

Total: £4 5s 3d

William Beale said Maynard had given him a letter of attorney at his leaving the island, and it mentioned paying Lucas Mason £3 3s 6d and no more. He therefore asked that Mason make oath to the debt, which Mason did. The council ordered William Beale to pay the sum demanded, and to take into his custody a suit of clothes belonging to Maynard the carpenter that remained in Mason's hands.

Interpretations

The dispute turned on the gap between the £4 5s 3d claimed and the £3 3s 6d the letter of attorney authorised. The council closed it by the creditor's oath, Mason swearing to his bill where the written authority fell short, the sworn debt then binding the attorney to pay the full demand. An oath stood as proof of last resort in small debts when the principal was beyond the seas and could neither confirm nor deny the account.

Gold thread was silk wound with gilt wire for embroidery, lace and rich trimmings, sold here at 13 shillings the ounce, and the gold coat and breast buttons matched it as finery. Nearly £4 of such trimmings bought by a departing carpenter points to a man fitting himself out handsomely for England or carrying small valuables home in wearable form.

The probate orders show the standing estate machinery at work, the will entered in a dedicated register and the executor bound to bring in an inventory as soon as possible. The inventory fixed the estate's contents before administration began, the council's protection for creditors and heirs alike.

Speculations

The order giving Beale custody of Maynard's suit of clothes balanced the risk the oath had created. Beale now had to pay £1 1s 9d beyond his written authority, so holding his principal's property indemnified him against Maynard disowning the excess, the council shifting the security from the creditor, who had held the clothes, to the attorney who bore the loss if the sworn debt proved wrong.

327

335

May. 1717.

of the debt, and make the best of them, that he may pay himself the Overplus, and Charges of this cause.

Island St. Helena.

At: a Consultation held on Tuesday the 21st day of May 1717 At Union Castle in James valley.

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. Matthw. Bazett. 3d.

Last Consult: read & approvd.

Ripin Wills. planter was Sumoned for Willfully destroying Forty Lemon trees. The Account whereof is as follows. vizt.

About 15 days Since two of his Neighbours walking by his upper grove of Lemon trees plucked off Some of the fruit & Eat them, wch. the Old man Seeing fell into a Passion & Sayed they Robbed him and would be Damned for it and in his rage fetched an Ax and Cutt those trees down, which were forty in Number and

Margin Notes:

Geo: Haswell Dpty. Absent being in the Country not well.

May 1717

William Beale was to hold the suit of clothes as security for the debt and sell it to the best advantage, so that he might repay himself the surplus and the charges of the cause.

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 21 May 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and Matthew Bazett, third in council. Captain George Haswell, the deputy governor, was absent, being in the country and not well.

The last consultation was read and approved.

Ripin Wills, planter, was summoned for wilfully destroying forty lemon trees. The account of the matter was as follows. About fifteen days earlier two of his neighbours, walking by his upper grove of lemon trees, plucked some of the fruit and ate it. The old man saw them, fell into a passion and said they had robbed him and would be damned for it. In his rage he fetched an axe and cut the trees down, forty in number.

Interpretations

The summons treated the grove as more than private property. Lemon trees supplied the citrus the island sold to every ship against scurvy, lime juice running through the store accounts such as the castle's bill entered at the consultation of 30 April 1717, so a planter who destroyed forty bearing trees wasted a provision the whole settlement traded on, and the council prosecuted the waste even though the trees were his own.

The bench sat at its thinnest. With Haswell sick in the country and the secretary Tovey still suspended since the consultation of 9 April 1717, the Governor and Bazett alone made up the board, two men carrying the whole judicial and administrative business of the island.

The record of provocation, two neighbours helping themselves to his fruit, framed Wills as the wronged party who became the offender. The same man had lost ten acres to Robert Gurling by the jury verdict of 7 February 1715, and the clerk's note of his passion and his age set the destruction down to temper rather than design.

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336

May 1717.

Large with fruit on them, and then Sayed he did it to Save the Peoples Souls that woud be Damnd for Stealing.

Whereupon he presented the following Petition.

Island St. Helena.

To the Worsl: Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. & Council.

The most humble Petition of Ripin Wills free holder. Most humbly.

Sheweth.

That whereas your Petitioner having unadvisedly Cut down Some of his Lemon trees that grew in a very windy & Cold place (which Occasiond their often being blasted) about a quarter of a Mile distance from his House that produced no Proffitt to him but rather incumberd the Ground has been Summond to Appear this day before yor. Worshs. &ca. And your Petitionr. being therefore fearfull of his Comitting a Wast (tho not wilfully) and thereby Subject to a fine; Humbly beggs a Metigation for his fault So Ignorantly done, with Assurance of a hearty Sorrow for his foolishness and promises to plant Young trees in the Room of those Cut down in a nother place that will be of more Advantage than the former, & leaves himself to yor. wonted goodness & Clemency. And as in duty bound Shall ever pray &ca. (Signed) Ripin Wills.

Margin Notes:

May 21st. 1717.

May 1717

The trees were very large and carried fruit, and Wills then said he had done it to save the souls of the people who would be damned for stealing.

Wills thereupon presented a petition to the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that he had unadvisedly cut down some of his lemon trees, which grew in a very windy and cold place about a quarter of a mile from his house, where they were often blasted and yielded him no profit but rather encumbered the ground. Having been summoned to appear that day, and fearful that he had committed waste, though not wilfully, and so stood subject to a fine, he begged mitigation for a fault so ignorantly done. He assured the council of his hearty sorrow for his foolishness, promised to plant young trees in place of those cut down, in another spot that would be of more advantage than the former, and left himself to the council's wonted goodness and clemency. The petition was signed by Ripin Wills and dated 21 May 1717.

Interpretations

Waste was the legal destruction of the lasting value of land, the felling of timber and fruit trees chief among its forms, and Wills's fear of a fine shows the doctrine applied on the island even to a freeholder's own trees. His petition rebuilt the story to fit the law's gradations, the clerk's account of forty large fruiting trees cut in a rage becoming unprofitable, wind-blasted trees cleared unadvisedly, since wilful waste drew a fine where ignorant waste might earn mitigation.

The offer to replant in a better spot turned the penalty into restitution. The council's standing concern was the island's tree stock, the same concern that had tied Captain Haswell's waste-land lease of 24 April 1717 to planting wood, so young trees in the room of those destroyed answered the public loss more usefully than money.

Speculations

A petition dated the very day of the hearing, pleading the precise distinction between wilful and ignorant waste in polished legal terms, points to a practised hand behind the old man's plea. The wording answered his exact exposure, conceding the act while denying the intent the clerk had already recorded, which suggests someone familiar with the bench drafted it for him between the summons and the sitting.

329

337

May. 1717.

On this he was Interrorem fined twenty Shillings for Each Tree So Cutt down which is Forty Pound, But in case he plant double the Number of Lemon Trees in Some other place, and also Endeavour to Preserve the Stocks of those forty he Cutt down, that new Shoots may be Encreased from their Roots, And all that done this Season, Then this fine to be Lessened and abated, but if he do not plant the Said Trees, then this fine to be paid fully by him for his default.

And also Mr. Wills has Notice given him that in case he do not plant his full quota of Wood on his Land According to the Law of this Island, for planting Wood, That the Said Law Shall next year be put in Execution against him, and his land Seized

On this Ripin Wills thanked the Governr. that he was no more Severe as not to put that Law in Execution now, and promises to plant all his quota of Wood, and also Eighty new Young Lemon trees besides what Shall Spring from the Roots of those Cutt down.

The following Petitions were presented.

Island St. Helena.

To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. & Council.

The Petition of Willm. Worrall most humbly.

Sheweth.

That your Petitionr. being desireous to dispose of the Land He rents of the Honble. Compa.

May 1717

On this Wills was fined in terrorem 20 shillings for each tree cut down, £40 0s 0d in all. If he planted double the number of lemon trees in some other place, took care to preserve the stocks of the forty felled so that new shoots might spring from their roots, and did all this within the season, the fine was to be lessened and abated. If he failed to plant the trees, the fine was to be paid in full for his default.

Mr Wills was also given notice that if he did not plant his full quota of wood on his land, according to the island's law for planting wood, the law would next year be put in execution against him and his land seized. On this Ripin Wills thanked the Governor for being no more severe than to hold that law back for now, and promised to plant his whole quota of wood and also eighty new young lemon trees, besides whatever sprang from the roots of those cut down.

The following petitions were then presented. William Worrall petitioned the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council, setting out that he wished to dispose of the land he rented of the Honourable Company.

Interpretations

A fine in terrorem was assessed to frighten rather than to be collected, the £40 0s 0d hanging over Wills as compulsion to restore what he had destroyed. The conditions were precise husbandry, eighty replacement trees and the felled stocks preserved so the roots would coppice into new shoots, all within the season, the bench converting a penalty four times a surgeon's yearly salary into a planting programme with the fine as forfeit for default.

The notice over the wood quota reveals a standing island law obliging every landholder to plant a set measure of timber, with seizure of the land as its sanction. Tenure on the island carried improvement duties, the same policy that had bound Captain Haswell's new lease of 24 April 1717 to planting wood on barren ground, and the year's grace given to Wills shows the law used as leverage rather than confiscation.

Speculations

The settlement was built to leave the island richer in trees than before the offence. Double the number planted anew, with the old roots shooting besides, meant the grove's destruction would end in a net gain of citrus if Wills performed, and his immediate promise of the eighty young trees shows the bargain struck and accepted on the spot, the bench trading remission for increase.

330

338

May 1717.

Company lying in dogg wood valley, with the House and provisions Standing upon it, and alsoe five Acres of Free Land adjoyning to Capt. Bazett and others. Humbly prays therefore that your Said Petitioner may have Liberty to dispose of the Said Lease Land, for the remainder of the time he has in it, as alsoe what Else he is willing to Sell for his better Advantage and Shoud be glad if the Hon: Compa: would take them.

And as in duty bound Shall ever pray. &c.

(Signd) Willm. Worrall.

Granted. And that the Company Expect to have the refusall of his Cattle, but his, Lebd Planta tion and other Goods, he may dispose of to those he Can Sell them to it not being for the Hon: Compas: use to buy any of them.

To the Worsh Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. & Council.

The Humble Petition of Jno: Nichols Senr. Planter.

Sheweth.

That your Petitionr. having Spar'd Govr. Roberts a large Piece of Timber to Serve the Hon: Compas pressing Occasions for build ing; Does now humbly request Your Worships

Margin Notes:

May 21st. 1717.

Island St. Helena.

May 1717

The land William Worrall rented of the Honourable Company lay in Dogwood Valley, with the house and the provisions standing upon it, and he held besides five acres of free land adjoining Captain Bazett and others. He prayed liberty to dispose of the lease land for the remainder of his term, together with whatever else he was willing to sell for his better advantage, and said he would be glad if the Honourable Company would take them. The petition was signed by William Worrall and dated 21 May 1717.

The council granted the petition, with the condition that the Company expected the refusal of his cattle. His lease, plantation and other goods he might dispose of to whoever would buy them, it not being for the Honourable Company's use to purchase any of them.

John Nichols senior, planter, then petitioned the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that he had spared Governor Roberts a large piece of timber to serve the Honourable Company's pressing occasions for building.

Interpretations

The carve-out in the grant followed the council's new purchasing discipline to the letter. The resolution of 24 April 1717 had confined the Company's local buying to arrack, rice, wheat and live cattle, so cattle were the one item in Worrall's sale over which the Company reserved first refusal, while house, lease and goods were left to the private market. The liberty to assign the lease for the remainder of its term also shows Company leasehold treated as a saleable asset, the tenant's unexpired years carrying value of their own.

Nichols's claim reached back to timber supplied under Governor Roberts, whose administration had ended years earlier, the island's records speaking of it in the past by 8 October 1711. A large building timber was a memorable asset on an island so short of wood, and the petition shows planters' credits against the Honourable Company surviving from one government to the next until formally settled.

Speculations

The shape of Worrall's sale, the lease remainder, the house, the standing provisions and his goods all offered at once, points to a man winding up his affairs on the island. His hope that the Company would take the lot met the bench at its most frugal, the directors' displeasure over bills having closed the treasury to every purchase but cattle, so the seller was left to find private buyers in a market the Company had just withdrawn from.

331

339

May 1717.

and Council to allow your Petitionr: Such a Pro portionable Piece for his wants, as he never had any Payment or Satisfaction for the Loan of the Said Piece of Timber.

And as in duty bound Shall Ever pray &c.

(Signed) John Nichols.

Refard to Capt. Bazett to Search the Store Books whether theres any Memorandm. made therein or not, and to give his report Accordingly

Mr. William Worrall the Hon Compas: Chief Overseer brought in his monthly Acco: of their live Stock for

Margin Notes:

May 21st. 1717.

May 1717

Nichols asked the Governor and council to allow him a proportionable piece of timber for his needs, since he had never received any payment or satisfaction for the loan of the piece he gave. The petition was signed by John Nichols and dated 21 May 1717.

The council referred the matter to Captain Bazett, who was to search the store books for any memorandum of the timber and report accordingly.

Start of crossed out section

Mr William Worrall, the Honourable Company's chief overseer, brought in his monthly account of the Company's live stock.

End of crossed out section

Interpretations

Nichols sought repayment in kind, a proportionable piece of timber rather than money, wood being its own currency on an island so short of it. The reference to the store books made the Company's records the sole test of the claim, a loan from Governor Roberts's time standing or falling on whether a memorandum had been entered, the bench's protection against stale demands that no living officer could verify.

The cancelled entry concerned the same William Worrall whose sale of his lease and goods the council had granted earlier in the sitting of 21 May 1717, here acting in his office as the Company's chief overseer. The monthly live stock account was his standing duty, carried since at least his detailed return of 18 June 1715, and the clerk's striking of the opening probably means the account was begun in the book before it was ready to be entered, the return held over to its proper place.

332

340

Ordered That the following Advertizement be Published.

By the Worsh Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. &c: Council.

An Advertizement.

The Governr. & Council dos hereby give Notice that Whereas the Honble: Compas Work is now well Advanced and they are Supplyd with a Considerable Number of working Slaves and are also in daily Expectation of receiving Severall more So that there is not farther Occasion to Hire Blacks as formerly.

But that no person may too Suddenly be disappointed in not haveing timely Notice to Provide other Work for their Blacks this advertizmt: is Published to Inform them That they will

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena

May 1717

The council ordered the following advertisement to be published.

The advertisement, issued by the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council, gave notice that the Honourable Company's work was now well advanced. The Company was supplied with a considerable number of labouring slaves and expected several more daily, so there was no further occasion to hire blacks as formerly. So that no person might be too suddenly disappointed for want of timely notice to provide other employment for their blacks, the advertisement was published to inform them of the change.

Interpretations

Hiring out slaves to the Honourable Company had been a steady income for the inhabitants, their blacks let to the Company's fortification and plantation works at a rate paid to the owner. The new supply ended the arrangement, the ten slaves landed in February having been reinforced by the thirty brought from Madagascar on the Mercury on 28 April 1717 with more expected, so the Company could now man its works from its own stock and drop the hire charge, one more economy in the season of the bill restrictions of 24 April 1717.

The advertisement's care over timely notice treated the change as an economic shock to be cushioned. Owners had built the hire into their households' subsistence, and the council gave them warning to find other employment for their blacks rather than cut the income without notice.

Speculations

The notice answered a danger the bench had already named. Blacks discharged from the Company's works with no employment at home were exactly the idle hands behind the runaway problem advertised on 7 May 1717, slaves absenting themselves and living by stealing provisions, so the demand that owners provide other work before the hire ended was as much a security measure as a courtesy, two advertisements a fortnight apart aimed at the same risk.

333

341

May. 1717.

Continue to hire working Blacks as usuall Untill the 25th day of June next Ensuing but not after that time.

And whereas Severall Planters have more blacks than they have Occasion to Employ in their own Plantations The Governr. & Council will for the Encouragemt: of all Industrious men Lett out a Considerable quantity of Fencing work by the Rodd to whosoever are willing to Undertake it for which Shall be payd the full Price as formerly. And as a farther Encouragement for their Diligence and Industry all those who first Undertake this work Shall have the Priviledge of being Employd till the Last, and the last Undertakers to be discharg ed first

And forasmuch as there is Plenty of Fencing work to be done any Person that Shall Undertake a Parcell of the Said Work may Apply himself to the Governr: who will agree with them for Such Parts or Parcells of the Said work as is nearest to them or is most Convenient for themselves to doe Dated at Union Castle in James Valley this 21st. day of May 1717. And Signd p Ordr. of Govr. & Council

Jno. Alexander.

May 1717

The advertisement informed the owners that the Company would continue to hire their blacks as usual until 25 June 1717, but not after that time.

Since several planters had more blacks than they had occasion to employ on their own plantations, the Governor and council would, for the encouragement of all industrious men, let out a considerable quantity of fencing work by the rod to whoever was willing to undertake it, paid at the full price as formerly. As a further encouragement of diligence and industry, those who first undertook the work would have the privilege of being employed till the last, and the last undertakers would be discharged first.

Since there was plenty of fencing to be done, any person wishing to take a parcel of the work might apply to the Governor, who would agree with them for such parts or parcels as lay nearest to them or were most convenient. The advertisement was dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 21 May 1717 and signed by order of the Governor and council by John Alexander.

Interpretations

The scheme converted the Company from a hirer of slave labour into a letter of task work. Owners with surplus blacks would no longer draw a hire wage from the Company's works but could contract for fencing as undertakers, employing their own slaves on parcels paid by the rod, the rod of 16½ feet being the standard measure for fencing and walling on the island, as in the wet-wall tender of 24 June 1715. Full price as formerly kept the rates intact while shifting the management of the labour, and its risks, from the Company to the owners.

The five weeks' grace to 25 June 1717 and the allocation of parcels by nearness show the transition carefully staged. Each undertaker fenced the ground most convenient to his own holding, which spread the work across the island, cut travel for the slaves and gave the Governor, as the sole contracting agent, control over who fenced what.

Speculations

The first-in-last-out privilege was built to start a rush. With the hire income dying on a fixed day, the owner who engaged earliest secured employment for his blacks the longest, so the council could expect the surplus labour to move onto the Company's fences at once rather than drift into the idleness the runaway advertisement of 7 May 1717 had warned against, the enclosures rising quickly while the security risk was contained.

334

342

May 1717.

George Sanders appeared According to Sumons at the Complaint of Capt. Haswell, But he not appear ing here this day against him and We not knowing the Cause of his being Sumoned.

Orderd That the Said Sanders be discharged without any Costs.

At, a Consultation held on Tuesday the 28 day of May 1717. At Union Castle in James Valley

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. George Haswell Dpty. Matthw: Bazett. 3d.

Last Consultation read & approvd, of

The Governr. Demanded of Capt. Haswell why he was not down last Consultation Day, nor for a Fortnights time, Since he has told the Governour himself that the Accounts in the Stores would not be forwarded Unless he was Present.

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena

May 1717

George Sanders appeared according to his summons, taken out on the complaint of Captain Haswell. Haswell did not appear that day to make anything out against him, and the council did not know the cause of the summons. The council therefore ordered Sanders discharged without any costs.

Island of St Helena

At a consultation held on Tuesday 28 May 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley.

Present: Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor; George Haswell, deputy governor; Matthew Bazett, third in council.

The last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor demanded of Captain Haswell why he had not been down on the last consultation day, nor for a fortnight together, since Haswell had told the Governor himself that the accounts in the stores would not be forwarded unless he was present.

Interpretations

Sanders's discharge shows the bench's rule that a complaint died with its complainant's absence. The defendant could not be held to answer a charge nobody explained, and the discharge without any costs spared him even the marshal's summons fees under the schedule of 3 May 1715, the expense of the abortive prosecution left to fall where it arose. The bench had taken the same line with Haswell before, ordering him on 10 May 1715 to bear all charges of a prosecution he had pressed and lost.

The Governor's demand turned Haswell's own words against him. Haswell had claimed the store accounts could not go forward without his presence, so a fortnight's absence made him answerable for the very delay the Governor had been fighting since the consultation of 30 April 1717, when he threatened to send the books home uncopied. With the bench reduced to two sitting members during that fortnight, the deputy governor's attendance was not a courtesy but the condition of the season's chief business.

Speculations

Entering the rebuke verbatim in the consultation book reads as the Governor protecting his own record. He had assured the directors by the King George that the accounts were being forwarded early and late, so if they arrived home late or imperfect, the minutes would now show the delay fixed on the deputy governor's absence rather than on the Governor's management, a careful piece of paper-keeping in a season when a new government was rumoured.

335

343

May. 1717.

Capta. Haswell Says that the reason why he did not come down last Consultation day, was because he and his familie hath been Sick, and as Soon as he was able he came down to the Fort. But now he will take care and keep Close to the finnishing the Store Books.

Ripin Wills Planter Presented ye follow ing Petition

To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govrnr. &c. Council.

The most Humble Petition of Ripin Wills Planter Humbly.

Sheweth.

That whereas your Petitionr. hath in obedience and pursuant to an Order of Council of the 21st Instant, Gladly & readily Com plyd therewith in planting the Eighty Lemon Trees, and thirty more, which your Petitioner will take Effectuall Care to Preserve, as well as the Stocks of those He cutt down for the Increase of new Shoots. Your Petitioner doth therefore Humbly Pray Youl Please to lessen and abate his Fine of forty Pounds

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

May 1717

Captain Haswell answered that the reason he had not come down on the last consultation day was that he and his family had been sick, and as soon as he was able he came down to the Fort. He would now take care to keep close to the finishing of the store books.

Ripin Wills, planter, then presented a petition to the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that, in obedience to the order of council of 21 May 1717, he had gladly and readily complied by planting the eighty lemon trees, and thirty more besides, all of which he would take effectual care to preserve, together with the stocks of those he had cut down for the increase of new shoots. He therefore humbly prayed the council to lessen and abate his fine of £40 0s 0d.

Interpretations

Wills performed his conditions in seven days and then some, 110 young trees in the ground between the order of 21 May 1717 and this sitting, thirty beyond what the bench had required. The surplus was the currency of his plea, over-performance offered to convert a conditional abatement into the fullest remission the council would give, and it shows the in terrorem fine doing precisely the work it was framed for, compelling restoration rather than raising revenue.

Haswell's answer closed the Governor's demand with a minuted promise. The sickness matched the note entered at the consultation of 21 May 1717 that he was in the country and not well, and his undertaking to keep close to the store books gave the Governor what the public questioning had been for, a recorded commitment against which any further delay in the accounts could be measured.

Speculations

Planting 110 young lemon trees inside a week implies seedling stock standing ready to hand, whether raised on Wills's own ground or bought from neighbours. Citrus propagation was evidently routine husbandry among the planters, and the bench knew it when it set the season as the deadline, the order's conditions framed within what local nurseries could actually deliver.

336

344

May. 1717.

if not out of your Goodness to forgive the whole which will cause.

Your Petitionr. as in duty bound ever to Pray &c.

(Signd) Ripin Wills

Ordered. That as soon as the Said Wills hath Planted his quota of Such Trees upon his Land as will best grow, According to the Law of Planting Wood on this Island, That then his Petition be more Effectually Answered.

Richard Beale Presented the following Petition.

To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. &c. Council.

The humble Petition of Richd. Beale Planter. Humbly.

Sheweth.

That whereas your Petitionr. did Some time Since Exhibit a Petition to your Worsh: and Council, desireing Payment for a Bullock that Capt. Hoskison when Overseer at the Plantation House, Ordered to be killd for the use of the Honoble: Company, which upon Examination before yor: Worshp: and Council was Proved by the Testimony of Severall Persons, and thereupon Ordered that Capt. Haswell

Margin Notes:

May 28th. 1717.

May 1717

Wills prayed that the fine be lessened and abated, if the council would not out of its goodness forgive the whole, which would bind him ever to pray for them. The petition was signed by Ripin Wills and dated 28 May 1717.

The council ordered that as soon as Wills had planted his quota of such trees upon his land as would best grow, according to the island's law for planting wood, his petition would be more effectually answered.

Richard Beale, planter, then presented a petition to the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council. He set out that some time since he had exhibited a petition desiring payment for a bullock that Captain Hoskison, when overseer at the Plantation House, had ordered killed for the use of the Honourable Company. On examination before the Governor and council the claim was proved by the testimony of several persons.

Interpretations

The order on Wills chained his remission to a second obligation. His lemon restitution stood complete, 110 trees in the ground within the week, yet the bench held the £40 0s 0d alive until he had also planted his statutory quota of wood under the island's planting law, the very law it had threatened him with by the notice of 21 May 1717. The fine had become standing leverage, and the phrase about trees that would best grow kept even the choice of species and siting under the council's eye.

Beale's petition revived the bullock claim the council had referred to Captain Haswell at the consultation of 18 December 1716, when the conflicting evidence of Robert Marsh and Walter Morris left it to Haswell to discover whether credit had been entered to the orphans or to Hoskison. Five months on, the orphan was petitioning afresh, his proved claim stalled at the desk of the same deputy governor the bench had just examined for a fortnight's absence, a measure of how far justice on the island moved at the pace of its officers.

Speculations

Keeping the fine alive after full restitution points to the bench's larger purpose. Wills's £40 0s 0d exposure, publicly suspended on his wood quota, advertised the planting law to every freeholder more effectively than the statute itself, the lemon affair converted into a standing example that improvement duties would be exacted, with the council's clemency as the reward for performance.

337

345

May 1717.

Should Examine the Store Books to See if the Said Bullock was paid for, which he having done and no payment Appearing, Your Petitionr. humbly prays he may receive Satisfaction, for his Bullock aforesd: in Store Credit he having great Occasion for it. And as in duty Bound Shall for ever pray &c.

(Signd) Richd. Beale

It appeared by the Stewards Books that a Bullock of 312lb. wat. was killed for the Honoble Compa. and no Credit being given in the Store for the Same, as Capt. Haswell Says, Yet it being of a Very long Standing and tis Possible Hoskinson might have Creditt for it the truth whereof We not being Satisfyed in Must Deferr making any Order therein, or Else we Shall never have done with Old Accounts.

The Petition of Edmund Nichols.

To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. &ca. Council.

The humble Petition of Edmd: Nichols plantr. Most humbly.

Sheweth.

That whereas your Petitionrs. Father John Nichols Senr. Upon the Measureing his

Margin Notes:

May ye 28th 1717.

Island St. Helena.

May 1717

Captain Haswell had been ordered to examine the store books to see whether the bullock had been paid for. He had done so, and no payment appeared. Beale therefore prayed that he might receive satisfaction for his bullock in store credit, having great occasion for it. The petition was signed by Richard Beale and dated 28 May 1717.

The store books showed that a bullock of 310 pounds weight had been killed for the Honourable Company, and Captain Haswell said no credit had been given in the store for it. Yet the matter being of very long standing, and it being possible that Hoskison might have had credit for it, the council was not satisfied of the truth and had to defer making any order, or else it would never have done with old accounts.

Edmund Nichols, planter, then petitioned the worshipful Isaac Pyke esquire, Governor, and the council. The petition concerned his father John Nichols senior and the measuring of his land.

Interpretations

The deferral set a limitation principle over the island's old debts. Beale had proved everything within his power, the beast killed for the Company at 310 pounds and no credit appearing, yet the bench refused relief because time had made the negative unprovable, Hoskison being dead and his accounts beyond settling. The maxim that the council would otherwise never have done with old accounts cut off antique claims for the sake of finality, and it fell on a claim the bench itself had kept old, the referral to Haswell standing since the consultation of 18 December 1716 for a loss suffered in Governor Boucher's time.

Beale's prayer for satisfaction in store credit rather than money shows where value lived on the island. With no coin circulating, credit in the Company's store was the practical currency, and an orphan with great occasion for it sought a ledger entry he could spend against goods, not a payment.

Speculations

The escape the bench chose, that Hoskison might possibly have had credit, conveniently spared every party with power. Gabriel Powell, as Hoskison's successor, faced no charge, the dead overseer's accounts faced no unravelling, and Captain Haswell's five months of inaction faced no censure, while the loss settled on the two orphans least able to press it. The old-accounts maxim perhaps expressed sound administration, but its first application closed a claim the council had already found proved.

338

346

May 1717.

Land at the head of Old Womans Valley by Captn. Bazett (who can Certifie the truth hereof) found but Fifteen Acres in Stead of twenty, your Petitionrs fathers Lawfull right, which being the land of his only De pendance & Maintenance of his large Familie Yor. Petitionrs. father doth therefore Pray he may have five Acres Measured to him and Added to his Said 15 Acres. But this five Acres when granted will be given to your Petitionr: by his father & therefore doth now humbly Pray to become Tennant to the Hon: Compa. for Ten Acres land that Lies between that and the ridge above his fathers Plantation next the high Peak.

Ordered That this Petition be referd to the Governr. & Capt. Bazett who will goe and view this Land Tomorrow if the weather Permitts.

The Governr. Reports that there is a very great Complt: made of the badness of the Path between Ruperts Valley and this Valley, it being very Dangerous and are fearfull of Blacks breaking their Necks when loaded with Wood.

Wherefore he has Ordered the Compas Blacks to goe and mend it, that being the way that all free Wood is brought for the Castle use and Messengars

May 1717

The land of John Nichols senior at the head of Old Woman's Valley had been measured by Captain Bazett, who could certify the truth of it, and was found to be but fifteen acres instead of the twenty that was his father's lawful right. The land being his father's only dependence and the maintenance of his large family, his father prayed that five acres be measured to him and added to his fifteen. Those five acres, once granted, would be given by the father to the petitioner, and Edmund Nichols therefore prayed to become tenant to the Honourable Company for ten acres lying between that ground and the ridge above his father's plantation, next the high Peak.

The council ordered the petition referred to the Governor and Captain Bazett, who would go and view the land the next day if the weather permitted.

The Governor reported a very great complaint of the badness of the path between Rupert's Valley and this valley. The way was very dangerous, and there were fears of blacks breaking their necks when loaded with wood. He had therefore ordered the Company's blacks to go and mend it, that being the way by which all firewood was brought for the castle's use.

Interpretations

The petition exposed the gap between paper right and measured ground. A lawful right of twenty acres from the original lots yielded only fifteen under Bazett's chain, and the remedy was to measure the shortfall out of adjoining waste. The family then built on the correction, the father's five acres passing to the son and the son adding a ten-acre tenancy beside it, a new household assembling a holding at the island's margin next the high Peak, where Company waste had been taken up since Richard Gurling's petition of 24 May 1715. The personal view by the Governor and Bazett before any grant followed the bench's standard course, the same inspection that preceded Captain Haswell's lease at the consultation of 24 April 1717.

The path order shows the Company's enlarged slave force turned at once to infrastructure. The way from Rupert's Valley carried the castle's whole firewood supply on the backs of loaded blacks, so its dangerous state threatened both the fuel and the carriers, slave lives reckoned here as Company property at risk. The Governor simply reported the repair as ordered, public works of this kind lying within his own direction now that the advertisement of 21 May 1717 had declared the Company fully supplied with labour.

Speculations

Edmund Nichols's petition sequenced three transactions so that each justified the next, the restored five acres proving the father's right, the gift founding the son's holding and the tenancy rounding it into a workable farm. Laying the whole design before the bench at once invited approval of the plan rather than the parts, and the referral to a view suggests the council welcomed it, a new white household planted on the waste serving the standing policy of matching every twenty acres with a man able to bear arms.

339

347

May 1717.

Come on all Alarms from Bankes Fortt.

The Governt: made the following Report.

That. John Robinson Proposes to Undertake any Fencing work, and is willing to do that about Red Hill towards the Garden, but desires Some Lower work in rainy weather, and will work at the Old Price as Vallued.

Gabriell Powell undertakes all that wch. Joyn's to him in any Part, but will not do it So Cheap, as he Vallued it at on our Arrivall here because He Sayes the Fences are more broke down now than then, and therefore desires an Allowance.

wherefore the Governr: thinks tis Proper to be viewed but to do nothing with him without a firm bar gain.

Frances Wrangham & James Rider. Proposes to do fencing worke any where, but desires in the rainy time to be Employed in the lower Grounds, and in fair weather they are willing to work in ye higher.

Edmond Bodley desires he may be Employed in any Fencing workes.

The Council are of Opinion that if Mr. Powell who was one of the Persons that

Margin Notes:

May. 24th 1717.

May 27th —

May 1717

The same path carried the messengers who came on all alarms from Banks Fort.

The Governor then made the following report of the fencing proposals received.

On 24 May 1717 John Robinson proposed to undertake any fencing work, and was willing to do that about Red Hill towards the garden, but asked for some lower work in rainy weather, and would take the old price as valued.

On 27 May Gabriel Powell undertook all the fencing that adjoined his own land in any part, but would not do it as cheap as he had valued it on the government's arrival, saying the fences were more broken down now than then, and he asked an allowance. The Governor thought it proper that the fences be viewed, but that nothing be concluded with Powell without a firm bargain.

Francis Wrangham and James Rider proposed to do fencing anywhere, but asked to be employed in the lower grounds in the rainy time, being willing in fair weather to take the higher.

Edmund Bodley asked that he might be employed in any fencing.

Interpretations

The proposals came in three to six days after the advertisement of 21 May 1717, the first-in-last-out privilege drawing undertakers at once. The weather clauses in nearly every offer, lower grounds in rain and the heights in fair weather, show fencing on the island scheduled around its climate, the upland lines passable for steady labour only in dry spells.

Powell's demand turned his own past judgement against the Company. He had been among those who valued the fencing at the present government's arrival, and now sought an allowance above his own figures on the plea of further decay. The Governor's insistence on a fresh view and a firm bargain before any agreement was contract discipline applied to the island's richest inhabitant, the bench refusing to let a valuer profit from the staleness of his own valuation.

Edmund Bodley's plea catches the scheme's other clientele. The census had entered him with no household at all, and his request for any fencing employment shows the advertisement drawing in poor whites seeking wages alongside the slave-owners placing their surplus blacks.

Speculations

Powell's offer to fence all that joined him in any part would set the Company's boundaries with his own 255 acres under his own hand at the Company's cost. Every rod he built secured his grazing and his lines as much as the Company's, which is probably what the Governor saw in it, the demand for a firm bargain guarding against a contractor whose first client was himself.

340

348

May. 1717.

vallued the Fences belonging to the Hon. Compa: wont do it at the Prices then agreed on, that then Some body Else do it that will work Cheaper, & at the Said Prices, which upon reviewing We think very Sufficient; And that the Governr. & Captn. Bazett do goe into the Country Tomorrow to View the Said Fences, and to agree with those Persons, aforesaid or any other that is willing to Undertake the Said work Cheapest.

Capt. Bazett the Storekeeper brought in and Deliverd his Monthly Accot. of Store Goods. Sold from the 25th. February 17 16/17 To the 25th of March following, which was Examined & Approvd of, and is as follows. (Vizt.)

An Accot. of Store Goods Sold and Deliverd to the Inhabitts Union Castle and Plantation House from Febry the 25th. 17 16/17 to March the 25th following.

Arrack 399. Gallns. at 6/3 p Gall. £121 17 6

Sugar. 657. at 8d. plb is. 21 18 -

Flour. 16lb. at 3½ plb. -1 8

Bread 200lb. at 3½d. 2 18 5¾

Rice. 97lb. at 3½d. 1 8 3½

Carried over £147 16 11¼

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

May 1717

The council was of opinion that if Mr Powell, who had been one of the persons that valued the fences belonging to the Honourable Company, would not do the work at the prices then agreed on, somebody else should do it who would take it cheaper at those prices, which on review the council thought very sufficient. The Governor and Captain Bazett were to go into the country the next day to view the fences and to agree with the persons named, or any other, willing to undertake the work cheapest.

Captain Bazett the storekeeper brought in and delivered his monthly account of store goods sold from 25 February 1717 to 25 March following, which was examined and approved, as follows.

An account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, Union Castle and Plantation House from 25 February 1717 to 25 March following

Arrack, 390 gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence per gallon: £121 17s 6d

Sugar, 657 pounds at 8 pence per pound: £21 18s 0d

Flour, 16 pounds at 3½: £0 4s 8d

Bread, 200½ pounds at 3½: £2 18s 5¾d

Rice, 97 pounds at 3½: £1 8s 3½d

Carried over: £147 16s 11¼d

Interpretations

The resolution pinned Powell to his own figures. The prices he now called too cheap were the ones he had helped set as a valuer, and the council, declaring them very sufficient on review, threw the work open to whoever would take it cheapest at those rates. The view fixed for the very next day, with authority to close bargains on the spot, shows the bench racing the fencing season rather than Powell's negotiation.

The month's sales lay overwhelmingly in spirits. Arrack at £121 17s 6d made up more than four fifths of the £147 16s 11¼d carried over, the staple provisions of sugar, flour, bread and rice trailing far behind, a picture of the store's trade in which drink for the garrison, the punch houses and the shipping dwarfed everything eaten.

Speculations

Entering the cheapest-bidder resolution immediately after Powell's demand reads as a message addressed to him. He could fence his own boundaries at the agreed prices or watch his neighbours, Robinson, Wrangham, Rider or the landless Bodley, build the Company's lines along his 255 acres instead, the bench converting his bargaining position into a race he could only win by conceding.

341

349

May 1717.

Brought Over. 147 16 11¼

Lime Juice 4⅛ Galls at 5/.

  1. 7½

Vinegar 9½ Gall at. 2/6. 1 3 9

Tea Vizt.

26lb. at 9 is. 11:14:-

25 Catties do. a 9: 11. 5 - 22 19 -

Soap 90lb. at 1/7 plb. 6 7 6

Twine. 9lb. at 2/4. 1 1 -

Glass Ware. 1 Cane do. 8 p 10. 0 1 2

Sagathea Serge 6 Yards at 3/1. -18 6

Carpetts 2 Yards at. 2/3. -4 6

Saile Needles 3 dozn: a 1/7. -4 9

House Brushes 1. -2 10

Corks. 7 Gr: at 3/. 1 1 -

Soldiers Cloaths. 1 Coate.

  1. 8

Shirts 18. at 3/- Ea. 2 14 -

Long Cloath 2 ps. at 24/9. 2 9 6

Sawnoes 1 ps. -15 2

Romalls 12. at 1/3. 15 -

Silk ½lb. -1 3

Thimbles. 2 ditto. -2

Combs. 1 Horne dto. - - 7 1 Box dto. - - 6 1 1

Carried over. £101 8 4¾

May 1717

Brought over: £147 16s 11¼d

Lime juice, 4⅛ gallons at 5 shillings: £1 0s 7½d

Vinegar, 9½ gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence: £1 3s 9d

Tea

26 pounds at 9 shillings: £11 14s 0d

25 catties of tea at 9 shillings: £11 5s 0d

Subtotal: £22 19s 0d

Soap, 90 pounds at 17 pence per pound: £6 7s 6d

Twine, 9 pounds at 2 shillings 4 pence: £1 1s 0d

Glassware, 1 [...]: £0 1s 2d

Sagathy serge, 6 yards at 3 shillings 1 penny: £0 18s 6d

Perpets, 2 yards at 2 shillings 3 pence: £0 4s 6d

Sail needles, 3 dozen at 1 shilling 7 pence: £0 4s 9d

House brushes, 1: £0 2s 10d

Corks, 7 gross at 3 shillings: £1 1s 0d

Soldiers' clothes, 1 coat: £1 0s 8d

Shirts, 18 at 3 shillings each: £2 14s 0d

Long cloth, 2 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence: £2 9s 6d

Sannoes, 1 piece: £0 15s 2d

Romals, 12 at 1 shilling 3 pence: £0 15s 0d

Silk, ½ ounce: £0 1s 3d

Thimbles, 2: £0 0s 2d

Combs, 1 horn: £0 0s 7d

1 box comb: £0 0s 6d

Subtotal: £0 1s 1d

Carried over: £190 18s 4¾d

Interpretations

The catty was the Chinese trade weight of about a pound and a third, sixteen taels to the catty, and the tea entered under both English pounds and catties shows two parcels in the store at once, one already reduced to English weight and one still in the measure it crossed the sea in. Sagathy was a light worsted serge, perpets the hard-wearing woollen called perpetuana, and romals were the handkerchief cloths of India sold by the dozen, the leaf carrying the store's usual graded range from soldiers' coats to silk by the half ounce.

The 18 shirts at 3 shillings each were the ready-made Bengal shirts landed that season, the invoices read at the consultation of 30 April 1717 listing 200 of cossaes by one ship and a bale of 200 more by the Grantham. Within a month of landing they were moving over the counter, imported clothing passing straight into the inhabitants' wear without an island needle touching it.

Speculations

The double entry of tea points to the China cargo selling before it had even been repacked. The Dartmouth had arrived from China on 4 May 1717, and tea still reckoned in catties beside the older stock in pounds suggests her chests opened for retail as they stood, the unit of weight betraying which consignment each sale came from.

342

350

May 1717.

Brought Over. £191 8 4¾

Threads. 13 Ounces at 11d. -16 6

7 ounces do 13. -7 7 1 4 1

Chints 2 ps. St Georges at 22 Each. 2 4 -

Island Shoes 10 pr at 4/-. 2 - -

Tin Ware 1 Funnell. -10

Caper. 13 qur at -16d. 17 4

Stockins. 2 pr Boys do at 2/9. 5 6

Iron Mongers Ware viz.

2 pr H: Hinges at 20d. -3 4

4 pr Dovetailes. at 5½. -1 8

2 Till Locks No 4 at 2/-. -4 -

1 Iron Candlestick. -9

-9 9

Nailes Vizt.

9½lb of. 3 do at 9 plb. -7 1½

  1. 10 do. at 8½. 1 13¾
  2. 20 do. 8. 1 7 4
  3. 24 do. 7½. 1 7 6
  4. 30 do 7. -17 6

4lb Spikes. 6½. 1 13¾

4lb Tacks at 20s. -7 6

  1. 4d Brads 14. -4 8

5½lb Flooring Brads 14. -6 5

  1. Trunk Nayles. 14. -2 4
  2. Scupper at 10½. -10 6
  3. 2d Breds. -6½

9 7 9¼

Lines. 6 do No 8 at 11. -5 6

1 do. 12. -2 3

2 do. 13. 31. -5 2

12 11

208 10 7

New Goods. Vizt.

Threads. Vizt.

3lb Collod Dto at 5/-. 0:15:0

2 fine Brownd. 5/-. 0:10:0 1 5 -

Mohair 11¾lb at 20. 1 19 7

Carried Over. £2 4 7 208 10 7

May 1717

Brought over: £191 8s 4¾d

Threads, 18 ounces at 11 pence: £0 16s 6d

7 ounces of thread at 13 pence: £0 7s 7d

Subtotal: £1 4s 1d

Chintz, 2 pieces St George's at 22 shillings each: £2 4s 0d

Island shoes, 10 pairs at 4 shillings: £2 0s 0d

Tinware, 1 funnel: £0 0s 10d

Paper, 13 quires at 16 pence: £0 17s 4d

Stockings, 2 pairs of boys' at 2 shillings 9 pence: £0 5s 6d

Ironmonger's ware

2 pairs of H hinges at 20 pence: £0 3s 4d

4 pairs of dovetails at 5 pence: £0 1s 8d

2 till locks number 4 at 2 shillings: £0 4s 0d

1 iron candlestick: £0 0s 9d

Subtotal: £0 9s 9d

Nails

9½ of 3d nails at 9 pence per pound: £0 7s 1½d

47 of 10 nails at 8½: £1 13s 3½d

41 of 20 nails at 8: £1 7s 4d

60 of 24 nails at 7½: £1 17s 6d

30 of 30 nails at 7: £0 17s 6d

Spikes, 4½ at 6¾: £1 13s ¾d

Tacks, 4½ at 20 pence: £0 7s 6d

4d brads, 4 at 14: £0 4s 8d

Flooring brads, 5½ at 14: £0 6s 5d

Trunk nails, 2 at 14: £0 2s 4d

Scupper nails, 12 at 10½: £0 10s 6d

2d brads: £0 0s 6¾d

Subtotal: £9 7s 9¼d

Lines, 6 number 8 at 11 pence: £0 5s 6d

1 number 12 line: £0 2s 3d

2 number 13 lines at 31 pence: £0 5s 2d

Subtotal: £0 12s 11d

Total of old goods: £208 10s 7d

New goods

Threads

3 pounds coloured at 5 shillings: £0 15s 0d

2 pounds fine brown at 5 shillings: £0 10s 0d

Subtotal: £1 5s 0d

Mohair, 11¾ ounces at 20 pence: £0 19s 7d

Subtotal of new goods: £2 4s 7d

Carried over: £2 4s 7d and £208 10s 7d

Interpretations

The ten pairs of island shoes mark local manufacture passing through the Company's counter. Leather had been tanned on the island since the agreement made with John Orchard on 25 July 1709, and shoes made up here now retailed at 4 shillings the pair beside the imported men's and women's shoes at half as much again, the store serving as the outlet for island trades as well as for the cargoes.

St George's chintz was a named sort of the painted Indian cotton, at 22 shillings the piece nearly twice the price of the patney chintz in the castle's account of 30 April 1717, the pattern names grading the cloth for buyers. Among the ironmongery the scupper nails, broad-headed for fixing lead and canvas about a ship's scuppers, and the till locks for chests and drawers extend the store's range from ship repair to household security.

Speculations

Goods labelled island shoes imply a settled exchange between local craftsmen and the warehouse. In an economy without coin, a shoemaker's readiest market was the store itself, his shoes taken in against credit and resold to the garrison and inhabitants, the Company standing as middleman in trades it did not itself practise.

343

350

May

Brought over. £208 10 7

New Goods Brt. over. £2 4 7 1 7

Needles 100.

Ribbon 6 yds @ 18 do. -9 -

1 do. -1 2 -10 2

Buttons 15 do Coat No A & B. -15 -

7 do Brest do. -3 6 -18 6

Edging Lace 12 yds @ 2/4. 1 8 - 1 8 -

Hooks & Lines Vizt.

  1. doz Old Wives hooks @ 4d. -2 4 -2 4

Hatts 2 No 5. @ 20/ ea. 2 - -

Stationary Ware (Vizt.)

  1. Copy books @ 9d ea. -5 3

4 Spelling books. 20. -6 8

2 Bibls. 8/3. -16 6 1 8 5

Ironmongers Ware (Vizt.)

2 Splinter Locks No 7 @ 4/ ea. -8 -

1 do. -1 8

2 felling Axes @ 3/4d. -6 8

2 Iron potts q 186lb. do -6 yd. 4 13 - 5 9 4

Brass Ware (Vizt.)

1 Sauce pan. -11 6

2 Candlesticks. -5 6

1 pr Snuffers & Stands. -3 6

1 Tea Kettle. -11 3

1 dto. -15 - 2 6 9

Tin Ware. (Vizt.)

  1. pint Sauce pans. -1 6
  2. quart do. -1 2
  3. 2 qt do. -2 3
  4. porringers. -7 -5 6

Pewterers Ware (Vizt.)

1 Bason. -5 -

12 Spoons. -4 6 -9 6

Knifes 12 Butchers. -6 -

17 10 8 208 10 7

May 1717

Brought over: £208 10s 7d

New goods brought over: £2 4s 7d

Needles, 100: £0 1s 7d

Ribbon, 6 yards at 18 pence: £0 9s 0d

1 yard of ribbon: £0 1s 2d

Subtotal: £0 10s 2d

Buttons, 15 dozen coat, numbers A and B: £0 15s 0d

7 dozen breast buttons: £0 3s 6d

Subtotal: £0 18s 6d

Edging lace, 12 yards at 2 shillings 4 pence: £1 8s 0d

Hooks and lines

Old wives' hooks, 7 dozen at 4 pence: £0 2s 4d

Hats, 2 number 5 at 20 shillings each: £2 0s 0d

Stationery ware

7 copy books at 9 pence each: £0 5s 3d

4 spelling books at 20 pence: £0 6s 8d

2 Bibles at 8 shillings 3 pence: £0 16s 6d

Subtotal: £1 8s 5d

Ironmonger's ware

2 splinter locks number 7 at 4 shillings each: £0 8s 0d

1 splinter lock: £0 1s 8d

2 felling axes at 3 shillings 4 pence: £0 6s 8d

2 iron pots weighing 186 pounds at 6 pence per pound: £4 13s 0d

Subtotal: £5 9s 4d

Brassware

1 sauce pan: £0 11s 6d

2 candlesticks: £0 5s 6d

1 pair of snuffers and stands: £0 3s 6d

1 tea kettle: £0 11s 3d

1 tea kettle: £0 15s 0d

Subtotal: £2 6s 9d

Tinware

2 pint sauce pans: £0 1s 6d

1 quart sauce pan: £0 1s 2d

1 two-quart sauce pan: £0 2s 3d

1 porringer: £0 0s 7d

Subtotal: £0 5s 6d

Pewterer's ware

1 basin: £0 5s 0d

12 spoons: £0 4s 6d

Subtotal: £0 9s 6d

Knives, 12 butcher's: £0 6s 0d

Total of new goods: £17 10s 8d

Total of old goods: £208 10s 7d

Interpretations

Old wives' hooks took their name from the old wife, one of the common shore fish of St Helena, the tackle sized to the island's own catch. Their sale by the dozen shows how much of the settlement's food came off the rocks and out of the bay, the same dependence that made the loss of the Company's yawl, reported at the consultation of 7 May 1717, a matter for urgent replacement.

The two Bibles at 8 shillings 3 pence each, sold beside spelling books and copy books, mark the store as the island's only bookseller. Scripture and schooling alike were provisioned through the Company's counter, a Bible costing a planter as much as two pairs of island-made shoes, and the spread of cheap copy books points to reading and writing taught well beyond the garrison's clerks.

Speculations

Two brass tea kettles selling in the same month that tea moved by the catty from the China cargo suggests the store stocking to its own trade. The Dartmouth's chests, landed on 4 May 1717, created the demand for the wares to brew their contents, and the storekeeper's counter supplied both sides of the new habit at once.

344

351

Brought over. £208 10 7

New Goods brought over. £17 10 8

Fustians, 1 pce. 2 6 8

Thicksetts. No 4. 1 pce. 2 12 - 4 18 8

Hollands Duck 1. Bolt. 4 19 -

Shoes 3. ps Mens. @ 6/2d. -18 6

6 ps Womens Spand. do. 1 10 10 2 9 4

Stockings 4 ps blew (Course) 2/2. -8 8

  1. ps Mens Thread. -6 -
  2. ps Womens thread. -9 6 1 4 2

Scarlett Broad Cloth 3¼ yd @ 15/ pyd. 2 8 9

Ticklinberg 60 yds. @ 18d pyd. 4 10 -

Tobacco. 124. @ pps 12 8 -

Pipes. 46⅔ doz. -: 6 pdo 1 3 4 13 11 4

51 11 11

£260 2 6

Goods do for the Use of Union Castle from Febry ye 25th 1716/7 to March 25. 1717 (Vizt)

Arrack 64½ Gallons. @ 6/3. 20 -9½

Sugar 158lb. : 8. 5 5 4

Bread. 77. :3½. 1 2 5½

Flour. 490: :3½. 7 2 11

Rice 480: :3½. 7 - -

Oyles, 4½ Galls Sweet @ 12/. 2 14 -

1 qt Linseed. -8 - 3 2 -

Lime Juice 18¾ Galls @ 5/. 4 3 9

Vinegar 1½ Gallon. 2/6. 3 9

Tea 12lb. -9/ - 5 8 -

2 Cattees. -18 - 6 6 -

Pepper 3lb. -3 -

Glass Ware 3 Ale Glasses @ 2/6. -7 6

Brass Ware 2 Scumers. 6/9. -13 6

Wooden Ware 6 Flag brooms @ 6d ea. -3 -

Corks 20, doz. @ 3d do. -5 -

Carried over £ 55 19 -

May 1717

Brought over: £208 10s 7d

New goods brought over: £17 10s 8d

Fustians, 1 piece: £2 6s 8d

Thicksets, number 4, 1 piece: £2 12s 0d

Subtotal: £4 18s 8d

Holland duck, 1 bolt: £4 19s 0d

Shoes, 3 pairs of men's at 6 shillings 2 pence: £0 18s 6d

5 pairs of women's shoes at 6 shillings 2 pence: £1 10s 10d

Subtotal: £2 9s 4d

Stockings, 4 pairs blue coarse at 2 shillings 2 pence: £0 8s 8d

1 pair of men's thread: £0 6s 0d

2 pairs of women's thread: £0 9s 6d

Subtotal: £1 4s 2d

Scarlet broadcloth, 3¼ yards at 15 shillings per yard: £2 8s 9d

Ticklenburg, 60 yards at 18 pence per yard: £4 10s 0d

Tobacco, 124 pounds at 2 shillings per pound: £12 8s 0d

Pipes, 46⅔ dozen at 6 pence per dozen: £1 3s 4d

Subtotal: £13 11s 4d

Total of new goods: £51 11s 11d

Total to the inhabitants: £260 2s 6d

Goods sold for the use of the Union Castle from 25 February 1717 to 25 March 1717

Arrack, 64⅛ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence: £20 0s 9½d

Sugar, 158 pounds at 8: £5 5s 4d

Bread, 77 at 3½: £1 2s 5½d

Flour, 490 at 3½: £7 2s 11d

Rice, 480 at 3½: £7 0s 0d

Oils, 4½ gallons sweet at 12 shillings: £2 14s 0d

Linseed oil, 1 gallon: £0 8s 0d

Subtotal: £3 2s 0d

Lime juice, 16¾ gallons at 5 shillings: £4 3s 9d

Vinegar, 1½ gallons at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 3s 9d

Tea, 12 pounds at 9 shillings: £5 8s 0d

2 catties of tea: £0 18s 0d

Subtotal: £6 6s 0d

Pepper, 3 pounds: £0 3s 0d

Glassware, 3 ale glasses at 2 shillings 6 pence: £0 7s 6d

Brassware, 2 skimmers at 6 shillings 9 pence: £0 13s 6d

Wooden ware, 6 flag brooms at 6 pence each: £0 3s 0d

Corks, 20 dozen at 3 pence per dozen: £0 5s 0d

Carried over: £55 19s 0d

Interpretations

Ticklenburg was a coarse strong linen from the Westphalian town of that name, shipped through the Baltic and North Sea trade and sold here by the long measure of 60 yards at 18 pence, the cheap yardage of the leaf against the scarlet broadcloth at ten times the price. The pairing of 124 pounds of tobacco with 46⅔ dozen clay pipes, nearly 560 of them at sixpence the dozen, provisioned the island's smoking in bulk, the brittle pipes bought by the handful against constant breakage.

The month closed the inhabitants' account at £260 2s 6d while the castle's separate bill ran to £55 19s 0d, the garrison drawing 64⅛ gallons of arrack in a month, better than two gallons a day, beside its bread, flour and rice. The storekeeper's division of the books by debtor held even as the goods flowed from the same shelves.

Speculations

The castle's gallon of linseed oil, set among ale glasses, skimmers and brooms rather than victuals, points to the season's repairs. Linseed was the medium of paint and putty, and its purchase while the Company's blacks mended the Rupert's Valley path under the order reported at the consultation of 28 May 1717, with the wharf still ruined from the surf of 7 March 1717, suggests maintenance stores moving to the castle alongside its provisions.

345

352

May

Brought over. £55 19 -

Ironmongers Ware (Vizt.)

1 Hamer No 6. 1 6

1 pr Side Hinges No 9. 2 7

1 plate Bolt. 1. 7 -4 8

Nailes. 29lb of 10 do @ 8½. 1 0 6½

17 - 20. - 8. -11 4

16½ 24. - 7½. -10 3¾

4 - 30. - 7. -1 2 2 5 8¼

Carpets 27½ yds. @ 2/3. 3 1 10½

Sacking 3 peices @ 28/2 ppce. 4 4 6

House Linnen 2½ yd @ 2/3. -5 7½

Blew Gurkas 4 pcs. @ 6/-. 1 4 -

Long Cloth. 4 do. 24/9. 4 19 -

Lead 9lb Red. -6 ppce. -4 6

Blanketts 12 ps. -15:6 do. 9 6 -

Dungrees. 1 pce. -5 8

Twine 1¼lb. -2/4. -2 7½

Beef & Pork. 1 Cask Pork q. 80 ps wt. 32 lb @ 8s pce. 10 13 4

1 do Beef -106 - 530 - 5½ - 12 2 11 22 16 3

£104 19 4¾

New Goods. (Vizt)

Tin Ware 1 half pint Coffee pot. 1 9

1 Larg dripping pan. 9 4 12 9

Fustians 4 pces No 7 a 26/8 p pce. 5 6 8

Ticklenbergs 6 yd @ 18d pyd. 9 -

Lubeck Canvis 1 pce. 1 15 -

Ironmongers Ware 1 Stock Lock No 5. -10 - 8 13 5

£113 12 9¾

To Plantation house (Vizt.)

Arrack 3½ Galls. @ 6/3. 1 1 10½

Sugar. 14lb. :8. -9 4

Ironmongers Ware. 6 Shovels dry. 12 -

1 Spade. -6 9

3 dto. @ 5/10. -17 6

1 Seiths & furniture. -8 8 2 4 11

Lines, 1 No 14. -3 8

New Goods 20. Butchers Knives @ 6d. -10 - 4 9 9½

May 1717

Brought over: £55 19s 0d

Ironmonger's ware

1 hammer number 6: £0 1s 6d

1 pair of side hinges number 9: £0 2s 7d

1 plate bolt: £0 0s 7d

Subtotal: £0 4s 8d

Nails

29 pounds of 10d nails at 8½: £1 0s 6½d

17 of 20 nails at 8: £0 11s 4d

16½ of 24 nails at 7½: £0 10s 3¾d

6 of 30 nails at 7: £0 3s 6d

Subtotal: £2 5s 8¼d

Perpets, 27½ yards at 2 shillings 3 pence: £3 1s 10½d

Sacking, 3 pieces at 28 shillings 2 pence per piece: £4 4s 6d

House linen, 2½ yards at 2 shillings 3 pence: £0 5s 7½d

Blue gurrahs, 4 pieces at 6 shillings: £1 4s 0d

Long cloth, 4 pieces at 24 shillings 9 pence: £4 19s 0d

Red lead, 9 pounds at 6 pence: £0 4s 6d

Blankets, 12 pairs at 15 shillings 6 pence: £9 6s 0d

Dungarees, 1 piece: £0 5s 8d

Twine, 1⅛ pounds at 2 shillings 4 pence: £0 2s 7½d

Beef and pork

1 cask of pork containing 80 pieces weighing 320 pounds at 8 pence per pound: £10 13s 4d

1 cask of beef, 106 pieces weighing 530 pounds, at 5½: £12 2s 11d

Subtotal: £22 16s 3d

Total of old goods: £104 19s 4¾d

New goods

Tinware, 1 half-pint coffee pot: £0 1s 9d

1 large dripping pan: £0 9s 4d

Subtotal: £0 12s 9d

Fustians, 4 pieces number 7 at 26 shillings 8 pence per piece: £5 6s 8d

Ticklenburg, 6 yards at 18 pence per yard: £0 9s 0d

Lubeck canvas, 1 piece: £1 15s 0d

Ironmonger's ware, 1 stock lock number 5: £0 10s 0d

Subtotal of new goods: £8 13s 5d

Total to the Union Castle: £113 12s 9¾d

To the Plantation House

Arrack, 3½ gallons at 6 shillings 3 pence: £1 1s 10½d

Sugar, 14 pounds at 8: £0 9s 4d

Ironmonger's ware, 6 shovels at 2 shillings: £0 12s 0d

1 spade: £0 6s 9d

3 spades at 5 shillings 10 pence: £0 17s 6d

1 scythe and its furniture: £0 8s 8d

Subtotal: £2 4s 11d

Lines, 1 number 14: £0 3s 8d

New goods, 20 butcher's knives at 6 pence: £0 10s 0d

Total to the Plantation House: £4 9s 9½d

Interpretations

Gurrahs were a coarse plain calico of Bengal, and dyed blue they were the standard cheap clothing cloth for slaves and servants, sold here by the piece beside the single piece of dungarees and the dozen pairs of blankets. The castle's drawing of bedding and rough cloth in bulk shows the garrison's slaves and soldiers clothed and bedded from the same shelves that dressed the inhabitants.

The red lead at 6 pence the pound confirms the maintenance season suggested by the castle's gallon of linseed oil. Red lead ground in linseed made the standard primer for ironwork and timber, so guns, gates and woodwork at the castle were being painted against the weather in the very months the surf of 7 March 1717 was battering the wharf below.

The Plantation House account is a toolkit rather than a larder, six shovels, four spades, a scythe with its fittings and twenty butcher's knives against a mere 3½ gallons of arrack. The issue follows within weeks of the ten slaves landed in February 1717, whom Bazett's opinion of 12 February 1717 had called not a tenth of what the plantations wanted, each addition to the labour force matched at once by the iron to set it digging.

Speculations

Twenty butcher's knives in a single issue to the Plantation House outruns any kitchen's need and points to the field. Knives by the score equipped the slaves for cutting and trimming yams, the staple they planted and lifted by the hundred thousand, the storekeeper's new stock turned straight to the crop on which the plantations' enlarged gangs would feed.

346

353

1717

The Gunnd. brought in his two Monthly Accounts as foll: (Vizt)

An Acct. of Gunrs. Stores expended from ye 1st of March to ye Last fold. 1717.

March 5. An Alarm. 4 4

do Arrived ye Mercury Ketch Hen: Mackett Comd. fired at Muldoens to make her bring too 2. 14 2

  1. Departed for Engld ye British Mcht Capt Ks Gibbert Comdr. 5 5 -

14 delivd Capt Wm Mackett Comd of ye Drake 3 Gunpowdr. 300 -

do An Alarm at ye Foot for ship Seen to Leew. of ye Isld 2. 6.

15 An Alarm. 4 4 4.

do Arrived a Dean Ship from ye Cape. 9 9.

17 By ye Worsh: ye Govrs. Order. 9 9.

19 By ye Worsh ye Govrs. Order. 7 7.

25 An Alarm. 4 4.

26 Arrd. ye Hamilton Capt Burnham Comd ab India. 7 7.

To Mr Cason to Exercise ye Soldiers. Ball. 5 -

To ye Guards expence of Ball & powder. 4. 6.

At Bankes & Mundens fm on Alarm. 4. 6.

Flints for ye Guards. 24

Muskett Rods expended. ps 18

Cartridge paper. qr. 3

Match. lb 35

35 3 18 24 8 2 2 49 386 2

(Signd) Jno French.

An Account of Gunners Stores Expended from ye 1st. day of April 1717 to ye last do Inclusive (Vizt)

April 17 An Alarm. Min. 4 4lb.

do Arrived ye Stringer Gally Cap Clarke a China. 9 9

18 An Alarm for a ship fired at to bring her too & she laid 3 9 24

do By ye Worsh ye Govrs Ord. wn he came ashore & ye King 3 15 24

21 An Alarm. 4 4

22 Arrd: ye King George from India. 2 19 25

do for Govr. Harrison's coming ashore. 3 18 27

Carried Over. 8 73 97.

Margin Notes:

Gunds Expence for

And.

May 1717

The gunner brought in his two monthly accounts as follows. The figure columns record the great guns fired, the pounds of powder spent and the round shot used, with the small stores entered by name.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 March 1717 to the last day of the month

5 March, an alarm: 4 guns, 4 pounds of powder

5 March, the Mercury ketch arrived, Henry Mackett commander; guns were fired to make her bring to: 2 guns, 14 pounds of powder, 2 shot

11 March, the British Merchant, Gilbert commander, departed for England: 5 guns, 5 pounds of powder

14 March, delivered to Captain William Mackett, commander of the Drake: 300 pounds of gunpowder

14 March, an alarm at the Fort for a ship seen to leeward of the island: 2 guns, 6 pounds of powder

15 March, an alarm: 4 guns, 4 pounds of powder

15 March, a Danish ship arrived from the Cape: 9 guns, 9 pounds of powder

17 March, by the worshipful the Governor's order: 9 guns, 9 pounds of powder

19 March, by the Governor's order: 7 guns, 7 pounds of powder

25 March, an alarm: 4 guns, 4 pounds of powder

26 March, the Hamilton arrived, Captain Burnham commander, from India: 7 guns, 7 pounds of powder

To Mr Cason, to exercise the soldiers: 5 pounds of powder, with ball

To the guards, expense of ball and powder: 4 of ball, 6 pounds of powder

At Banks's and Munden's on alarm: 4 guns, 6 pounds of powder

Flints for the guards: 24

Musket rods expended: 18

Cartridge paper: 3 quires

Match: 35 pounds

Totals: 35 pounds of match, 3 quires of cartridge paper, 18 musket rods, 24 flints, 8 [...], 2 [...], 2 [...], 49 guns fired, 386 pounds of powder and 2 shot

The account was signed by John French.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 April 1717 to the last day of the month inclusive

17 April, an alarm: 4 guns, 4 pounds of powder

17 April, the Stringer Galley arrived, Captain Clarke, from China: 9 guns, 4 pounds of powder, 3 shot

17 April, an alarm for a ship that appeared to be [...]: [...]

18 April, by the worshipful the Governor's order when he came ashore [...]: 3 guns, 15 pounds of powder, 24 shot

21 April, an alarm: 4 guns, 4 pounds of powder

22 April, the King George arrived from India: 2 guns, 19 pounds of powder, 25 shot

22 April, for Governor Harrison's coming ashore: 3 guns, 18 pounds of powder, 27 shot

Carried over: 8 guns, 73 pounds of powder, 97 shot

Interpretations

The gunner's ledger is the island's maritime diary written in powder. Every sail raised an alarm until known, the warning shots that brought the Mercury ketch to on 5 March show strange ships compelled to identify themselves before the road, and the salutes metre each arrival and departure, the British Merchant's five guns on 11 March answering the notice of sailing she gave at the consultation of 7 March 1717, and the Stringer Galley's honours on 17 April matching the surprise her letter caused at the consultation of that same day.

The 300 pounds of gunpowder delivered to Captain William Mackett ties the Drake into the season's quarrels. Mackett's slave sales for store credit were Bazett's chief instance of how bills came to be drawn, cited at the consultation of 24 April 1717, and the Drake's fee on those sales was the cause of the secretary Tovey's suspension on 9 April 1717, so the gunner's one-line entry records a major munitions issue to the most contentious ship of the year.

Governor Harrison's coming ashore on 22 April drew the largest single expenditure in either account, the honours of a governor fired two days before he passed the directors' displeasure over bills to the bench at the consultation of 24 April 1717. Salutes were rank made audible, and the gunner's figures show the island spending its powder most freely on the man who carried London's opinion.

Speculations

The April account stands empty from the 1st to the 17th, a fortnight without a gun fired, and then clusters its alarms around the Stringer Galley's strange arrival and the sails that followed her. The pattern suggests a watch wound tight by her captain's letter, with its talk of the island in confusion, every unidentified ship for the rest of the month answered at once from the batteries.

347

354

May —

Brought over. 8 73 97

April. 25 Departed ye Stringer Galley for Engld. 14 14

28 A Double Alarm. 6 6

do Arrived ye Grantham a India & Mercury a Madagascar. 9 9

do An Alarm. 4 4

29 Arrived the Borneo, ab India. 7 7

do Departed ye King George for Engld. 2 3 20 43 16

Powder for ye Guards.

Mouskett Balls at Bankes & Mundens pt on Alarms. 3

Do for ye Guard. 6

Flints for ye Guard. 36

Cartridg papr expended 3.

Axeltrees do to R Swallow. 2

Match expended. 63

63 2 3 36 9 2 11 133 199.

(Signd) John French.

May 1717

Brought over: 8 minion rounds, 73 falcon rounds, 97 pounds of powder

25 April, the Stringer Galley departed for England: 14 falcon rounds, 14 pounds of powder

28 April, a double alarm: 6 falcon rounds, 6 pounds of powder

28 April, the Grantham arrived from India and the Mercury from Madagascar: 9 falcon rounds, 9 pounds of powder

28 April, an alarm: 4 falcon rounds, 4 pounds of powder

29 April, the Borneo arrived from India: 7 falcon rounds, 7 pounds of powder

29 April, the King George departed for England: 2 shot, 3 minion rounds, 20 falcon rounds, 43 pounds of powder

Powder for the guards: 16 pounds

Musket balls at Banks's and Munden's on alarms: 3 pounds

Musket balls for the guard: 6 pounds

Flints for the guard: 36

Cartridge paper expended: 3 quires

Axletrees, expended, to Richard Swallow: 2

Match expended: 63 pounds

Totals: 63 pounds of match, 2 axletrees, 3 quires of cartridge paper, 36 flints, 9 pounds of musket balls, 2 shot, 11 minion rounds, 133 falcon rounds and 199 pounds of powder

The account was signed by John French.

Interpretations

Falcons and minions were the light cannon of the island's batteries, the falcon throwing a ball of about 2½ pounds and the minion of about 4, and the near one-to-one pairing of falcon rounds with pounds of powder shows the standing charge of roughly a pound a round. The month burnt 133 falcon and 11 minion rounds on 199 pounds of powder, almost all of it ceremony and caution rather than defence.

The account confirms the consultation record gun for gun. The double alarm of 28 April was the Grantham and the Mercury standing in together, the arrivals reported at the consultation of 30 April 1717 with the thirty Madagascar blacks aboard the Mercury, and the Borneo followed on the 29th as minuted. The King George's departing honours were the largest of the month, 3 minion and 20 falcon rounds on 43 pounds of powder, the send-off of the ship carrying the Governor's letter home with its assurance that the accounts were forwarding early and late.

The two axletrees issued to Richard Swallow show gun-carriage maintenance contracted to a civilian tradesman, Swallow with his apprentices serving as the island's carriage hand, as gun trucks and axletrees had been issued to John Aldrick from the same stores in July 1715. The batteries that fired the month's salutes rolled on woodwork kept up outside the garrison.

Speculations

A double alarm for what proved two friendly Indiamen shows the system blind until colours were known, every strange pair of sails doubling the expense of powder at the forts. In the rumour season that followed the Stringer Galley's letter, the island was paying in saltpetre for its nerves, the batteries answering each sail at once rather than risk the confusion the Cape already believed it to be in.

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1717

At a Consultation held on Wednesday ye 5th day of June 1717 At Union Castle in James Valley.

Present. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. Geo. Haswell Deptt. & Matthw. Bazett 3d. in Council

The Last Consultation Read & approved of

Mr. Tovey Presented his Petition as foll (Vizt)

To ye Worsh Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. &c. Council.

The Petition of Antipas Tovey.

Humbly Sheweth.

That yor Petitr. having been now near three Months Suspended from his employ ment as Secretary & Setting in Council at this place, ye Allegations against him being for refusing to Sign Such Necessary Papers as were agreed on by yor Worsh & Council & demanding two p Cent of Capt. Mackett Out of Moneys Arrising by ye Sale of his Slaves

Your Petitr. is now very Sencable of his Fault & heartily Sorry yt he Shoud in yt or any other Case disoblige Your Worsh & Council. Prays yt he may be restored to ye favour of yor. Worsh & ye rest of ye Council yt he may enjoy his place of Secd as formerly & promisseth yt if he be admitted agn to Sett in Council he will behave himself with all decency & respect to yo Worsh & ye

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

Island St. Helena.

A consultation was held on Wednesday 5 June 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, the deputy governor George Haswell and Matthew Bazett, third in council. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

Antipas Tovey presented a petition addressed to the Governor and council. He set out that he had now been suspended for nearly three months from his employment as secretary and from sitting in council. The allegations against him were his refusal to sign necessary papers agreed on by the Governor and council and his demand of 2 per cent from Captain Mackett out of the money raised by the sale of his slaves.

Tovey declared himself now fully aware of his fault and heartily sorry that he should have displeased the Governor and council in that or any other matter. He asked to be restored to their favour so that he might hold his place as secretary as before. He promised that if he were admitted again to sit in council he would behave with all decency and respect to the Governor.

Interpretations

The petition confirmed both grounds of the suspension imposed at the consultation of 16 March 1717. At that consultation Tovey demanded 2 per cent of Captain William Mackett's proceeds from selling slaves out of the Drake and refused to sign the captain's bill until the fee was paid. The Governor treated the demand as extortion, holding that no such fee existed and that the captain had already paid his custom by delivering slaves for the Company. The stated interval of nearly three months ran accurately from that date to 5 June 1717.

The submission reversed the defence Tovey offered in his letter of 7 April 1717, read in council on 9 April 1717. That letter justified the fee by the custom of the Company's Indian factories and by perquisites worth under £10 0s 0d a year. The present petition abandoned those arguments and conceded the fault outright.

The suspension reduced the bench to three members and shifted the secretary's routine business elsewhere. The public advertisements of 7 May 1717 and 21 May 1717 went out under the clerk John Alexander's hand, so restoration would return the office books and the drafting to the fourth councillor.

Speculations

Tovey's apology reached beyond the two charges to cover any other cause of offence. The breadth suggested a deliberate calculation that only total submission could succeed after the Governor rebutted his reasoned defence point by point on 9 April 1717. The petition left the Governor nothing to refuse except the man himself.

The petition recited the charges in full before the apology, placing Tovey's own acknowledgement of both grounds on the council book. Appointments and suspensions at the island stood subject to the directors' confirmation, so a confession under the offender's own hand protected the bench's handling of the case whichever way London decided.

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356

June.

other Gentn his Bretheren in Council

And as he has made ye due acknowledgmt herein of his Error He hopes he shall not any Longer remain under yor displeasure which has been a great trouble to him as often as he has reflected thereon

& As in duty bound shall pray. &c.

(Signd) Antipas Tovey.

The said Mr Tovey having fully acknow ledged his Error. Orderd.

That He be admitted into his Place as Secdry & to Sett in Council as formrly We hoping ys Small punishment will make himself behave himself better for ye future

The Govr. & Capt Bazett reports yt accord ing to ye Order made Last Consultation day, they went into ye Country to View the Hon Compas Fences & Mett wth Several Planters with whom they made ye follg. Agreements. (Vizt)

With Francis Wrangham & Jams Rider to rebuild ye Old Wall from ye Pigeon house thro ye Vally to ye Upper part of a place called ye Lower Ground wch will contain about Eighty Rod more or Less at five Shillings p Rod. & Also to make a New Wall from the Lower corner of the Same Lower ground

Margin Notes:

5o June 1717

Tovey extended the same promise of decency and respect to the other gentlemen who were his brethren in council. He added that he had now made due acknowledgement of his error and hoped he would no longer remain under the Governor's displeasure, which had been a great trouble to him whenever he reflected on it. The petition closed in the customary form and was signed by Antipas Tovey.

Because Tovey had fully acknowledged his error, the council ordered that he be admitted to his place as secretary and to sit in council as before. The bench hoped the small punishment would make him behave better in future.

The Governor and Captain Bazett reported on the fence inspection ordered at the last consultation. They went into the country to view the Company's fences and met several planters, with whom they made the following agreements.

The first agreement was with Francis Wrangham and James Rider. They undertook to rebuild the old wall from the pigeon house through the valley to the upper part of a place called the Lower Ground, a stretch of about 80 rods at 5s 0d per rod. They also agreed to build a new wall from the lower corner of the same Lower Ground.

Interpretations

The restoration order closed the discipline begun on 16 March 1717 within the bench's own authority, framing three months' loss of office and standing as a small punishment. The written petition supplied the formal submission on which readmission rested, and the whole exchange of charge, confession and pardon now stood on the council book for the directors' review.

The fencing agreements carried out the resolution of 28 May 1717. The council had then declined Gabriel Powell's proposal of 27 May 1717 to take the work adjoining his own land above the prices he had himself helped value, resolving instead that whoever would do it cheapest at those prices should have the work, and it sent the Governor and Bazett to view the fences and conclude firm bargains. The fixed rate agreed with Wrangham and Rider showed the bench holding its valuation rather than conceding an allowance.

Letting the walls by the rod, a measure of 5½ yards that makes the stretch roughly 440 yards, paid for measured output rather than for time. The arrangement followed the advertisement of 21 May 1717, which ended the hire of the inhabitants' slaves from 25 June 1717 and offered the fencing by the rod at the full former prices. The change rested on the Company's new labour supply, 30 slaves arriving by the Mercury on 28 April 1717 and 14 more chosen from the Hamilton Galley under the order of 26 March 1717.

Speculations

Assigning Wrangham and Rider first to walls running through the valley and at the Lower Ground matched their offer of 28 May 1717 to take fencing anywhere and lower grounds in rain. Pairing these contractors with low-lying terrain let the walling continue through wet weather without idle time.

The recorded hope that the small punishment would mend Tovey's conduct turned the restoration into a probation entered on the record. The wording gave the Governor ready grounds for sharper action on any repeat offence and presented London with a matter already corrected rather than an open dispute.

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to Joyn to Govr Roberts's Lower Plantation wch will be Upwards of 100 Rod at 10 Shillings p Rod which Wall by Agreemt. must be four foot & an half high ye Shallowest Side.

They Agreed Also wth Jno Robinson, Walter Morriss & others their Partners to continue the Stone Wall formerly. begun by Govr Roberts wch. is very necessary to be continued to the Church Ground. wch Wall We could not agree with them for Under Eighteen Shillings p Rod the Stones being a great way off from ys place & wch being also Upon an Open Ridge were they are so exposed to ye Weathr. yt they cant always Work at it except in Calm Weather.

They agreed Likewise with James Green tree & his Partners to make & Repair ye Out ward Fences of ye Hon: Comps Pasture from the Side of ye Ridg next to Sandy Bay all along to Cason's Old house & down to Powells & Green trees Land & Up again from Greentrees all a Long Mrs Carnes ground untill they come to Joyn with ye Hon Compas Pasture calld Coles Pasture at Six Shillings & Six pence p Rod, how many Rod there will be We cant Yett tell But when finished shall be Measured.

Whereas there was One hundred Larg Hides Left here Out of ye Mercury to be Sold. Orderd That they be Bought for ye Honble: Compas Use

The new wall was to run from the lower corner of the Lower Ground to join Governor Roberts's Lower Plantation. It would contain upwards of 100 rods at 10s 0d per rod. The agreement required it to stand 4½ feet high on its shallowest side.

The Governor and Bazett also agreed with John Robinson, Walter Morris and others their partners to continue the stone wall formerly begun by Governor Roberts, which badly needed carrying on to the church ground. The two viewers could not bring them under 18s 0d per rod. The stones lay a great way from the place, and the wall stood on an open ridge so exposed to the weather that work on it was possible only in calm conditions.

A further agreement was made with James Greentree and his partners to make and repair the outward fences of the Company's pasture. The line ran from the side of the ridge next to Sandy Bay along to Cason's old house and down to Powell's and Greentree's land. From Greentree's it ran up again along Mrs Carne's ground until it joined the Company's pasture called Coles Pasture. The rate was 6s 6d per rod. The number of rods could not yet be stated, so the line was to be measured when finished.

A parcel of 100 large hides out of the Mercury still lay at the island to be sold. The council ordered them bought for the Honourable Company's use.

Interpretations

The bargains priced the same craft at four rates: rebuilding at 5s 0d, repair at 6s 6d, new building at 10s 0d and the ridge wall at 18s 0d per rod. The premium on the ridge wall covered carrying stone from a distance and the loss of days on exposed ground. Piece rates placed those risks on the undertakers, where day wages had left the Company paying for idle time. Walter Morris gave the change a personal edge: he had led the stone-layers' combination broken on 18 January 1715 by his arrest for a £38 0s 0d Company debt, after which replacement labour was engaged at 3s 0d per day, and he now returned as a partner contracting for measured output.

The hide purchase met a want already on record. The island indent of January 1717 ordered sole and upper leather by the dicker, a tally of ten hides, demand having risen since the cattle famine forced ships to use hides for rigging in place of cordage. The island also dressed leather itself, Samuel Price having been engaged on 12 April 1715 to teach two boys shoe-making and tanning, and island-made shoes stood in the storekeeper's account for the month to 25 March 1717. Buying the whole parcel from the Mercury, which had arrived from Madagascar on 28 April 1717 with 30 slaves for the Company, stocked that trade from a passing ship instead of waiting on London.

The contracts wrote their own controls into the bargain. The new wall carried a minimum height of 4½ feet on the shallowest side, and the Greentree line was to be measured once finished, so payment followed verified output rather than the undertakers' own reckoning.

Speculations

Entering the failed negotiation on the record, with the distance of the stones and the exposure of the ridge as reasons, protected the Governor and Bazett against the very standard they had enforced on 28 May 1717, when Powell was refused any allowance above the valued prices. The note showed the premium rested on measurable conditions rather than favour.

Settling the Greentree contract at a fixed rate with the quantity left open suited a long irregular boundary nobody had measured. The rate was agreed while the bargaining advantage lay with the Company, and the length was left to a neutral measurement at completion, heading off any dispute when payment fell due.

351

358

June.

Use, Leather being very Scarce Upon the Island & most of ye Soldiers bare foot.

Mr Thomlinson the Parson desires He may have a Study built to his House having no conveniency for yt Purpose and being unwilling to remove Out of ye House The Govr. is desired to Order a Small room to be run Up for it.

We having no Gardner at Present But a Black man yt belongs to ye Govr. yt has a Wife. The Govr. is desired to Sell him & his Wife for ye Honble Compas Use

The Govnr. Sayes yt he cost him a great Deale of mony & Stepney ye Overseer Also But he is willing to part with them for the Hon: Comps. Use according As they Shall be Valued.

The Gund brought in his Monthly Acct. as foll:

An Accd. of Gunrs Stores expended a May ye 1st. 1717 to ye 21. Inclusive viz

May. 4 An Alarm. 4 4

do Arrd. ye Dartmo. Capt Blow. from India. 9 9

do Departed ye Borneo, Cap Burgess for England. 7 7

8 An Alarm. 4 4

do Arrd ye Success Capt Clapham from India. 5 5

16 Departed ye Success for England. 5 6

20 depd. ye Grantham Capt Collett. 9 9

To ye Guards. 4 -

Bankes & Mundens pts. 1 -

for filling ye Granadeers Pouches. 9½

Spunge Staves Heads. 2

Hamor Beds. 3

Cartridg paper. 2

Spunge Staves. 1

Match. 28

(Signd) Jno French. 28 1 2 3 2 10½ 43 60

The hides were to be bought because leather was very scarce on the island and most of the soldiers went barefoot.

Mr Thomlinson the parson asked that a study be built onto his house, which had no room fit for the purpose, and he was unwilling to move out of it. The Governor was asked to order a small room to be run up for him.

The Company had no gardener at present apart from a black man belonging to the Governor, who had a wife. The Governor was asked to sell the man and his wife for the Honourable Company's use. The Governor said the man had cost him a great deal of money, as had Stepney the overseer, but he was willing to part with them for the Company's use at whatever value should be set on them.

The gunner brought in his monthly account as follows.

An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 May 1717 to the 21st inclusive:

4 May - an alarm 4 pounds of powder

4 May - arrival of the Dartmouth, Captain Blow, from India 9 pounds of powder

8 May - departure of the Borneo, Captain Burgess, for England 7 pounds of powder

8 May - an alarm 4 pounds of powder

8 May - arrival of the Success, Captain Clapham, from India 5 pounds of powder

16 May - departure of the Success for England 5 pounds of powder

20 May - departure of the Grantham, Captain Collett 9 pounds of powder

To the guards [...] pounds of powder

Banks's and Munden's points [...] pounds of powder

For filling the grenadiers' pouches 9½ pounds of powder

Sponge staves' heads 2 [...]

Rammer beds 3 [...]

Cartridge paper [...] quires

Sponge staves [...]

Match 28 pounds

The account was signed by John French.

Interpretations

The sale of the Governor's gardener and his wife converted a recorded vacancy into a transaction between the Governor and the Company he headed. The valuation was left to others, the same protection used at the consultation of 7 May 1717, when Pyke handed thirty pieces of cambays to the council to price and it fixed them at £0 15s 0d apiece. Stepney, named here as an overseer who had also cost the Governor dearly, was the slave whose information of 9 April 1717 exposed the plot by the newly bought Drake slaves to steal a boat for Madagascar.

The barefoot garrison tied the hide purchase to the island's own manufacture. Leather had been scarce since the cattle famine, the indent of January 1717 ordered sole and upper leather by the dicker, and island-made shoes already passed through the storekeeper's account for the month to 25 March 1717, so the 100 hides from the Mercury fed shoes for the soldiers rather than the export trade.

The gunner's account followed the standing order of 25 October 1715 that John French enter his stores accounts monthly in the consultation book. Powder was charged by occasion, with salutes graded by standing: 9 pounds for the Dartmouth and the Grantham against 5 for the Success, and alarms at a flat 4 pounds.

Speculations

Closing the account at 21 May rather than the month's end matched the sailing of the homeward ships in late May, perhaps so the record carried by them ran complete to the latest possible day. The two-gun difference between arriving ships suggested honours calibrated to the captain or cargo rather than a fixed tariff for every Indiaman.

The parson's study was granted as a small built addition rather than a move to a better house. Thomlinson's refusal to leave kept the Company from reshuffling its buildings, so the bench bought peace with a single room, the cheaper of the two ways to satisfy a sitting chaplain.

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The following Petition was Presented. (Vizt)

To ye Worsh Isa: Pyke Esqr Govr &c Council

The Most humb Petn. of Robt Gurling Planter

Sheweth. That Whereas the Stones now Used for the Hon: Compys Buildings &c. are dug Out of yor Petitionrs Ground in Peak Gutt, wch not only destroys that Land So rooted Up, but makes Wast Also where ye carriage of the sd. Stones pass thro in So much yt a continuance may prove prejudicial to yor Petitr.

Wherefore humbly Offers ye consideration of this Affair to yor Worsh & Council to make Such Satisfaccon to yor poor Petitr — whose wants require it, as may attone for ye want of ye Land &c. wch ye Hon: Comps make Use of

& as in duty bound shall ever pray &c.

(Signd) Robert Gurling

Orderd. That Satisfaccon be made to him for what damage he shall Sustain by ye Hon. Compa. & That ye Govr. & Capt. Bazett be desired to view ye sd. Land, ye first time they goe yt way.

The Governour & Capt Bazett further Report that they went on Wednesday last to John Nichols Seniors Land to view a peice of other Land which he desires as by the Petition of his Son Edmond Nichols of the 9th day of April Last.

They are of Opinion That It is

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

June 5th 1717.

A petition from Robert Gurling, planter, was then presented to the Governor and council. He set out that the stones now used for the Honourable Company's buildings and other purposes were being dug out of his ground in Peak Gut. The digging not only destroyed the land that was rooted up but also laid waste the ground over which the stones were carried, so much so that a continuance might prove harmful to him. He therefore asked the Governor and council to consider the matter and to make such satisfaction to him, as a poor man whose wants required it, as might make up for the loss of the land and materials the Company made use of. The petition closed in the customary form and was signed by Robert Gurling, dated 5 June 1717.

The council ordered that satisfaction be made to him for whatever damage he should sustain by the Honourable Company, and that the Governor and Captain Bazett be asked to view the land the first time they went that way.

The Governor and Captain Bazett further reported that they went on Wednesday last to John Nichols senior's land to view another piece of land which he wanted, as set out in the petition of his son Edmund Nichols of 9 April last. They were of the opinion that it was very [...]

Interpretations

The Gurling order set compensation for damage caused by the Company's own quarrying on private ground, with the amount left to a view rather than fixed in advance. The two-step form, an admission of liability now and an assessment of quantum when the Governor and Bazett next passed that way, matched the bench's standing preference for valuation by inspection over a petitioner's own figures.

The Nichols viewing answered a thread opened on 28 May 1717, when Edmund Nichols petitioned that his father's land at the head of Old Woman's Valley, measured by Bazett at fifteen acres against a lawful right of twenty, be made up with five acres for himself and a ten-acre Company tenancy next the high Peak, and the council referred it to a view by the Governor and Bazett. The report's reference to a petition of 9 April suggests the request first arose at the consultation of 9 April 1717, when Bazett objected and John Alexander was directed to search the council books for any order against letting waste land between Nichols's ground and the High Peak.

Speculations

Gurling framed the claim around the carriage routes as much as the quarry pits, which widened the compensable damage from the dug ground itself to every strip the loaded carriers crossed. The framing anticipated that the stone for the new fencing contracts agreed on 5 June 1717 would keep traffic moving over his land, so a continuing harm justified an open-ended award rather than a one-off sum.

Tying the view to the first time the Governor and Bazett went that way folded the inspection into the fencing circuit they were already riding, the same economy by which the Nichols viewing was done on the Wednesday after the order. The bench spent no separate journey on small land business while the contracting season had its senior men in the country anyway.

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360

June.

very proper to Grant the said Land to his Said Son Edmond According to the prayer of his Said Petition

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 18th. day of June 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr. Geo: Haswell Depty & Matth: Bazett 3: in Councll.

Last Consultation read & Approvd of

Mr. Thomas Cason made Complaint to the Goverr. That Sarah the wife of Samuel Price had very much Scandelized him in Spreading a false Report, and desired that Mr. Worrall might be called to Declare what the Said Prices wife did Say.

The Said William Worrall Says his wife told him

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

Antipas Tovey Abst. being Sick.

The viewers concluded it was very proper to grant the land to the son Edmond according to his petition.

A consultation was held on Tuesday 18 June 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, the deputy governor George Haswell and Matthew Bazett, third in council. Antipas Tovey was absent through sickness. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

Mr Thomas Cason complained to the Governor that Sarah, the wife of Samuel Price, had badly slandered him by spreading a false report. He asked that Mr Worrall be called to declare what Price's wife had said. William Worrall said his wife had told him [...]

Interpretations

The favourable opinion completed the Nichols matter referred on 28 May 1717, recommending the grant to Edmund Nichols of the land sought in his petition of 9 April 1717. The recommendation came despite Bazett's objection of 9 April 1717 about waste land between the Nichols ground and the High Peak, so the search of the council books ordered that day had evidently produced no standing bar.

Tovey's absence through sickness on his first consultation day after the restoration of 5 June 1717 meant the bench still sat at three, and the margin recorded the absence formally. Listing an absent member with the cause now mattered again, since his right to sit had only just been re-established and the record needed to show the absence was excused rather than a renewed exclusion.

The slander complaint proceeded by tracing the report to its source through named intermediaries, the same chain-tracing method the bench used on 13 October 1713 in Gabriel Powell's complaint against Renatus Snow, where each repeater cleared himself by identifying who told him. Calling Worrall to state what Sarah Price said placed the first link of the chain on oath before any judgement on the substance.

Speculations

Cason brought the complaint to the Governor rather than suing Sarah Price directly, which put the affair on the public record while leaving the remedy to the bench's discretion. As a Company officer of long standing, his concern was probably the standing of his name with the government rather than damages, and a recorded vindication served that better than a private action.

The complaint named the wife of Samuel Price, the Company shoemaker who had petitioned on 3 January 1717 to marry the widow Sarah Sinsnick and settle as a planter on Bodley's plantation. If the marriage had followed, the slander matter now touched a household whose lease request was still before the Governor and Bazett, which gave both sides a reason to want the report formally disowned.

354

361

him that the Said Sarah Price told her that when a new Governr. comes the Said Mr. Cason had Enog to tell him against Mr. Worrall that would do him a Prejudice, for Mrs. Harper had told her So.

Mrs Worrall Deposes that Sarah Price told her that Mrs Harper told her that her Brother Mr. Cason had Enough to tell a New Governr: when he came against the Said Mr. Worrall. Ordered That ye Said Sarah Price be Comitted for Scandalizeing the Said Mr. Cason

The Petition of William Worrall Chief Overseer as followeth.

To the Worshypfull Isaac Pyke Esqr. Governr. &c Council of the Said Island.

The Humble Petition of William Worrall Chief Overseer of the Honble: Comps:as Plantations &c

Most humbly Sheweth

That there having been a report Spread about the Island of a new Governor: Comeing from England to Succeed Your Worship, Your Petitionr. did then believe that Some ill Disposed psons who woud be glad to Imbrace all Opportunities by giveing their tongues too much Liberty of

Margin Notes:

see to thsd Pedo:

Island St. Helena.

this not to go home

Worrall's wife had told him that Sarah Price told her that when a new Governor came, Cason had enough to tell him against Mr Worrall to do Worrall an injury, and that Mrs Harper had told her so.

Mrs Worrall deposed that Sarah Price told her that Mrs Harper told her that her brother Mr Cason had enough to tell a new Governor, when he came, against Mr Worrall. The council ordered Sarah Price committed for slandering Cason. A margin note cross-referred the entry to a later memorandum.

The petition of William Worrall, chief overseer of the Honourable Company's plantations, followed, addressed to the Governor and council. A margin note directed that this entry was not to go home. Worrall set out that a report had spread about the island of a new Governor coming from England to succeed Pyke. He had then believed that some ill-disposed persons, who would be glad to seize every opportunity by giving their tongues too much liberty of [...]

Interpretations

The deposition fixed the chain of the report at four removes: Mrs Harper to Sarah Price to Mrs Worrall to William Worrall, with Cason the subject throughout. Mrs Harper was named as Cason's own sister, so the slander presented itself as family knowledge of what Cason held against Worrall. The committal fell on Sarah Price as the repeater who gave the story circulation, the same allocation of liability to the most active spreader used against Thomas Tompson on 13 October 1713, though here the substance also touched Cason, since the report claimed he was hoarding accusations for a change of government.

The rumour of a new Governor was the same one already on the record twice that spring. John Long walked seven miles on it to affront Captain Haswell at the consultation of 9 April 1717, and Captain Clark's letter from the Stringer Galley of 16 April 1717 showed strange notions about the island circulating at the Cape. Worrall's petition treated the rumour as the trigger that loosened tongues against officers of the standing administration.

The instruction that the Worrall petition was not to go home marked an editorial decision about the copy of the consultations sent to the directors. The bench routinely shipped its book to London by successive vessels, and a marked omission shows the record was curated, keeping a petition about the Governor's own succession out of the version his masters would read.

Speculations

The slander only had force if a change of Governor was imminent, since its whole content was that Cason was saving his accusations for the successor. Committing Sarah Price therefore did double duty: it punished the injury to Cason and publicly discredited the succession rumour itself, which the administration had every reason to deflate after the Long affair of 9 April 1717.

Keeping Worrall's petition off the homeward copy suggests the Governor judged that even a loyal denial of the rumour would plant the idea of his replacement in the directors' minds. Erasing the subject from the London record was safer than answering it, while the local book preserved the petition in case the matter ever needed proving on the island.

355

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June.

Invencing a new Governr: against your Petitionr with false and Malicious Suggestions tho your Petitionr dos now Appeal to your Worsh: and Councill whether or not he has not Acted wth all the zeale & Fidelity & Skill he was Capable of for the Interest of the Hon: Compa and do's further Presume none can wth Justice Challenge him to the Contrary, or wth the least Dishonest Practice. Upon which your Petitionr. did on the 21st May last Past. Exhibitt a Petition to your Worsh: &c. for Liberty to Dispose of all His Effects Consisting of Severall Articles which being granted your Said Petitionr: thought twould be both for his Quiett and well doing, to goe off the Island wth his wife and familie while but few in Number. And having in Order thereunto made Sale of his Land, Houses, Blacks &c. Do's now humbly desire Liberty to goe for India in the Good Ship Success Captn. Benjamin Graves Comandr: not at all doubting but twill be more for your Petitionr: & Families Advantage then to Stay any Longer here Now he has but a Bare Sallary which wont be Sufficient to Maintaine himself & Familie, & if it Shoud be his good fortune to have this request granted twill cause

Worrall's fear had been that such persons would incense a new Governor against him with false and malicious suggestions. He now appealed to the Governor and council to judge whether he had not acted with all the zeal, fidelity and skill he was capable of for the interest of the Honourable Company, and he presumed that none could justly challenge him to the contrary or charge him with the least dishonest practice.

On that ground he had presented a petition on 21 May last for liberty to dispose of all his effects, consisting of several articles. That request being granted, he had thought it would serve both his peace of mind and his welfare to go off the island with his wife and family while they were still few in number. Having to that end sold his land, houses, blacks and other property, he now humbly asked leave to go to India in the good ship Success, commanded by Captain Benjamin Graves. He had no doubt this would be more to his and his family's advantage than staying any longer, for he now had only a bare salary which would not be sufficient to maintain himself and his family. If it should be his good fortune to have the request granted, it would cause [...]

Interpretations

The petition revealed the second half of the disposal granted on 21 May 1717, when Worrall was allowed to sell the Company land he rented in Dogwood Valley with its house and provisions and his five free acres, the Company reserving only first refusal of his cattle. The sale was preparation for emigration, not consolidation, and the chief overseer of all the Company's plantations was now asking to leave for India rather than England.

A bare salary stood at the centre of the complaint. Worrall's appointment of 5 April 1715 had been made on probation with no salary fixed, the figure to be set after the council had observed his conduct, and his account of his pay as insufficient to keep a family suggests the probationary footing had never matured into an adequate settled wage despite two years of monthly stock and yam accounts.

The Success was at the island days earlier, recorded in the gunner's account as arriving from India under Captain Clapham on 8 May 1717 and departing for England on 16 May 1717. The petition named her commander as Benjamin Graves and her destination as India, so either a return call was expected or the command had changed, and the reading rests on the petition's own words.

Speculations

Worrall stitched his self-defence and his departure into one document, so the record showed a man leaving with his fidelity formally asserted before the bench rather than one driven out under suspicion. With the petition marked to stay out of the homeward copy, the vindication was aimed at the island audience, the only one that would ever read it, where the rumours actually circulated.

The timing turned the succession rumour into a financial calculation. If a new Governor arrived primed against him, Worrall's unsalaried standing and his hold on the overseership would be the first things at risk, so selling up while his patron still governed and his family was still small converted an uncertain position into portable capital.

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[Inserted half page]

The Govr Sayes he has Tryed for ye allowance of Wine proposed on ye 23d of October 1716. & tho out of Shipping time ye allowance will do very well Yet in Shipping time it will not do.

The Wine bought for ye Use of Fort & General Table ended ye latter end of February last & from yt time for at least four Months it cost not less then Eight bottles of Beer & Wine a day & very often a great deal more. The Govr. is willing to be at all ye extraordinary expence of Wine himself as when he invites his friends to drink in an Even ing &c. but ye common & open expence at ye Publick Table He thinks ought to be allowed for wch He refers to you the Council yt knew ye expence & desires only to be allowed according to what you think is ye least yt can be Spent.

Just now when We have Madera Wine less than that will do but when there is no Madera Wine then ye allow ance should be made.

Since the Governour will have an allowance made We think out of Shipping time three Bottles and in Shipping time not to exceed Six Bot tles.

The Petitions of Several

[Inserted half page]

The Governor said he had tried the allowance of wine proposed on 23 October 1716, and that out of shipping time the allowance did very well, but in shipping time it would not do.

The wine bought for the use of the Fort and General Table had run out at the latter end of February last. From that time, for at least four months, the cost had been not less than eight bottles of beer and wine a day, and very often a great deal more. The Governor declared himself willing to bear all the extraordinary expense of wine himself, as when he invited his friends to drink in an evening, but he thought the common and open expense at the public table ought to be allowed for. He referred the matter to the council, which knew the expense, and asked only to be allowed according to what it judged was the least that could be spent.

The council observed that just then, when Madeira wine was on hand, less than that would do, but that an allowance should be made when there was no Madeira wine. Since the Governor would have an allowance settled, the council thought it should be three bottles a day out of shipping time and not more than six bottles in shipping time.

The petitions of several [...]

Interpretations

The page belongs after folio 362, not before it. The catchword at the foot of folio 362 was the opening of a new sentence in Worrall's petition, and the inserted leaf opens instead with the Governor speaking on a wine allowance, so it cannot be the direct continuation of that petition. Its own closing line, introducing the petitions of several persons, is the kind of grouped business that follows the disposal of individual items at the consultation of 18 June 1717, and the four months of expense running from the end of February point to a sitting in late June. The leaf therefore reads as a later portion of the same consultation of 18 June 1717 or one immediately following, separated from its place in the book.

The allowance mechanism repeated the bench's standard protection against self-dealing. The Governor declared an interest, split the cost into private entertainment he would bear and public table expense he would not, and then surrendered the figure entirely to the council, the same form used on 7 May 1717 when Pyke left the valuation of his thirty pieces of cambays wholly to the bench, which set them at £0 15s 0d apiece.

The shipping-time distinction priced hospitality by season. Visiting commanders and officers dined at the public table when ships lay in the road, so the council doubled the ceiling from three to six bottles a day for those weeks, while tying the higher rate to the presence of shipping rather than to the Governor's discretion. Tea had been managed the same way in scarcity, reserved from November 1714 for the Governor, deputy governor and chaplain, the table's costs always graded by supply.

Speculations

Dating the trial allowance to a proposal of 23 October 1716 shows the question had run unresolved for eight months across the change in the wine stock, and the Governor raised it again only when the cellar had been empty for four months and the daily charge stood on record. Reopening it with the figures already incurred, eight bottles a day and often more, made the council's refusal practically impossible and shifted the debate from whether to how much.

The council's remark that less would do while Madeira lasted suggests the allowance was framed in bottles rather than money to ride out price differences between wines. A bottle ceiling held whether the table drank cheap Madeira bought from a passing ship or dearer European wine, and it left the storekeeper a simple count to enter against the Governor's table.

357

363a

Blank side of inserted half page

358

363b

Your Said Petitionr: as in duty bound to pray &c

(Signed.) Willm Worrall.

Ordered That the Consideration of this Petition be referred to the Governr. and Captaine Bazett

The Petitions of Severall Soldiers as follows. (Vizt)

Henry Harman Edward Smith Jno Roulstone, & Jno Bedan.

who all Desired Liberty to go for India in the Ship Success Captn. Graves Comandr. But for the following reasons have thought fitt to reject their Said Petitions.

Henry Harman is a Gardener and understands his business Indifferent well, but is a great thief withall and Lazy, notwithstanding that because as We have no Gardenr. for the Plantation House cant be without him, but as Soon as one can be Procured he may have liberty to go off as he desires.

Edward Smith owes money both to the Hon Comps and Planters, and unless he can pay his debts, We cant grant his request.

John Roulstone and John Bedan has not yet Served their Contracted time.

John Palsee Pregger late Soldr. also Petitiond

Margin Notes:

June 18th 1717.

this don't go home

Worrall's petition closed in the customary form and was signed by William Worrall. The margin carried the date 18 June 1717.

The council ordered that consideration of the petition be referred to the Governor and Captain Bazett. A margin note directed that this order was not to go home.

The petitions of several soldiers followed. Henry Harman, Edward Smith, John Roulstone and John Bedan all asked leave to go to India in the ship Success, Captain Graves commander, but the council thought fit to reject their petitions for the following reasons.

Henry Harman was a gardener and understood his business reasonably well, but he was a great thief withal and lazy. Notwithstanding that, because the Company had no gardener, the Plantation House could not be without him. As soon as one could be procured he might have liberty to go off as he wished.

Edward Smith owed money both to the Honourable Company and to planters, and unless he could pay his debts his request could not be granted.

John Roulstone and John Bedan had not yet served their contracted time.

John Palser Bregger, late soldier, also petitioned to [...]

Interpretations

This page settles the position of the inserted wine leaf. The catchword at the foot of folio 362 opened the closing formula of Worrall's petition, and folio 363 begins with exactly that formula, his signature and the order on his petition, so 362 and 363 run continuously. The inserted leaf belongs after this material, its closing line on the petitions of several persons introducing the grouped soldiers' petitions that 363 then sets out, which places the wine discussion within the same sitting of 18 June 1717.

The four rejections set out the standing bars to departure in one entry: indispensable skill, unpaid debt and unexpired covenant time. Harman's case was the bluntest, a man recorded as a thief and lazy yet held because the Plantation House needed a gardener, the same trade-based retention used against the cooper Bernwick and the stone cutter Shreeve on 11 June 1715. His record bore it out, 40 lashes on 26 April 1715 for carrying wood from the Company's garden into the town and a 40-shilling fine on 25 September 1716 for taking tools from the fort garden. The debt bar on Smith continued the departure rule in force since 16 July 1714, that no one on the books might leave until settled.

The reference of Worrall's petition to the Governor and Bazett, rather than an immediate grant, kept the chief overseer in post while the two men already viewing fences and land decided whether he could be spared. His named ship was the same Success the four soldiers were refused for, so every application for that vessel passed through the bench at one sitting.

Speculations

The council's offer to sell the Governor's own gardener and his wife to the Company on 5 June 1717 reads as preparation for this entry. With Harman both untrusted and asking to leave, securing a replacement gardener was the condition for releasing him, and the bench had lined up the substitute before rejecting the petition that made one necessary.

Recording Harman's character in the book while retaining him served a double purpose. The entry justified to the directors why a known thief stayed on the establishment, and it stood as evidence ready for use the moment a replacement freed the bench to dismiss rather than release him.

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June.

to goe off the Island in the Said Ship, But he being a Usefull man in Stone work, We Shall want him to assist in the finnishing the Barracks &c which when done he may have Liberty to goe off as he desires, if he has a mind to it then, and in the mean time ad vised him to mind his business & go about his work Chearfully, and he Shoud want no Encouragement

Ordered That the following Advertizemt: be Published.

By the Worsh: Governr: An Advertizemt.

The Governr: hereby Orders that no Person whatsoever Either Planter or their Slaves do go to Lemon valley upon any Account whatsoever Untill they have further Notice and leave from him, If they do it must be at their own Perill.

Dated this 19th of June Adom: 1717.

Isa Pyke Govr.

The reason of the foregoing Advertizement is because the Small Pox is broke out among the last Blacks We had out of the Mercury and the Goverr. has sent them there to prevent Spreading of the Infection.

Antipas Tovey.

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

[...]

Bregger had asked to go off the island in the same ship. Because he was a useful man in stone work, the council wanted him to help finish the barracks and other buildings, after which he might have liberty to go off as he wished if he still had a mind to it. In the meantime the bench advised him to mind his business and go about his work cheerfully, and he should want no encouragement.

The council ordered the following advertisement published. The Governor ordered that no person whatsoever, whether planter or their slaves, should go to Lemon Valley on any account until they had further notice and leave from him. Any who did so went at their own peril. The advertisement was dated 19 June 1717 and signed by Isaac Pyke, Governor.

The reason for the advertisement was that smallpox had broken out among the last blacks brought out of the Mercury, and the Governor had sent them to Lemon Valley to prevent the infection spreading. The entry was signed by Antipas Tovey.

Interpretations

The Lemon Valley order was a quarantine, isolating the infected slaves in an outlying coastal valley and sealing it by public prohibition rather than by guard. The 30 slaves from the Mercury, landed from Madagascar on 28 April 1717, were the Company's newest labour and the reinforcement behind the advertisement of 21 May 1717 ending the hire of the inhabitants' blacks from 25 June 1717, so the outbreak struck the supply on which the new labour policy rested within weeks of its arrival.

The advertisement ran under the Governor's sole hand and order, where the standing form for advertisements was by order of Governor and council under the secretary's hand. Disease control was treated as an exercise of the Governor's personal authority, with leave to enter the valley reserved to him alone, and the consultation book then recorded the reason separately so the directors would read the measure as quarantine rather than caprice.

Tovey's signature closed the entry, his first recorded act as secretary since the restoration of 5 June 1717. He had been absent sick from the sitting of 18 June 1717, so the signing showed him back at the office books even though the advertisement itself went out over the Governor's name.

Bregger's retention extended the trade-based bars of the same sitting to a former soldier. The barracks were the building whose unfinished state had justified Lieutenant Cason's house-rent allowance on 9 April 1717, and stone hands were already committed to the new fencing contracts of 5 June 1717, so a man useful in stone work was kept for the public works even after his service had ended.

Speculations

Choosing Lemon Valley placed the sick where the rescue parties of 24 December 1714 had shown access was a dangerous mile and a half down from Horse Pasture Mountain, a natural isolation ward reachable mainly by boat. The same remoteness that once hindered a rescue now kept planters and their slaves from wandering into the infection.

The advice to Bregger to work cheerfully, entered on the record with the promise of later release, converted a refusal into a bargain. A man held against his wish on stone work could slow the barracks at no risk to himself, so the bench paired the detention with a dated expectation and a warning that his conduct would decide whether the promise held.

360

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Island St Helena.

1717

At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 25th of June 1717. at Union Castle in James Valley

Prest. Isaac Pyke Governr. George Haswell Dptyd. Matthw Bazett. 3d. & Antips Tovey 4th in Count:

The Last Consultation read & approved of.

The Governr & Council now finnished the reading of the Hon Compas Generall by the Success wherein We have dilligently observed the Contents and will to the best of our Understanding obey the Same.

The Governr: asks Capt Haswell when he will have finnished the Copying Books in the Store.

Capt: Haswell Sayes that the Writers have been very busie in the Counting House and are every day at it, And Says that the Transfer Ledger will be finnished in a Fortnights time at furthest, But Says he cant keep ye Writers more at it then he do's. He Says that tis his opinion the Hon: Compa: cannot Imagine what trouble there is in the Store Accounts till they See the Books which will Appear to be a great

A consultation was held on Tuesday 25 June 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, the deputy governor George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

The Governor and council now finished reading the Honourable Company's general letter brought by the Success. They had diligently observed its contents and would obey it to the best of their understanding.

The Governor asked Captain Haswell when he would have finished copying the books in the store. Captain Haswell said the writers had been very busy in the counting house and were at it every day, and that the transfer ledger would be finished in a fortnight at the furthest. He said he could not keep the writers at it more than he did. In his opinion the Honourable Company could not imagine what trouble there was in the store accounts until they saw the books, which would appear to be a great quantity [...]

Interpretations

Tovey's appearance as fourth in council restored the bench to four sitting members for the first time since his suspension of 16 March 1717, his attendance following the sickness that kept him from the sitting of 18 June 1717.

The formal minute that the general letter had been read through and would be obeyed closed the paragraph-by-paragraph reading begun when the Success arrived on 8 May 1717, and it created the obligation against which the council's answer would later be measured. The same form had governed the letter brought by the Cardonnell in 1715, read in parts over successive mornings with marks set on each paragraph for answer.

The exchange over the store books continued the Governor's pressure of 28 May 1717, when he publicly demanded why Haswell had been absent a fortnight while the accounts needed him, and of 24 and 30 April 1717, when he threatened to send the books home uncopied. Haswell's defence shifted the constraint from his own attendance to the writers' capacity, and his estimate of a fortnight for the transfer ledger set a new dated commitment on the record. The complaint that London could not imagine the trouble in the store accounts echoed the establishment position recorded on 21 June 1715, that completed books needed six months from 25 March and more men at the stores.

Speculations

Haswell's remark that the directors could not conceive the labour until they saw the books was aimed at the criticism Governor Harrison had delivered on 24 April 1717, that the Company at home were displeased with the island's bills and its great indent. Framing the accounts as physically enormous prepared the ground for the books to arrive late but to justify themselves by bulk, turning a reprimand about cost into evidence of diligence.

Putting the question to Haswell in full council, with Tovey newly returned to record it, made the fortnight estimate a public undertaking rather than a private excuse. The Governor had spent April and May extracting attendance from his deputy by threat, and a dated promise in the book was the cheaper instrument, enforceable by simple reference at the sitting a fortnight on.

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June.

quantity of Writing work as well as very trou blesome.

The Governr Sayes that he desires they will make all the Dispatch they can and that He will Send the Books the next Ship as they are, (foul or fair) Unless the fair Copies are finnished by that time, and therefore desires Capt: Haswell to take Notice of it Accordingly

Capt: Haswell Saith further that if the Books were made up as formerly twould abreviate them to a twelveth part of the time less then is now Necessary, and by doing them in Such a Manner, Could send them in its Proper time & Season and the reason why they were not Sent Home Sooner was because the Hon: Compa: in the 46th: Parra. by the Thistleworth Complaind the Accots Sent Home were more like Shop Books then any thing Else.

The Governr: Says that he is Contented rather then that they Should not go home (in time) that they Should go like Shop Books, which is much better than none at all, & Says that if Capt: Haswell can think of any Shorter way he Shall Approve of it, and thinks the Old Method is the best if it be Easiest of Dispatch.

The Governr Says that they will go thro the Hon Compas Letter in all the Considerable Articles in Severall Consultations. He desires

The books would appear to be a great quantity of writing as well as very troublesome.

The Governor said he wanted all the dispatch they could make, and that he would send the books by the next ship as they were, foul or fair, unless the fair copies were finished by that time. He asked Captain Haswell to take notice of it accordingly.

Captain Haswell said further that if the books were made up as formerly, it would shorten the time to a twelfth part of what was now necessary. By doing them in that manner the office could send them home in proper time and season. The reason they had not been sent home sooner was that the Honourable Company, in the 46th paragraph of the letter by the Thistleworth, had complained that the accounts sent home were more like shop books than anything else.

The Governor said he was content, rather than that the books should not go home in time, that they should go like shop books, which was much better than none at all. If Captain Haswell could think of any shorter way he would approve it, and he thought the old method the best if it was the easiest of dispatch.

The Governor said they would go through the Honourable Company's letter in all its considerable articles over several consultations. He wanted the [...]

Interpretations

The exchange uncovered the cause of the long store-book arrears that had run through the record since the catch-up of 1714 and 1715. The directors' complaint in the 46th paragraph of the Thistleworth letter had forced the island to abandon its simple shop-book form for a fuller method that, by Haswell's reckoning, took twelve times the labour, and the backlog, the seven assistants named on 21 June 1715 and the six-month rule all followed from that change. London's own instruction was thus identified on the record as the source of the delays London complained of.

The Governor's ruling reversed the priority between form and time: foul copies or shop books would go home rather than nothing, and the old method stood approved if it was the easiest of dispatch. The decision answered his threat of 24 and 30 April 1717 to send the books home uncopied, now converted into a standing rule with the deputy governor's professional judgement enlisted rather than overridden.

Resolving to take the general letter by its considerable articles over several consultations applied the procedure used for the Cardonnell letter in June 1715 and the Catherine letter in November 1716, when paragraphs were marked, distributed among councillors by office and answered in writing. The minute fixed the method before the work began, so the answer would accumulate sitting by sitting against the ships of the next season.

Speculations

Haswell's citation of the precise paragraph and carrier of the directors' complaint was a defensive exhibit, proving that the costly method was obedience rather than incompetence. Laying it on the record in full council shifted any future blame for late accounts onto the instruction itself, a useful shield with Governor Harrison lately reporting the Company's displeasure on 24 April 1717.

The Governor's offer to approve any shorter way Haswell could devise handed the deputy governor authorship of the solution as well as the problem. A method chosen by the accountant himself could not afterwards be pleaded against as another imposed form, which closed the excuse that had served for two years of arrears.

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1717

the rest of the Gentlemn of the Council to give their opinions what is proper now to be answered.

They Say that it is too Short a time to answer the Particular Parragas: We the Outward bound ship in the Road being to be Dispatched, and the Goods to be overlookt and answering our Letters to India twill take up all our time, So that We cannot write a Compleat Letter But the Governr: is desired to write a Short Letter to goe Home now to Assure the Hon: Compa: that our Utmost Endeavoures shall not be wanting to follow their Instructions.

And that a Copy of this Consultation go home with the Letter.

The following Petition was presented.

To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esqr: Governr: &c Council.

The most Humble Petition of William Fairfax Writer.

Sheweth.

That whereas your Petitionr. did in August last 1716 request your Worsh: & Council to give him leave to goe off for England, to which yor. Worship and Council were pleased to answer, That as Soon as your Petitionr had Copyed Over the Book of Laws. He Should have his Discharge, which Book being now finnished, and Your Petitionr: having received

Margin Notes:

Island St. Helena.

The Governor wanted the rest of the gentlemen of the council to give their opinions on what should now be answered.

The councillors said the time was too short to answer the particular paragraphs. The outward bound ship in the road had to be dispatched, the goods had to be looked over and the letters to India answered, which would take up all their time, so a complete letter could not be written. The Governor was asked instead to write a short letter to go home now, assuring the Honourable Company that their utmost endeavours would not be wanting to follow its instructions. A copy of this consultation was to go home with the letter.

The following petition was then presented to the Governor and council from William Fairfax, writer. He set out that in August last, 1716, he had asked leave to go off for England, and that the Governor and council had answered that he should have his discharge as soon as he had copied over the book of laws. That book was now finished, and he had received letters [...]

Interpretations

The short holding letter was the established device for keeping faith with London between full answers, used when the Dartmouth carried the Governor's short letter home on 4 May 1717 with the Grantham taking the duplicate. Sending a copy of the consultation with it served a second purpose: the minute recorded the reasons a complete answer could not yet be made, so the directors would read the delay as pressure of their own business rather than neglect.

Fairfax's petition rested on a conditional discharge granted at the consultation of 14 August 1716, when the writer from the Thistleworth, taken on under Captain Daniel Small, held the council's standing promise of release on request. The condition attached was the copying of the book of laws, so a departing servant's leave was priced in a specific piece of completed office labour, the same exchange by which the writer Edward Byfield's discharge of 7 January 1717 turned on delivering up his goods and accounts.

The completion of the book of laws itself deserves notice. The presses inventory of 9 October 1716 had recorded the office books rat-gnawed and decayed with rebinding in leather under way, and a fair copy of the island's laws was part of that repair of the documentary estate, finished by the labour of a man waiting on it for his passage home.

Speculations

Pleading the dispatch of the ship, the goods and the India letters as the bar to a full answer quietly returned the council's real priorities to the record: the season's trade came before correspondence. The promise of utmost endeavours cost nothing and bought a whole shipping interval, with the next homeward vessel months away and the paragraph-by-paragraph answer already minuted as the method.

The council's earlier bargain with Fairfax now matured at an awkward moment, the counting house being every day at the store books by Haswell's account of 25 June 1717. Whether the bench would release a practised writer with the transfer ledger a fortnight from finished was the real question his petition posed, and the conditional form of the original grant left it room to find a further task if it chose.

363

366

June.

Letters of Invitation from his Friends in England, which Promise him better Employ at Home, which he is willing to Produce therefore humbly requests Your Worsh: &c Council to permitt his takeing Passage in the Stanhope now in this Road and bound for England.

And as in duty bound shall ever pray. &c

Wm. Fairfax.

Granted.

Antipas Tovey.

Margin Notes:

June 25th. 1717.

Fairfax had received letters of invitation from his friends in England promising him better employment at home, which he was willing to produce. He therefore asked the Governor and council to permit him to take passage in the Stanhope, now in the road and bound for England. The petition closed in the customary form and was signed by William Fairfax, with the date 25 June 1717 in the margin. The petition was granted, and the entry was signed by Antipas Tovey.

Interpretations

The grant honoured the conditional discharge of 14 August 1716 the moment its condition was met, the book of laws being finished, and it released the writer despite the counting house being every day at the store books by Haswell's account of the same sitting. Fairfax had been lent to assist Bazett in writing business by the order of 7 May 1717, so the bench gave up a practised hand at the height of the copying effort rather than stretch a completed bargain.

The offer to produce the letters of invitation supplied evidence for the standing test that leave to depart should serve the petitioner's real advantage. Settled prospects at home had weighed in such grants before, where men with no employment, debts or unexpired covenants were held, and Fairfax pre-empted the inquiry by putting his proof on the table unasked.

The Stanhope appears in the record here for the first time, an England-bound ship in the road on 25 June 1717 alongside the Success for which the four soldiers and Bregger had been refused a week earlier.

Speculations

Granting Fairfax in one word while refusing five other men the same passage season drew the line between covenant labour and finished bargains. The soldiers were held by debt, unexpired time or indispensable trades, while Fairfax held a written promise whose price he had paid, and the bench's credit with its servants depended on that distinction being visible in the book.

Tovey's signature closing the consultation, his second since the restoration of 5 June 1717, showed the secretaryship fully resumed in routine form. The office that had run under John Alexander's hand through May 1717 now authenticated the record again under the man the council had readmitted on probation.

364

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Island St Helena.

At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 2 day of July 1717. At Union Castle in James Valley

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr. Geo: Haswell Dpty Matthw Bazett & Antips Tovey 4 in Coun:

Last: Consultation read & Approvd of.

On Saturday last the 29th June Sailed the Stanhope Capt. Wentworth George Pitt Comandr. for Great Brittain by whom We wrote a Short letter to our Hon Masters.

We Sent the following Letters to India by Capt. Graves in the Success who design's to Sail this afternoon. (Vizt)

To the Honble the President &c Council at Bombay.

To the Hon Presidt &c Council at Fort St. George.

To the Hon Presidt &c Council at Bengall &

To the Worsh Governr: At Bencoolen

In our Generall Letter to the Governr: of Bencoolen We have given you Account of ye returning Ships We have written to the Govern alone and not to yor Council, because the Letter We received last was So very uncivill (or rather rude) that Our Gentlemn here thought it not Proper to Continue a Conversation or Correspondence with any body that treated them in So

A consultation was held on Tuesday 2 July 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, the deputy governor George Haswell, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

On Saturday last, 29 June, the Stanhope, Captain Wentworth George Pitt commander, sailed for Great Britain. The council sent by her a short letter to the Honourable Masters.

The council sent the following letters to India by Captain Graves in the Success, who intended to sail that afternoon: to the Honourable the President and council at Bombay, to the Honourable President and council at Fort St George, to the Honourable President and council at Bengal and to the Worshipful Governor at Bencoolen.

In the general letter to the Governor of Bencoolen the council gave an account of the returning ships. The letter was written to the Governor alone and not to his council, because the letter last received was so very uncivil, or rather rude, that the gentlemen at the island thought it not proper to continue a conversation or correspondence with anybody that treated them in so [...]

Interpretations

The short letter resolved on 25 June 1717 went home four days later by the Stanhope, the ship on which Fairfax was granted passage at the same sitting, so the holding assurance to the directors and the discharged writer travelled together. The four India letters by the Success carried out the other half of that sitting's plea, that answering the letters to India would take up all the council's time, and her sailing for India confirmed the destination given in Worrall's petition of 18 June 1717 under Captain Graves.

Addressing Bencoolen's Governor alone and cutting his council out of the correspondence was a measured diplomatic sanction between Company settlements. Bencoolen had supplied the island's arrack and goods for years and its letter by the Borneo, arrived 29 April 1717, had returned thanks for the five Coals children while admitting three years without goods for the stores, so the rudeness now resented came from a station the island could not simply ignore. Narrowing the address punished the offending board while keeping the channel to its head open for business.

The recital of the reason in the consultation book, with the judgement that the letter was uncivil or rather rude, built the file for London. Both settlements answered to the same masters, and a recorded provocation justified the discourtesy of an unaddressed council before the directors heard of it from the other side.

Speculations

Grading the insult on the record, uncivil corrected to rather rude, suggests the entry was drafted to be read aloud and approved, the bench settling on the sharper word in full sitting. The phrase made the slight a corporate one to the gentlemen at the island, so the reply could not be passed off in London as the Governor's personal pique.

Writing the account of the returning ships to Bencoolen despite the quarrel shows the intelligence function of the correspondence held firm while the courtesy was withdrawn. Shipping news protected the Company's trade and every station's safety, so the council separated what served the masters from what gratified the offenders.

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So light a manner, and therefore have resolved that no part of that Letter deserves an answer I received a Letter from Mr Shilling who I Suppose was the Penman of the Letter I Speak of and therefore I shall let it go as it is. We treat every body here with Civility and vallue no bodys Correspondence who are not So.

We have received the following Letter from Capt Graves (Vizt)

St Helena June 26th 1717.

I have delivered to this Island all the Hon: Compas: goods in Good order as by Bills of Lading Except three Chaldron of Coales, which Exception is made upon the Endorsement of the Said Bill of Lading, and being charged for the Same by yor. Store keeper in his Account, I presume by it I Shall be lyable to pay for the Same twice, And whereas by my Charter Party I am to pay for the fame out of the Freight and Demorage due to the Ship Success Hence youil give Orders to the abovesaid Store keeper to Adjust my Account. without charging me wth. the Same I being charged wth it once Already in the abovesd: Endorsment of the Bill of Lading. I am

Your Humble: Servt. Benj: Graves.

To ye Worsh: Isaac Pyke Governr. of St Helena. These

The treatment had been so slighting that the council resolved that no part of the Bencoolen letter deserved an answer. The Governor reported receiving a letter from Mr Shilling, whom he supposed to have been the penman of the offending letter, and he would therefore let it go as it was. Everybody at the island was treated with civility, and the correspondence of those who showed none was valued at nothing.

The council received the following letter from Captain Graves, dated at St Helena, 26 June 1717, and addressed to the Worshipful Isaac Pyke, Governor of St Helena. Graves wrote that he had delivered to the island all the Honourable Company's goods in good order according to the bills of lading, except three chaldrons of coals, an exception entered on the endorsement of the bill of lading. Since the storekeeper had charged the coals in his account, Graves presumed he would be liable to pay for them twice, because under his charter party he was to pay for shortfalls out of the freight and demurrage due to the ship Success. He therefore asked the Governor to give orders to the storekeeper to adjust his account without charging him with the coals, he being charged with them once already in the endorsement of the bill of lading. The letter was signed by Benjamin Graves as the Governor's humble servant.

Interpretations

The Graves letter exposed the double-entry trap in the cargo-shortfall system. An endorsed exception on the bill of lading already converted missing goods into a charge recoverable out of the ship's freight and demurrage, the same machinery used against Captain Mawson by the debtor order of 1 July 1715 and against Captain Martin in the protest of 18 August 1716 with respondentia at 20 per cent. Booking the same three chaldrons against the captain in the storekeeper's account would have collected the debt a second time, and Graves's request was simply that one instrument, not both, should carry the charge.

The chaldron was a dry measure for coals of roughly 25 to 26 hundredweight in the London usage, so the dispute concerned about 4 tons of coal. Coals were a standing import for the smith's forge and the island's trades, carried in quantity on the Katharine invoice of 1716, where the directors priced them at under 18 per cent above prime cost.

The Shilling note attached personal authorship to the corporate insult from Bencoolen. Identifying the penman let the council resolve to ignore the letter entirely while holding no grievance against the Bencoolen Governor himself, consistent with the decision of 2 July 1717 to write to him alone.

Speculations

Graves put his complaint in writing on 26 June 1717, before the Success sailed with the council's India letters on 2 July 1717, so the adjustment had to be settled while the council still needed his ship as carrier. A captain holding the season's correspondence to four presidencies wrote from a position of quiet strength, and the courteous form of the letter cost him nothing that the timing did not already secure.

Entering the full text of the letter in the book, rather than minuting its substance, preserved the captain's own admission that the exception stood endorsed on the bill of lading. If the directors later questioned why three chaldrons of their coals went uncharged in the store account, the council's answer would lie in Graves's hand rather than its own.

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Upon which We sent him as follows

Capt Benja: Graves.

You having delivered us three Chal drons of Coales Short of what is mentioned in the Hon: Compas: Invoice & Bill of Lading, We therefore Demand Payment for the Same According to the Customary Price here Sold to Shipping it being Five Shillings p Bushell which amounts to twenty Seven Pounds Sterling And it is Our Honble Masters Orders to Demand & receive it here. Wherefore We must Charge it in your Account

We are

Yor Humble Servants. Isaa. Pyke Geo: Haswell Matthw Bazett.

To which We received the following answer.

Gentlemen.

I received yours of this day wherein you Demand of me Twenty Seven Pounds Sterling for three Chaldron of Coales Deliverd Short of my Bill Lading, but the Same being Excepted in the Endorsment of my Bill Lading, and by my Charter Party I being to pay for the Same but Fifty Per Cent upon ye Prime Cost I shall not Comply with your Demand, the Parragraph of which Charter Party is as follows Viz And it is also Covenanted & agreed by and between

Margin Notes:

June 26th 1717.

The council sent Captain Benjamin Graves the following reply. Since he had delivered three chaldrons of coals short of what was mentioned in the Honourable Company's invoice and bill of lading, the council demanded payment for them at the customary price at which coals were sold to shipping at the island, 5s 0d per bushel, which amounted to £27 0s 0d sterling. The Honourable Masters' orders were to demand and receive payment there, so the sum had to be charged in his account. The letter was dated 26 June 1717 and signed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell and Matthew Bazett as his humble servants.

The council received the following answer. Graves wrote that he had received their letter of that day demanding £27 0s 0d sterling for three chaldrons of coals delivered short of his bill of lading. The shortfall being excepted in the endorsement of his bill of lading, and his charter party binding him to pay for such goods at only 50 per cent on the prime cost, he would not comply with the demand. The paragraph of the charter party read that it was also covenanted and agreed by and between [...]

Interpretations

The dispute turned on which price governed a captain's liability for short delivery. The island demanded the local selling price to shipping, 5s 0d per bushel making £27 0s 0d for the three chaldrons, while Graves stood on his charter party, which capped his liability at prime cost plus 50 per cent. The directors had charged the Katharine's coals at under 18 per cent above prime cost in 1716, so the island's retail rate ran several times the contractual measure, and the difference between the two readings was most of the £27 0s 0d.

A chaldron of about 25 to 26 hundredweight held roughly 36 bushels, so three chaldrons came to about 108 bushels, which at 5s 0d per bushel produces the £27 0s 0d demanded. The bench's arithmetic therefore used the full London chaldron, leaving the captain no allowance in the measure.

Both letters of 26 June 1717 were entered whole in the book, demand and refusal together, the same documentary tactic used in the Martin protest of 18 August 1716, where the council answered objections in writing and represented the matter to the directors. With a captain who quoted his charter party clause for clause, the contest was being prepared for decision in London rather than in the road.

Speculations

The council's citation of the Masters' orders to demand and receive payment at the island was aimed at the obvious counter, that the matter could wait for England. Fixing the demand locally and in sterling protected the debt against the captain's departure, since an entry in his store account could be set off against freight and demurrage even if he never paid a penny ashore.

Graves's refusal arrived the same day as the demand, with the charter party paragraph copied out ready, which suggests he had anticipated the charge from the moment he endorsed the exception on the bill of lading. A captain carrying the council's own letters to four presidencies could afford a flat refusal, and the speed of it told the bench the question would be argued before the directors, not settled in the road.

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between the Parties to these presents that if any of the Said Goods or Merchandize, that Shall be laden on board the Said Ships in England or at any other place in her Outward bound voyage Shall be lost or not delivered to the Said Company their Presidents, Factors, Agents, or Servants at the Said Ships Consigned Ports abroad, In Such Case the Said Part owners & Master Shall Pay or at the Election of the Said Company as aforesaid Allow to the Said Company out of the Freight and Demorage to grow due by Vertue of these Presents the full Prime Cost of Such Goods so lost and undelivered, together wth fifty p Cent on Such Prime Cost. I am

Gentlemen.

Yor Humble Servant. Benj: Graves.

To the Govr. & Counll of St Helena

These —

Ordered. That Captn: Bazett do write upon the Backside of Capt: Graves Bill of Lading, what was wanting of the Cargoe he brought heither from our Hon: Masters for us, that We may Send it Home to them.

This day We Examined Serjt: Southens Case The Governr: Sent for him Privatly and would have perswaded him to pay the money, which he refuseing, his Case had a full hearing before all the

The charter party clause provided that if any of the goods or merchandise laden on board the ship in England, or at any other place on her outward bound voyage, should be lost or not delivered to the Company, its presidents, factors, agents or servants at the ship's consigned ports abroad, then the part owners and master should pay, or at the Company's election allow out of the freight and demurrage growing due under the charter party, the full prime cost of the goods so lost and undelivered together with 50 per cent on that prime cost. Graves closed as the council's humble servant, the letter addressed to the Governor and council of St Helena.

The council ordered Captain Bazett to write on the back of Captain Graves's bill of lading what was wanting of the cargo he brought from the Honourable Masters, so that it could be sent home to them.

That day the council examined Sergeant Southen's case. The Governor had sent for him privately and would have persuaded him to pay the money, but he refused, and his case had a full hearing before all the [...]

Interpretations

The charter party clause vindicated Graves's reading. Liability for undelivered goods ran at prime cost plus 50 per cent, recoverable at the Company's election out of freight and demurrage, with no reference to selling prices at the port of delivery, so the island's demand of £27 0s 0d at the local shipping rate stood on the Masters' orders rather than on the contract. The council's response conceded the forum: instead of pressing the charge in the store account, it endorsed the shortfall on the bill of lading for transmission home, leaving the directors to elect their remedy against the ship's freight in England.

The endorsement order made Bazett's annotation the operative legal document. A noted bill of lading travelled with the Company's papers as proof of short delivery, the same instrument by which the Duke of Cambridge's short arrack casks were recorded on 6 March 1716 under the policy against short-delivering captains resolved on 29 November 1715.

The Southen entry shows the bench's two-stage handling of a recalcitrant debtor who was also a sergeant of the garrison. Private persuasion by the Governor came first, sparing an officer public process, and only on refusal did the matter go to a full hearing before the whole council. Sergeant Thomas Southen had owned a debt of £1 19s 8d to the Gargen estate on 18 December 1716, though the money now demanded awaits identification in the hearing itself.

Speculations

Copying the entire charter party paragraph into the book, in the captain's own letter, gave the council cover for retreating from a demand it had framed as the Masters' orders. The record now showed the bench had pressed the local charge as instructed and yielded only to the Company's own contract, so the loss of the difference between £27 0s 0d and prime cost plus 50 per cent lay at the directors' door, not the island's.

The Governor's private approach to Southen suggests the debt touched standing as much as money. A sergeant publicly cast as a defaulter weakened discipline at the outposts he commanded, so the bench risked the full hearing only after the cheaper instrument of a quiet word had failed.

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the Council.

The following Letters being Sent to us We read them to him as follows (Vizt)

Cruel & Perfidious Husband.

Your Barbarity & Inhumanity have given now Just cause for the bitterest grief I cannot reflect without the Severest troubles upon your unjust Conduct & behaviour towards me in denying me bread to Eat and prefering an adulterous Woman & her Children before your Lawfull wife, I seek in vain for relief from the Hon. Compyd You Serve, you having desired them by your Lettr. not to give me any part of your wages for Subsistance, Consider that your lawfull wife is aged and infirm wthout Power to work for her own living whilst an adulterous Breed make her Starve after you have spent all I had in the world, you leave me here alone Destitute of all help I appeal to your own Conscience if you can use me So without remorse I Expect Some help from you or Else shall find means to make the truth Appear to the Company you Serve who I am, which will not be to your Advantage, Your Barbarity I think cannot be Exceeded In Saying I keep Compa: wth Scurilous fellows, if ever I did you are the only one, You little remember what I have been formerly, what you had wth me in marriage and what you were obligd to leave me by your death; you burnt like a rogue the Articles made between us, but notwithstanding all your tricks if you dont help me shall make it my only business to gett you putt

The hearing took place before all the council. Letters that had been sent to the council were read to Southen, as follows.

The first letter addressed him as a cruel and treacherous husband. The writer declared that his barbarity and inhumanity had given her just cause for the bitterest grief, and that she could not reflect without the severest trouble on his unjust conduct towards her, denying her bread to eat and preferring an adulterous woman and her children before his lawful wife. She sought relief in vain from the Honourable Company he served, because he had asked them by his letter not to give her any part of his wages for her subsistence. She told him to consider that his lawful wife was aged and infirm, without power to work for her own living, while an adulterous brood made her starve after he had spent all she had in the world, and that he had left her there alone, destitute of all help.

She appealed to his own conscience whether he could use her so without remorse. She expected some help from him, or she would find means to make the truth appear to the Company he served and who she was, which would not be to his advantage. His barbarity, she thought, could not be exceeded. As for his saying that she kept company with scurrilous fellows, if any did, he was the guilty one. He little remembered what she had been formerly, what he had with her in marriage and what he was obliged to leave her at his death. He had burnt like a rogue the articles made between them, but notwithstanding all his tricks, if he did not help her she would make it her only business to get him put out [...]

Interpretations

The letter identified the money the Governor had pressed Southen to pay on 2 July 1717: maintenance for a wife left in England, withheld by his own instruction to the Company that no part of his wages be paid her. Soldiers' wages were payable in London on the Company's books as well as at the island, so a wife's customary remedy was an assignment out of pay at home, and Southen had blocked it at source. The council's hearing thus sat in judgement on a domestic obligation reaching across the ocean through the one channel both parties shared, the Company's pay office.

The burnt articles gave the grievance its legal edge. Marriage articles secured a wife's property and her provision at the husband's death, and destroying the deed extinguished her written claim to what she had brought him and what he was bound to leave her. Her threat to make the truth appear to the Company was therefore not bare scandal: an employer that paid wages could be moved to divert them, and the council reading her letters aloud showed the threat had already worked that far.

The sergeant at the centre was Thomas Southen, the long-serving holder of outpost commands who suppressed the Sarah Galley mutiny on 5 February 1717, and the woman described as the adulterous rival fits Sarah Southen, recorded as his wife at the island since 1711 and lately upheld with him as heir to her son Bagley's cattle on 20 November 1716. The letter recasts that island household as the second establishment of a man with a lawful wife at home.

Speculations

Reading the letters to Southen before the assembled council, rather than merely citing them, was the persuasion the private interview had failed to achieve. A man unmoved by the Governor alone now heard his domestic record performed before the officers and planters whose respect his rank required, and the bench could press payment without yet ruling on bigamy or adultery, charges the letter implied but the council had no need to try.

The wife's promise to get him put out aimed at the Company's discipline rather than the courts, which was shrewd: dismissal from a sergeant's place would cost him wages, outpost allowances and standing at once. Framing her demand as the cheaper alternative to that ruin gave the council a ready settlement to impose, his pay charged at the island before it could be spent.

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July.

out of the place you are which might be Easily done for the Company you Serve are to worthy Gentlemen to Harbour Rogues & Villians Such as you are, there are Sevll Gentlemn in London that read my Articles before you burnt them, and can testifie what they Containd I am amazed you have the Impudence to look any Honest Person in the Island where you are in the Face, after having forged Such Abominable lyes as you have done in Sending a Letter to the Company from Joseph Gunstone to make them believe I have been dead long Since all which is on purpose if you can to make me Starve whilst you live wth your whore & Bastards in the highest degree of Vilany, I am informed you buy Houses & blacks and in debt your Self to them, on Purpose to make the Compa believe you are Poor but what you laid out in those you woud do better to Employ in Maintaining Your Lawfull wife, I rest in Expectation of hearing from you

Your Lawfull & Miserable wife

(Signd) Susanna Southen

To the Honoble: Governor: & Council of the Island of St Helena.

The case of Susanna Southen.

Humbly Shews

That Thomas Southen formerly Silk weaver of Dublin in Ireland is Husband to the Said

Margin Notes:

London. Febry 21st 17 16/17

She would make it her business to get him put out of the place he held, which might easily be done, for the Company he served were too worthy gentlemen to harbour rogues and villains such as he was. Several gentlemen in London had read her articles before he burnt them and could testify to what they contained. She was amazed he had the impudence to look any honest person on the island in the face after forging such abominable lies as he had done in sending a letter to the Company from Joseph Gunstone to make them believe she had long been dead. All of it was done on purpose, if he could, to make her starve while he lived with his whore and bastards in the highest degree of villainy. She was informed that he bought houses and blacks and put himself in debt for them on purpose to make the Company believe he was poor, but what he laid out on those he would do better to spend in maintaining his lawful wife. She rested in expectation of hearing from him, and signed herself from London on 25 February 1717 as his lawful and miserable wife, Susanna Southen.

A statement of the case of Susanna Southen, addressed to the Honourable Governor and council of the island of St Helena, followed. It set out that Thomas Southen, formerly a silk weaver of Dublin in Ireland, was husband to Susanna [...]

Interpretations

The letter charged Southen with manufacturing documentary proof of his wife's death, a letter to the Company under the name of Joseph Gunstone. A wife believed dead lost her claim on his wages at the pay office and freed him to stand as a married man at the island, so the forgery, if proved, was the hinge of the whole scheme. Her counter was also documentary: named witnesses in London who had read the marriage articles before he burnt them, putting their contents within reach of testimony even though the deed itself was ashes.

Her account of his purchases matched the island record. Southen had taken Company waste near High Peak for pasture on 9 August 1715, owned debts at the stores and stood at the census for 1716 as a sergeant householder, so the picture of a man buying houses and blacks while pleading poverty to the Company could be checked against the books the council itself kept. The accusation that the debt was contrived to disguise his means turned his store account from evidence of hardship into evidence of design.

The formal case that followed identified Southen's origin as a Dublin silk weaver, fixing the marriage in a civilian trade before his Company service. The dated letter of 25 February 1717 from London reached the island by early July, a passage of about four months, which dates the Company's forwarding of her papers to the spring shipping.

Speculations

Pairing a private letter of reproach with a formal case addressed to the Governor and council shows advised drafting rather than a destitute woman's unaided pen. The letter worked on shame and the case on jurisdiction, and sending both through the Company guaranteed that the husband could not suppress either, since the council read them before he did.

Her remark that the Company were too worthy to harbour rogues flattered the very body that employed him into becoming her enforcer. The strategy made dismissal the threatened sanction but payment the expected outcome, which suited everyone who mattered: the Company kept a useful sergeant, the council kept discipline, and she got the maintenance that was the letter's only practical demand.

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1717

Susanna Southen and has Served the Honble: the East India Company Severall years in the Said Island and She has received from the Said. Honble: Company Subsistance as wife of the Said Thomas Southen.

That lately the Said Thomas Southen has sent letters and Desired the Said Company to discontinue the Pension the Said Susanna received upon his Account, denying her to be his lawfull wife, and Raising Scandalous Reports concerning her, in order to deprive her of the Said Pension and thereby make her Starve.

That the Said Susanna Southen is informed that her Said Husband keeps a Woman in the Said Island who he reports to be his wife, and has had Severall Children by her which has Occasioned the Honble Governr. of the Said Island to write to the Company here not to allow the Sd. Susanna Southen any thing on Account of the wages of the Said Thomas Southen:

That the Said Susanna is of a good Family & had a very Considerable Sum of Money at the time of her Marriage with the Said Thomas Southen, which he has Spent and has left her here alone aged and infirm and must inevitably Starve unless Received by this Honble Councill

That Inclosed are Certificates of the Marriage of the Said Thomas Southen & the Said Susanna.

That Therefore the Said Susanna Southen Humbly begs this Honble: Councill woud Examine

The case set out that Thomas Southen had served the Honourable East India Company several years at the island, and that Susanna had received subsistence from the Company as his wife. Lately he had sent letters and desired the Company to discontinue the pension she received on his account, denying her to be his lawful wife and raising scandalous reports about her in order to deprive her of the pension and so make her starve.

Susanna was informed that her husband kept a woman at the island whom he reported to be his wife, and that he had had several children by her. This had led the Governor of the island to write to the Company that nothing should be allowed to Susanna Southen on account of Thomas Southen's wages.

The case stated that Susanna was of a good family and had a very considerable sum of money at the time of her marriage to Thomas Southen, which he had spent. He had left her there alone, aged and infirm, and she must inevitably starve unless relieved by the council. Certificates of the marriage of Thomas Southen and Susanna were enclosed. She therefore humbly begged that the council would examine the [...]

Interpretations

The case disclosed the machinery already in motion behind the dispute. Susanna had been drawing a Company pension as a wife, charged against Southen's account, and it was stopped on two instruments from the island: his own letters denying the marriage and a letter from the Governor of the island advising that nothing be allowed her out of his wages. Pyke's hearing of 2 July 1717 therefore reviewed a position his own office had helped create on the husband's word, which explains the care to read every paper before the full council.

The enclosed marriage certificates answered the evidential gap left by the burnt articles. The articles had secured her property and provision and were gone, but the fact of the marriage rested on parish registers that no husband could burn, so the case led with what could still be proved and reserved the witnesses who had read the articles for the financial claim.

The island household the case described was the establishment recorded in the books for years, Sarah Southen standing as the sergeant's wife at the church rate of January 1715 and upheld with him in her son Bagley's cattle on 20 November 1716. The bench now faced a documented English marriage on one side and its own register of an island marriage on the other, with several children whose legitimacy turned on the answer.

Speculations

The petition's claim that scandalous reports were raised on purpose to justify stopping the pension matched the only account of her conduct yet on the record, Southen's charge that she kept company with scurrilous fellows. Defaming a distant wife was the cheapest way to colour a request the pay office might otherwise question, since the Company would not finance a wife reported unchaste, and her case treated the slander and the stopped pension as one act.

Routing the case through the Company in London rather than suing at the island put the matter where her evidence lay and his influence did not. At St Helena Southen was a trusted sergeant before a bench that knew his service; in London the certificates, the witnesses to the articles and the pay books were all within reach, and the council received her papers with the directors already looking over its shoulder.

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the Truth of the Premisses and proceed accordingly to the Relief of the Said Susanna Southen who Suffers unjustly here whilst an Adulterous Breed take the bread out of her mouth.

And the Said Susanna Southen shall ever pray.

And the Said Susanna Southen Further shews that when Captain Poucher was Governor: of the Said Island he and Capt Pack compelled the Said Thomas Southen to allow her Ten pounds a Year, and She humbly hopes the present Governr: and his Honoble: Council Seeing the Justice of her cause will do the like.

Susanna Southen

This is to Certifie whom it may Concern that on or about the 4th of March 1699 I John Clason Minister of new St Michans Dublin Marryed Thomas Southen Silk weaver then liveing in the Said Parrish to Susanna Relict of William Bostock Mercht of the Said Parish, given under my hand this 5: day of May 1710.

J Cason Dean of Kildare & Prebdry of St Michans Dublin

We the Church Wardens of the Parish of New St Michans doe Certify the Same.

John Payne. Church William Tyndall Wardens

Susanna begged the council to examine the truth of her statements and proceed accordingly to her relief, since she suffered unjustly while an adulterous brood took the bread out of her mouth. The case closed in the customary form under her name.

Susanna Southen further set out that when Captain Boucher was Governor of the island, he and Captain Pack had compelled Thomas Southen to allow her £10 0s 0d a year, and she humbly hoped that the present Governor and his council, seeing the justice of her cause, would do the like. This addition was signed by Susanna Southen.

A certificate followed. John Clason, minister of New St Michan's, Dublin, certified to whom it might concern that on or about 4 March 1699 he married Thomas Southen, silk weaver, then living in that parish, to Susanna, widow of William Bostock, merchant of the same parish. The certificate was given under his hand on 5 May 1710 and signed by him as Dean of Kildare and prebendary of St Michan's, Dublin. The churchwardens of the parish of New St Michan's, John Payne and William Tyndall, certified the same.

Interpretations

The supplement converted the petition from a plea into a precedent. Governor Boucher and Captain Pack had already compelled Southen to allow her £10 0s 0d a year, which dates the order between Boucher's accession on 3 October 1711 and Pack's death on 3 April 1713, when Pack served as his deputy governor. The present council was therefore not asked to try the marriage afresh but to revive an allowance its own predecessors had imposed after hearing the same man.

The certificate fixed the marriage at New St Michan's, Dublin, on or about 4 March 1699, and identified Susanna as the widow of a merchant, which supported her claim to have brought a considerable sum into the marriage. Its date of 5 May 1710 shows the proof was procured seven years before this hearing, around the time the Boucher-era allowance was being sought, so the document had already served once and now travelled with the churchwardens' counter-signature to meet any challenge to the minister's hand alone.

The certifying minister signed as Dean of Kildare as well as prebendary of St Michan's, lending the paper the weight of a senior Church of Ireland dignitary. Layered attestation of this kind, cleric plus churchwardens, was the standard armour for a document that would be read by strangers an ocean away from the registers it summarised.

Speculations

The Boucher-Pack order explains the timing of Southen's later campaign. An allowance compelled around 1712 ran against his wages until his letters, the Gunstone fabrication and the Governor's advice stopped it, so the denial of the marriage was probably aimed at ending an existing £10 0s 0d charge rather than preventing a new one. Susanna's papers were assembled to restore a lost income, not to win one.

Asking the present bench to do the like as Boucher invited Pyke to follow an administration his own council book had spent three years cataloguing as negligent. The drafting gambled that the justice of the precedent would outweigh its source, and the safer reading is that the named authority was Pack, whose memory carried no such taint, with Boucher named only because the office required it.

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This is to Certefy all whome it may Concern That I William Tyndall was the Person that gave the above Said Susanna Bostok Relict to Mr. William Bostok Mercht. in Marriage to Mr. Thomas Southen Silk weaver in Dublin.

William Tyndall Church Warden

Mrs. Susanna Southen.

Yours recd and did make it my business to goe your Errand: and have obtaind from the Reverd Dean Claton a Certificate of your Marriage which he readily Complyed to, for he well remembered it, which Certificate you have Inclosed, as also another Signed by both the Church Wardens of which you may See who is one, and another by my Self who gave you in Marriage to Mr. Thomas Southen, I hope this will be Effectuall to answer your End, You dont Acquaint how it hath been, nor how it is wth: you Since you left Ireland, Am well assured twas well wth you here, and Should be glad to hear how well you doe in London or where you live, Through Mercy all my Familie is well and as you left us but we grow older, Son Samuel he is marryed to a Young Gentlewoman of the Countey Wicklow, hath a brave boy which is the only Alteration in my family. We all desire to hear from you and hath our love.

I am Yor. Humble Servant. William Tyndall.

Margin Notes:

May ye first 1710.

May ye 2d. 1710.

A further certificate followed. William Tyndall certified to all whom it might concern that he was the person who gave Susanna Bostock, widow of Mr William Bostock, merchant, in marriage to Mr Thomas Southen, silk weaver, in Dublin. The certificate was dated 1 May 1710 and signed by William Tyndall, churchwarden.

A letter from Tyndall to Mrs Susanna Southen followed. He wrote that he had received hers and had made it his business to go on her errand. He had obtained from the Reverend Dean Clason a certificate of her marriage, which the Dean readily gave because he well remembered it. That certificate was enclosed, with another signed by both the churchwardens, of whom she could see he was one, and another by Tyndall himself, who gave her in marriage to Mr Thomas Southen. He hoped these would be effectual to answer her end.

Tyndall added that she had not told him how it had been with her, nor how matters stood, since she left Ireland. He was well assured it had been well with her there, and he should be glad to hear how well she did in London or wherever she lived. Through mercy all his family were well and as she left them, but they grew older. His son Samuel had married a young gentlewoman of County Wicklow and had a brave boy, which was the only change in his family. They all wished to hear from her and sent their love. He signed himself her humble servant, William Tyndall, with the date 2 May 1710.

Interpretations

Tyndall's double role closed the evidential circle. As the man who gave the bride away he was an eyewitness to the ceremony, and as churchwarden he was an officer of the parish whose attestation carried institutional weight, so his separate personal certificate of 1 May 1710 supplied what the minister's formal certificate could not: testimony from inside the wedding party itself. The three papers together, minister, churchwardens and giver-in-marriage, were built as mutually confirming proof for tribunals that could never inspect the Dublin registers.

The covering letter, private and never meant for a council book, authenticated the certificates in a different way. Its family news, the son married into County Wicklow and the grandchild, showed a genuine standing connection between writer and recipient, which answered the obvious suspicion that a desperate woman had procured friendly paper from strangers. Entering it whole in the consultation book preserved that proof of relationship alongside the formal documents.

The dates settle the chronology of the campaign. Susanna wrote to Dublin, Tyndall ran her errand and the certificates issued in the first days of May 1710, which places her preparation before the Boucher-Pack order for £10 0s 0d a year and shows the same dossier serving both proceedings, seven years apart.

Speculations

Tyndall's remark that the Dean readily complied because he well remembered the marriage was worth more than courtesy. A wedding memorable to its minister a decade on suggests a match of some local note, consistent with a merchant's widow of good family, and the sentence armed the certificate against the one attack left to Southen, that the ceremony never happened.

The letter's gentle complaint that she had sent no news of her condition since leaving Ireland hints that Susanna concealed her distress even from the friends she was asking for help, framing her request as business rather than charity. Pride of that kind fits the petition's insistence on her good family and considerable fortune, a woman claiming a debt owed to her station, not alms.

373

376

July

Serjt. Thomas Southen Sayed thereupon that he dos not believe this Woman to be his wife for that his wives name was Sus Mercer and therefore desires he maynt pay any thing he being also unable to do it and had rather quitt the Hon: Compas: Service.

Ordered That he now be Charged fifteen Pound upon Account of Arrears paid by the Hond Comps: to this Woman, and that from the 25th: of March last he be Charged Ten pound p annum According to the Orders of Our Hon: Masters

Ordered That the following Advertizement be published.

By the Worsh: Govr &ca: Council An Advertizemt.

These are to give Notice to all psons that on Monday the 15 Instt the Govr & Council do intend to hold a Court of Judicature at the Sessions House in James Valley (Unless there Shoud happen to be an English Ship then in the road. Wherefore those persons who have any Causes Depending Either wth Orphans or others are hereby required to prepair their Accots. and to draw up in Writing Each pson So Concernd their Severall Complaints & respective Cases, of wch: all psons are to take Notice Accordingly. Dated at Union Castle in James Valley this 2 day of July 1717

Margin Notes:

Island St Helena.

Sergeant Thomas Southen said in answer that he did not believe this woman to be his wife, for his wife's name was Susanna Mercer. He therefore asked that he might not pay anything, being also unable to do it, and said he would rather quit the Honourable Company's service.

The council ordered that he now be charged £15 0s 0d on account of arrears paid by the Honourable Company to this woman, and that from 25 March last he be charged £10 0s 0d per annum according to the orders of the Honourable Masters.

The council ordered the following advertisement published. Notice was given to all persons that on Monday the 15th instant the Governor and council intended to hold a Court of Judicature at the Sessions House in James Valley, unless an English ship should then happen to be in the road. Those who had any causes depending, whether with orphans or others, were required to prepare their accounts and to draw up in writing, each person so concerned, their several complaints and respective cases. All persons were to take notice accordingly. The advertisement was dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 2 July 1717.

Interpretations

Southen's defence rested on the bride's name, his wife having been Susanna Mercer where the certificates married him to Susanna Bostock, widow of William Bostock. The Dublin papers had anticipated exactly that line by identifying her through her first husband, so a widow's prior married name and her maiden name could both stand behind the same woman, and the council treated the discrepancy as no answer at all.

The order revealed that the Honourable Masters had already adjudicated the substance. The Company had paid the woman arrears, now recovered from Southen at £15 0s 0d, and the continuing £10 0s 0d a year from 25 March 1717 ran according to the Masters' orders, the same rate Boucher and Pack had compelled years before. The council's hearing was therefore execution rather than judgement: the pay-office decision in London was converted into charges on his island account, the one fund he could not move beyond reach.

The court advertisement carried the standing condition of island justice, that a sitting fixed for 15 July 1717 yielded to any English ship in the road. The requirement that every complainant reduce his case to writing beforehand continued the documentary discipline applied since the general advertisements of earlier years, and the express mention of causes with orphans points to the accumulated estate business awaiting trial.

Speculations

The threat to quit the service was the only card Southen held, the loss of a veteran sergeant who had suppressed the Sarah Galley mutiny on 5 February 1717 being a real cost. The council called the bluff by charging his account rather than his wages directly, since a man leaving the service still had to settle his books before any ship would carry him, under the departure rule in force since 16 July 1714.

Backdating the annual charge to 25 March, the Company's accounting new year, rather than to the hearing, suggests the Masters' orders had arrived with the spring shipping and the council had sat on them until the private persuasion of 2 July 1717 failed. The quiet interview the Governor attempted first reads as an offer to let Southen comply without the orders, the charges and his denial of his wife all standing in the public book.

374

377

1717

Sign'd p order of Govr &c: Council Antipas Tovey. Secty

Antipas Tovey.

Island St Helena

At: a Consultation held on Tues day the 9th of July 1717. At Union Castle in James Valley.

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr: Governr. Mathw Bazett. 3 & Antips Tovey 4th in Coun:

The Last Consultation was read & approved.

Last Tuesday Sailed Capt: Graves in the Success for Bencoolen.

The Secty Says that Capt: Bazett nor he did not report about the Widdow Sinnicks Estate because he had Acquainted the Governth: that the Widdow was to be married to Samuel Price, and therefore he takeing upon him to pay her debts thought it not So needfull to make the report, but to Satisfie our Hon: Masters he do's it now to answer their 28 Para 16th p the Success.

Capt: Haswell being in the Country We have

Margin Notes:

Geo: Haswell Dpty Abst: in ye Country being Sick.

The advertisement was signed by order of the Governor and council by Antipas Tovey, secretary, and the consultation record was signed by Antipas Tovey.

A consultation was held on Tuesday 9 July 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. George Haswell, the deputy governor, was absent in the country, being sick. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

Last Tuesday Captain Graves sailed in the Success for Bencoolen.

The secretary said that neither Captain Bazett nor he had reported on the widow Sinsnick's estate, because he had told the Governor that the widow was to be married to Samuel Price, who by taking it on himself to pay her debts had made the report seem unnecessary. To satisfy the Honourable Masters, however, he made it now in answer to their 28th paragraph by the Success, dated 16 [...]

Captain Haswell being in the country, the council deferred [...]

Interpretations

The signing block restored the full pre-suspension form of the record, advertisement under the secretary's hand by order of Governor and council and the consultation authenticated by Tovey, the routine that had passed to John Alexander through the suspension.

The Sinsnick explanation accounted for a referral left open since 24 July 1716, when the soldier John Sinsnick's estate, with its James Valley house, debts of £21 5s 10d due to it and Jonathan Higham's £3 0s 0d charge on the house, was committed to Bazett and Tovey. Samuel Price's petition of 3 January 1717 to marry the widow Sarah and settle as a planter had, in the officers' view, dissolved the need for a report, since a husband taking the debts took the administration with them. The directors' 28th paragraph by the Success showed London tracking the island's probate business item by item, and the answer now entered was framed to that paragraph.

The Success sailed for Bencoolen, not India generally, which fixes the destination of the four letters of 2 July 1717 at the settlement whose council the bench had just refused to address. The ship that carried the rebuke also carried the season's correspondence, and Worrall's intended passage in her would have set him down at the station the island was quarrelling with.

Speculations

Tovey's volunteered confession that no report had been made, with the reason and the remedy in one breath, was the conduct of a man on probation since 5 June 1717 clearing his file before the directors' paragraph could be read as fresh neglect. Answering London's specific question now, and minuting why the answer was late, converted an omission into evidence of candour.

The marriage-based reasoning quietly converted a Company administration into a private settlement: the creditors looked to Price, Higham's charge attached to the house, and the bench escaped valuing an estate whose debts exceeded easy recovery. The officers' instinct that no report was needful shows how far the island treated remarriage as the natural probate of a poor man's estate, with the council's paper duty owed to London rather than to the parties.

375

378

July.

Deferred the Setting the Selling Price on the Successes Cargoe.

Captn Bazett having Reported that the Last Cargoe of Madera Wine Stuck of hand, & Severall of the Pipes turned Eger. which eat up the Hon: Compas: Proffitt, that the lowering the Price to four Shillings a Gallon, will Occasion the vent of this by the Success, whilst it is good

Ordered Therefore that this Wine be Sold at four Shillings p Gallon

But for the Prices of the other Goods We referr it to the next Consultation

To Encourage the People to point and repair their Houses with Lime that the Town may look wth Some Tollerable Decency the Governot: Proposes to Sell Lime to all that will make use of it in Six months, at two Shillings & Six pence per bushell the lowest Price it has Ever been Sold at, & which is less then it used to Stand the Hon: Compa: in when they payed higher rates for Labour; But that those who doe not make use of this Opportunity Shall for their Neglect pay a Larger price afterwards.

Agreed to and Ordered that an Advertize ment be published to this Purpose.

The Governr: proposes to

The council deferred setting the selling price on the Success's cargo because Captain Haswell was in the country.

Captain Bazett reported that the last cargo of Madeira wine had stuck on hand, and that several of the pipes had turned sour, which ate up the Honourable Company's profit. Lowering the price to 4s 0d per gallon would move the wine brought by the Success while it was still good. The council therefore ordered the wine sold at 4s 0d per gallon. The prices of the other goods were referred to the next consultation.

To encourage the people to point and repair their houses with lime, so that the town might look with some tolerable decency, the Governor proposed selling lime to all who would make use of it within six months at 2s 6d per bushel. That was the lowest price it had ever been sold at, and less than it used to cost the Honourable Company when higher rates were paid for labour. Those who did not take the opportunity should for their neglect pay a larger price afterwards. The council agreed and ordered an advertisement published to that purpose.

The Governor proposed to [...]

Start of crossed out section

The Governor proposed to all the council [...]

End of crossed out section

Interpretations

The wine decision priced perishability against margin. Pipes turning sour had already consumed the profit on the previous cargo, so the council sold the new stock fast at 4s 0d per gallon, the same rate paid for Batavia arrack out of the Arabella on 19 February 1717 and within the ceilings used for the Arlond purchases of March 1716. The standing retail of Madeira had been 4s 0d per gallon under Boucher's administration, so the reduction restored an old price rather than inventing a discount, with the Success's wine moving while the bad pipes explained the urgency.

The lime offer turned the Company's own works to urban policy. The kiln at Sandy Bay had sold lime at 1s 6d per bushel at the kiln and 2s 6d at the castle, so the proposal extended the castle rate to all comers as a six-month concession, priced below the Company's own old cost when labour was dearer. The time-limited discount with a penal price for laggards was a new instrument, coercion through the price list rather than through presentment, aimed at the look of James Town in the spirit of the building-line advertisement of 20 September 1715.

The deferral of the cargo prices, while the wine alone was settled at once, marked the boundary of what a bench of three would decide. General price-setting touched every account at the stores and waited for the deputy governor, but spoiling stock could not, so necessity licensed the smaller quorum.

Speculations

Bazett's framing, that the old cargo stuck and soured, quietly defended the storekeeper's own books, since unsold wine stood charged in his account until vented. A price cut recorded as the council's order on his report moved the loss from his keeping to a minuted policy, the same self-protection his monthly entries had served since the interrogation of 21 June 1715.

The lime scheme's six-month window ran the offer through the dry building season and expired before the next year's shipping brought fresh demands on the kiln. Setting the deadline by the calendar rather than by quantity suggests the Governor wanted a visible rush of pointing and whitewash before any new Governor or homeward captain next viewed the town, the rumours of succession making appearances worth buying.

376

379

to all the Councill, to Consider the Necessity of making a good Path of an Easey Ascent to the East Side of all the Country, and desires their Opinion thereon.

As to the makeing a Path they think tis very Necessary and a great Benefit to the Country, but in what manner to do it, they referr to the Governour.

The Store keeper brought in his Monthly Accot of Stores. from March the 25th 1717 to the 25th of May following, wch was Examined & approvd as follows.

An Accot of Store Goods Sold & Delivd to the Inhabitants, also for the use of Union Castle & Plantation House from March ye 25th 1717. to May the 25 following. (Vizt)

Arrack 869¾ Gall. at 6/3 p Gall. 271 15 11¼

Sugar 1434¾lb. at 8d plb. 47 16 6

Bread 331lb. at 3½. 4 16 6½

Flour 1092lb at 3½. 15 18 6

Rice 466. at 3½. 6 15 11

Oyle 1¼ Gall Sweet do at 12/. 15 -

½ Gall Linseed do. -4. -19 -

Vinegar 16¾ Gall at 2/6. 2 2 2¼

Lime Juice 1 quart. 1 3

Tea 18½lb. at 9/. 8 11 6

6 Cattees of Dto at 9/. 2 14 - 11 5 6

Carried Over. £361 11 4

The Governor proposed to all the council that they consider the necessity of making a good path of easy ascent to the east side of all the country, and asked their opinion on it. As to making a path, the councillors thought it very necessary and a great benefit to the country, but they referred to the Governor the manner of doing it.

The storekeeper brought in his monthly account of stores from 25 March 1717 to 25 May following, which was examined and approved as follows.

An account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, also for the use of Union Castle and Plantation House, from 25 March 1717 to 25 May following:

Arrack 869⅔ gallons at 6s 3d per gallon £271 15s 11¾d

Sugar 1,434¾ pounds at 8d per pound £47 16s 6d

Bread 331 pounds at 3½d £4 16s 6½d

Flour 1,092 pounds at 3½d £15 18s 6d

Rice 466 pounds at 3½d £6 15s 11d

Oil, sweet, 1¼ gallons at 12s 0d £0 15s 0d

Oil, linseed, ⅓ gallon at the same £0 4s 0d

Vinegar 16⅔ gallons at 2s 6d £2 1s 8d [reading uncertain]

Lime juice 1 quart £0 1s 3d [reading uncertain]

Tea 18½ pounds at 9s 0d £8 11s 6d

Tea 6 catties of the same at 9s 0d £2 14s 0d

Tea together £11 5s 6d

Carried over £361 11s 4d

Interpretations

The path proposal revived for the east side the concern recorded on 28 May 1717 for the dangerous track between Rupert's Valley and James Valley, where loaded slaves feared to break their necks. The council's answer split principle from method in the now familiar way, endorsing the necessity while leaving the manner to the Governor, who thereby kept the choice between conscripted highway labour under the warrant system and the Company's own slaves, lately reinforced from the Mercury and the Hamilton Galley.

The two-month account showed arrack carrying the store as always, £271 15s 11¾d of the £361 11s 4d carried over, at 6s 3d per gallon against the 4s 0d wholesale rate paid out of the Arabella on 19 February 1717. Tea entered under two measures at one price, by the pound and by the catty, the Chinese weight of about 21 ounces in which the China ships invoiced it, so the store sold from two stocks without repricing the odd measure.

The sweet oil at 12s 0d per gallon stood at roughly double the price of arrack, the dearest liquid in the account, reflecting an article that came from Europe through London rather than from the eastern factories. Lime juice, a quart only, survived in the list as the antiscorbutic kept for ships and the sick since the drought purchases of 1713.

Speculations

Referring the manner of the path to the Governor, days after the lime scheme and with the succession rumour alive, let the councillors endorse a popular work while detaching themselves from the cost and the labour bills. Pyke's improvements, the watercourse of 18 December 1716 reported as 94 feet above any before it, were increasingly recorded as his own, and a bench that praised the end but not the means kept its distance should London question the charge.

The appearance of bread and flour as separate retail lines, nearly 1,500 pounds between them in two months, suggests the store was feeding households that no longer baked from their own grain, the yam shortage years having shifted even planters onto imported provisions. The volume sits oddly beside the council's confidence in Cason's yam survey of 26 February 1717, and the store's takings were the quiet beneficiary of the difference.

377

380

July.

Brought Over. £ 361 11 4

Soape. 174½lb at. 1/5. 12 7 2½

Pepper. 8lb. at. 1/-. -8 -

Threads. 13 ounces at 9d. 2 9 9

14½ Ounces. 11. -9 1

17 ounces. 13. -18 5

8 Do. 15. -10 -

9 Do. 17. -12 9

3 Do. 14. -4 -

  1. Do Flourishing 2. -2 -

4 Do at. 12. -4 - 5 11 3

Pins. 27 M. at. 1/9. 2 7 3

Thimbles. 2. 2

Blanketts 2 pr at 22/6. 2 5 -

4 ps of dto at 15/6. 3 9 9

Glass Ware. 6 Ale Glasses at 2/6. -15 -

8 Panes of Glass 6 ps at ½ ea. -6 - 1 1 -

Norwich Stuff. 8½ Yards at 16½d. -11 8¼

6 Yards do at 17. -8 6

11½ Yards Norbt Crapes 18. -17 3 1 17 5¼

Broad Cloth. 5 Yards at 15. 3 15 -

Manchester Ticks 1 ps No 3. 1 10 6

House Linnen. 6 Yards at 2/3. -13 6

Hessings. 29½ Yards at 14. 1 14 5

Romalls 8. at. 15. -10 -

Combs. 1 Horne dto 3.

3 ditto at 7d. 1 9

  1. box do at do. 6. 1 - 3 2

Stationary Ware. 2 Testaments. 3 6

1 quire of Paper at. 1 4

1 Horne Book. 1 -5 2

Soldiers Cloaths. 9 pr Breeches at 8/3. 3 14 3

1 pr Wastcoats. 3/4. 3 3 4

  1. Coats. 20/8. 2 1 4 9 - 11 6

Tin Ware 1 Dredging Box.

Shoes 1 pr Girles Turkey Leather. 4 9

  1. pr Womens Breeded. -10 5
  2. pr Childrens Pumps. 1 - -16 2

Carried Over. £409 7 8¾

The account continued.

Brought over £361 11s 4d

Soap 174½ pounds at 1s 5d £12 7s 2½d

Pepper 8 pounds at 1s 0d £0 8s 0d

Threads 13 ounces at 9d £0 9s 9d

Threads 4½ ounces at 11d £0 4s 1½d [reading uncertain]

Threads 17 ounces at 13d £0 18s 5d

Threads 8 ounces at 15d £0 10s 0d

Threads 9 ounces at 17d £0 12s 9d

Threads [...] ounces at [...] £0 4s 0d [reading uncertain]

Threads, flourishing 1 ounce £0 2s 0d [reading uncertain]

Threads 4 ounces at 12d £0 4s 0d

Threads together £3 5s 11s 3d [reading uncertain; perhaps £3 5s 11¼d]

Pins 27 thousand at 1s 9d £2 7s 3d

Thimbles 2 £0 0s 2d

Blankets 2 pairs at 22s 6d £2 5s 0d

Blankets 4 pairs of a smaller sort at 15s 6d £3 9s 9d [reading uncertain]

Glass ware, 6 ale glasses at 2s 6d £0 15s 0d

Glass, 8 panes at 6 pence per pane £0 6s 0d

Glass ware together £1 1s 0d

Norwich stuffs 8½ yards at 16d £0 11s 8¼d

Norwich stuffs 6 yards of the same at 17d £0 8s 6d

Norwich stuffs 11½ yards [...] crapes at 18d £0 17s 3d

Norwich stuffs together £1 17s 5¼d

Broad cloth 5 yards at 15s 0d £3 15s 0d

Manchester ticks 1 piece, number 3 £1 10s 6d

House linen 6 yards at 2s 3d £0 13s 6d

Hessians 29½ yards at 14d £1 14s 5d

Romalls [...] at 15d [reading uncertain] £0 10s 0d

Combs, 1 horn ditto [...]

Combs, 3 ditto at 7d £0 1s 9d [reading uncertain]

Combs, 2 box ditto at 6d £0 1s 0d

Combs together £0 3s 2d

Stationery ware, 2 Testaments £0 3s 6d

Stationery, 1 quire of paper at 1s 4d £0 1s 4d

Stationery, 1 horn book £0 0s 4d [reading uncertain]

Stationery together £0 5s 2d

Soldiers' clothes, 9 pairs of breeches at 8s 3d £3 14s 3d

Soldiers' clothes, 11 waistcoats at 6s 4d [reading uncertain] £3 5s 4d [reading uncertain]

Soldiers' clothes, 2 coats at 20s 8d £2 1s 4d

Soldiers' clothes together £9 0s 11d [reading uncertain]

Tin ware, 1 dredging box £0 0s 6d [reading uncertain]

Shoes, 1 pair, girls', Turkey leather £0 4s 9d

Shoes, 1 pair, women's, [...] £0 10s 5d [reading uncertain]

Shoes, 1 pair, children's pumps £0 1s 0d [reading uncertain]

Shoes together £0 16s 2d

Carried over £409 7s 8¾d

Interpretations

The haberdashery and textile lines show the store as the island's sole draper, with the threads alone graded across seven prices from 9d to 17d the ounce and a flourishing thread, the fine embroidery sort, kept besides. Norwich stuffs were the worsted dress fabrics of that city's weavers, crapes among them, while Manchester ticks were the striped cotton-linen cases for bedding, hessians the coarse sacking cloth, and romalls the Indian cotton kerchiefs that had stood in the books since the Success cargo of 1714. Broad cloth at 15s 0d per yard was the dearest textile in the account, the heavy West of England woollen reserved for the better coats.

The two Testaments and the horn book mark the store supplying literacy as well as cloth, the horn book being the child's alphabet sheet mounted under transparent horn, and the schoolmaster's trade lately in George Sanders's hands. The 27,000 pins at 1s 9d the thousand, sold by count rather than weight, were the universal fastening of dress before buttons cheapened.

Soldiers' clothes passed through the inhabitants' account at full rates, breeches at 8s 3d the pair and coats at 20s 8d against the £1 0s 8d replacement coats of 1714, so the garrison bought its wear at prices that cleared the Company's cost. The Turkey leather of the girls' shoes was goatskin dressed in the eastern manner, a finer import sold beside the island-made shoes of the spring accounts.

Speculations

The single dredging box, the kitchen tin for flouring meat, and the lone quart of lime juice in the previous leaf suggest the storekeeper now entered every retail trifle separately, where earlier accounts had bundled sundries. Bazett's inventory had been demanded repeatedly through April and May 1717, and an account itemised to the sixpence reads as his answer to the Governor's threat of 30 April 1717 to send the books home as they stood.

The spread of mending goods, pins by the tens of thousands, thimbles, combs and graded threads, points to clothing kept alive by repair in a season when leather was scarce and soldiers went barefoot. The store's profit sat in those small margins, taken weekly from every household, rather than in the rare sale of broad cloth.

378

381

Brought Over. £409 7 8¾

Ribbon 3½ Yards at 10d p Yard. -2 11

Silk. 13⅞ Ounces at 2/6. 1 14 8¾

Silk Ferritts. 3 Yards at 4½d. -1 1½

Hooks & Lines Vizt.

3½ doz: Hooks. No 7. at 15d. -4 4½

  1. doz ditto. 8. -1 4
  2. doz. ditto. 9. -1 8

1 doz: ditto. 12. -2 6

Lines. 7. ditto. 8. at 11s. -6 5

  1. ditto. 9. 13. -5 5
  2. ditto. 10. -1 3½
  3. ditto. 13. -2 7
  4. ditto. 15. -3 8 1 9 3

Iron Mongers Ware. viz:

  1. Square Staples at 6d. -9 -
  2. pr Dovetails. 5. -10
  3. House Adzes at 2/8. -5 4
  4. Ground Hoes at 2/6. 2 - -
  5. Grubing Axes. 2/8. -5 4

2 Shovells wth Socketts 2/6. -5 -

  1. pr Side Hinges No 4 at 20d. -10 -
  2. pr ditto. 9. -1 6

1 Rub Stone. -2 -

  1. Chest Locks at. 3/4. -6 8
  2. Chest Ditto. 3/8. -7 4
  3. Till Locks at. 2/-. -6 -

1 Pull Back Lock. -4 1 5 3 1

£417 18 9½

The account continued.

Brought over £409 7s 8¾d

Ribbon 3½ yards at 10d per yard £0 2s 11d

Silk 13¾ ounces at 2s 6d £1 14s 8¼d

Silk ferrets 3 yards at 4½d £0 1s 1½d

Hooks and lines:

Hooks 3½ dozen, number 7, at 1s 3d £0 4s 4½d

Hooks 1 dozen ditto, number 8 £0 1s 4d

Hooks 1 dozen ditto, number 9 £0 1s 8d

Hooks 1 dozen ditto, number 12 £0 2s 6d

Lines 7 ditto, number 8, at 11d £0 6s 5d

Lines 5 ditto, number 9, at 13d £0 5s 5d

Lines 1 ditto, number 10 £0 1s 3½d

Lines 1 ditto, number 13 £0 2s 7d

Lines 1 ditto, number 15 £0 3s 8d

Hooks and lines together £1 9s 3d

Ironmonger's ware:

Square staples 18 at 6d £0 9s 0d

Dovetails 2 pairs at 5d £0 0s 10d

House adzes 2 at 2s 8d £0 5s 4d

Ground hoes 16 at 2s 6d £2 0s 0d

Grubbing axes 2 at 2s 8d £0 5s 4d

Shovels with sockets 2 at 2s 6d £0 5s 0d

Side hinges 6 pairs, number 4, at 20d £0 10s 0d

Side hinges 2 pairs ditto, number 9 £0 1s 6d [reading uncertain]

Rub stone 1 £0 2s 0d

Chest locks 2 at 3s 4d £0 6s 8d

Chest locks 2 ditto at 3s 8d £0 7s 4d

Till locks 3 at 2s 0d £0 6s 0d

Pull back lock 1 £0 4s 1d [reading uncertain]

Ironmonger's ware together £5 3s 1d

Carried over £417 18s 9½d

Interpretations

The hooks and lines passed through the inhabitants' account at retail, graded by numbered sizes, where the parcel sent out by the Cardonnell had been distributed free in proportion to families on 26 July 1715 under the Lords Proprietors' fishery relief. The relief programme had become a store trade, the islanders now paying for the tackle that kept the five-and-one boat rotation supplied, and the size run from number 7 hooks to number 15 lines served everything from rock fish to the heavier sea lines.

The ironmongery list read as the equipment of fencing and planting season: ground hoes in quantity, grubbing axes for clearing roots, shovels, adzes and staples, sold in the months the new wall contracts of 5 June 1717 set undertakers to work on their own tools. Silk ferrets were the narrow silk tapes used for binding and garters, sold by the yard beside sewing silk at 2s 6d the ounce, dearer than any thread on the previous leaf.

The locks deserve notice in a settlement of repeated house-breaking: chest locks at two prices, till locks for money drawers and a pull-back lock, the spring sort opened by a cord from within. Algate's house had been broken three times in November 1714 and the storehouse robbed since, so the store sold the islanders their security as well as their tools.

Speculations

Sixteen ground hoes in two months against pairs and singles of every other tool suggests a bulk taking by one or two purchasers, most naturally planters re-equipping hired or newly bought slaves for the season's planting, the Drake sale of March 1717 having put new hands into private fields. The store's tally did not name buyers, but the pattern sits with the labour changes the advertisement of 21 May 1717 announced.

Three till locks in one account points to shopkeeping habits spreading beyond the Company's own store, punch-house keepers and victuallers fitting money drawers as the paper cash notes and small coin circulated. The Company profited twice, once on the lock and once on the orderly trade it secured.

379

382

July

Brought Over. £ 417 18 9½

Nayles Vizt.

2lb of 2. at. 11d. -1 10

-10 6

    1. 8½. -2 1½
    2. 8½. -6 4½

-3 4

    1. 7½. -1 3

-1 9

26 Weight Nayles. 6¾. -14 7½

  1. Tacks. 20. -3 4
  2. Scupper. 10½. -2 7½ 2 7 9

Shalloons. 75½ Yards at 2/6. 9 7 6

Druggetts Vizt.

31½ Yards Silk dto at 4/9. 7 9 7½

16¾ Yards Cloth dto at 4/-. 3 7 -

  1. Yards Cloth dto. at 3/-. 3 9 - 14 5 7½

Durants 54 Yards at 1/9. 4 14 6

Fustians. Vizt.

25¾ Yards white plain at 20d. 2 2 11

4½. Yards Tufted dto. at 2/4. -10 6 2 13 5

Stockings. Vizt.

  1. pr F Cotton do: at 2/6. 2 10 -

31 pr ditto. at. 3/-. 4 13 - 7 3 -

Shoe Thread. 6lb at 2/6. -15 -

Starch. 2. at 9d. -1 6

Carried Over. £459 7 1

The account continued.

Brought over £417 18s 9½d

Nails:

Nails 2 pounds of 2d at 11d £0 1s 10d

Nails 14 pounds of 3d at 9d £0 10s 6d

Nails 3 pounds of 6d at 8½d £0 2s 1½d

Nails 9 pounds of 10d at 8½d £0 6s 4½d

Nails 5 pounds of 20d at 8d £0 3s 4d

Nails 2 pounds of 24d at 7½d £0 1s 3d

Nails 3 pounds of 30d at 7d £0 1s 9d

Weight nails 26 pounds at 6¾d £0 14s 7½d

Tacks 2 pounds at 20d £0 3s 4d

Scupper nails 3 pounds at 10½d £0 2s 7½d

Nails together £2 7s 9d

Shalloons 75½ yards at 2s 6d £9 7s 6d

Druggets:

Druggets, silk 31½ yards at 4s 9d £7 9s 7½d

Druggets, cloth 16¾ yards at 4s 0d £3 7s 0d

Druggets, cloth 23 yards at 3s 0d £3 9s 0d

Druggets together £14 5s 7½d

Durants 54 yards at 1s 9d £4 14s 6d

Fustians:

Fustians, white plain 25¾ yards at 20d £2 2s 11d

Fustians, tufted 4½ yards at 2s 4d £0 10s 6d

Fustians together £2 13s 5d

Stockings:

Stockings, cotton 20 pairs at 2s 6d £2 10s 0d

Stockings 31 pairs ditto at 3s 0d £4 13s 0d

Stockings together £7 3s 0d

Shoe thread 6 pounds at 2s 6d £0 15s 0d

Starch 2 pounds at 9d £0 1s 6d

Carried over £459 7s 1d

Interpretations

The nail schedule sold by the pound across the penny sizes, 2d to 30d nails, the size names being the old price per hundred that now served only as gauge, with the smaller sizes dearer per pound because more nails went to the weight. Weight nails, the largest spikes sold simply by weight, took the biggest single quantity at 26 pounds, and scupper nails were the broad-headed sort for nailing leather and lead about drains and boats. The run of building sizes in quantity belongs to the same season of fencing, pointing and repair the lime advertisement of 9 July 1717 was meant to encourage.

The textile lines were the workaday woollens and mixed stuffs below the broad cloth of the earlier leaf: shalloons the light worsted lining cloth, druggets the plain wool or silk-mixed dress stuff in three grades, durants a glazed worsted of the tammy kind, and fustians the cotton-linen cloth, plain white or tufted with a raised pile. Together with 51 pairs of cotton stockings they clothed the middling households, and the shoe thread at 2s 6d the pound fed the island's own shoemaking alongside the hides bought from the Mercury on 5 June 1717.

The two months' textile and clothing sales across these leaves, from threads and pins to druggets and stockings, came to a sum approaching the arrack line, showing the store's drapery trade as the second pillar of its takings.

Speculations

Silk drugget at 4s 9d the yard, the dearest of the three grades, sold over 31 yards in two months, enough for several suits, which suggests the better families dressing against some occasion, perhaps the expected change of government the rumours promised. Fine cloth moving in a season of scarce leather and bare feet marks how unevenly the island's money sat.

The starch, 2 pounds only, served the linen of the few who kept up formal dress, and its appearance as the account's last retail line beside shoe thread shows the storekeeper sweeping every remnant of the counter trade into the book, the same completeness that answered the Governor's pressure over the accounts through April and May 1717.

380

383

1717

Brought Over. 459 7 1

Cutlary Ware Vizt.

6 Knives at 5d. -2 6

  1. ditto & 12. Forks wth Steel Ferrills. -18 -
  2. ditto & 12. ditto Holley hafted. -14 9 1 15 3

Long Cloth Vizt.

  1. Ps Coarse ditto at 24/9. 7 8 6
  2. Ps fine dto. at. 40/-. 56 - - 63 8 6

Nealeas. 29 ps at 10/-. 14 10 -

Gurrhaes. 16 ps at. 12/6. 10 - -

Blew Gurrhaes. 3 ps 9/-. 1 7 -

Ginghams. 3 ps at. 9/9. 1 9 3

1 ps ditto. -9 6 1 18 9

Neckcloaths 1 ps & 11 Single do at 32/10. 3 3 1

Shirts. 91 ditto at 3. 13 13 -

Chints. 2. ps. at 22. 2 4 -

Saunoes. 1 ps. -15 2

Indigo. 4: Ounces at. 8d. 2 8

Corks. 2½ Grose at. 3/-. -7 6

Comb Brushes. 1. -9

Wooden Ware vizt.

  1. Scumming Dish. 6
  2. Straining Do. 6 -1 -

Pewter. 1 Bason. 2 6

  1. Ditto. 6 4 -8 10

Carried Over. £573 2 7

The account continued.

Brought over £459 7s 1d

Cutlery ware:

Knives 6 at 5d £0 2s 6d

Knives and forks 12 ditto and 12 forks with steel ferrules £0 18s 0d

Knives and forks 12 ditto and 12 ditto, holly hafted £0 14s 9d

Cutlery ware together £1 15s 3d

Long cloth:

Long cloth, coarse 6 pieces at 24s 9d £7 8s 6d

Long cloth, fine 28 pieces at 40s 0d £56 0s 0d

Long cloth together £63 8s 6d

Nealeas 29 pieces at 10s 0d £14 10s 0d

Gurrahs 16 pieces at 12s 6d £10 0s 0d

Blue gurrahs 3 pieces at 9s 0d £1 7s 0d

Ginghams 3 pieces at 9s 9d £1 9s 3d

Ginghams 1 piece ditto £0 9s 6d

Ginghams together £1 18s 9d

Neckcloths 1 piece and 11 single ditto at 32s 10d £3 3s 1d [reading uncertain]

Shirts 91 ditto at 3s 0d £13 13s 0d

Chints 2 pieces at 22s 0d £2 4s 0d

Saunoes 1 piece £0 15s 2d

Indigo 4 ounces at 8d £0 2s 8d

Corks 2½ gross at 3s 0d £0 7s 6d

Comb brushes 1 £0 0s 9d

Wooden ware:

Scumming dish 1 £0 0s 6d

Straining ditto 1 £0 0s 6d

Wooden ware together £0 1s 0d

Pewter 1 basin £0 2s 6d

Pewter 1 ditto £0 6s 4d

Pewter together £0 8s 10d

Carried over £573 2s 7d

Interpretations

The Indian piece goods dominated the leaf, and their names were the trade's own: long cloth the plain Coromandel cotton woven in long pieces, here in two grades with the fine at 40s 0d the piece taking £56 0s 0d at a stroke, nealeas and gurrahs the ordinary Bengal calicoes, blue gurrahs dyed in the loom, ginghams the striped or checked cottons, chints the painted and printed calicoes, and saunoes a fine Bengal muslin. The 28 fine pieces of long cloth answer the Dartmouth's lading of 4 May 1717, six bales of ordinary long cloth and chintz sannoes, the new cargo passing straight through the inhabitants' account.

Ninety-one ready-made shirts at 3s 0d continued the shirt trade recorded since the Kent parcel of November 1714 at 3s 6d, and the Grantham had landed a bale of 200 shirts on 28 April 1717, so the store now undersold its old rate from fresh stock. The indigo by the ounce served household dyeing and the blueing of linen, and the corks by the gross point to the bottling of the arrack and wine the same account retailed by the gallon.

The kitchen lines close the leaf at the humblest level, a scumming dish for skimming the pot, a straining dish, and two pewter basins, the metal tableware that stood between wood and silver in every household's reckoning.

Speculations

Fine long cloth outselling coarse nearly five to one in value inverts the expected trade of a hard season, and the likeliest buyers in bulk were not households but the punch-house keepers and dealers who took piece goods as a store of value when paper notes and store credit were the only money. Cloth in the chest kept its price; credit at the store did not.

The single piece of saunoes at 15s 2d, an odd remnant price, suggests the storekeeper was clearing broken stock from the Catherine and Katharine cargoes alongside the new arrivals, the account sweeping old inventory out under cover of the season's fresh goods.

381

384

July.

Brought Over £ 573 2 7

Catherines Goods Vizt. Do

Stockings. 2 pr Thread at 4/6. -9 -

  1. Pr Coarse Blew Yarn. 2/2. 1 14 8

1 pr of. Silk. -18 - 3 1 8

Buttons. 16¾: dozn Coat No. A.B. -16 9

57⁄6 dozn Breast dto. -18 9 1 15 6

Iron Mongers Ware. vizt.

  1. Splinter lock No 2. -1 -

6 Splinter do. 4. at 20d. -10 -

1 Stock lock. 1. -2 4

  1. Stock dto. 2. at 3/6. -7 -
  2. Stock dto. 4. 7/6. 1 2 6
  3. pr Stilliards. 1 - 3 2 10

Mohair. 11¼ Ounces at 20d. -18 9

Tobacco 271lb at. 2/-. 27 2 -

Pipes. 94⁷⁄₁₂ dozn at. 6d. 2 7 3½ 29 9 3½

Knives 23 Butchers do a 6d. 11 6

Hooks. 12 dozn Old wives at 4d. -4 -

Thread. 1¾lb fine Brown at 5/-. -8 9

1½ Collod Dto. 5/-. -7 6 -16 3

Needles. 50. -9½

Hoods. 1 No 2. -13 6

Stationary Ware 1. Bible. -8 3

1 Large Comon prayer Book. -6 5

Carried Over. £614 11 4

The account continued.

Brought over £573 2s 7d

The Catherine's goods:

Stockings 2 pairs, thread, at 4s 6d £0 9s 0d

Stockings 16 pairs, coarse blue yarn, at 2s 2d £1 14s 8d

Stockings 1 pair of silk £0 18s 0d

Stockings together £3 1s 8d

Buttons 16¾ dozen, coat, number A B £0 16s 9d

Buttons 37½ dozen, breast ditto £0 18s 9d

Buttons together £1 15s 6d

Ironmonger's ware:

Splinter lock 1, number 2 £0 1s 0d

Splinter locks 6 ditto, number 4, at 20d £0 10s 0d

Stock lock 1 £0 2s 4d

Stock locks 2 ditto at 3s 6d £0 7s 0d

Stock locks 3 ditto at 7s 6d £1 2s 6d

Stilliards 1 pair £1 0s 0d

Ironmonger's ware together £3 2s 10d

Mohair 11¼ ounces at 20d £0 18s 9d

Tobacco 271 pounds at 2s 0d £27 2s 0d

Pipes 94½ dozen at 6d £2 7s 3½d [reading uncertain]

Tobacco and pipes together £29 9s 3½d

Knives 23 butcher's ditto at 6d £0 11s 6d

Hooks 12 dozen old wives at 4d £0 4s 0d

Thread 1¾ pounds fine brown at 5s 0d £0 8s 9d

Thread 1½ pounds coloured ditto at 5s 0d £0 7s 6d

Thread together £0 16s 3d

Needles 50 £0 0s 9½d

Hoods 1, number 2 £0 13s 6d

Stationery ware, 1 Bible £0 8s 3d

Stationery, 1 large Common Prayer book £0 6s 5d

Carried over £614 11s 4d

Interpretations

The leaf opened a separate head for the Catherine's goods, keeping the new cargo distinct within the inhabitants' account as the storekeeper had done since the Katharine and Catherine entries of the December account reported on 19 February 1717. The parcel itself was small wares, graded stockings from coarse blue yarn at 2s 2d to silk at 18s 0d the pair, and coat and breast buttons by the dozen, the same articles Lucas Mason's bill had priced for John Maynard on 14 May 1717.

Tobacco carried the leaf at £27 2s 0d for 271 pounds, with 94½ dozen pipes beside it, more than 1,100 clay pipes in two months for a community of a few hundred whites, smoking being the cheap universal indulgence the store supplied at 2s 0d the pound. The stilliards at £1 0s 0d were the steelyard balance for weighing by the arm, sold to some household or dealer now handling goods in quantity.

The locks continued the security trade of the earlier leaf in heavier forms, stock locks being the iron locks screwed to a wooden stock for doors, splinter locks the lighter sort, and three stock locks at 7s 6d standing among the dearest single articles of ironmongery. Old wives were a named pattern of fish hook for the broad flat fish of that name, sold by the dozen beside the butcher's knives of the slaughtering season.

Speculations

A Bible at 8s 3d and a large Common Prayer book at 6s 5d sold in the same two months as the two Testaments of the earlier leaf suggest a household furnishing itself for family worship, or the chaplain replacing church books at private cost, the parish lately busy with the wardens appointed on 30 April 1717. Books at such prices were deliberate purchases, not counter trifles.

The single hood at 13s 6d, a woman's dress article dearer than a pair of men's breeches, sits with the silk stockings and silk drugget as another mark of the better families' spending. The store evidently kept a small stock of finery whose buyers, though few, paid margins worth the shelf room.

382

385

Brought Over. £ 614 11 4

Thicksetts. 1 ps of do log No. 2. 1 15 -

1 ps of do. 4. 2 12 -

½ ps. do. 5. 1 8 - 5 15 -

Fustians. 1½ ps at 26/8. 2 - -

Shoes. 2 pr Mens do. at 6/2. -12 4

1 pr Womens Spannish dto. 6 2 -18 6

Lubeck Canvas. 1 ps. 1 15 -

Tin Ware. 2 Porringers at 5d. -10

  1. do. 9. -2 3
  2. Sauce Pan. -9
  3. quart do. -1 2

5 Lamps at 22d. -9 2

  1. Round Pudding Pan. -2 7
  2. dto Smaller. -1 10
  3. 1½ Pint Coffee Pott. -1 9 1 - 4

Pewter. 1½ dozn Spoons at 4/6. -6 9

1 Bason. -5 - -11 9

Brass Ware 1 Tea Kettle. -10 5

1 Copper Sauce Pan. -9 7 1 - -

Ribbon. 2 Yards at 18d. -3 -

  1. Yards do. 12. -2 - -5 -

Totall to the Inhabitants. £627 16 11

The account continued.

Brought over £614 11s 4d

Thicksets 1 piece of ditto, number 2 £1 15s 0d

Thicksets 1 piece of ditto, number 4 £2 12s 0d

Thicksets ½ piece ditto, number 5 £1 8s 0d

Thicksets together £5 15s 0d

Fustians 1½ pieces at 26s 8d £2 0s 0d

Shoes 2 pairs, men's ditto, at 6s 2d £0 12s 4d

Shoes 1 pair, women's Spanish ditto £0 6s 2d

Shoes together £0 18s 6d

Lubeck canvas 1 piece £1 15s 0d

Tin ware:

Porringers 2 at 5d £0 0s 10d

Porringers 3 ditto at 9d £0 2s 3d

Saucepan 1 £0 0s 9d

Saucepan 1 quart ditto £0 1s 2d

Lamps 5 at 22d £0 9s 2d

Pudding pan 1, round £0 2s 7d

Pudding pan 1 ditto, smaller £0 1s 10d

Coffee pot 1, of 1½ pints £0 1s 9d

Tin ware together £1 0s 4d

Pewter 1½ dozen spoons at 4s 6d £0 6s 9d

Pewter 1 basin £0 5s 0d

Pewter together £0 11s 9d

Brass ware, 1 tea kettle £0 10s 5d

Brass ware, 1 copper saucepan £0 9s 7d

Brass ware together £1 0s 0d

Ribbon 2 yards at 18d £0 3s 0d

Ribbon 2 yards ditto at 12d £0 2s 0d

Ribbon together £0 5s 0d

Total to the inhabitants £627 16s 11d

Interpretations

The inhabitants' side of the two months closed at £627 16s 11d, more than double the £260 2s 6d of the single month to 25 March 1717, with arrack at £271 15s 11¾d still over two fifths of the whole and the piece goods of the new cargoes making most of the rest. The pace of the spring shipping passed straight into the islanders' debts at the store.

The closing leaf finished the drapery with thicksets, the stout twilled cotton of the fustian kind worn for working clothes, sold in numbered grades, and Lubeck canvas, the Baltic sailcloth and strong linen imported through the Hanse town of that name. Spanish shoes continued the dressed-leather trade of the Turkey leather pair on the earlier leaf, the store retailing imported footwear beside the island-made.

The metal kitchen lines mark the modest comforts spreading through households: tin lamps at 22d for the winter evenings, pudding pans, a pint-and-a-half coffee pot, pewter spoons by the dozen, and in brass a tea kettle at 10s 5d, the dearest vessel of the page, serving the tea the store sold at 9s 0d the pound. The catalogue of cooking tin at pennies apiece shows the store's reach down to the smallest cabin.

Speculations

A coffee pot and a tea kettle in the same account, with tea sold by pound and catty, point to the hot-drink habit settling in among the better sort even on a provisioning island, the punch houses no longer the only resort. The Governor's wine allowance debated in June 1717 belongs to the same change in table manners.

Five lamps in one entry suggests a single buyer lighting a house or business through the foggy season, and the oil to feed them stood in the same account at 12s 0d per gallon. The store sold the fixture and the fuel together, a small monopoly within the monopoly.

383

386

July

Union Castle Dr. to Store Goods from March the 25th 1717 To the 25th of May following. Vizt.

Arrack 160⅞ Gall. at 6/3 p Gall. 50 5 5¾

Sugar. 434lb at. 8d plb. 14 9 4

Bread 320lb at. 3½. 4 13 4

Flour. 787lb at. 3½. 11 9 6½

Rice. 1019lb at. 3½. 14 17 2½

Oyle. 2½ Gall Linseed do at 8/ p Gall. -18 -

16½ Gall Sweet dto at 12/. 9 18 - 10 16 -

Vinegar. 3 Gall at. 2/6. -7 6

Lime Juice 1 Gall. -5 -

Tea. 20lb at. 9 plb. 9 -

8 Catties of dto at 9 p Cattie. 3 12 - 12 12 -

Soape 77lb at. 1/5 plb. 5 9 1

Pepper. 7lb at. 12d. -7 -

Wine. 25 Galls at. 5 p Gall. 6 5 -

Iron Mongers Ware viz.

  1. Chest Locks at. 3/4. -16 8
  2. Chest do. -4 -
  3. Till Locks. 2/-. -4 -
  4. Iron Rimd Lock. -4 1

4 pr Side Hinges at. 20d. -6 8

1 Cap Staple. -1 -

3 plate Bolts No 6. at 15d. -3 9

6 Shovells wth Socketts at 2/6. -15 - 2 15 2

Glass Ware Vizt.

6 Ale Glasses at. 2/6. -15 -

4 Decanters qt 8½lb at 2/2. -18 5 1 13 5

Carried Over. £136 5 0¾

The account continued with the Union Castle made debtor to store goods from 25 March 1717 to 25 May following.

Arrack 160⅞ gallons at 6s 3d per gallon £50 5s 5¾d

Sugar 434 pounds at 8d per pound £14 9s 4d

Bread 320 pounds at 3½d £4 13s 4d

Flour 787 pounds at 3½d £11 9s 6½d

Rice 1,019 pounds at 3½d £14 17s 2½d

Oil, linseed, 2¼ gallons at 8s 0d per gallon £0 18s 0d

Oil, sweet, 16½ gallons at 12s 0d £9 18s 0d

Oil together £10 16s 0d

Vinegar 3 gallons at 2s 6d £0 7s 6d

Lime juice 1 gallon £0 5s 0d

Tea 20 pounds at 9s 0d per pound £9 0s 0d

Tea 8 catties of ditto at 9s 0d per cattie £3 12s 0d

Tea together £12 12s 0d

Soap 77 pounds at 17d per pound £5 9s 1d

Pepper 7 pounds at 12d £0 7s 0d

Wine 25 gallons at 5s 0d per gallon £6 5s 0d

Ironmonger's ware:

Chest locks 5 at 3s 4d £0 16s 8d

Chest lock 1 ditto £0 4s 0d

Till locks 2 at 2s 0d £0 4s 0d

Iron rimmed lock 1 £0 4s 1d

Side hinges 4 pairs at 20d £0 6s 8d

Cap staple 1 £0 1s 0d

Plate bolts 3, number 6, at 15d £0 3s 9d

Shovels with sockets 6 at 2s 6d £0 15s 0d

Ironmonger's ware together £2 15s 2d

Glass ware:

Ale glasses 6 at 2s 6d £0 15s 0d

Decanters 4 of [...] at 2s 2d [reading uncertain] £0 18s 5d

Glass ware together £1 13s 5d

Carried over £136 5s 0¾d

Interpretations

The Union Castle head charged the Governor's own establishment at the same retail rates as the inhabitants, arrack at 6s 3d, sugar at 8d and tea at 9s 0d, so the castle's table stood debtor in the books like any household, the form by which the storekeeper's four-fold account had separated the establishment's consumption since 1714. The 160⅞ gallons of arrack in two months ran the garrison's table and the entertaining of the shipping season, and rice at over 1,000 pounds shows the castle feeding its servants and guards on the cheapest grain.

The 25 gallons of wine at 5s 0d per gallon entered before any allowance was settled, the very expense the Governor laid before the council in the wine debate of June 1717, where the table's drinking since February had run at eight bottles a day and more. The line gives the charge its scale in the books, about a gallon every other day at a rate above the new Madeira retail of 4s 0d ordered on 9 July 1717.

The castle's ironmongery, six chest and till locks and an iron rimmed lock in one quarter, fits the secrecy resolutions of 13 January 1717, which confined the office books and papers to the Governor, council and clerks. Securing presses and chests was the material side of that confinement, and the plate bolts and hinges belong to the same refitting of doors about the castle.

Speculations

Sweet oil at 16½ gallons against the inhabitants' 1¼ suggests the castle lamps and kitchen consumed what the islanders could not afford, lighting the offices where the writers sat every day at the store books by Haswell's account of 25 June 1717. The counting house worked by bought light, and the cost ran quietly through the general head.

Four decanters and six ale glasses in the castle's account in the season of the wine debate look like the equipment of the regulated table itself, vessels by which an allowance in bottles could be decently served and seen. Having asked the council to fix his measure, the Governor furnished the means of keeping to it in public view.

384

387

1717

Brought Over. 136 5 0¾

Nayles. 16lb of do. 3 at 9d plb. -12 -

  1. 10 at 8d. 2 3 2½
  2. 20 a 8. -12 -
    1. 7½. -3 9

-3 6

2lb Batten Brads. 14. -2 4

  1. flooring do. 9. -8 3
  2. Round heads. 12. -2 - 4 7 0½

Cutlary Ware Vizt.

  1. Knives & 12 forks Maple handles. -17 3
  2. ditto. 12. dto Holley handles. -14 9 1 12 -

Iron Potts 1. qt 84lb Old Cargoe. 2 2 -

Blanketts. 24 pr at 15/6. 18 12 -

Bodice. 1 pr. -12 9

Holland Cloth 9 Yards. 2 18 6

House Linning. 8½ Yd at 2/3. -18 6¾

Hollands Duck. 2½ Yd at 4/3. 10 4½

Thread. 4 Ounces. at 9d. -3 -

Long Cloth 4 ps Coarse at 24/9 pps. 4 19 -

1 ps Fine Long Cloth. 2 - - 6 19 -

Gurrhaes. 1 ps. -12 6

Sacking. 2 ps at 32/-. 3 4 -

Twine. 2¼lb at. 2/4. -5 3

Shoe Thread ½lb. -1 3

Reed Lead. 21lb at 6d. -10 6

Beef. 3 Casks. qt: 1280. at 5½d. 29 6 8

Saunoes. 6 ps at. 15/2. 4 11 -

Carried Over. £213 11 5½

The account continued.

Brought over £136 5s 0¾d

Nails 16 pounds of 3d ditto at 9d per pound £0 12s 0d

Nails 61 pounds of 10d at 8½d £2 3s 2½d

Nails 18 pounds of 20d at 8d £0 12s 0d

Nails 6 pounds of 24d at 7½d £0 3s 9d

Nails 6 pounds of 30d at 7d £0 3s 6d

Batten brads 2 pounds at 14d £0 2s 4d

Flooring ditto 11 pounds at 9d £0 8s 3d

Round heads 2 pounds at 12d £0 2s 0d

Nails together £4 7s 0½d

Cutlery ware:

Knives and forks 12 knives and 12 forks, maple handles £0 17s 3d

Knives and forks 12 ditto and 12 ditto, holly handles £0 14s 9d

Cutlery ware together £1 12s 0d

Iron pots 1, of 84 pounds, old cargo £2 2s 0d

Blankets 24 pairs at 15s 6d £18 12s 0d

Bodice 1 pair £0 12s 9d

Holland cloth 9 yards £2 18s 6d

House linen 8¼ yards at 2s 3d £0 18s 6¾d

Hollands duck 2½ yards at 4s 3d £0 10s 4½d

Thread 4 ounces at 9d £0 3s 0d

Long cloth 4 pieces, coarse, at 24s 9d per piece £4 19s 0d

Long cloth 1 piece, fine long cloth £2 0s 0d

Long cloth together £6 19s 0d

Gurrahs 1 piece £0 12s 6d

Sacking 2 pieces at 32s 0d £3 4s 0d

Twine 2¼ pounds at 2s 4d £0 5s 3d

Shoe thread ½ pound £0 1s 3d

Red lead 21 pounds at 6d £0 10s 6d

Beef 3 casks of 1,280 pounds at 5½d £29 6s 8d

Saunoes 6 pieces at 15s 2d £4 11s 0d

Carried over £213 11s 5½d

Interpretations

The castle's nail and brad schedule belonged to building in hand, flooring brads and batten brads beside the framing sizes, with 61 pounds of 10d nails the largest single line. The barracks whose unfinished state had kept John Palser Bregger on the island on 18 June 1717 and justified Lieutenant Cason's house rent on 9 April 1717 were the standing works to consume them, with red lead beside for priming the iron and woodwork.

Twenty-four pairs of blankets at £18 12s 0d, the dearest line but beef, equipped sleeping quarters rather than a table, the same article the Union Castle drew twelve pairs of in the winter account entered on 19 February 1717. Bedding on that scale points to the garrison and the Company's servants housed about the castle, and perhaps the new slaves quartered until the smallpox order of 19 June 1717 sent the Mercury's blacks to Lemon Valley.

The three casks of beef, 1,280 pounds at 5½d the pound, fed the establishment from salted store rather than fresh killing, the herd still under the discipline of the cow-saving years. The iron pot of 84 pounds from the old cargo was the great boiling vessel of a common kitchen, sold by weight as iron pots had been since the Katharine invoice priced them in 1716.

Speculations

The bodice, a woman's stayed garment at 12s 9d, sits oddly in the castle's account and probably clothed a female servant or slave of the household at the Company's charge, the establishment dressing those who served the Governor's family as it shod its boatmen. Holland cloth and fine long cloth in the same head served the same household wardrobe above the garrison's coarse issue.

Charging the castle the full retail rate for nails, blankets and beef inflated the establishment's apparent cost to London while the profit stayed in the store's takings, a bookkeeping circle that made the island's overheads look dearer than their prime cost. Haswell's complaint of 25 June 1717 that the directors could not imagine the trouble in the accounts had this double counting among its causes.

385

388

July.

Brought Over. £213 11 5½

Catherines Goods (Vizt)

Cutlary Ware vizt.

  1. Butchers Knives at 6d. -3 6

Iron Mongers Ware. 1 felling Ax. -3 4

Pewterers Ware. 3 dozn Plates at 26/6. 3 19 6

Tin Ware 1. three Pint Sauce Pan. -1 8

1 Quart do. -1 2

Tobacco. 3lb. 0:6:0

  1. Pipes. 0:0:6. 6 6

Scarlet Cloth. 3 Yards. at 15. 2 5 - 7 - 8

Totall of Catherines Cargoe.

Totall to Union Castle. £220 12 1½

Plantation House Dr. viz

Arrack 7½ Gall at 6/3. 2 6 10½

Sugar. 36lb at. 8d plb. 1 4 -

Soape. 12lb. -17 -

Nayles. 13lb 10d do at 8½. -9 11

4: 20 do. at. 8. -2 8

1 Axeltree & Winch. -4 -

  1. Iron Rimd lock at 2/10. -5 8
  2. Ground Hoes at. 2/6. 2 10 -

4 Wooden platters at 19d. -6 4

Catherines Goods vizt.

  1. Butchers Knives. 0: 4:6
  2. Flesh ditto. 1:0:0 1 4 6

Totall to Plantation. £9 10 11½

The account continued.

Brought over £213 11s 5½d

The Catherine's goods:

Cutlery ware, 7 butcher's knives at 6d £0 3s 6d

Ironmonger's ware, 1 felling axe £0 3s 4d

Pewterer's ware, 3 dozen plates at 26s 6d £3 19s 6d

Tin ware, 1 three-pint saucepan £0 1s 8d

Tin ware, 1 quart ditto £0 1s 2d

Tobacco 3 pounds £0 6s 0d

Pipes 12 £0 0s 6d

Tobacco and pipes together £0 6s 6d

Scarlet cloth 3 yards at 15s 0d £2 5s 0d

Total of the Catherine's cargo £7 0s 8d

Total to Union Castle £220 12s 1½d

Plantation House debtor:

Arrack 7½ gallons at 6s 3d £2 6s 10½d

Sugar 36 pounds at 8d per pound £1 4s 0d

Soap 12 pounds £0 17s 0d

Nails 14 pounds of 10d ditto at 8½d £0 9s 11d

Nails 4 pounds of 20d ditto at 8d £0 2s 8d

Axletree and winch 1 £0 4s 0d

Iron rimmed locks 2 at 2s 10d £0 5s 8d

Ground hoes 20 at 2s 6d £2 10s 0d

Wooden platters 4 at 19d £0 6s 4d

The Catherine's goods:

Butcher's knives 9 £0 4s 6d

Flesh ditto 2 £1 0s 0d

The Catherine's goods together £1 4s 6d

Total to Plantation House £9 10s 11½d

Interpretations

The Union Castle head closed at £220 12s 1½d for the two months, against the inhabitants' £627 16s 11d, the establishment's whole table, bedding, building and kitchen running at about a third of the retail trade. Three dozen pewter plates and the scarlet cloth at 15s 0d the yard, the same rate as the broad cloth sold to the inhabitants, furnished the Governor's table and the castle's better dress out of the new cargo, scarlet being the dearest dye of the woollen trade.

The Plantation House head showed the country establishment at its leanest, under £10 0s 0d in two months, the arrack at 7½ gallons serving the overseer's household where the castle drew 160. Twenty ground hoes in one line was the plantation's real business, tooling the slaves for the planting that Cason's survey of 26 February 1717 and the labour reinforcements of the spring had set in motion, with the axletree and winch keeping the carting gear in repair.

The flesh knives among the Catherine's goods were the heavy blades for cutting up carcasses, two at 10s 0d each against the butcher's knives at 6d, the difference between a slaughterman's tool and a kitchen knife. Wooden platters at 19d apiece fed the plantation's table at the cheapest level of ware, below even the tin of the castle.

Speculations

The Plantation House drawing twenty hoes while the inhabitants bought sixteen suggests the Company and the planters were tooling for the same season at the same counter, and the store's stock of field tools, not labour, was now the binding constraint on how much ground broke that spring. The indent's hardware orders had become the island's agricultural policy.

Scarlet cloth entering the castle account in the season of succession rumours reads as the Governor dressing his immediate establishment to the standard a change of government might be expected to find, the same instinct that lay behind the lime scheme of 9 July 1717 for the look of the town. Appearances were being put in order at every level of the books.

386

389

Totall to Union Castle. 220 12 1½

Totall to Plantation. 9 10 11½

Totall to the Inhabitants. 627 16 11

Sum Totall. £858 - -

Antipas Tovey.

At: a Consultation held on Wednesday the 17th day of July 1717 At: Union Castle in James valley.

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr Governr: George Haswell Dpty Matthw Bazett 3d & Antip: Tovey 4th in Counll.

The last Consultation read & Approved of.

On Wednesday last the 10th of this Instant July arrived the Princess Emilia Capt John Misenor Comandr: from Bombay

Then the Council Sett the Prices on the Honble: Compes: Cargoe by the Success Capt Benjn Graves Comandr: from England as followeth.

Invoice

Margin Notes:

Island St Helena.

The account closed with its totals.

Total to Union Castle £220 12s 1½d

Total to Plantation £9 10s 11½d

Total to the inhabitants £627 16s 11d

Sum total £858 0s 0d

The account was signed by Antipas Tovey.

A consultation was held on Wednesday 17 July 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, the deputy governor George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

On Wednesday last, the 10th of this instant July, the Princess Emilia, Captain John Misenor commander, arrived from Bombay.

The council then set the prices on the Honourable Company's cargo brought by the Success, Captain Benjamin Graves commander, from England, as follows. The invoice [...]

Interpretations

The sum total of £858 0s 0d for the two months ran at an annual pace above £5,000 0s 0d, more than double the roughly £2,000 a year of the quarterly account to 25 February 1715, the spring cargoes and the new labour establishment swelling every head of the books. The exact round figure against the three части totalling £858 0s 0½d shows the clerk dropping the odd halfpenny in the casting, the total governing as the books' own rule required.

The pricing of the Success's cargo discharged the business deferred on 9 July 1717 for Captain Haswell's absence, the deputy governor now present and the full bench of four sitting. General price-setting waited for the whole council because every rate fixed the islanders' debts and the Company's profit at once, where the souring wine alone had been dealt with by three.

The Princess Emilia from Bombay extended the season's run of shipping, the seventh arrival since March, and her captain's name was new to the record. Her call promised the western India goods, arrack and piece goods of the Bombay lading, while the council still worked through the English cargo of the Success.

Speculations

Holding the price-setting until Haswell returned, rather than letting the Governor and two councillors fix rates, protected the bench against the charge of self-interested pricing, since the storekeeper Bazett and the Governor both stood to account for the margins. Four hands on the price list spread the responsibility London might question.

The clerk's heart-shaped flourish against the plantation total, like the exact rounding of the sum, marks a copyist finishing a long fair entry with relief, the two-month account having run across nine leaves. The decorated casting-up was the visible end of the labour Haswell had promised the Governor the writers were every day about.

387

390

July.

London 27th Febry 1716.

Invoice of Bullion & Merchandize by the Honble the Court of Directrs of the United Compa: of Merchts of England trading to the East Indies in & upon the good Ship called the Success burden 250 Tons or thereabouts Whereof goth Comandr Capt Benjn Graves, bound by the Almightys Permission for the Island of St Helena, and goes Consigned to ye Govr & Counll there Resident, being Marked & Numbered as p Margt the Particulars are as follow. Viz.

Coales 21 Chaldron. at 32/6 p Chaldn £ 34 6 -

Vizgar 12 Casks. at 51/4 p Cask. No 1 to 2 30 16 -

Oyle 29 Jars. viz

10 Jars Train Oyle q: 300 at 2/6 p Gall 49 10 -

10 Jars. 4 8

No 13 to 22 10 Jars Rape Oyle qt 335 Gall: 2/9 p Gall 46 1 3

10 Jars. 4 8 -

23 to 32 7 Jars Linseed Oyle q 232 Gall 3/10 p G 44 9 4

7 Jars. 3 1 6

33 to 39 2 Jars Sweet Oyle qt 70 Gall. 7/8 p Gall 26 16 8

2 Jars. 17 6

  1. 40 29. Jars Oyle. Amounting to. 179 12 3

Soape 4 Chests. wt 27. at 7s 19 pCt. 105 1 6

42 to 50 White Lead 10 Ferkins wt 21 2 14 a 24/3 pCt. 26 15 2

51 to 60 Yellow Oaker 3 Casks wt 11 2 0. 14/3 pCt. 9 2 5

61 to 63 Whiting 2 Casks. wt 26lb. 1/9 pCt. 2 5 6

Turpentine 1 Cask & 1 Bottle viz

66 1 Bottle Oyle Turpentd wt 16:9 a 9d plb. 12 5

67 1 Cask venice Turpent. 15:13 - 16 d plb. 1 1 -

1 Cask & 1 Bottle Turpentine Amounting to. 1 13 6

68 Lamb Black 1 Cask q 400 Barr at h 6 pdo. 2 6 -

Brushes & Tools 1. Box. viz

69 3 Doz Stock Brushes at 15s. 2 6 -

3 Doz Round Do. 6 6. 19 6

  1. Doz: large Tools. 4 4. -8 8

1 Doz Millfing Do. 3 -

1 Sett of Wt & Collo wt Pencils Answe alls. 3 6

1 Box. 3 -

Brushes & Tools 1 Box Amounting to. 7 1 -

Dram Deals. 60. Amounting to. 3 11 8

Balks. 6. Amounting to. 11 -

Carried Over. £403 1 10

Margin Notes:

Selling Price.

p Bus - 5 -

p Gall - 2 6

Do. 6.

Do. 6 -

Do. 8.

Do. 12 -

plb. 1 4

p hhd 6 51

ditto. 4 61

50 p Cent. 64. 65

Do plb Prime Cost Doz.

pr Cent Prime Cost p lb

Fort Use. 25 p Ct.

Do.

The invoice was dated at London, 27 February 1716. It covered bullion and merchandise shipped by the Honourable Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, in and upon the good ship called the Success, of the burden of 250 tons or thereabouts, whereof Captain Benjamin Graves was commander, bound by the Almighty's permission for the island of St Helena, and consigned to the Governor and council there resident, the goods being marked and numbered as in the margin. The particulars, with the island's selling prices entered against them, were as follows.

Coals 21 chaldrons at 32s 6d per chaldron £34 6s 0d Selling price 5s 0d per bushel

Vinegar 12 casks, numbers 1 to 2 [reading uncertain], at 51s 4d per cask £30 16s 0d Selling price 2s 6d per gallon

Oil, 29 jars:

Train oil 10 jars, numbers 13 to 22, containing 300 gallons at 2s [...] per gallon £49 10s 0d The 10 jars £4 8s 0d Selling price 6s 0d per gallon

Rape oil 10 jars, numbers 23 to 32, containing 335 gallons at 2s 9d per gallon [reading uncertain] £46 1s 3d The 10 jars £4 8s 0d Selling price 6s 0d [reading uncertain]

Linseed oil 7 jars, numbers 33 to 39, containing 232 gallons at 3s 10d per gallon [reading uncertain] £44 9s 4d The 7 jars £3 1s 6d Selling price 8s 0d

Sweet oil 2 jars, numbers 41 to 40 [reading uncertain], containing 70 gallons at 7s 8d per gallon £26 16s 8d The 2 jars £0 17s 6d Selling price 12s 0d

The 29 jars of oil amounting together to £179 12s 3d

Soap 9 chests, numbers 42 to 50, weighing 27 hundredweight [...] at 47s 10d per hundredweight [reading uncertain] £105 1s 6d [reading uncertain] Selling price 1s 4d per pound

White lead 10 firkins, numbers 51 to 60, weighing 21 hundredweight 2 quarters 14 pounds at 24s 9d per hundredweight [reading uncertain] £26 15s 2d Selling price 6d per pound

Yellow ochre 3 casks, numbers 61 to 63, weighing 11 hundredweight 1 quarter 20 pounds at 14s 9d per hundredweight [reading uncertain] £9 2s 0d [reading uncertain] Selling price 4d per pound

Whiting 2 casks, weighing 26 hundredweight [...] at 1s 9d per hundredweight [reading uncertain] £2 5s 6d Selling price 50 per cent on prime cost

Turpentine, 1 cask and 1 bottle:

Bottle, oil of turpentine number 66, weighing 16 pounds 9 ounces at [...] per pound £0 12s 5d [reading uncertain]

Cask, Venice turpentine number 67, weighing 15 pounds 13 ounces at 16 [...] per pound £1 1s 0d [reading uncertain]

The cask and bottle of turpentine amounting to £1 13s 6d Selling price prime cost plus one third [reading uncertain]

Lamp black 1 cask of 400 bags at 1½d [reading uncertain] per bag £2 6s 0d Selling price prime cost plus [...]

Brushes and tools, 1 box, number 69:

Stock brushes 3 dozen at 15s 4d [reading uncertain] £2 6s 0d

Round ditto 3 dozen at 6s 6d £0 19s 6d

Large tools 2 dozen at 4s 4d £0 8s 8d

Milling ditto [reading uncertain] 1 dozen £0 3s 0d [reading uncertain]

Sets of [...] colours with pencils and [...] 1 £0 3s 6d [reading uncertain]

The box £0 3s 0d [reading uncertain]

Brushes and tools, the 1 box, amounting to £7 1s 0d [reading uncertain] Selling price for use, 25 per cent on prime cost

Dram deals 60, amounting to £3 11s 8d [reading uncertain]

Balks 6, amounting to £0 11s 0d

Carried over £403 1s 10d

Interpretations

The invoice form set the directors' prime cost in the body and the island's new selling price in the margin, the two columns together fixing the margin London allowed and the council took. Coals invoiced at 32s 6d the chaldron of about 36 bushels, roughly 11d per bushel, were priced to shipping at 5s 0d per bushel, more than five times prime cost, the very rate the council demanded of Graves for his three missing chaldrons on 26 June 1717, so the dispute's arithmetic stood in this document.

The painters' and builders' stores made up most of the lading: train oil from the whale fishery and rape oil for lamps and coarse paint, linseed oil, white lead, yellow ochre, whiting and lamp black for paint itself, turpentine in its common and Venice grades for thinning and varnish, and brushes from stock to milling sizes with a set of water colours and pencils besides. Dram deals were the standard sawn fir boards of the Baltic trade through Drammen in Norway, and balks the squared timbers, so the cargo equipped the barracks, the pointing of the town and every painted surface the lime scheme of 9 July 1717 was meant to smarten.

The selling prices marked the goods by destination: retail rates per gallon and pound for what the inhabitants would buy, but percentage advances, 25 or 50 per cent on prime cost or cost plus a third, for stores chiefly for the Company's own use, where the price existed only to charge the works fairly in the books. The two methods in one margin show the council distinguishing trade goods from establishment stores line by line.

Speculations

Pricing the oils at roughly double to treble prime cost while coals bore five times suggests the council weighted margins by what each article could carry: every household needed lamp oil and would feel the rate, but coals sold chiefly to ships' forges and the smith, where the captains' charter parties, not the islanders' purses, absorbed the charge. The margin column was as much a map of who could be charged as of what things cost.

The water colours and pencils, a single set in a box of workmen's brushes, look like a private commission riding in the Company's tools, perhaps for the Governor's own draughts and plans, his watercourse and path schemes needing drawing as much as digging. Small personal wants travelled cheapest inside an official indent.

388

391

Brought Over £ 403 1 10

Tarr 30 Barrells. at 39 p Barrell. 58 10 -

Pitch. 30 Barrells. wt 77.3.18. 10/9 pCo. 41 17 6

Nailes 3 Casks. Vizt.

No 1. 2 Baggs Tacks & Pump Nails wt 2.1.4 @ 10d - 10 13 4

  1. ditto. 2d Nailes. 2:16: - 7½. 7 10 -
  2. ditto. 3. Dto. 2:-16.6¼. 6 10 -

Loose. 4. Dto. 2.1 - 5½. 5 15 6

  1. 4 Bags. 6. Dto. 4.2.- 4¾. 8 18 6

Loose. 8. Dto. 3.1.4.39.6¾. 6 9 9

  1. 1 Bag. 8. Dto. 1.-14.39.6. 2 4 5

4 Ditto. 10. do. 4.1.14.39.6. 8 9 3

3 Casks. 4 1 1 6

Nayles 3 Casks. Amounting to. 57 12 3

Iron Mongers Ware 1. Cask Vizt.

No. 4. 100. Steeld Pick Axes Sorted wt 4. - 18 a 4.4 p. 8 5 -

  1. Cask. -7 -

Ironmongers Ware 1. Cask Amounting to. 8 12 -

Iron Potts 40 - wt 20.3.2lb. at 27.6 pCo. 28 11 1

Tobacco Pipes. 6. Casks Vizt.

No. 1. 23 Gross Pipes

  1. 22 Ditto.
  2. 23 Ditto.
  3. 22 Ditto.
  4. 23 Ditto.
  5. 22 Ditto.
  6. at 22d p Gross. 12.7 6

6 Casks. 1 15 -

Tobacco Pipes 6: Casks. Amounting to. 14 2 6

Starch 3 Casks. vizt.

No 14 to 16. 3 Cask Starch wt 3.1.18 at 48.4 p Co. 8 4 10

3 Casks. -7 -

Starch. 3. Casks. amounting to. 8 11 10

Cartridge Paper 1 Cask. vizt.

No 17. 10 Rheams Paper Royall. 9 6 9

  1. Cask. -8 9

Cartridge Paper 1 Cask. Amounting to. 9 15 3

Tallow. 11 Casks wt: 21.3.6lb. at 53.6 pCo. 58 6 5

Broad Cloth 1 Bale. qt 5 Clos. vizt.

1 Skie. 24. 1 Clo. qt 24 yds at 12.6 p yd. 14 8 -

  1. Black. 32.1. 1 dto. 32.1 a 12.6. 20 3 1
  2. Dark Cloth 27.2. 1 dto. 27.2 - 11:6. 15 16 3

4 Scarlet. 24.- 1 dto. 24.- 17:6. 21 - -

5 Light Cloth 23. 1 dto. 23. 12.6. 14 7 6

Broad Cloth 1 Bale. Amounting to. 85 14 10

Carried Over. £774 15 6

Margin Notes:

Selling Price.

3 - p Barrl.

3 - do.

100 pCt.

100 pCt. No. 4.

6 plb: —

6 p Gr.

9 plb -

No 14 to 16.

25 pCt. No. 17.

pr Cost. No: 1 to 11.

There being no trim ing Come over now We fear We Cant Sell it before twill be Moth Eaten, But to Encourage People to Buy, We put but 25 p. Cent.

P.

The invoice continued.

Brought over £403 1s 10d

Tar 30 barrels at 39s 0d per barrel £58 10s 0d Selling price 3s 0d per barrel [reading uncertain; perhaps £3 0s 0d per barrel]

Pitch 30 barrels, weighing 77 hundredweight 3 quarters 18 pounds, at 10s 9d per hundredweight £41 17s 6d Selling price 3s 0d ditto [reading uncertain; perhaps £3 0s 0d]

Nails, 3 casks:

Cask number 1:

Tacks and pump nails 2 bags, weighing 2 hundredweight 1 quarter 4 pounds, at 110s 0d [reading uncertain] £10 13s 4d [reading uncertain]

Nails of 2d 2 ditto, weighing 2 hundredweight 16 pounds, at 7½ [...] £7 10s 0d

Nails of 3d 2 ditto, weighing 2 hundredweight 16 pounds, at 6¼ [...] £6 10s 0d [reading uncertain]

Nails of 4d, loose weighing 2 hundredweight 1 quarter, at 5½ [...] £5 15s 6d

Cask number 2:

Nails of 6d 4 bags, weighing 4 hundredweight 2 quarters, at 4¾ [reading uncertain] £8 18s 6d

Nails of 8d, loose weighing 3 hundredweight 1 quarter 14 pounds, at 39s 6d per hundredweight [reading uncertain] £6 9s 9d

Cask number 3:

Nails of 8d 1 bag, weighing 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 14 pounds, at 39s 6d £2 4s 5d

Nails of 10d 1 ditto [reading uncertain], weighing 4 hundredweight 1 quarter 14 pounds, at 39s 6d £8 9s 3d

The 3 casks £0 11s 6d [reading uncertain]

Nails, the 3 casks, amounting to £57 12s 3d Selling price 100 per cent on prime cost

Ironmonger's ware, 1 cask, number 4:

Steeled pickaxes, sorted 100, weighing 4 hundredweight 0 quarters 18 pounds, at 44s 0d [reading uncertain] £8 5s 0d

The cask £0 7s 0d

Ironmonger's ware, the 1 cask, amounting to £8 12s 0d Selling price 100 per cent on prime cost

Iron pots 40, weighing 20 hundredweight 3 quarters 2 pounds, at 27s 6d per hundredweight £28 11s 1d Selling price 6d per pound

Tobacco pipes, 6 casks:

Cask number 1 23 gross pipes

Cask number 2 22 ditto

Cask number 3 23 ditto

Cask number 4 22 ditto

Cask number 5 23 ditto

Cask number 6 22 ditto

The 135 gross at 22d per gross £12 7s 6d

The 6 casks £1 15s 0d

Tobacco pipes, the 6 casks, amounting to £14 2s 6d Selling price 6d per gross [reading uncertain; perhaps 6s 0d per gross]

Starch, 3 casks, numbers 14 to 16:

Starch 3 casks, weighing 3 hundredweight 1 quarter 18 pounds, at 48s 4d per hundredweight [reading uncertain] £8 4s 10d

The 3 casks £0 7s 0d

Starch, the 3 casks, amounting to £8 11s 10d Selling price 9d per pound

Cartridge paper, 1 cask, number 17:

Paper royal 10 reams £9 6s 9d [reading uncertain]

The cask £0 8s 9d [reading uncertain]

Cartridge paper, the 1 cask, amounting to £9 15s 3d [reading uncertain] Selling price 25 per cent on prime cost

Tallow 11 casks, numbers 1 to 11, weighing 21 hundredweight 3 quarters 6 pounds, at 53s 6d per hundredweight £58 6s 5d Selling price prime cost

Broad cloth, 1 bale marked P, containing 5 cloths:

Cloth 1, sky 24 yards, 1 cloth of 24 yards, at 12s 6d per yard £14 8s 0d [reading uncertain]

Cloth 2, black 32¼ yards, 1 ditto, 32¼ at 12s 6d £20 3s 1d

Cloth 3, dark cloth 27½ yards, 1 ditto, 27½ at 11s 6d £15 16s 3d

Cloth 4, scarlet 24 yards, 1 ditto, 24 at 17s 6d £21 0s 0d

Cloth 5, light cloth 23 yards, 1 ditto, 23 at 12s 6d £14 7s 6d

Broad cloth, the 1 bale, amounting to £85 14s 10d Selling price 25 per cent on prime cost. A margin note against the bale recorded that, there being no trimming come over now, the council feared the cloth could not be sold before it would be moth-eaten, but to encourage people to buy it was put at only 25 per cent.

Carried over £774 15s 6d

Interpretations

The margin note against the broad cloth preserved a complete pricing decision with its reasons: fine woollens without the trimmings, the buttons, mohair and silk threads needed to make them up, would sit unsold until the moth took them, so the council cut the advance to 25 per cent to move perishing capital. The note shows the selling-price column was reasoned line by line, with the risk of physical decay weighed against margin exactly as the souring Madeira had been on 9 July 1717.

The percentage advances now form a ladder across the invoice: tallow at bare prime cost, paper and broad cloth at 25 per cent, whiting at 50, nails and pickaxes at 100, while household consumables carried fixed retail rates, iron pots at 6d per pound against 27s 6d the hundredweight prime cost being nearly a 150 per cent advance. The heaviest markups fell on building ironware whose buyers, fencing undertakers and ships, could bear them, the gentlest on stores the Company's own works would consume.

The naval stores and nail schedule equipped the season's works in bulk: 30 barrels each of tar and pitch for boats, rigging and timber, the three casks of nails graded from tacks and pump nails through 2d to 10d sizes at prices falling as the nails grew, and 100 sorted steeled pickaxes, the quarryman's tool for the stone the new wall contracts of 5 June 1717 demanded. The 135 gross of tobacco pipes, over 19,000 clays, restocked the trade the inhabitants' account drained at 94½ dozen in two months.

Speculations

Tallow passed at prime cost, alone of the cargo, which marks it as candle stock for the Company's own lighting rather than trade goods, the castle having burned myrsen and water tallow through the scarcity of December 1714. Charging the works no advance kept the books honest where the Company sold to itself.

The note's phrase about encouraging people to buy, entered where the directors would read it, also excused in advance the thin profit London would see on its dearest bale. The same sentence that moved the cloth covered the council, the double service most of these marginal apologies performed.

389

392

July.

Brought Over £ 774 15 6

Shoes 1 Case. 300. pr viz

200 pr of Mens Shoes at 4.4 ppr. 43 6 8

  1. Ditto Spanish four Stich. 3/10 ppr. 19 3 4
  2. Case. -11

Shoes 1 Case: Amounting to. 63 1 -

Medicines. 2 Chests Amounting to. 60 -

Hatts. 6 Cases Vizt.

No 1 24 Boys Beaver Carolinas 24. 4 16 -

2 24 Ditto. 4.4. 5 4 -

3 24 Ditto. 5.6. 6 12 -

1 24 Ditto. 4 -. 4 16 -

2 24 Ditto. 4.4. 5 4 -

3 24 Ditto. 5.6. 6 12 -

4 72 Mens Cloth Hatts lind with Silk. at. 8.3. 29 14 -

4 72. ditto. 8.3 29 14 -

5 48 Beverits lind wth silk. 13.2. 31 12 -

  1. ditto laced gold & Silver. 17.6 21 -

5 48 Beverits lind wth silk. 13.2. 31 12 -

  1. dto laced gold & Silver 17.6 21 -
  2. Cases. 1 13 -

Hatts. 6 Cases. Amounting to. 199 9 -

Pewter 5 Casks & 4 Cases. Vizt.

No 1. 6 Dishes fine

12 Ditto.

12 Ditto. wt 1 qr lb - 23 at 15 plb. 15 8 9

18 Ditto Soop.

13 Doz: plates

  1. 6 Dishes Ordry.

12 Ditto.

12 Ditto Soop. 2.1 - 11 plb 11 11 -

18 Ditto.

13 doz plates.

  1. 2 doz: Small dishes fine wt 2-10: 12 p 13 4 4
  2. Plates.

30 Large Chambr Potts fine. 3.10. 5 5 -

30 Ditto less. 3 6. 5 5 -

  1. pr Candlesticks. 3.4 p. 4 -

4 Covers for Dishes. 5.6. 1 2 -

4 Ditto. 5 -. 1 -

4 Ditto. 3.10. 15 4

4 doz: Salts. 8 10 p 1 15 4

  1. Cheese plates. 6 p. 3 12 -
  2. Tankards. quarts. 2.6. 1 10 -
  3. Ditto. Pint:. 2 -. 1 4 -
  4. Large Hoop Stands. 2.5. -14 6

6 Ditto Less. 2 -. 12 -

  1. Casks Pewtr. Carried over £ 67 10 8

Carried Over. £1097 5 6

Margin Notes:

Selling price.

6 3 S ppr.

6 - ppr.

Del. ye Doctr. No. 2.

No. 1 to 6

50 pCt but to go above ye Fraction.

The Usefull Pewtr. 50 p Ct.

And

The Toys

100 p Cent.

The invoice continued.

Brought over £774 15s 6d

Shoes, 1 case of 300 pairs:

Men's shoes 200 pairs at 4s 4d per pair £43 6s 8d Selling price 6s 3d per pair

Spanish four-stitched ditto 100 pairs at 3s 10d per pair [reading uncertain] £19 3s 4d Selling price 6s 0d per pair

The case £0 11s 0d

Shoes, the 1 case, amounting to £63 1s 0d

Medicines 2 chests, amounting to £60 0s 0d Margin note: delivered to the doctor, numbers 1 and 2

Hats, 6 cases, numbers 1 to 6:

Case 1, boys' beaver Carolinas 24 at 4s 0d [reading uncertain] £4 16s 0d

Case 1 ditto 24 at 4s 4d [reading uncertain] £5 4s 0d

Case 1 ditto 24 at 5s 6d £6 12s 0d

Case 3, ditto 24 at 4s 0d £4 16s 0d

Case 3 ditto 24 at 4s 4d £5 4s 0d

Case 3 ditto 24 at 5s 6d £6 12s 0d

Case 4, men's cloth hats lined with silk 72 at 8s 3d £29 14s 0d

Case 4 ditto 72 at 8s 3d £29 14s 0d

Case 5, beavers lined with silk 48 at 13s 2d £31 12s 0d

Case 5, ditto laced with gold and silver 24 at 17s 6d £21 0s 0d

Case 6, beavers lined with silk 48 at 13s 2d £31 12s 0d

Case 6, ditto laced with gold and silver 24 at 17s 6d £21 0s 0d

The 6 cases £1 13s 0d

Hats, the 6 cases, amounting to £199 9s 0d Selling price 50 per cent, but to go above in the fraction

Pewter, 5 casks and 4 cases:

Cask 1:

Dishes, fine 6

Ditto 12

Ditto 12

Ditto, soup 18

Plates 13 dozen

Together weighing 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 23 pounds at 15d per pound [reading uncertain] £15 8s 9d

Cask 2:

Dishes, ordinary 6

Ditto 12

Ditto, soup 18

Plates 13 dozen

Together weighing 2 hundredweight 1 quarter at 11d per pound £11 11s 0d

Cask 3:

Small dishes, fine 2 dozen, weighing [...] at 10d [reading uncertain] £13 4s 4d [reading uncertain]

Plates 48

Large chamber pots, fine 30 at 3s 10d [reading uncertain] £5 15s 0d [reading uncertain]

Ditto, less 30 at [...] £6 5s 5d [reading uncertain]

Candlesticks 24 pairs at 3s 4d per pair [reading uncertain] £4 0s 0d [reading uncertain]

Covers for dishes 4 at 5s 6d £1 2s 0d

Ditto 4 at 5s 0d £1 0s 0d

Salts 4 dozen at 3s 10d [reading uncertain] £0 15s 4d

Ditto 8 at 10d [reading uncertain] £1 15s 4d [reading uncertain]

Cheese plates 12 at 6s 3d [reading uncertain] £3 12s 0d [reading uncertain]

Tankards, quarts 12 at 2s 6d £1 10s 0d

Ditto, pints 12 at 2s 0d £1 4s 0d

Large hoop stands 6 at 2s 5d [reading uncertain] £1 4s 6d [reading uncertain]

Ditto, less 6 at 2s 0d [reading uncertain] £0 13s 0d [reading uncertain]

Pewter, the 5 casks, carried over £67 10s 8d

Margin notes against the pewter recorded the useful pewter at 50 per cent, and the toys at 100 per cent.

Carried over £1,097 15s 6d [reading uncertain]

Interpretations

The 300 pairs of imported shoes answered the barefoot garrison reported on 5 June 1717, men's shoes at 4s 4d prime cost selling at 6s 3d, about 44 per cent advance, and the Spanish four-stitched sort, the finer welted make, at 6s 0d. London's case of footwear and the island's hides from the Mercury attacked the same scarcity from both ends, import and manufacture.

The medicine chests passed at £60 0s 0d straight to the doctor without a selling price, restocking the surgery Du May had indented for through January 1717, the one head of the cargo consumed as a charge rather than sold. The hats graded the whole society by the head: boys' beaver Carolinas, the colonial-trade felt named for the Carolina market, men's cloth hats lined with silk for the middling sort, silk-lined beavers for the better, and gold and silver laced beavers at 17s 6d for officers and gentlemen.

The pewter margin drew the trade's own distinction between the useful pewter, dishes, plates and soup dishes priced by weight at 11d to 15d the pound, and the toys, the small fancy wares, salts, candlesticks, tankards and hoop stands, priced by the piece. The council set 50 per cent on the useful and 100 on the toys, taxing ornament double necessity, while the hats' note to go above in the fraction instructed the storekeeper to round every odd farthing upward.

Speculations

Thirty fine chamber pots and thirty lesser in one cask, with covers for dishes and cheese plates, look like London outfitting the island's tables and chambers for a gentility the census could barely muster, the directors' buyers shipping a standard colonial assortment rather than answering the indent's real wants. The council's double markup on the toys quietly converted the surplus refinement into revenue.

The gold and silver laced beavers, fortyeight in two cases, exceeded the island's commissioned officers several times over, so the surplus was stock for sale to ships' commanders and passengers touching at the road, the one market that wore lace. The store served the harbour trade as much as the parish.

390

393

1717

Brought Over. £ 1097 5 6

5 Casks Pewter Brought over. 67 10 3

Case No 6. 12 Large Ring Stands. at 2.2. 1 6 -

12 Ditto less. 1.7. -19 -

24 Soop Ladles. 2.2. 2 12 -

6 Tea Kettles. 9.4. 2 16 -

6 Frames.

24 Snuffers & Stands. 3.10. 1 3 -

  1. Sett Casters. 4.2. 5 -
  2. Frames for Oyle & Veneg Cruets 6.6 wt 22. 3 18 -

30 Cruets for Oyle & Venegar. 2.2. 1 2 -

4 Doz: Saucers. 2.2. 3 5 -

  1. 6 Large Cranes for drawing Liqur 13. 5.6 p doz 3 18 -
  2. 6 Ditto. 13.- 3 18 -
  3. No 1. 6 Doz Large Porringers. -13 -
  4. 6 Doz less. -8 3
  5. 12 Doz. -8 3
  6. 6 Doz. Guilt Dishes. -9 10
  7. 6 Doz Plain ditto. -8 3
  8. 12 Doz Plates. -13 -
  9. 12 Doz. Small. -8 3
  10. 24 Doz Spoons. -11 -
  11. 6 Doz Basons. -8 3
  12. 4 Doz White & Guilt Tankards. -15 4
  13. 4 Doz Caudle Cups. -15 4
  14. 6 Doz: Funnels. -9 10
  15. 3 Doz Cullenders. -5 -
  16. 12 Doz. Guilt Boules. -19 10
  17. 12 Doz Mugs & Cans. -19 10
  18. 3 Doz. Candlesticks. -5 9
  19. 3 Doz. Salts. -9 10
  20. 3 Doz: less. -4 2
  21. 3 Doz: Cups. -5 -
  22. 3 Doz: ditto wth feet. -4 4
  23. 3 Doz: Chamber Potts. -8 10
  24. 3 Doz. Pestos & Mortars. -8 10

5 Casks & 4 Cases Pewtr. Amounting to. 109 9 3

Stuffs & Fustians 3 Cases Viz.

No 1. No 2.10 Ends Fustians q 20. at. 20.4 p End 13 4 4

  1. 8 ditto. 20. 20.9. 8 2 8
  2. 3 ditto. 20. 14.4. 5 15 6
  3. 6 ditto. 20. 22.6. 6 15 -
  4. 6 ditto. 20. 23.8. 7 2 -
  5. 6 ditto. 24. 18.13 4
  6. 20 ditto. 20. 14.4. 8 12 -
  7. 12 ditto. 20. 20.10. 6 5 -
  8. 6 ditto Thicketts. 24. 29.8. 44 10 -
    1. 30 ditto. 24. 29.6. 39 6 8
  9. 40 ditto. 20. 24.2. 20 10 10
    1. 17 ditto. 52 10. 47 11 -
  10. 1 No 3.18 Crapes. 58.3. 5 16 6
  11. 2 ditto. 1 7 6

Stuffs & Fustians 3 Cases. Amounting to. 255 15 4

Carried Over £ 1462 10 -

Margin Notes:

Selling Price.

ditto Same Prices as the last.

4 8 ppc.

4 8 pp.

The invoice continued.

Brought over £1,097 5s 6d [reading uncertain]

The 5 casks of pewter, brought over £67 10s 3d [reading uncertain]

Case number 6:

Large ring stands 12 at 2s 2d £1 6s 0d

Ditto, less 12 at 1s 7d £0 19s 0d

Soup ladles 24 at 2s 2d £2 12s 0d

Tea kettles 6 at 9s 4d £2 16s 0d

Frames 6 at 3s 10d £1 3s 0d

Snuffers and stands 24 at 4s 2d [reading uncertain] £5 0s 0d

Pepper casters 12 at 6s 6d [reading uncertain] £3 18s 0d

Frames for oil and vinegar cruets 12 at 22d [reading uncertain] £1 2s 0d

Cruets for oil and vinegar 30 at 2s 2d £3 5s 0d [reading uncertain]

Saucers 4 dozen at 5s 6d per dozen [reading uncertain] £1 2s 0d

Case 7:

Large cranes for drawing liquor 6 at 13s 0d [reading uncertain] £3 18s 0d

Case 8:

Ditto 6 at 13s 0d £3 18s 0d

Case 9, by numbered lots:

Lot 1, large porringers 6 dozen £0 13s 0d

Lot 2, ditto less 6 dozen £0 8s 3d

Lot 3, ditto 12 dozen £0 8s 3d

Lot 4, gilt dishes 6 dozen £0 9s 10d

Lot 5, plain ditto 6 dozen £0 8s 3d

Lot 6, plates 12 dozen £0 13s 0d

Lot 7, small ditto 12 dozen £0 8s 3d

Lot 8, spoons 24 dozen £0 11s 0d

Lot 9, basins 6 dozen £0 8s 3d

Lot 10, white and gilt tankards 4 dozen £0 15s 4d

Lot 11, caudle cups 4 dozen £0 15s 4d

Lot 12, funnels 6 dozen £0 9s 10d

Lot 13, colanders 3 dozen £0 5s 0d

Lot 14, gilt bowls 12 dozen £0 19s 10d

Lot 15, mugs and cans 12 dozen £0 19s 10d

Lot 16, candlesticks 3 dozen £0 5s 9d

Lot 17, salts 3 dozen £0 9s 10d

Lot 18, ditto less 3 dozen £0 4s 2d

Lot 19, cups 3 dozen £0 5s 0d

Lot 20, ditto with feet 3 dozen £0 4s 4d

Lot 21, chamber pots 3 dozen £0 8s 10d

Lot 22, pestles and mortars 3 dozen £0 8s 10d

The 5 casks and 4 cases of pewter, amounting to £109 9s 3d

Stuffs and fustians, 3 cases:

Case number 1:

Fustians 9 pieces of 20 yards at 20s 4d per piece [reading uncertain] £13 4s 4d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 2 pieces, 8 [...], 20 yards, at 20s 9d [reading uncertain] £8 2s 8d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 3 pieces, 20 yards, at 14s 3d [reading uncertain] £2 3s 0d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 4 pieces, 6 [...], 20 yards, at 22s 6d [reading uncertain] £6 15s 0d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 5 pieces, 6 ditto, 20 yards [reading uncertain] £7 2s 0d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 6 pieces, 6 ditto, 24 yards, at 23s 8d [reading uncertain] £18 13s 4d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 7 pieces, 20 ditto, 20 yards, at 14s 4d [reading uncertain] £8 12s 0d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 8 pieces, 12 ditto, 20 yards, at 20s 10d [reading uncertain] £6 5s 0d [reading uncertain]

Thicksets 9 pieces, 6 ditto, 24 yards, at 29s 8d [reading uncertain] £44 10s 0d [reading uncertain]

Case 2, ditto 10 pieces, 10 ditto, 24 yards, at 29s 6d [reading uncertain] £59 6s 8d [reading uncertain]

Case 2, ditto 11 pieces, 40 ditto, 24 yards [reading uncertain], at 24s 2d £20 10s 10d [reading uncertain]

Case 3, ditto 12 pieces, 17 ditto, at 52s 10d [reading uncertain] £47 11s 0d [reading uncertain]

Crapes 1 piece, 103 pounds 18 [...], 58s 3d [reading uncertain] £5 16s 6d [reading uncertain]

Ditto 4 pieces, 2 ditto [reading uncertain] £1 7s 6d [reading uncertain]

Stuffs and fustians, the 3 cases, amounting to £255 15s 4d

The margin against the stuffs and fustians recorded the same prices as the last, and against the crapes 4s 8d per piece [reading uncertain].

Carried over £1,462 10s 1d [reading uncertain]

Interpretations

The pewter assortment ran from the table to the chamber and the apothecary's shelf: caudle cups for the spiced gruel of the sick and of childbed, porringers, gilt dishes and tankards for show, colanders, funnels, pestles and mortars for the kitchen and the compounding of medicines, snuffers for candles, cruet frames for oil and vinegar, and the large cranes, the siphon cocks for drawing liquor from casks, six in each of two cases for the punch houses and the stores. Case 9's twenty-two numbered lots, hundreds of dozens of small wares, was a pewterer's whole shop packed for export.

The cumulative pewter at £109 9s 3d and the stuffs at £255 15s 4d made textiles and tableware together over a third of the invoice so far, confirming the Success as an outfitting cargo for households rather than provisions. The thicksets and fustians by the 20 and 24 yard piece restocked the working cloth the inhabitants' account had been selling down, and the margin's instruction, the same prices as the last, pegged the new pieces to the rates already running in the store rather than repricing from this prime cost.

The fustian and thickset prime costs, roughly 14s 0d to 29s 0d the piece against island retail of 26s 8d to 52s 0d per piece equivalent, kept the standing advance near 100 per cent on working cloth, where the broad cloth of the previous leaf had been cut to 25 per cent for fear of the moth. Plain wear sold itself, and the council priced accordingly.

Speculations

Six pewter tea kettles beside the brass one sold in the spring account mark the tea habit now reckoned a standard colonial want by the London buyers, the directors shipping the vessel to a settlement their own ships supplied with the leaf by pound and catty. The store stood ready to sell the whole ceremony, kettle, tea and sugar, at three margins.

Three dozen pewter pestles and mortars far exceeded the surgery's needs, so most were for the punch houses and kitchens grinding spice for the arrack trade, the same customers as the liquor cranes. The London assortment, read closely, was built around drink at every turn.

391

394

July.

Brought Over. £1462 10 1

Selling Price.

10 - 6 No. 1. 40 Pair Roling fine Mixt Worsted at 5.6 p Doz. 9 6 8

pp. 9 6. 2. 30 pr Ditto Black. 5.6. 7 - -

9 6. 3. 10 p Do. 3 th Long mixt. 7.4.10. 3 2 5

10 -. 4. 20 p Do. Scarlet. 7.9.2. 6 11 11

6 6. 5. 6 pr Womens fine Blew. 5.0.6. 1 5 3

7 6. 6. 6 pr Ditto. Cherry. 5.9.4. 1 9 8

8 -. 7. 12 pr Ditto. Scarlet. 3 2 8

7 6. 8. 18 pr Ditto. 3 th Sky & Blew. 5.7.2. 4 5 9

8 -. 9. 6 pr Ditto. Painted. 6.1.6. 1 - 9

10 -. 10. 6 pr Ditto. Scarlet. 7.9.2. 1 9 7

11 -. 11. 6 pr Ditto. wt Silk Clocks. 8.5.10. 2 2 11

1 3. 12. 12 pr Childrens Spotted Worsted. -9 4

2 3. 13. 12 pr Youths mixt Worsted Knit Wove 19.10. -9 11

2 6. 14. 6 pr Ditto. Larg. 26.4. 1 19 6

3 6. 15. 18 pr Ditto. Less. 29.8. 2 4 6

3 9. 16. 18 pr Ditto. 3 thd. 1 17 4

4 7. 17. 12 pr Ditto. Larg. 47.4. 1 3 8

6 -. 18. 6 pr Ditto. -17 6

1 7 6. 19. 12 pr Womens Blew Worsted Knit. -17 6

3 6. 20. 6 pr Ditto. Wove 26.4. -13 2

3 9. 21. 12 pr Ditto. Pointed Do. 1 3 6

4 6. 22. 6 pr Ditto. Scarlet. Do. 25.2. -17 7

6 2. 23. 24 pr Roling. 3 th blew Worsted 48.4. 5 - 8

2 3. 24. 208 pr Do. blew Woollen 17.4. 15 - 5

4 8. 25. 25 pr Womens fine. 3 th. 36.4. 3 15 8

5 6. 26. 24 pr Mens. Do. 41.-. 4 11 8

15 9. 27. 12 pr Roling Silk divers Colos. 125.4. 3 13 1

1 -. 28. 6 pr Do. 158.4. 3 19 2

10 9. 29. 6 pr Womens do. 85.10. 2 2 11

12 6. 30. 6 pr Do. 99.-. 2 9 6

6 -. 31. 3 pr Youths Silk & Worsted. 46.2. -11 6

8 -. 32. 3 pr Do. Larger. 62.9. -15 8

9 6. 33. 6 pr Do. very Large 75.10. 1 17 11

1 6 pCo. 6000 Needles. 6 12 -

1 Case. 6 6

Stockins 1 Case. Amounting to. 105 12 9

Fortification use Prime Cost. Chalk 2 Tons. Amounting to. 12 -

pps. 8 6 S. Stillards 1 Case qt 32 pair at 5/6 pp. 8 16 -

Blanketts 2 Bales Vizt.

pps. 1 2 6 B No 1. 20 pair 3 pts Blanketts at. 14.10 ppr. 14 16 8

19 -. 20 ps 2½ Do. 12.8. 12 13 4

15 6. 20 ps 2 pt Do. 9.10. 9 16 8

11 6. 2. 100 ps 2½ Do. 7.2. 35 16 8

Packing. 7 2

Blanketts. 2 Bales. Amounting to. 75 3 4

Prime Cost. No. 1. 2 Pease. 2 Casks. qt 16 Bush at 9.7 p Bushell. 7 9 4

  1. 4 Beanes. 2 Casks. 16 do. 9.4. 7 9 4

Carried Over. £1667 12 10

The invoice continued.

Brought over £1,462 10s 1d

Stockings, 1 case, by numbered lots, each with its selling price per pair in the margin:

Lot 1, rolling fine mixed worsted 40 pairs at 56s 0d per dozen [reading uncertain] £9 6s 8d Selling price 7s 6d

Lot 2, ditto black 30 pairs at 56s 0d [reading uncertain] £7 0s 0d Selling price 7s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 3, ditto, 3 thread long mixed 10 pairs at 74s 10d [reading uncertain] £3 2s 5d [reading uncertain] Selling price 9s 6d

Lot 4, ditto scarlet 20 pairs at 79s 2d [reading uncertain] £6 11s 11d [reading uncertain] Selling price 9s 6d

Lot 5, women's fine blue 6 pairs at 50s 6d [reading uncertain] £1 5s 3d [reading uncertain] Selling price 10s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 6, ditto cherry 6 pairs at 59s 4d £1 9s 8d Selling price 6s 6d [reading uncertain]

Lot 7, ditto scarlet 12 pairs £3 2s 8d [reading uncertain] Selling price 7s 6d

Lot 8, ditto, 3 thread sky and blue 18 pairs at 57s 2d £4 5s 9d Selling price 8s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 9, ditto pointed [reading uncertain] 6 pairs at 61s 6d [reading uncertain] £1 10s 9d Selling price 8s 0d

Lot 10, ditto scarlet 6 pairs at 79s 2d £1 19s 7d Selling price 10s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 11, ditto with silk clocks 6 pairs at 85s 10d £2 2s 11d Selling price 11s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 12, children's spotted worsted 12 pairs £0 9s 4d [reading uncertain] Selling price 1s 3d

Lot 13, youths' mixed worsted knit 12 pairs, wove 19s 10d [reading uncertain] £0 9s 11d Selling price 2s 3d [reading uncertain]

Lot 14, ditto 6 pairs £0 [...] Selling price 2s 6d

Lot 15, ditto large 18 pairs at 26s 4d [reading uncertain] £1 19s 6d Selling price 3s 6d [reading uncertain]

Lot 16, ditto 18 pairs at 29s 8d [reading uncertain] £2 4s 6d Selling price 3s 9d [reading uncertain]

Lot 17, ditto, 3 thread 12 pairs £1 17s 4d [reading uncertain] Selling price 4s 3d [reading uncertain]

Lot 18, ditto large 6 pairs at 47s 4d [reading uncertain] £1 3s 8d Selling price 6s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 19, women's blue worsted knit 12 pairs £0 17s 6d [reading uncertain] Selling price 3s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 20, ditto wove 6 pairs at 26s 4d [reading uncertain] £0 13s 2d Selling price 3s 6d

Lot 21, ditto pointed ditto 12 pairs £1 8s 6d [reading uncertain] Selling price 3s 9d [reading uncertain]

Lot 22, ditto scarlet ditto 6 pairs at 35s 2d [reading uncertain] £1 7s 7d [reading uncertain] Selling price 4s 6d [reading uncertain]

Lot 23, rolling, 3 thread blue worsted 24 pairs at 48s 4d [reading uncertain] £5 8s 0d [reading uncertain] Selling price 6s 2d [reading uncertain]

Lot 24, ditto blue woollen 208 pairs [reading uncertain] at 17s 4d £15 5s 0d [reading uncertain] Selling price 2s 3d

Lot 25, women's fine, 3 thread 25 pairs at 36s 4d [reading uncertain] £3 15s 8d [reading uncertain] Selling price 4s 8d [reading uncertain]

Lot 26, men's ditto 26 pairs at 44s 0d [reading uncertain] £4 11s 8d Selling price 5s 6d [reading uncertain]

Lot 27, rolling silk, divers colours 6 pairs at 125s 4d [reading uncertain] £3 13s 1d Selling price 15s 9d

Lot 28, ditto 6 pairs at 158s 4d [reading uncertain] £3 19s 2d Selling price [...]

Lot 29, women's ditto 6 pairs at 85s 10d £2 2s 11d [reading uncertain] Selling price 10s 9d [reading uncertain]

Lot 30, ditto 6 pairs at 99s 0d [reading uncertain] £2 9s 6d Selling price 12s 6d [reading uncertain]

Lot 31, youths' silk and worsted 3 pairs at 46s 2d [reading uncertain] £1 1s 6d [reading uncertain] Selling price 6s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 32, ditto larger 3 pairs at 62s 9d [reading uncertain] £1 5s 8d [reading uncertain] Selling price 8s 0d [reading uncertain]

Lot 33, ditto very large 6 pairs at 75s 10d [reading uncertain] £1 17s 11d Selling price 9s 6d

Needles 6,000 £6 12s 0d Selling price 1s 6d per [...]

The case £0 6s 6d

Stockings, the 1 case, amounting to £105 12s 9d

Chalk 2 tons, amounting to £0 12s 0d Margin: for fortification use, prime cost

Stilliards 1 case containing 32 pairs at 5s 0d per pair [reading uncertain] £8 16s 0d [reading uncertain] Selling price 8s 6d per pair [reading uncertain]

Blankets, 2 bales, marked B numbers 1 and 2:

Bale 1, blankets 20 pairs at 14s 10d per pair [reading uncertain] £14 16s 8d Selling price [...]

Bale 1, ditto 20 pairs of a second sort at 12s 8d [reading uncertain] £12 13s 4d Selling price 19s 0d [reading uncertain]

Bale 1, ditto 20 pairs of a third sort at 9s 10d £9 16s 8d Selling price 15s 6d [reading uncertain]

Bale 2, ditto 100 pairs of a fourth sort at 7s 2d £35 16s 8d Selling price 11s 6d [reading uncertain]

Packing [...]

Blankets, the 2 bales, amounting to £75 3s 4d [reading uncertain]

Peas 2 casks, numbers 1 and 2, containing 16 bushels at 9s 7d per bushel [reading uncertain] £7 9s 4d [reading uncertain] Margin: prime cost

Beans 2 casks, numbers 3 and 4, 16 ditto at 9s 4d [reading uncertain] £7 9s 4d Margin: prime cost

Carried over £1,667 12s 10d

Interpretations

The stocking case graded the whole island by leg as the hats had by head: thirty-three lots from children's spotted worsted at 1s 3d the pair to rolling silk in divers colours selling at 15s 9d, with silk clocks, the embroidered ankle ornament, marking the dearest worsted sort. Rolling stockings were the long sort worn rolled above the knee in the fashion of the day, and the 208 pairs of blue woollen at 2s 3d, the one bulk lot, were the working stockings of the garrison and the labouring people, the rest of the case selling refinement by the half dozen.

The margin sorted the cargo's last heads by destination as before: chalk for the fortifications and the field peas and beans at bare prime cost, provisions and works stores passing without advance, while the stilliards at 32 pairs equipped the island's dealers with weighing beams at about 70 per cent advance. The blanket bales repeated the winter trade of the spring accounts in four graded sorts, the cheapest hundred pairs at 7s 2d prime cost clearly intended for slave and garrison bedding.

The 6,000 needles beside the season's 27,000 pins completed the store's hold on every stitch sewn on the island, and the selling rate by the small paper kept the margin invisible to the buyer of a pennyworth.

Speculations

Peas and beans by the cask at prime cost were seed as much as victual, the directors answering the island's standing instruction to raise its own provisions, and their arrival in July set them in the ground for the spring planting the overseer's accounts would show. London subsidised the seed and took its profit back on the hoes that planted it.

Silk stockings at 15s 9d the pair, above a soldier's month of pay, can have had few wearers beyond the Governor's own family and the cabin passengers of the road, yet six lots of silk came out. The buyers in Leadenhall Street evidently dressed the island they imagined, and the council's margins made the imagination pay either way.

392

395

1717

Brought Over. £1667 12 10

Tobacco 10 Casks Vizt.

No 1. 503lb Cutt Tobacco.

  1. 495 Ditto.
  2. 517 Ditto.
  3. 565 Ditto.
  4. 553 Ditto.

2 p lb. 6. 514 Ditto.

  1. 592 Ditto.
  2. 606 Ditto.
  3. 555 Ditto.
  4. at 15d plb. 306 5 -
    1. 17 plb. 7 11 8

10 Casks. 3 2 -

10 Casks Tobacco. Amounting to. 316 18 8

Iron hoops. 150. Amounting to. 6 13 -

Rivetts 600. Amounting to. -4 6

1991 9 -

Charges. 9 19 2

Sum Totall of this Invoice wch God Prosper. £2001 8 2

Samuel Waters.

There being no Coarse thread in the Stores and none Come over in the Last Ship We are in Great Distress for want thereof.

Ordered That all the thread Stockins that are in the Stores be kept for the Hon: Compas use to be unrevelled to make & mend their Blacks Cloaths.

The Capt having Some Tea to Sell.

Ordered. That the Govr Buy it of him if he can have it at the Same Price as Capt. Pennit Sold us his. And

That the Governr: be desired to Write a Post Scrip. to the Last Letter and Mention our want

The invoice continued.

Brought over £1,667 12s 10d

Tobacco, 10 casks:

Cask number 1, cut tobacco 503 pounds

Cask 2, ditto 495 pounds

Cask 3, ditto 517 pounds

Cask 4, ditto 565 pounds

Cask 5, ditto 553 pounds

Cask 6, ditto 514 pounds

Cask 7, ditto 592 pounds

Cask 8, ditto 606 pounds

Cask 9, ditto 555 pounds

The 4,900 pounds at 15d per pound £306 5s 0d

Cask 10 101 pounds at 17d per pound £7 11s 8d [reading uncertain]

The 10 casks £3 2s 0d

The 10 casks of tobacco, amounting to £316 18s 8d Selling price 2s 0d per pound on casks 5 and 6 [reading uncertain]

Iron hoops 150, amounting to £6 13s 0d

Rivets 600, amounting to £0 4s 6d

The goods together £1,991 9s 0d [reading uncertain]

Charges £9 19s 2d [reading uncertain]

Sum total of this invoice, which God prosper £2,001 8s 2d

The invoice was subscribed by Samuel Waters.

There being no coarse thread in the stores, and none come over in the last ship, the island was in great distress for want of it. The council ordered that all the thread stockings in the stores be kept for the Honourable Company's use, to be unravelled to make and mend their blacks' clothes.

The captain had some tea to sell. The council ordered that the Governor buy it of him if he could have it at the same price as Captain Pennick sold his. The Governor was also asked to write a postscript to the last letter and mention the island's want of [...]

Interpretations

The invoice closed at £2,001 8s 2d with the trader's pious form, which God prosper, under the hand of Samuel Waters, the Company's accountant subscribing for the Court of Directors as Thomas Frederick had at Fort St George and J Williamson at Fort William on the invoices of 26 February 1717. Tobacco was its largest single article at £316 18s 8d, nearly 5,000 pounds of cut leaf at 15d prime cost against the 2s 0d the store had been charging, a margin of 60 per cent on the island's steadiest indulgence, with the iron hoops and rivets for the cooperage closing the lading.

The thread order turned shop stock into raw material: with no coarse thread come over, the worsted stockings of the new case were reserved to be unravelled for yarn to make and mend the Company slaves' clothes. The clothing duty had stood with Bazett since 7 January 1717, the blacks' winter wear was lately in question when Haswell proposed dungarees on 7 May 1717, and the council now cannibalised saleable goods rather than leave the slaves unclothed, the cost falling invisibly on the store's stocking trade.

The tea order set a price discipline on private trade, the Governor to buy only at Captain Pennick's former rate, the same most-recent-price rule that had governed arrack purchases from successive ships. The postscript to the last letter, the short assurance sent by the Stanhope on 29 June 1717, was to carry the want of thread home while the season's ships could still answer it.

Speculations

Unravelling stockings was a confession the indent system could not make openly: the buyers had shipped finery while the works lacked thread, and the council's remedy quietly corrected London's assortment without a word of complaint beyond the postscript. The directors would read of a want of thread, not of silk stockings bought back from their own shelves to be picked apart.

Captain Pennick, named only as a price benchmark, must have sold tea at the island recently enough for his rate to be common knowledge at the board, perhaps commanding the Princess Emilia lately in from Bombay or a spring caller whose entry stands outside the recovered record. Pegging Graves's tea to a remembered price kept the captains from bidding the island's tea habit upward ship by ship.

393

396

July.

of Coarse thread and Cloaths for the Soldrs and Blacks, and Triming for Cloaths for the Planters &c.

We have the Misfortune at this time to have a great many of the Blacks Sick, the Small Pox being upon the Island, which was never known to be here before, It was brought here by the Blacks that came out of Capt. Whites Ship, and We have now Eight of them Sick of that Distemper. But to prevent the Spreading of that infection He has Sent all the Sick Blacks into Lemon Valley, where the Docter goes in about every day to look after them, And has Sent two of the Soldrs Centry in the Country to Prevent any bodys going to them or their getting into ye Country in hopes by that means to prevent its Spreading any farther

Capt. Misenor desired that the Accots: of the Goods he has himself on board his Ship Princess Emilia may be Registered here

Ordered That the Secty Register the Same in the Consultation Book wch: is as follows

The List of Goods which Capt. Jno Misenor desires to be Registered at St.

The postscript was to mention the island's want of coarse thread, of clothes for the soldiers and blacks, and of trimming for clothes for the planters and others.

The island had the misfortune at that time to have a great many of the blacks sick, the smallpox being on the island, which was never known to be there before. It was brought by the blacks that came out of Captain White's ship, and eight of them were now sick of that distemper. To prevent the infection spreading, the Governor had sent all the sick blacks into Lemon Valley, where the doctor went in about every day to look after them. He had also posted two of the soldiers as sentries in the country to prevent anybody going to them or their getting into the country, in hopes by that means to stop it spreading any further.

Captain Misenor asked that the account of the goods he had himself on board his ship the Princess Emilia might be registered at the island. The council ordered the secretary to register it in the consultation book, as follows. The list of goods which Captain John Misenor wished to be registered at St Helena [...]

Interpretations

The entry recorded the island's first known visitation of smallpox, the population's isolation having spared it the disease until Captain White's Mercury landed the Madagascar slaves on 28 April 1717. The note explains the quarantine advertisement of 19 June 1717 in full operation a month on: eight sick in Lemon Valley, the surgeon Du May attending almost daily, and two sentries posted to seal the valley both ways, against visitors going in and the sick coming out. A population never exposed had no acquired protection, so the double cordon guarded several hundred whites and blacks who could all take the infection.

The postscript's list completed the want the thread-stocking order of 17 July 1717 had revealed: coarse thread, ready clothing for soldiers and slaves, and the trimming whose absence had forced the broad cloth down to 25 per cent in the pricing of the Success's invoice. The three wants belonged together, cloth without trimming, stockings without thread and a garrison part barefoot, the cargo's gaps now itemised for London in one sentence.

Misenor's registration entered a captain's private trade on the public record before sale, the customs discipline in force since Newington's appointment as customs master on 4 November 1714 and lately tested when two bales from the Cardonnell passed unnoted on 7 March 1717. A registered list fixed what the Princess Emilia's commander might sell, against which the duty and the credit rules could be applied.

Speculations

Sending the doctor in about every day, with sentries to keep all others out, made Du May the one licensed crosser of the cordon, a calculated risk that accepted the surgeon as a possible carrier for the sake of treating the sick. The bench evidently judged daily care worth that hazard, perhaps reckoning a surgeon careful of himself safer than the smuggled visits desperate owners or kin might otherwise attempt.

The phrase recording that the disease was never known at the island before reads as written for London as much as for the book, absolving the administration of the outbreak by fixing its origin in Captain White's ship. With the same slaves justifying the end of hired labour from 25 June 1717, the Governor needed the record to show the new policy's instrument, not its management, had brought the calamity.

394

397

Helena, and is as follows (Vizt)

  1. Bales of Coffee
  2. ditto of Cardimums
  3. ditto of Myrrhe
  4. Ditto of Cocolus India
  5. Chests of. Aloes.

Severall Casks of Assafoteda.

  1. Basketts of Oyster Shells

6 Ditto of Rangoes

  1. Chests of Tea

An Acct. of Boats yt unliverd the Hon Comps Goods from on board ye ship Success Capt Ben: Graves Comdr Vizt

  1. D. 17. June 2. Boats of ye Hon: Comps. 2 do. of ye Ships Totals. 4

C. 18. 2. 2. 4

V. 19. 1. 2. 3

S. 20. 1. 1. 2

D. 21. 1. 0. 1

L. 22. 1. 2. 3

M. 24. 0. 1. 1

C. 25. 1. 1. 2

V. 26. 1. 0. 1

S. 1st July. 0. 1. 1

  1. Working days. 10. H Comps. Longboats. 12. of ye Ships L Boats. 22

After this 5 boats came on shoar wth ye remaindr of ye H: Comps Goods but We are not more particulr in ye Acct. of ym because ye Capt proposed to ye Govrnr that if he would lett alone ye protest he would al leage nor desire any allowance for ye time of those boats but give Acct. to ye H. Comps as if all were deliverd exactly in the 10 Working days

Antipas Tovey.

Margin Notes:

Island

The list of Captain Misenor's goods registered at St Helena ran as follows:

Coffee 20 bales

Cardamoms 85 bales

Myrrh 12 bales

Cocculus India 7 bales

Aloes 11 chests

Asafoetida several casks

Oyster shells 20 baskets

Rangoes 6 baskets

Tea 6 chests

An account followed of the boats that unloaded the Honourable Company's goods from on board the ship Success, Captain Benjamin Graves commander:

17 June 1717 2 boats of the Honourable Company and 2 boats of the ship 4 boats in all

18 June 2 boats of the Company and 2 boats of the ship 4 boats in all

19 June 1 boat of the Company and 2 boats of the ship 3 boats in all

20 June 1 boat of the Company and 1 boat of the ship 2 boats in all

21 June 1 boat of the Company and no boat of the ship 1 boat in all

22 June 1 boat of the Company and 2 boats of the ship 3 boats in all

24 June No boat of the Company and 1 boat of the ship 1 boat in all

25 June 1 boat of the Company and 1 boat of the ship 2 boats in all

26 June 1 boat of the Company and no boat of the ship 1 boat in all

1 July No boat of the Company and 1 boat of the ship 1 boat in all

Total over the 10 days on which boats ran 10 turns by the Company's longboats and 12 by the ship's boats 22 boatloads in all

After these, 5 boats came on shore with the remainder of the Honourable Company's goods, but the account was not more particular about them. The captain had proposed to the Governor that if the protest were let alone he would neither allege nor desire any allowance for the time of those boats, but would give account to the Honourable Company as if all had been delivered exactly in the 10 days. The entry was signed by Antipas Tovey.

Interpretations

Misenor's registered cargo was a drug merchant's lading from the western India trade: cardamoms the spice of the Malabar coast in bulk at 85 bales, myrrh and aloes the bitter resins and purging drugs of the Arabian and Red Sea trade, cocculus India the poisonous berry used against vermin and by brewers to strengthen drink, asafoetida the fetid gum resin of Persia used in medicine and cookery, with coffee from Mocha and tea besides. The oyster shells and rangoes, the rough beads and shell ware of the Africa trade, were truck for slaving ports, so the Princess Emilia's private venture looked beyond St Helena toward markets where such goods bought slaves.

The boat log applied the charter-party discipline of ten days to the Success's discharge, the day-by-day count by owner of boat being the same protest evidence compiled against Captain Browne of the Rochester in July 1714 and against Mawson on 11 June 1715. The record shows the working benchmark slipping, four boats a day at the start falling to one, with 24 June and 1 July seeing a single ship's boat, and five boatloads still ashore after the ten days expired.

The closing bargain settled the matter without a protest: Graves waived any claim for the time of the late boats and undertook to account to the Company as if all had landed within the ten days, the council in turn letting the protest alone. The same captain had refused the £27 0s 0d coal demand on 26 June 1717 in mid-discharge, so the two disputes ran together and closed apart, the coals going home on the endorsed bill of lading while the demurrage question was traded away evenly.

Speculations

The bargain suited both sides' paper better than any contest. A protest would have cost Graves freight deductions and explanations in Leadenhall Street, while the council's own log showed Company longboats idle on the worst days, an awkward exhibit if the captain answered a protest by blaming the shore. Mutual silence made the record clean for both.

Registering Misenor's drug cargo without prices or duty entries suggests the list served as a declaration against future sale rather than an immediate trade, the captain securing proof of what he carried before going on. For the island the registration cost nothing and kept the customs rule intact in form even when no goods moved.

395

398

July

At a Consultation held on Tuesday ye 23d day of July 1717 At Union Castle in James Valley

Prest. Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr. George Haswell Dpty Matthew Bazett 3d & Antipas Tovey 4th in Council

Last Consultation Read & Approved of.

Mr. Wm Fairfax who married Capt Mash bornes Widw being going to England in the Princess Emelia We have bought of him on the Hon Comps Acct as foll. Vizt.

Blacks. 1. Women named Saber & her Child £30 - -

  1. Man named Brackett. 25 - -
  2. Boy named Peter. 18 - £73 - -

Cattle. 5. Cowes & 5. Calves.

2 Heifers & 3. Steers. all valued at. 43:10 -

Sheep. 10 Weathers. @ 24/ each £12 - -

  1. Ewes. 24. 9:12 -
  2. Rams. 24. 2:8 -
  3. half grown sheep 12. 1:16 - £ 25:16 -

£142:16 -

For which together with £62:7/8d wch his Wife had Credit for by Sundry Persons Debts in the Honble Comps Stores We shall draw a Bill on Our Hon Mastrs.

The Capt. of this Ship wanting hands

Margin Notes:

Island St Helena

7

Goods bot of Mr Fairfax.

(brot)

draw bill for it.

A consultation was held on Tuesday 23 July 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were the Governor Isaac Pyke, the deputy governor George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The record of the last consultation was read and approved.

Mr William Fairfax, who had married Captain Mashborne's widow, was going to England in the Princess Emilia. The council bought of him on the Honourable Company's account as follows, the margin noting the goods bought of Mr Fairfax and that a bill was to be drawn for them.

Blacks:

A woman named Saber and her child £30 0s 0d

A man named Brackett £25 0s 0d

A boy named Peter £18 0s 0d

The blacks together £73 0s 0d

Cattle:

5 cows and 5 calves with 2 heifers and 3 steers, all valued at £43 10s 0d

Sheep:

Wethers 10 at 24s 0d each £12 0s 0d

Ewes 8 at 24s 0d [reading uncertain] £9 12s 0d

Rams 2 at 24s 0d £2 8s 0d

Half-grown sheep 3 at 12s 0d £1 16s 0d

The sheep together £25 16s 0d

The whole together £142 6s 0d

For this sum, together with £62 7s 8d for which his wife had credit for sundry persons' debts in the Honourable Company's stores, the council was to draw a bill on the Honourable Masters.

The captain of the ship, wanting hands, [...]

Interpretations

The departing Fairfax was a different man from the discharged writer of 25 June 1717: this was the husband of Mary Mashborne, the widow left at the plantation house when Captain Edward Mashborne died on 31 March 1715 and permitted by the order of 5 April 1715 to remain until she could provide a habitation. His marriage carried her household away at last, and the Company bought up its substance, three slaves, fifteen head of cattle and twenty-three sheep, at a stroke.

The valuations sat squarely on the island's established scales: Saber with her child at £30 0s 0d and Brackett at £25 0s 0d matched the able-bodied benchmark of Nick's £25 0s 0d in January 1715, and the boy Peter at £18 0s 0d the juvenile rate, while sheep at 24s 0d a head stood well above the famine-era livestock prices, the herds now recovered. The cattle in one mixed lot at £43 10s 0d, about £2 18s 0d a head, ran above the £2 5s 0d average of the Belvird purchase of 1712.

The settlement converted everything into a single bill of exchange on the Honourable Masters covering £142 6s 0d of purchases and £62 7s 8d of store credits assigned from his wife's debtors, about £205 0s 0d in all. The council had bound itself since 2 August 1715 to draw no bills home but on very extraordinary occasions, and Governor Harrison had reported on 24 April 1717 the Company's displeasure at the island's many bills, so the margin's note to draw a bill marked a deliberate exception, the only way to pay a departing family whose wealth was in stock and book credit rather than coin.

Speculations

Buying the whole establishment served the Company as much as Fairfax: the slaves went straight onto a labour force short of hands, the breeding cattle and sheep into herds under the increase policy, and the purchase forestalled a departure sale that would have drained the islanders' scarce cash and credit. The bench paid in paper on London precisely because the goods were worth more to the Company than to any private buyer.

The wife's £62 7s 8d of credits, debts owed her by sundry persons at the stores, passed to the Company by assignment, which quietly observed Pyke's standing rule of 21 December 1714 that credit transfers between debtors required a particular order of council. Folding her receivables into the bill let the family leave with clean books while the Company took over the collecting, a tidy close to the Mashborne estate's long unwinding.

396

399

has desired Us to Spare him some if We can

Wherefore We think it proper yt since ye Hon. Comps gave leave for Jno Poulter to goe home he be One. And yt We Send Jno Black who is an Able Sailor & run away out of Capt Colletts Ship ye Grantham to be the other.

The Hon Comps in their last Genl Letter (par 52.) have taken notice of ye People yt run away with ye Longboat their running so great a risque to Obtain their Liberty from this place To which the best Answer We can make is That We are Sorry We should be Obliged to detain any body longer then they are willing to Stay. And tho We dont approve of it Our Selves We are forc't to do it for want of hands. There came but Eight Men over with the Governour of whom Six are dead & gone, & one Man named Gibb yt came over Since who is Lame & fitt for no Service. & Since We came here there has been 21. Died of the Garrison in all.

So That We are in very great want of People wch: We hope when their Honrs read this, will please to consider so effectually of That they will Send some more hands which We have so often desired. Our Number of hands being not eno to put Proper Guards into every Fort So That the Govr does Heartily wish We had twenty five hands more.

Margin Notes:

Capt wants hands.

who sent.

abt run away wth ye Longbt.

why we could not pmit ym to go.

hopes of a Sup ply of Men for ye reason

The captain of the Princess Emilia, wanting hands, had asked the council to spare him some if it could. The council thought it proper that, since the Honourable Company had given leave for John Poulter to go home, he should be one, and that John Black, an able sailor who had run away out of Captain Collett's ship the Grantham, should be the other. Margin notes recorded who was sent and that one had run away with the longboat.

The Honourable Company in their last general letter, at the 52nd paragraph, had taken notice of the people who ran away with the longboat, their running so great a risk to obtain their liberty from the place. The best answer the council could make was that it was sorry it should be obliged to detain anybody longer than they were willing to stay, and that though the council did not approve of the practice itself, it was forced to it for want of hands. Only eight men had come over with the Governor, of whom six were dead and gone, and one man named Gibb who came over since was lame and fit for no service. Since the present government arrived, 21 of the garrison had died in all.

The island was therefore in very great want of people. The council hoped that when their Honours read this they would please to consider it so effectually that they would send some more hands, which had so often been asked for. The number of hands was not enough to put proper guards into every fort, so that the Governor heartily wished there were 25 hands more. A margin note recorded the hope of a supply of men for that reason.

Interpretations

The directors' 52nd paragraph forced the council to answer for the longboat desertion of mid-November 1715, when William Bates the coxswain, John Flurcus, Godfrey Shoales and John William Poulter stole the Company's longboat by night with a month's provisions and the bench expected the boat to perish. The answer now disclosed that Poulter at least survived and was retaken or returned, the Company itself granting him leave to go home, so the council shipped the pardoned deserter as one of the two hands spared to the Princess Emilia and made London's clemency solve the captain's want.

The reply converted an accusation of harshness into a manpower claim. Conceding that men were detained against their will and that the bench disliked its own practice, it laid the cause on the directors' table with figures: six of the Governor's eight men dead, Gibb lame, 21 garrison deaths since July 1714, and forts that could not all be guarded, with 25 more hands as the stated need. The same Gibb had been refused leave to depart on 26 April 1715 because many men were dying, so the man once held for the sickness now stood in the letter as proof of it.

Sending away John Black, a runaway from the Grantham, cleared the island of a deserter the Company's own ship had lost, the standing practice with recovered seamen since the Queen's deserters were returned to Captain Martin on 17 August 1716. A sailor was returned to the sea service where his desertion had begun, and the garrison kept its soldiers.

Speculations

Pairing Poulter with Black gave the captain two hands at no real cost to the establishment, one already licensed home by the directors and one a stranger off another ship, so the council obliged the Princess Emilia without releasing a single man it had refused in June. The choice quietly preserved every retention ruling of 18 June 1717 while appearing generous.

The wish for exactly 25 more hands, entered as the Governor's own, sized the request to the forts rather than to the works, a soldier's number the directors could check against their own establishment lists. Asking in round military terms, after the failed general pleas so often made, aimed the demand where London's auditors could not dispute the arithmetic of sentries.

397

400

July

The Widw Porteous has desired Liberty to go off also in ye Ship She Owes ye Honble: Comps 19=1/6 10d. We think We cant let her go because of that Debt.

The Govr Sayes That ever Since her Husbands Death We have allowed five shillings p Week to wards her Maintenance & there is no likelihood of her paying the mony & Therefore He thinks Tis better to take her Bond for what her Hus band Owed the Hon Comps Tho ye Bond be worth Little or nothing than to keep her here & continue that Charge.

Orderd That She have leave to go Off.

The following Petitn was Presented (Vizt)

To the Worsh Isa: Pyke Esqr Govr & Council

The Petitn of Robt Marsh Most humbly Sheweth.

Whereas yor Petitr having an Acre of Land at Chubbs Spring. Your petr humbly prays yt he may have the Liberty of turning it over to Rd Beale & yt yor Worsh & Council, woud Grant him ye Lease yt was promised to yor petitr, yor Petr never having had One. & as in duty bound Shall ever pray.

(Signd) Robert Marsh.

Granted.

The Gunner Brought in his Monthly Acct of Expences for June (Viz)

An Account of Gunners Stores Expended from the first of June 1717 to ye 30th of ye Same Inclusive (Vizt)

Margin Notes:

Widw Porteous desires to go off.

why not

reason why

therefore

Granted.

Robt Marsh desires yt Rd Beale may have the Chubb Spring plantn.

Grant.

Gunrs Expence for

June

The widow Porteous had asked liberty to go off also in the same ship. She owed the Honourable Company £19 1s 10d, and the council thought at first that it could not let her go because of that debt. The Governor said that ever since her husband's death the Company had allowed 5s 0d per week towards her maintenance, and there was no likelihood of her paying the money. He therefore thought it better to take her bond for what her husband owed the Honourable Company, though the bond be worth little or nothing, than to keep her there and continue that charge. The council ordered that she have leave to go off. The margin recorded the request, the reason against it, the reason for it and the grant.

The following petition was presented to the Governor and council from Robert Marsh. He set out that he had an acre of land at Chubbs Spring, and asked liberty to turn it over to Richard Beale, and that the council would grant him the lease that had been promised him, he never having had one. The petition closed in the customary form and was signed by Robert Marsh. It was granted. A margin note recorded that Marsh wished Richard Beale to have the Chubbs Spring plant.

The gunner brought in his monthly account of expenses for June, an account of gunner's stores expended from 1 June 1717 to the 30th of the same inclusive [...]

Interpretations

The Porteous decision priced a debt against a pension and let the smaller loss win. The widow of the surgeon William Porteous, dead since 15 November 1715, had drawn 5s 0d a week, £13 0s 0d a year, against a debt of £19 1s 10d she could never pay, so eighteen months more of maintenance would exceed the whole debt. Taking her bond, valued on the record as worth little or nothing, satisfied the standing rule that nobody left with an unsettled account while ending the charge, the same arithmetic of release the bench had refused her passage by until the Governor stated it.

Her husband's £50 0s 0d lent to Thomas Perkins, the subject of her petition of 15 January 1717 to attach his effects, had evidently yielded nothing through Haswell's search, leaving the widow with paper claims on both sides. The Company now held her worthless bond as she held Perkins's worthless debt, and the ship carried the whole tangle away.

The Marsh petition tidied a loose end of the old land system: an acre at Chubbs Spring held on a promise of a lease never executed, now assigned to Richard Beale with the council's grant standing in for the missing deed. Beale had been rebuilding the family holding since the 60 acres were restored to the brothers on 7 June 1715, and the transfer passed through council because unwritten tenures could move no other way.

Speculations

Entering the four stages in the margin, desire, objection, reason and grant, turned the widow's case into a worked example for the directors of the bench's debt discipline tempered by accounting sense. The record showed London that even a charity case left only when keeping her cost more than her debt, the kind of reasoning the Company's auditors could not fault.

Marsh's acre going to Beale, with the lease promised but never made, hints at how much island tenure still rested on word of mouth a decade after the registration drives. The council's one-word grant quietly converted another verbal holding into recorded title at the moment it changed hands, registration by transaction where proclamation had failed.

398

401

1717 1717 Juno 15 An Alarm 8o Arrived ye Success Capt Graves a Engld 4 4 16 An Alarm 9 9 8o Arvd ye Stanhope Capt Pitt ab India 4 4 29 departed ye Stanhope for England 7 7 To the Guard 7 7 To Mr Cason for Exercis ye Garrison 6 Muskets balls for filling 2 Guards Pouches 4 Cartridg paper ad ye Surgn queers 14½ Ditto le ye Store 1 Do expended 1 Match ad Capt Pitt Comd of ye Stanhope 3 25 Do Expended 21

46 5 14½ 31 48

(Signd) Jno French

The Overseer at Plantation house brought in his Two monthly accounts as followeth Viz

An Acct of ye H. Comp Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hoggs & Goats &c. taken June 1st 1717.

Black Cattle. 68. Cows 33. Heifers 16. Bullocks 16. Yearlings 20. Stears 34. Calves 3. Bulls

190

  1. bought Since last Acct
  2. Killd do Non Increasd
  3. Turkies great & Smll 8 Killd, Non Increased
  4. Fowls grt & Small
  5. killd, non Increasd

29 Geese Great & Small 2 dead, Non Increasd (Since last Acct)

Goats. 170. Ewes 19. Wethers 68. Rams & Kids 68. Ewe do 2. Rams

327 Grt & Small

  1. Killd Since Last Acct & 11 Increased
  2. Ducks, great & Small Non killd or Increased
  3. Asses Great & Small
  4. Small & 5. of ye female kind

Hogs. 6. Sows 5. Shoats 47. Pigs 2. Boars

60 great & Small

  1. Killd Since Last Acct Non Increasd

Sheep. 43 Ews 32. Weathers 28. Lambs

  1. Ram
  2. Grt & Small

(Signd) Wm Worrall Acct

Margin Notes: 1717. Juno 15 planted house Acct for May.

The gunner John French signed his account of stores expended from 1 June 1717 to the 30th. An alarm on 15 June took 4 pounds of powder and 4 falcon rounds. The Success, Captain Graves, arrived from England on the 8th [reading uncertain] at 9 pounds and 9 rounds. A further alarm on the 16th took 4 pounds and 4 rounds. The Stanhope, Captain Pitt, arrived from India on the 8th [reading uncertain] at 7 pounds and 7 rounds, and her departure for England on the 29th took 7 pounds and 7 rounds. The account further charged:

To the guard 6 pounds of powder

To Mr Cason for exercising the garrison 4 pounds of powder

Musket balls for filling 2 guards' pouches 14½ pounds

Cartridge paper to the surgeon 1 quire

Ditto to the store 1 quire

Ditto expended 3 quires

Match to Captain Pitt, commander of the Stanhope 25 pounds

Ditto expended 21 pounds

The columns closed at 46 pounds of powder, 5 [...], 14½ pounds of musket balls, 31 [...] and 43 pounds of match.

The overseer at Plantation House brought in his two monthly accounts. The first was an account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs and goats taken on 1 June 1717.

Black cattle: 68 cows 33 heifers 16 bullocks 16 yearlings 20 steers 34 calves 3 bulls

190 in all, 11 bought since the last account, 5 killed and none increased.

Goats: 170 ewes 19 wethers 68 rams and kids 68 ewe ditto 2 rams

327 great and small, 11 killed since the last account and 11 increased.

Hogs: 6 sows 5 shoats 47 pigs 2 boars

60 great and small, 6 killed since the last account and none increased.

114 turkeys great and small, 8 killed and none increased.

192 fowls great and small, 39 killed and none increased.

29 geese great and small, 2 dead and none increased since the last account.

21 ducks great and small, none killed or increased.

11 asses great and small, 6 small and 5 of the female kind.

Sheep: 43 ewes 32 wethers 28 lambs 1 ram

110 great and small.

Signed William Worrall.

Interpretations

The arrival dates in the gunner's account sit awkwardly against the council record, which has the Success discharging from 17 June 1717 and her cargo invoice entered at the consultation of 17 July 1717, while the Stanhope sailed for Great Britain on 29 June 1717 with the council's short letter home. The day figures against both arrivals are doubtful readings, but the departure of the Stanhope on the 29th matches the entry at the consultation of 2 July 1717 exactly, and the salute scale of 7 pounds for an Indiaman's arrival and departure follows the gunner's settled pattern, as with the Dartmouth at 9 pounds on 4 May 1717 and the Borneo at 7 pounds on 8 May 1717.

The herd figures continue the stock series that ran at 193 neat cattle on 1 February 1717 and 192 on 1 March 1717. A count of 190 with 11 bought in and 5 killed shows the herd held steady through purchase rather than breeding, the cow-saving policy of 7 June 1715 having rebuilt the stock from 90 head at the start of 1715. The 11 cattle bought since the last account probably include the 15 head taken from William Fairfax at £43 10s 0d on 23 July 1717 being negotiated in this period, or parallel purchases under the standing preference for cattle over cash in planter debt settlements.

Mr Cason's charge for exercising the garrison shows powder issued for training rather than alarms or salutes, a separate head the gunner accounted for since the directors required every pound to be justified by occasion. Lieutenant Thomas Cason held the garrison drill as part of his military office, distinct from his survey and engineering duties.

399

402

July

Acct of ye Hon Compll Neat Cattle Sheep, Hoggs, Goats, &c taken July ye 1. 1717.

Black Cattle 67. Cows 33. Heifers 14. Bullocks 16. Yearlings 20. Steers 33. Calves 3. Bulls

186

2 Bullocks killd last month 1 Cow broke it Neck 1 Calf dyed wth ye Swelling Non Increased

  1. Turkeys Grt & Small 7 killd, Non Increasd
  2. Gees Great & Small
  3. killd by 2 of ye New Blacks Non Increased
  4. Fowls Great & Small
  5. killd. Non Increased

Goats. 170. Ewes 19. Wethers 70. Ewe Kidds 56. Ram do 2. Rams

  1. Great & Small
  2. Kidd Since last Acct
  3. Increased
  4. Ducks Great & Small, Non killd or Increased
  5. Asses, Great & Small Non Increased

Hogs. 5. Sows 10 Shoats 2. Barrows 30. Piggs 2. Boars

  1. Great & Small

6 Killd Since last Acct

  1. Sow killd by 2 of ye N. Blacks Non Increased

Sheep. 109. Great & Small 49. Ewes 31. Wethers 28. Lambs

  1. Ram

109: (Signd)

1 Killd Since Last Acct Non Increasd

Wm Worrall

Acct of Blacks thats dead Since ye 25 Mrch 1717

Old Antony, at ye Peak (who was past Labour) Old Burgu, at Plantation house. (do) Old (Palhau) past Labour. Ewe Girl named Hagar abt 10 Months Old Old Phenny, past Labour One New Madagascar Black named Giles Two do One named Roger ye other Tom One Guinea Wench named Andraver

The Total 9. (Signd) Wm Worrall

The Comander & Chief Mate of the Ship Princess Emelia desired a Register of their Bills & ye Certificates thereupon as foll. (Vizt)

Margin Notes:

Plantatn Acct for June Acct of Blacks yt Died Since 25. Mrch 1717

The second account ran for June, taking the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the rest on 1 July 1717.

Black cattle: 67 cows 33 heifers 14 bullocks 16 yearlings 20 steers 33 calves 3 bulls

186 in all. 2 bullocks were killed last month, 1 cow broke its neck, 1 calf died of the swelling and none increased.

Goats: 170 ewes 19 wethers 70 ewe kids 66 ram ditto 2 rams

327 great and small, 11 killed since the last account and 11 increased.

Hogs: 5 sows 10 shoats 2 barrows 30 pigs 2 boars

49 great and small. 6 were killed since the last account, and 1 sow was killed by 2 of the new blacks, none increased.

107 turkeys great and small, 7 killed and none increased.

29 geese great and small, 2 killed by 2 of the new blacks and none increased.

150 fowls great and small, 42 killed and none increased.

21 ducks great and small, none killed or increased.

11 asses great and small, none increased.

Sheep: 49 ewes 31 wethers 28 lambs 1 ram

109 great and small, 1 killed since the last account and none increased.

Signed William Worrall.

Worrall also signed an account of the blacks dead since 25 March 1717. Old Antony at the Peak, who was past labour. Old Burgu at Plantation House, also past labour. Old Palhau, past labour. A ewe girl named Hagar, about 10 months old. Old Phenny, past labour. One new Madagascar black named Giles. Two ditto, one named Roger and the other Tom. One Guinea wench named Andraver. The total came to 9.

The commander and chief mate of the ship Princess Emilia asked for a register of their bills and the certificates upon them, as follows.

Interpretations

The death roll divides into two distinct populations. Five of the nine dead were aged slaves described as past labour, the long-serving generation carried on the books though no longer productive, while three were new Madagascar blacks, probably from the 30 brought by the Mercury on 28 April 1717 or the 14 chosen from the Hamilton Galley under the order of 26 March 1717. New arrivals dying within months of landing was the pattern the council had long reported to the directors, the muster of January 1716 having found the Guinea supply half dead. The killing of a sow and two geese by two of the new blacks, charged in the stock account, records the same unsettled intake from the other side of the ledger.

The infant Hagar, dead at about 10 months, appears on the roll as Company property from birth, her death accounted for alongside the livestock in the same overseer's hand. The term wench for the Guinea woman Andraver was the standard plantation usage for an adult female slave.

The register of bills and certificates sought by Captain Misenor and his chief mate follows the practice by which commanders had their island transactions formally entered before sailing, protecting them against double charge in London. The council had registered Misenor's private cargo of coffee, cardamoms, myrrh and other goods on 17 July 1717, and the Princess Emilia was about to carry home the Fairfax-Mashborne household and the widow Porteous under the leave of 23 July 1717.

Speculations

The swelling that killed a calf was probably a local name for a livestock distemper, entered by Worrall as a cause of death in the same way the pant had been named for the hogs' disease on 4 October 1715. Naming the disease in the account protected the overseer against any suggestion of neglect, each loss being attributed to accident, slaughter or sickness rather than left unexplained.

400

403

1717 Honble Srs At the request & desire of Capt Jno Misenor Comandr of ye Ship Princess Emelia. We have Seen & read the Originall of ye following Copy of the first Bill of Exchange Dated Feby ye 22d AD 1717. drawn on yor Honrs by the President & Chief in Council of Callicut Vizt Robt Addams Esqr Messrs John Johnson & Hez King &c. We Attest & Certifie to be a true Copy for the Sum of Nine hundred Eighty Nine Pounds Sterling In Testimony whereof We have Sett Our hands on ye Island St Helena At Union Castle in James Vally ye 16th day of July 1717 (Copy.) Hon Srs Callicut Feby 27. 1716. Exch Str 989. at 8 Rupees Ea. 7912 @ 4½ fanams Ea 35604

At 10 Days Sight pay or Cause to be paid this Our first Bill of Exchange Our 2d & 3d not being paid unto Capt Jno Misenor Comdr of ye Ship Princess Emelia or Order the Sum of Pounds Sterling Nine hundred Eighty Nine at Eight Rupees pr ye Pounds Sterling is Rups Seven thousand Nine hundred & twelve at four fanams & half pr Rupee is Fanams Thirty Five thousand Six hundred & four for his Proper Account & Entered in your Books Lettr P. as pr Letter of Advice from Yor Honrs Most Humb & Obed Servts Robt Addams (Signd) John Johnson Hez King.

Margin Notes:

Certificate of Capt Misenors Bill of Ex. from Callicut

9

To the Hon: Court of Directrs of ye United Trade of ye Rl Hon: Engl Et India Compa at their House In Leaden hall Street London

The first instrument was a certificate addressed to the Honourable Sirs. The council declared that at the request of Captain John Misenor, commander of the ship Princess Emelia, it had seen and read the original of the following copy of the first bill of exchange, dated 22 February 1717 and drawn on the Honourable Masters by the President and Chief in Council of Calicut, namely Robert Adams Esquire and Messrs John Johnson and Hezekiah King. The council attested and certified it to be a true copy for the sum of £989 0s 0d sterling. In testimony the councillors set their hands on the island of St Helena at Union Castle in James Valley on 16 July 1717.

The copy of the bill itself followed, headed to the Honourable Sirs and dated at Calicut on 27 February 1716. A note recorded the exchange: £989 0s 0d sterling at 8 rupees made 7,912 rupees, each at 4½ fanams making 35,604 fanams.

The bill directed that at 10 days' sight the Masters pay or cause to be paid this first bill of exchange, the second and third not being paid, to Captain John Misenor, commander of the ship Princess Emelia, or order, the sum of £989 0s 0d sterling. At eight rupees to the pound sterling that made seven thousand nine hundred and twelve rupees, and at four fanams and a half to the rupee thirty five thousand six hundred and four fanams, for his proper account, to be entered in their books, letter P, as the letter of advice from Calicut would set out. The bill was addressed to the Honourable Court of Directors of the United Trade of the Right Honourable English East India Company at their house in Leadenhall Street, London, and was signed by Robert Adams, John Johnson and Hezekiah King, subscribing themselves the directors' most humble and obedient servants.

Interpretations

A bill of exchange of this kind was drawn in a set of three, the first, second and third of the same tenor, each sent home by a different ship so that the loss of one at sea did not destroy the claim; payment of any one cancelled the others, which is why this first bill carried the condition that the second and third were not paid. The certificate the council supplied served the same insurance purpose from the island, an attested true copy lodged at St Helena that could prove the bill's terms if all three originals miscarried. The 10 days' sight term meant the directors had ten days from presentation in London before payment fell due.

The two dates are consistent rather than contradictory. The bill was drawn at Calicut on 27 February 1716 under the old calendar, which the certificate of 16 July 1717 rendered as 22 February 1717 in its own dating [reading uncertain on the day figure]; February 1716/17 converts to February 1717 in the modern style, and the five-day difference between the figures probably reflects the date of drawing against the date of the covering letter.

Calicut, on the Malabar coast of south-west India, was a Company factory subordinate to Bombay and the centre of the pepper trade. Its money of account ran in rupees and fanams, here exchanged at 8 rupees to the pound sterling and 4½ fanams to the rupee, a southern reckoning distinct from the pagoda, fanam and cash system of Madras recorded in the Cardonnell invoice entered at the consultation of 26 February 1717. The sum of £989 0s 0d was very large for a commander's private account, and the letter of advice and the books reference letter P gave the directors the means to verify the claim against the factory's own records before paying.

Speculations

Misenor probably sought the island's attestation because St Helena was the last Company authority on the homeward run, and a certificate under the council's hands converted his sea-worn copy into evidence the directors would accept. The council's care to recite the drawers by name and office shows it certifying only the faithfulness of the copy, not the validity of the underlying debt, which remained for London to settle against the Calicut advice.

401

404

July Honble Srs At the request & desire of Mr Jno Edwards Chief Mate of ye Ship Princess Emelia Capt John Misenor Comandr We have Seen & read the Original of the following Copy of the first Bill of Exchange Dated Feby ye 27th 1716 drawn on yor Honrs by the Presidt & Council of Calli cut (Vizt) Robt Addams Esqr & Messrs Jno Johnson & Hezh King Which We Attest & Certifie to be a true Copy for the Sum of One hundred & Thirty Pounds Sterling. In Testimony whereof We have Sett Our hands on the Island St Helena At Union Castle in James Vally this 22d day of July AD 1717 (Signd) Isaac Pyke Geo Boswell Matth Bazett (&) Antipas Tovey

Honble Srs Callicutt Feb 27. 1716. Exch fan. 4680 a 4½ fan Ea is Rup 1040. a 8 Rup pr L Ster is 130 L

At ten days Sight pay or cause to be paid this Our first Bill of Exch. Our 2d & 3d not being paid Unto Mr Jno Edwards Chief Mate of Ship Princess Amelia or Order the Sum of Pounds Sterling One hundred & Thirty at Eight Rup pr L Sterl. is Rupees One thousd & Forty at four Fanams & half pr Rupee is fanams four Thousand Six hundred & Eighty for his Proper Account & Entered in yor Book Letter P. as pr Letter of Advice from yor

Margin Notes:

Certificate of Mr Edwards Bill of Exch. from Callicut.

The second certificate followed in the same form. The council declared that at the request of Mr John Edwards, chief mate of the ship Princess Emelia, Captain John Misenor commander, it had seen and read the original of the following copy of the first bill of exchange, dated 27 February 1716 and drawn on the Honourable Masters by the President and Council of Calicut, namely Robert Adams Esquire and Messrs John Johnson and Hezekiah King. The council attested and certified it to be a true copy for the sum of £130 0s 0d sterling. In testimony the council set its hands on the island St Helena at Union Castle in James Valley on 22 July 1717, signed Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey.

The copy of the bill followed, headed to the Honourable Sirs and dated at Calicut on 27 February 1716. A note recorded the exchange: £130 0s 0d sterling made 4,680 fanams, which at 4½ fanams was 1,040 rupees, at 8 rupees to the pound sterling.

The bill directed that at ten days' sight the Masters pay or cause to be paid this first bill of exchange, the second and third not being paid, to Mr John Edwards, chief mate of the ship Princess Amelia, or order, the sum of £130 0s 0d sterling. At eight rupees to the pound sterling that made one thousand and forty rupees, and at four fanams and a half to the rupee four thousand six hundred and eighty fanams, for his proper account, to be entered in the Masters' book, letter P, as the letter of advice from

Interpretations

The chief mate's separate bill of £130 0s 0d beside his commander's £989 0s 0d, both drawn at Calicut on the same day, on the same drawers and at the same rates, shows the officers of an Indiaman remitting their private trading profits home through the Company's own treasury rather than carrying coin or goods. Paying money into a factory against a bill on Leadenhall Street turned the risk of the homeward voyage into a paper claim, and the factory gained ready cash in India where silver was always wanted. The scale of the two sums against the mate's wages confirms how far the private trade allowance, not pay, was the real reward of an East India voyage.

The four signatures on this certificate place Tovey back among the signing council after his restoration as secretary on 5 June 1717, and show the bench acting without Byfield, whose place had stood vacant since his discharge and departure on the Catherine in January 1717. The certificates of 16 July 1717 and 22 July 1717 fall either side of the Princess Emelia business entered at the consultations of 17 July 1717 and 23 July 1717, the ship having arrived from Bombay on 10 July 1717.

402

405

1717 Yor Honrs Most humb & Obedt Servts Court of Directrs Trade of ye Rt Hon (Signd) Robt Adams Compa at their House John Johnson London Hezkh King Saml Jefsey Overseer of the Hutts Plantation complaind against Thos Burnham Joe that his Hogs & Cattle Trespass upon that Plantation & his not keeping up his Fences that Joins to the Hon Compas there. Thos Burnham was also Sumond to ap peare here to day to Answer why he did not Build the Two Gun Ridge house according to a greement & that now Some part of the Chimney being fallen down he does not repair it He promises to repair wt is fallen down but Sayes ye Rains are so violent at present yt no body can Work there & hopes We wont ex pect it till fair Weather comes in That request being reasonable We allow of it, But expect that then he do repair it without Los of time & that he do immediatly repair his Fences adjoining unto the Hon Compas The following Indent was Sent home by the Ship Princess Emelia Capt Jno Misenor Comdr

Indent of Goods very much wanted on St Helena Elm Pumps & Furniture. We have None. Larg Trucks for Guns much wanted, We have very few Docters Indent for Medicines wch goes by it Self Lanthorns Sorted. We have none. Triming for Cloaths there is None but Black. Throad

Margin Notes:

To ye Hon of ye United Engl Et India Compa Jn Leadenhall Street

Overs Complt agst Tho Burnham bad Fences &c

complt also agst him for not finishing 2 Gun ridg house

Ordrd thereupon

Indent of Goods most wanted here.

The bill closed with the address to the Honourable Court of Directors of the United Trade of the Right Honourable English East India Company at their house in Leadenhall Street, London, and was signed by Robert Adams, John Johnson and Hezekiah King as the directors' most humble and obedient servants.

Samuel Jessey, overseer of the Hutts plantation, complained against Thomas Burnham that his hogs and cattle trespassed on that plantation, and that he failed to keep up his fences adjoining the Honourable Company's. Burnham was also summoned to appear that day to answer why he had not built the Two Gun Ridge house according to agreement, and why he did not repair part of the chimney that had since fallen down.

Burnham promised to repair what had fallen down, but said the rains were so violent at present that nobody could work there, and hoped the council would not expect it until fair weather came in. The council found the request reasonable and allowed it, but expected him then to repair the house without loss of time and to mend his fences adjoining the Honourable Company's immediately.

The following indent was sent home by the ship Princess Emelia, Captain John Misenor commander. It was headed an indent of goods very much wanted on St Helena:

Elm pumps and furniture There were none.

Large trucks for guns Much wanted, there were very few.

The doctor's indent for medicines This went by itself.

Lanterns, sorted There were none.

Trimming for clothes There was none but black.

Interpretations

The indent's two-part form, stating the want against the present stock line by line, carries out the Governor's scheme of 3 January 1717 for a two-column statement letting the directors see the island's stock and the reason for each demand at one view, and answers their displeasure at the great indent sent by the St George, reported by Governor Harrison on 24 April 1717. The want of trimming repeats the postscript ordered on 17 July 1717 carrying home the lack of coarse thread, of clothes for the soldiers and blacks and of trimming for the planters' clothes; black-only trimming meant the planters could finish nothing but mourning wear.

Elm pumps were ships' and well pumps bored from elm trunks, the timber chosen because it resists rot when permanently wet, and their furniture was the fitting gear of boxes, spears and leather valves. Large trucks were the heavy wooden wheels of gun carriages, without which the island's cannon could not be traversed or moved between batteries, a serious defect for a place whose defence rested on its forts.

The Burnham matter joins the standing enforcement of the island's fencing laws, under which a planter answered for trespass by his own stock where his fences were out of repair, as Harding had been ordered on 12 July 1715. The Two Gun Ridge house was held under a building covenant, the same device by which Pledger's inheritance had been made conditional on cutting the corner stone and finishing the house on 4 January 1715, so that occupation of Company land carried a duty to improve it.

Speculations

The council's grant of time on the weather plea, paired with the demand that the fences be mended immediately, probably distinguishes the two obligations by what the rains actually prevented. Masonry on an exposed ridge could not set in violent rain, but a boundary fence protecting the Company's plantation from trespassing stock could not wait, since every wet week the gap stood open the Hutts crops fed Burnham's animals.

403

406

July Thread, Coursest Sorts Twine Brass Buttons for Slaves Holland & Manchester Tapes Gartering Scisers Bodice Laces, Sorted We have None Pins Midling & Smallest Sorts Fegretting Sorted Ivory Combs Sorted Hair Powder, not Scented Small Brass Thimbles Of these We have Non Smallest Fishing Hooks. from No 1. to 6. Smallest Fishing Lines from No 1. to 8. Sowing & Stiching Silk Pick axes Sorted of These have very few & shall have non in a Months time Shod Shovels Mawls Sorted Hand Screws, larg Sorts Hoes, Sorted Carpenters Axes Small Hatchets Plaining Irons &c Plain Stocks Chissels Sorted Gimblets Sorted Caulking Irons & Scrapers Of these We have None Barr Iron, We have very Little Very Larg Iron pots, We have eno of ye Middle Sort. Soldiers Cloathing, Vizt the Acct Whereof goes Single Kersies for 200 of ye H. Comps & 200 of ye Planters Blacks at ye Same time we have none. Granadeer Caps Monmouth Caps Coarse cheap Hatts Much Wanted We having None Large Strong Leather heeld Shoes for Men We have [none] very few Left 500. pr will Sell. Vittry

Margin Notes:

continued

The indent continued:

Thread, coarsest sorts Twine Brass buttons for sleeves Holland and Manchester tapes Gartering Scissors Bodice laces, sorted The store held none of these.

Pins, middling and smallest sorts Ferreting, sorted Ivory combs, sorted Hair powder, not scented Small brass thimbles The store held none of these either.

Smallest fishing hooks, from number 1 to 6 Smallest fishing lines, from number 1 to 8 Sewing and stitching silk Pickaxes, sorted Only a handful of these remained, and the stock would be exhausted within a month.

Shod shovels Mauls, sorted Hand saws, large sorts Hoes, sorted Carpenters' axes Small hatchets Planing irons and plane stocks Chisels, sorted Gimlets, sorted Caulking irons and scrapers None of these remained in store.

Bar iron Stocks were almost exhausted.

Very large iron pots The middle size was sufficiently stocked, but the largest were wanted.

Soldiers' clothing and related items A separate account covered these.

Kerseys for 200 of the Honourable Company's slaves and 200 of the planters' None were in stock at the time.

Grenadier caps Monmouth caps Coarse cheap hats All badly needed, the store holding none.

Large strong leather heeled shoes for men Very few pairs remained, and 500 pairs would find buyers.

Interpretations

The clerk altered the shoes line from none to very few, the correction preserving the indent's character as a sworn stock statement rather than a wish list; an overstated want would have discredited the whole return once the directors checked it against the storekeeper's books. The estimate that 500 pairs would find buyers shows the indent doubling as a commercial order, the store expecting to retail to the planters at the standard margin, as it had priced the Success shoes at 6s 3d and 6s 0d per pair on 17 July 1717.

Kerseys were a coarse narrow woollen cloth, the standard cheap clothing fabric for labourers, here ordered for 400 slaves split equally between the Company's own hands and the planters', the store again supplying both establishments. The order answers the winter clothing question opened on 7 May 1717, when Haswell proposed dungarees and the Governor proposed canvas lined with the old long cloth, and confirms that the island's slave population had outgrown the remnant stocks. Monmouth caps were the flat knitted woollen caps of seamen and labourers, grenadier caps the tall pointed soldiers' caps that allowed a musket to be slung, and ferreting was a stout cotton or silk tape used for binding edges.

The tool list, running through every trade from caulking irons to gimlets with none in store, shows the island's entire artisan economy dependent on a single annual supply line. The fishing hooks and lines graded by number match those retailed in the storekeeper's account of 25 December 1716 to 25 January 1717, the smallest sizes being for the shore fishery that fed the garrison; their exhaustion within a month touched the food supply, not merely trade.

Speculations

The note that the doctor's medicine indent and the soldiers' clothing account went separately probably reflects the directors' requirement that professional and military stores be certified by the responsible officer, the surgeon and the storekeeper of the military list, rather than pass on the Governor's general statement. The same separation appears in the general indent of 15 November 1715, which carried Thomas Price's signed medicine indent within it, and it protected each officer's accountability for his own head of expense.

404

407

1717 Vittery Canves there is None. Stationary Ware Sorted, Will next Year be wanted. Flouer & Bread. We have None. Timber & Deals. are more wanted than ye Hon Comp can imagine but especially Deals Three Chests of Tea in Catty Pots 2 Bohee & 1 of Green Tea (Signd) Isaac Pyke Seed Pease & Beans of each two Cask One Cask of Seed of Furze very Much wanted for Fences. 2 Cask of Such Grass Seeds as is likeliest to thrive in dry Soil The Govern Reports That because he could not agree upon the Price with Capt Jno Misenor for his Tea Capt Misenor paid ye Ballance of his own & the Ships Account in Battavia Arrack at four shillings pr Gallon [...] Antipas Tovey

Margin Notes:

added

The indent continued:

Vittery canvas None remained in store.

Stationery ware, sorted Present stocks would run out by the following year.

Flour and bread The store held none.

Timber and deals The island needed more of these than the Honourable Company could imagine, deals above all.

Three chests of tea in catty pots, 2 of bohea and 1 of green

Isaac Pyke signed the indent.

Three further lines were added after the signature:

Seed peas and beans 2 casks of each.

Furze seed 1 cask, badly needed for fences.

Grass seeds of the kinds best suited to a dry soil 2 casks.

The Governor then reported that he and Captain John Misenor could not agree on a price for the captain's tea, so Misenor paid the balance of his own and the ship's account in Batavia arrack at 4s 0d per gallon. Pyke and Antipas Tovey signed the record.

Interpretations

The arrack settlement applied the standing rule of 11 March 1715 that nothing be bought from a visiting ship beyond what cleared the ship's account at the stores, reinforced by the resolution of 24 April 1717 confining bills to arrack, rice, wheat and live cattle. With the tea price unsettled, taking Batavia arrack at 4s 0d per gallon, the same wholesale rate paid for the Arabella's two leaguers on 19 February 1717, closed the account without drawing a bill on London; the store retailed arrack at 6s 3d per gallon, so the Company took a known margin instead of a disputed tea valuation. The bench was holding a fixed line on tea that season, having ordered on 17 July 1717 that the Governor buy Captain Graves's tea only at the price Captain Pennick had sold his.

Several of the goods need unpacking. Vittery was a cheap lightweight canvas, the cloth the Governor had proposed on 7 May 1717 for clothing the Company's blacks through the winter. Deals were imported sawn softwood planks, the standard building board, which the island could not produce; the Governor had doubted on 20 November 1716 whether there were boards enough even for the new slaves' house, so the indent's unusually emphatic wording reflects a real construction bottleneck. The tea came packed in China in sealed pots holding one catty, about a pound and a third, bohea being the common black tea and green the unfermented sort; ordering by the catty matched the China-ship instructions in the January 1717 indent and the store's practice of retailing tea by the catty. Furze, or gorse, is a dense spiny shrub sown as a living stock-proof hedge and cut for fuel once grown.

The seed orders show the council buying recovery rather than produce. Grass seed chosen for dry soil addresses the pastures still rebuilding from the drought losses behind the cow-saving order of 7 June 1715, and the furze ties directly to the fencing programme whose bargains were concluded on 5 June 1717.

The clerk's marking of the seed lines as later additions kept the signed instrument honest, letting the directors distinguish the demands that carried Pyke's hand from those inserted afterwards.

Speculations

The bench probably held the stronger bargaining position over the tea because a commander could not sail with his store account unsettled, and Misenor's only alternatives were to meet the council's tea price or part with arrack at the island's fixed wholesale rate. Arrack carried an assured resale value while tea did not, so the deadlock resolved itself in the commodity whose worth neither side could dispute.

Sowing furze was probably a deliberate move to cut the recurring cost of stone walling, which the bargains of 5 June 1717 had just priced at 5s 0d to 18s 0d per rod, the dearest stretches workable only in calm weather. A living hedge, once established, fenced the same ground for the price of a cask of seed.

405

408

July. Island St Helena. At a Court of Judicature for Orphans held on Monday the 29th day of July AD 1717 At the Sessions house in James Vally near the United Castle Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Present. Geo: Haswell Depty Matthew Bazett Assist The Secty Acting as Attorney & Clerk of ye Sessions Court. The Court being Opened as Usuall The following Jurors where Sworne. Vizt 1: John Nichols Senr Foreman 2: John Goodwin 3: Richd Swallow 4: Thos Southern 5: Orlando Bagley 6: Wm Slaughter 7: Wm Worrall 8: Richd Swallow 9: Isaac Wood 10: Jona Doveton 11: Saml Jefsey 12: Richd Gurling Who being all Sworne The following Declaration was Presented and read, (Viz) Island St Helena. To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr &c Council. The Humble Petition & Declaracon of

Margin Notes:

Jurors.

A Court of Judicature for Orphans was held for the island of St Helena on Monday 29 July 1717 at the Sessions House in James Valley near the United Castle. Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, with George Haswell, deputy, and Matthew Bazett as assistants. The secretary acted as attorney and clerk of the court.

The court opened in the usual way and the following jurors were sworn:

1 John Nichols senior, foreman

2 John Goodwin

3 Richard Swallow

4 Thomas Southen

5 Orlando Bagley

6 William Slaughter

7 William Worrall

8 Richard Swallow

9 Isaac Wood

10 Jonathan Doveton

11 Samuel Jessey

12 Richard Gurling

All having been sworn, a declaration was presented and read. It was addressed for the island of St Helena to the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council, and was headed the humble petition and declaration

Interpretations

The orphans' court sitting on 29 July 1717 is probably the deferred hearing of the Cotgrove succession, which the council had referred to an orphans' court originally appointed for 11 February 1717, the contest lying between the verbal will of the orphan Joseph Cotgrove, who died under age on 25 November 1716, and his guardian John Alexander's claim that a minor could make no will over real estate. The advertisement of 2 July 1717 had fixed a Court of Judicature for 15 July 1717 at the same Sessions House unless an English ship were then in the road, and the Princess Emilia's arrival on 10 July 1717 with her despatch business explains the slip of a fortnight.

The bench's judicial formation differed from its conciliar one. The Governor sat as judge with the deputy governor and third councillor as assistants, Tovey served the court as attorney and clerk rather than sitting on the bench, and twelve sworn planters found the facts, the same structure used at the Court of Judicature of 17 September 1716. The jury drew on the island's most substantial men, including the new churchwarden Isaac Wood, the chief overseer William Worrall and two Richard Swallows, the executor and the bond creditor being distinct men of the same name.

A court for orphans answered the Company's standing position as father to widows and orphans, the council supervising guardianships and estate accounts at first instance and reserving disputed successions to a jury, the division settled since the reforms of 28 March 1711.

406

409

1717 of John Coles Planter & Execut of the last Will & Testament, of Gilbert Cotgrove Decd for & on the behalf of John & Thomas Cotgrove his ye said Gilberts Orphans & Minors. Humbly Sheweth. That on ye 25th of November last 1716 Died Joseph Cotgrove Brother of ye late Gilbert Cotgrove Decd & made a Verbal Will bequeathing all he Died possest of to ye above menconed John & Thomas Cotgrove his Nephews & which Will has been proved in yor Complainants humble Opinnion in as full and ample manner as the Law required. Upon wch yor Petitionr thought yt John Alexander the other Execut. with him to ye sd Gilbert Cotgroves Will ought to have Joind with yor Complainant in Administring to ye sd Jos. Cotgrove & given in an Exact Acct of the Effects of ye sd Joseph Cotgrove So as ye same might have Appeared before yor Worsh & Council & been Registerd to be a Witness in case of Mortality, Instead Whereof ye sd John Alexander petitiond yor Worsh & Council to permitt him to be Sole Admt. to ye sd Jos. Cotgroves Estate on the behalf of his Own Children thereby not only excluding yor complainant from his Executor ship but retaining the Whole Effects in his Own hands wch would be much to the damage of ye sd Orphans The Effects he now has of the said Joseph Cotgrove's decd amounting to

Margin Notes:

Jno Coles Decl. agt Jno Alexander on behalf of ye Heirs of Jos. Cotgrove Decd

The petition came from John Coles, planter and executor of the last will and testament of Gilbert Cotgrove deceased, on behalf of John and Thomas Cotgrove, Gilbert's orphans and minors.

Coles set out that Joseph Cotgrove, brother of the late Gilbert Cotgrove, had died on 25 November 1716 and made a verbal will leaving everything he possessed to John and Thomas Cotgrove, his nephews. That will had been proved, in the petitioner's humble opinion, as fully and amply as the law required. Coles thought that John Alexander, the other executor with him of Gilbert Cotgrove's will, ought then to have joined him in administering Joseph Cotgrove's estate and to have given in an exact account of its effects, so that the account might have come before the Governor and council and been registered as a record in case of mortality. Instead Alexander petitioned the Governor and council to be sole administrator of Joseph Cotgrove's estate on behalf of his own children, which not only excluded the petitioner from his executorship but kept the whole effects in Alexander's own hands, much to the damage of the orphans. The effects of Joseph Cotgrove now in Alexander's possession amounted to

Interpretations

The petition restates the contest the council had referred to this court on 11 December 1716, when Coles first asked that Alexander account for the estate and not be admitted administrator. The dying boy's verbal declaration before Henry Johnson, John William Pyfer, Peter Sinsnick and Joseph Bates, sworn on 4 December 1716, named his two cousins at John Bagley's and Mr Allis's as his heirs, while Alexander, the boy's guardian, disputed that a minor could make a will at all, claimed the estate was real rather than personal property, and sought equal shares for his own two sons.

The case turned on a genuine point of law. A nuncupative or verbal will could pass personal property if properly witnessed, the island having accepted one as early as the Henson probate of February 1712 and the witnesses of 4 December 1716 holding a soldier's verbal will sufficient, but it could not pass land, so Alexander's characterisation of the estate as real property was not a quibble but the heart of his case. His move from disputing the will to seeking sole administration converted a guardian's protective office into possession of the contested assets, exactly the conflict the registration of inventories before the council was designed to prevent.

Coles's argument that a registered account would stand as a record in case of mortality reflects the practical fear behind the documentary discipline: on an island where executors and witnesses died or sailed within a few years, an unregistered estate vanished with the man who held it. The same reasoning had driven the order of 28 March 1711 that all orphan loans be entered in the store books with yearly debit entries.

407

410

July. to according to your Petitionrs Judgment abt Five hundred Pounds Sterling as by ye Acct hereunder Written will more fully & parti cularly Appeare. Your Complaint does therefore now pray yt he may be allowed & Appointed to be Administrator to ye Goods, Chattels & other Effects lately belonging to ye sd Joseph Cotgrove Whether real or personall That ye sd Joseph Cotgroves most Just & Legall intentions at ye time of his Decease menconed in his Last Will & Testament may be performd & not ye sd Alexander to Administer who seems only to regard his Own & his Two Sons Interest & not ye sd Orphans. And it being Orderd that yor Complt might have the Liberty to Sue ye sd John Alexander at this present Court of Judicature for Orphs & haveing Arrested ye sd John Alexander in the Sum of Five hundred pounds for & on the behalf of ye sd John & Thos Cotgrove Orphans. Your Complt Does now humbly crave yor Worsh & Councl That ye matter may by ye Court & Jury be Stated & Examined & That ye Last Will & Testament of ye sd Jos. Cotgrove may be Approved & Registerd It being made in Legall maner & Witnessed by Persons of good Credit no ways Interested in ye Same & yt sd Jno Alexander may immediatly rendr

The petition continued that the effects came, according to the petitioner's judgment, to about £500 0s 0d sterling, as the account written below would show more fully and particularly.

Coles therefore prayed that he be allowed and appointed administrator of the goods, chattels and other effects lately belonging to Joseph Cotgrove, whether real or personal, so that Joseph Cotgrove's most just and legal intentions at the time of his death, set out in his last will and testament, might be performed. He asked that Alexander not administer, since Alexander seemed to regard only his own and his two sons' interest and not the orphans'.

An order had already been made allowing the petitioner liberty to sue John Alexander at this present Court of Judicature for Orphans, and he had arrested Alexander in the sum of £500 0s 0d for and on behalf of the orphans John and Thomas Cotgrove.

Coles now humbly asked the Governor and council that the matter be stated and examined by the court and jury, and that the last will and testament of Joseph Cotgrove be approved and registered, it having been made in legal manner and witnessed by persons of good credit in no way interested in it, and that John Alexander be immediately

Interpretations

The arrest in £500 0s 0d was not imprisonment but the civil process by which a defendant was attached in the amount of the claim to compel his appearance and answer, the sum matching Coles's valuation of the estate so that the whole fund stood secured pending judgment. The council had granted the same liberty to sue a sitting councillor in the Norman causes heard on 17 September 1716, and the prior order Coles recites shows the bench again channelling a private grievance into the jury court rather than deciding it in council.

Coles's framing of the witnesses as persons of good credit in no way interested in the outcome answers the legal test for a nuncupative will, which stood or fell on the quality of the witnesses since there was no signed instrument. The four sworn on 4 December 1716, Henry Johnson, John William Pyfer, Peter Sinsnick and Joseph Bates, took nothing under the declaration, whereas Alexander's claim for his own sons made him an interested party in the very office of administrator he sought, the contrast Coles drives home.

The phrase whether real or personal asks the court to pass the entire estate under the verbal will, deliberately overriding the distinction on which Alexander's defence rested, that a verbal will could carry goods but never land. Coles thus sought a single administration of the whole rather than a split in which the land descended at law, probably to the heirs Alexander claimed through.

408

411

1717 render a Faithfull & Just Account into this Court of all manner of Effects that lately belonged to ye Decd Jos. Cotgrove & of all rights & Interest yt he in his Life time had to any Estate Real or Personal as well what is not as wt is in ye sd John Alexanders Custody & yt he doe make pront payments as shall be Appointed for all Such Sum or Sums of mony as shall be found due or Owing to ye sd Orphans of Gilbt Cotgrove decd by Vertue thereof. The Acct is as follsth (Vizt)

To 100. Legacy for 10. Years, at 8 pr Ct L 217:17:6

To ⅓ part of anothr 100. remainder of his Mothers Estate not Yet divided 72:12:2

To 1. Blacks Work for 8. Year @ 15 pr ann 120: -: -

To 5 Head of Cattle 25: -: -

To ye half of ye remainder of ye Estate of Ann Cotgroves yt would have been due to her had she Lived 36: 6: 1

Totall L 471:15:9

Besides divers other Articles Goods & Sums of mony yt yor Petitr has at present no possitive & certain Acct of wt is in the Custody of ye sd Jno Alexander & wch he refuseth to discover or Acct for Whereof yor Complt humbly prays he may be Obliged to give a full & Clear Acct or else that this full Accon may be allowed to be brought in against him as most rightfully doth Appertain to Justice, the poor Orphans now

Coles asked that Alexander render to the court a faithful and just account of every kind of effect that had lately belonged to the deceased Joseph Cotgrove, and of all rights and interest he had in his lifetime in any estate, real or personal, covering what was not in John Alexander's custody as well as what was. He further asked that Alexander make immediate payment, as the court should direct, of all sums found due and owing to the orphans of Gilbert Cotgrove under the will.

The account followed:

A legacy of £100 0s 0d held for 10 years At 8 per cent £217 17s 6d

A third part of another £100 0s 0d, the remainder of his mother's estate not yet divided £72 12s 2d

The labour of 1 black for 8 years At £15 0s 0d per year £120 0s 0d

5 head of cattle £25 0s 0d

Half of the remainder of the estate of Ann Cotgrove, which would have come to her had she lived £36 6s 1d

Total £471 15s 9d

Beyond these items the petitioner had no positive and certain account of various other articles, goods and sums of money in John Alexander's custody, which Alexander refused to disclose or account for. Coles therefore prayed that Alexander be obliged to give a full and clear account, or failing that, that this full action be allowed to proceed against him as justice most rightfully required.

Interpretations

The account is a schedule of claims against the guardian, not an inventory of goods in hand. Its largest item capitalises a £100 0s 0d legacy over ten years at 8 per cent, the island's settled interest rate confirmed in use since the Porteous advance of 27 November 1711, and the figure of £217 17s 6d corresponds to compound rather than simple interest, the petitioner charging the guardian as if every year's interest had itself been put out at interest. The pricing of a slave's labour at £15 0s 0d a year for eight years turns the orphans' human property into an income stream for which the holder must answer, a rate ten times the slave's typical capital value of £10 0s 0d to £15 0s 0d a head on the Carne schedule of 7 December 1714, and well above the hired rate of 1s 6d per day that yielded under £24 0s 0d for a full year.

The claim to half of Ann Cotgrove's notional share, due to her had she lived, shows succession arithmetic in a family thinned by death: a deceased child's expectancy did not lapse but redistributed among the survivors, and Coles claims the nephews' half of it down to the penny. The sum total of £471 15s 9d reconciles exactly with the five items, which mattered because the £500 0s 0d arrest had to be justified by a particularised account or fail as excessive.

The prayer that Alexander disclose what the petitioner could not yet specify, on pain of the action proceeding, uses the discovery mechanism of equity practice: a fiduciary who kept the only records of the fund bore the burden of producing them, and silence converted the claimant's estimate into the measure of liability. The council had applied the same logic to the executors of Charles Steward on 31 May 1715, when the four-headed return order compelled inventory and production of books.

409

412

July now under yor Complts care & charge having Sufferd & are Still likely to Suffer more damage in the Whole by ye sd John Alex anders unjust detainer then ye Account of ye sd Accon & yor Petitr & Complt as in Duty bound shall ever pray &c Antipas Tovey (Signd) Attorney for ye Complainant. The Govr after taking upon Oath ye Several Evidences of Henry Johnson, Jno Wm Fyfer Pr Sinsnick & Joseph Bates who declared be fore ye Court & Jury as is contained in Cons of ye 4o Decr last ye same Day pd the Court &c did hear what the Complaintnant had further to Say. Who produced an Old Present State of Engld To prove that a Young man might make a Will & give away his Estate to whom he would tho not 21 Years Old if above 14 The Defdt Alexander sayd he was ready to prove that no Infant under 21. Years of Age can make any Gift of Land, nor Goods which shall be of Force. He pray'd yt Margt the Mothr of ye said Jos. Cotgroves Will might be Read (wch was) by wch it appeard That she gave the Portion of Joseph Cotgrove to be paid to him at ye Age of 21. Years or day of Mar riage as she did to her other Children Where upon the Defdt argued yt Jos: Cotgrove had no

Margin Notes:

Witnesses.

Coles furthr pleas.

Jno Alexandrs Defence.

The petition closed by setting out that the orphans now under the petitioner's care and charge had suffered, and were still apt to suffer, more damage in the whole through John Alexander's unjust withholding than the amount of the account itself. The petitioner would ever pray, as in duty bound. Antipas Tovey signed it as attorney for the complainant.

The Governor took upon oath the several testimonies of Henry Johnson, John William Pyfer, Peter Sinsnick and Joseph Bates, who declared before the court and jury what is contained in the consultation of 4 December last. The court and the rest then heard what the complainant had further to say.

Coles produced an old Present State of England to prove that a young man might make a will and give away his estate to whomever he wished, though not 21 years old, if above 14.

The defendant Alexander said he was ready to prove that no infant under 21 years of age could make any gift of land, nor of goods, that would have force. He prayed that the will of Margaret, the mother of Joseph Cotgrove, might be read, which was done, and by it she appeared to have given Joseph Cotgrove his portion, payable to him at the age of 21 years or his day of marriage, as she did to her other children. The defendant argued from this that Joseph Cotgrove had

Interpretations

The Present State of England was Edward Chamberlayne's Angliae Notitia, a popular handbook of English law, offices and customs reprinted for decades, and Coles cited it for the civil-law rule that a male of 14 could make a testament of personal goods. The book stated the orthodox position: 14 for boys and 12 for girls sufficed for a will of chattels, while 21 was required to dispose of land. On an island without lawyers or a law library, a household reference book served as authority before a jury, the same role Dalton's Justice had played when Pyke ruled on marital privilege at the Toby trial of 10 May 1715.

Alexander's defence is the mirror of the same rule plus a second, independent line. By denying force to an infant's gift of land or goods he overstated the law on goods, but his real point lay in Margaret Cotgrove's will: if Joseph's own portion was not payable until 21 or marriage, then at his death under age he held only a contingent expectancy, not vested property he could bequeath. The argument converts the case from the form of the verbal will to the nature of what the boy had to give, a markedly more dangerous ground for the complainant.

The court's adoption of the sworn declarations of 4 December 1716 by reference, rather than re-examining the four witnesses from the beginning, shows the consultation book functioning as the permanent evidentiary record of the island, testimony once entered remaining available to any later tribunal, the practice the secrecy resolutions of 13 January 1717 protected from the other direction.

410

413

1717 no right to give away what he never had no right to give away what he never had in possession That was never ye Practice of this Place (& as he believes of no other) for a Minor to give away what woud be his but at 21 Years, & if such a thing was allowed of, they might then give a way an Estate to a Stranger (yt can perswade him to it) & so deprive their Brothrs or Sistrs of what would Lawfully decend to them, according to ye true mean ing of Most (if not) all Wills here. That the Ordrs & Instructions of ye Honble Compy The Lords Proprietors of ye 20 March 1679 is a Suffe cient Objn against ye Complt Coles unjust claim & Further Sayed had he unadvisedly paid ye sd Jos. Cotgrove his Estate in his Life time while he was under Age & toke his receipt in full, had ye said Cotgrove lived to ye Age of Maturity he might have Sued him (ye Defdt) for his Portion & thus been paid twice or He now pay it unless his so Orderd, ye Surviving heirs of ye Widdo Cotgrove (his Mother) might Sue & recover their Share of ye sd Josephs Cotgroves Portion of ye Deft for his paying it away unlawfully to another woud be no discharge to him. Then the Jury withdrew & after Some Stay brought in their Opinion & Verdict as foll. (Vizt) That what Estate Jos: Cotgrove was possessed of at ye time of his Death He had power to dis pose of, But what was Left him by his Mothr shoud be divided as an Intestates Estate. Then

Margin Notes:

Juries Verdict

Alexander argued from the mother's will that Joseph Cotgrove had no right to give away

Start of crossed out section what he never had, no right to give away End of crossed out section

what he never had in his possession. He said it had never been the practice of this place, nor he believed of any other, for a minor to give away what would become his only at 21 years. If such a thing were allowed, minors might give an estate away to any stranger who could persuade them to it, and so deprive their brothers or sisters of what would lawfully descend to them according to the true meaning of most if not all wills here.

Alexander further argued that the orders and instructions of the Honourable Company, the Lords Proprietors, of 20 March 1679 were a sufficient objection against Coles's unjust claim. Had he unadvisedly paid Joseph Cotgrove his estate in his lifetime while under age and taken his receipt in full, Cotgrove on reaching maturity could have sued him for the portion all over again, leaving him to pay twice. Equally, if he paid it out now without an order of the court, the surviving heirs of the widow Cotgrove, Joseph's mother, might sue him and recover their share of Joseph's portion, since paying it away unlawfully to another would be no discharge to him.

The jury then withdrew and after some time brought in its opinion and verdict: whatever estate Joseph Cotgrove possessed at the time of his death he had power to dispose of, but what was left him by his mother should be divided as an intestate's estate.

Interpretations

The verdict adopted the legal distinction both sides had argued and split the fund along it. Property vested in Joseph at his death passed under the verbal will to the nephews, while the maternal portion, payable only at 21 or marriage and so never in his possession, fell as if he had died intestate and divided among the next of kin, which brought Alexander's sons back into the distribution they had claimed on 4 December 1716. Since the largest items in Coles's account of £471 15s 9d were the capitalised maternal legacy and the undivided remainders, the practical weight of the verdict ran to Alexander's side even though the will itself survived.

Alexander's double-payment argument states the standing law of fiduciaries: a minor's receipt was no discharge, so a guardian who paid out early did so at his own peril, and only a court order protected him against a second claim by the beneficiary or the wider heirs. The argument recasts his year of refusal to account, which Coles had framed as unjust detention, as legal caution, and it explains why he forced the matter to a jury rather than settle privately.

The instructions of 20 March 1679 invoked here are the same standing orders of the Lords Proprietors cited against John Goodwin's land purchase at the consultations of 11 and 18 December 1716, the directors' letters operating as the island's statute book, available to a private litigant in court just as to the bench in council.

Alexander's warning about strangers persuading minors articulates the protective purpose behind the age rule as the island understood it: portions were structured to stay within the family until majority or marriage, and a deathbed gift by a boy could defeat the descent that most local wills, including Margaret Cotgrove's, were drafted to secure.

Speculations

The jury probably shaped its verdict to dissolve the £500 0s 0d arrest without branding either party. By upholding the will in principle it cleared the four witnesses and the dying boy's intention of any taint, while by sending the maternal fund into intestacy it found that Alexander had withheld nothing he was bound to pay, leaving little for the arrest to bite on. A panel of executors and guardians, including Gurling, Doveton, Bagley and Goodwin, had every reason to confirm that no fiduciary pays without an order.

411

414

July Then Jona Doveton Planter preferred a Complaint against Henry Batchellour Soldier, for yt he had Some time ago layne with a Black Wench of his named Pegg and had gotten her with Child & at ye time of her delivery declared ye sd Henry Batchellour was ye true Father of her Child. Henry Batchellour appeared & denied he was the Father of ye sd Wenches Child & puts it upon proof. And the sd Doveton having no Testimony but ye Evidence of ye Black Wench, the Jury de sired yt no Black might be allowed as a Witt ness against a White man Upon wch ye Cause was dismist or Lett fall by Mr Dovetons Consent. Mr James Greentree brought an Acct of the Several Orphans under his Care (Vidt)

An Acct of Richd Hardings Orphans Estate

To Houses & Land (undivided) L 125. Valued at

To Goods & Chattles (Sold) L 123:12

Dr

To an allowance to Wm Slaughter for ye hard year 20 - -

To John Harding (his Share) 12 19 -

To Jos Bates. 12 19 -

To Richd Harding 12 19 -

To Eliza Hardings Sickness & Death 12 19 -

Cleare Estate besides House & Land 51 16 -

L 123 12 -

a True Acct pr me (Signd) James Greentree An

Margin Notes:

Jona Doveton agst Hen: Batchellr dismist.

Hardings Orphans Estate

Jonathan Doveton, planter, then presented a complaint against Henry Batchellour, soldier, that he had some time ago lain with a black wench of Doveton's named Pegg and got her with child, and that at the time of her delivery she declared Henry Batchellour to be the true father of her child.

Henry Batchellour appeared, denied he was the father of the wench's child and put it upon proof. Doveton had no testimony but the evidence of the black wench herself, and the jury asked that no black be allowed as a witness against a white man. On this the cause was dismissed, or allowed to drop, with Mr Doveton's consent.

Mr James Greentree brought in an account of the several orphans under his care. The first was an account of Richard Harding's orphan's estate:

Houses and land, undivided Valued at £125 0s 0d

Goods and chattels, sold £123 12s 0d

Against this stood the payments out:

An allowance to William Slaughter for the year [reading uncertain] £20 0s 0d

To John Harding, his share £12 19s 0d

To Joseph Bates £12 19s 0d

To Richard Harding £12 19s 0d

To Elizabeth Harding's sickness and death £12 19s 0d

Clear estate besides house and land £51 16s 0d

£123 12s 0d

Greentree signed it as a true account.

Interpretations

The jury's request that no black be allowed as a witness against a white man, and the bench's acceptance of it, fixed an evidentiary colour bar on the public record. The court did not weigh Pegg's credibility and reject it; it ruled her incapable of testifying at all, so that a paternity charge by a slave woman failed automatically unless a white witness happened to exist. The contrast with the Huff affiliation of 6 November 1716 is exact: there the slave Betty's child was fathered on Huff through the white witness William Casey and the slave Ben's supporting evidence on the clothing, and Huff was charged 12 pence a week, but the slave evidence then ran in the master's favour. Doveton's consent to drop the cause reflects what was at stake for him: an affiliation order would have charged Batchellour with the child's keep, and without it the cost of rearing Pegg's child fell on the owner, though the child itself was born his property.

The Harding account shows guardianship accountancy in its settled form. The realty stood undivided at a valuation of £125 0s 0d while the personalty was turned into money at £123 12s 0d, and the disbursement side reconciles to the same figure to the penny: £20 0s 0d to Slaughter, four equal shares of £12 19s 0d and a clear balance of £51 16s 0d. The equal shares mark a per-stirpes division among four claimants, with Elizabeth Harding's share absorbed by her final sickness and burial, her death recorded only as a line in the ledger. Joseph Bates takes a child's share, probably in right of a wife, the same footing on which Richard Swallow had recovered £10 0s 0d under the Alexander bond on 9 April 1717.

The annual allowance of £20 0s 0d to William Slaughter for keep places the maintenance of an orphan household at the top of the island's range, against the 40s 0d a year at which a small boy had been boarded with Francis and the £16 16s 0d allowed an adult woman of quality in the Keeling estate.

Speculations

Greentree probably rendered these accounts now because the court's sitting offered the registration in case of mortality that Coles's petition had just demanded of Alexander. A guardian who entered his figures before judge and jury converted his stewardship into a settled record, and the timing, immediately after a guardian had been arrested in £500 0s 0d for refusing to account, made voluntary disclosure the prudent course for every other holder of orphan money in the room.

412

415

1717 An Acct of the Estate of Robt Addis Orphs as by Inventory July 1st 1714

By Inventory clear Estate L 156 8 3

To 8. Cows L 48 - -

  1. Bulls 13 - -

4 Bullocks 16 - -

  1. Heifer 5 - -
  2. Steers 10 - -
  3. Calves 12 - -
  4. Heifer & Calf Sold 5 - -

109 - -

L 265 8 3

Dr

To 3 Years boarding at 7L pr ann for 3 Children from 1st July 1714 to 1st July 1717 63 -

To 8. head of Cattle 60 -

123 - -

Clear Estate L 142: 8: 3

July first 1717. A True Acct by Us (Signd) James Greentree Joshua Johnson

Mr Tovey acquainted ye Court that he had paid above Seventy Seven pounds of the Mony due to his Daughter in Law Margt Bagley and what Remains he will pay in Blacks Labour as Soon as possible he can. Messrs Powell & Ric Gurling brought an Account of ye Estate of Charles Stewards Orphans & Stock Vizt The Estate is Dr (there) to Sundry persons L 141:18 6½

Itm Cr pr Sundries L 393:8:2¼

March 25

Margin Notes:

Addis Orphans Estate.

Tho Bagley Orphan pd part pr Mr Tovey

Cha Stewards Orphans Estate

Greentree's second account covered the estate of Robert Addis's orphans, as by inventory of 1 July 1714:

The clear estate by inventory £156 8s 3d

8 cows £48 0s 0d

2 bulls £13 0s 0d

4 bullocks £16 0s 0d

1 heifer £5 0s 0d

4 steers £10 0s 0d

7 calves £12 0s 0d

1 heifer and calf, sold £5 0s 0d

The cattle together £109 0s 0d

Total £265 8s 3d

Against this stood the charges:

Boarding for 3 children for 3 years, from 1 July 1714 to 1 July 1717 At £7 0s 0d per annum each £63 0s 0d

8 head of cattle £60 0s 0d

Total charges £123 0s 0d

The clear estate stood at £142 8s 3d. James Greentree and Joshua Johnson signed it on 1 July 1717 as a true account.

Mr Tovey informed the court that he had paid above £77 0s 0d of the money due to his daughter-in-law Margaret Bagley, and that he would pay the remainder in blacks' labour as soon as he possibly could.

Messrs Powell and Richard Gurling brought in an account of the estate of Charles Steward's orphans and stock. The estate was debtor in the stores to various persons in £141 18s 6½d, and with sundries the figure came to £393 8s 2¼d as at 25 March

Interpretations

Tovey's report closes the security ordered against him at the consultations of 21 and 28 February and 3 March 1716, when the bench voided Richard Swallow's maintenance contract, took the three slaves back and required Tovey to give good security for the £130 0s 0d due to the orphan Margaret Bagley at her coming of age or marriage. Payment of £77 0s 0d with the balance promised in slave labour follows the court's own formula, the slaves' labour having been expressly ordered applied towards the money, and a year's hire at the standing 1s 6d per day rate made the residue a matter of two to three years' work. Reporting it to the orphans' court converted a private family debt into a publicly monitored instalment plan.

The Addis account prices the boarding of an orphan child at £7 0s 0d a year, a middling rate between the 40s 0d at which a small boy had been kept and the £20 0s 0d allowed Slaughter for the Harding household, and it shows the estate consumed from two directions at once: maintenance absorbed £63 0s 0d while the herd itself shrank by £60 0s 0d, so that three years of guardianship cost the orphans nearly half their fund. The arithmetic of the cattle schedule understates the listed beasts by a few pounds against the £109 0s 0d carried out, and the total of £265 8s 3d governs as the figures the auditors signed.

The Steward account opens the largest orphan fund on the island, the estate Powell and Gurling had administered under conciliar protection since the petitions of 24 May 1715, valued then at about £1,200 0s 0d. A debit of £141 18s 6½d owed in the stores to various persons shows the executors running the orphans' property as a trading concern, its obligations cleared through store credit like any planter's.

413

416

July. March 25 1717 Accot of Stock & Estate belonging to Charles Stewards Orphans. (Vizt)

To part in Two Houses

To 20. Acres of Free Land.

To 40. Acres of hired dto

To 1. Black Boy & 4 Girls

To 4. Black men

To 24. Cows 28. Calves 11. Bullocks 7. Heifers 5. Yearlings

  1. Bull

76

To Hoggs 65. Great & Small.

To 21. Ewes & 7 Wether Goats

To 6. grown fowles & 7. Young Ditto.

To 138000. of Yams

Errors Excepted. (Signd) Richd Gurling Gab: Powell.

Messrs Greentree, Rd Gurling & Jona Doveton brought an Acct of Robt Leechs Orphans Estate wch could not be ballanced unless Frenches Orphans Estate were first Settled. Wherefore It was Orderd. That Messrs Tovey & Powell do adjust the sd Wm Frenchs Orphans Account on Monday next. Rich

The account of stock and estate belonging to Charles Steward's orphans, taken to 25 March 1717, ran as follows:

A part in two houses

20 acres of free land

40 acres of hired land

1 black boy and 4 black girls

4 black men

Cattle: 24 cows 28 calves 11 bullocks 7 heifers 5 yearlings 1 bull

76 head in all

65 hogs great and small

21 ewes and 7 wether goats

6 grown fowls and 7 young ones

138,000 yams

Richard Gurling and Gabriel Powell signed it, errors excepted.

Messrs Greentree, Richard Gurling and Jonathan Doveton then brought in an account of Robert Leech's orphans' estate, which could not be balanced unless the French orphans' estate were first settled. The court therefore ordered that Messrs Tovey and Powell adjust William French's orphans' account on the following Monday.

Interpretations

The Steward inventory confirms the family's standing as the island's largest private orphan fund: 76 cattle and 60 acres tally exactly with the census entry for 1716, which gave Charles Steward's orphans 76 cattle and 60 acres under the executors, and the 138,000 yams alone represented roughly four to five acres' planting at the standard yield of 30,000 to the acre, a provisions stock approaching what the Company itself held at a single plantation. The nine slaves, listed between the land and the cattle, were the estate's productive core, the boy and girls probably the rising generation of the four men.

The Leech adjournment exposes a chain of interlocked trusts. The accounts of Robert Leech's orphans could not close because Gabriel Powell stood debtor to the orphans of William French for rent on their land and for 19,000 yams under the account of 11 October 1715, a liability Powell's own petition of 18 October 1715 had failed to shake, and the Leech executors, Gurling, Greentree and Doveton, could not strike a balance while that fund stayed open. The court's order setting Tovey and Powell to adjust the French account on Monday next put a fixed date on a settlement that had been pending since the attendance of Leech's executors was first sought, and it paired the debtor himself with the restored secretary as the men to do the arithmetic.

The form errors excepted, the standard merchant's reservation also used to close the Madras invoice entered on 26 February 1717, let the executors sign a true account while keeping the right to correct slips later, a sensible guard on figures spanning houses, land, slaves, four kinds of stock and a six-figure yam count.

414

417

Richd & Antho Beale Petitiond to have their Accounts Settled wch had layn undone many Years. Which requiring Some time as well to Examine the Store Books as other Accts too. It was Directed by ye Govr That they choose Two Men to adjust those Accounts, to begin to morrow morning, & to bring the Same to the Govr & Council next Consultation day for their Approbation Mary Easthope Midwife appearing (accor ding to Sumons) & being Sworne Deposeth That at ye time of Mercy Whaleys Labour of a Male Child, She did declare Several times during the hight of her Travel pains That Jno Hoski son (who is now Our Doctrs Mate) was the true Fathr of ye Child she then was Labour with & born imediatly after, being now Living & a White Mans Child tho of a swarthy Compleccion like ye sd Jno Hoskison. John Hoskison Objected yt was a Black mans Child & desired he might have ye Wench Sumoned to bring ye Child down to be Seen by the Govr &c. Council, Since she did not appeare here now as he thought She would have done For That as (he sayd) he never had any thing to do with her & She having Ownd She had layne wth Alexander her Mr Frees Black and he believes with other Blacks also. He There fore humbly prayd ye Court he may have another hearing But

Richard and Anthony Beale petitioned to have their accounts settled, which had lain undone for many years. Since the task required some time, both to examine the store books and other accounts too, the Governor directed the brothers to choose two men to adjust those accounts, beginning the next morning, and to bring the result to the Governor and council on the next consultation day for approval.

Mary Easthope, midwife, appeared on summons and was sworn. She testified that at the time of Mercy Whaley's labour of a male child, the mother declared several times during the night of her labour pains that John Hoskison, who is now the doctor's mate, was the true father of the child she was then in labour with. The boy was born immediately after, was still living, and was a white man's child, though of a swarthy complexion like John Hoskison's.

John Hoskison objected that it was a black man's child. He asked that the wench be summoned to bring the child down to be seen by the Governor and council, since she had not appeared now as he thought she would have done. He said he had never had anything to do with her, and that she had owned lying with Alexander, with Mr Free's black and, he believed, with other blacks also. He therefore humbly prayed the court that he might have another hearing.

Interpretations

The midwife's testimony carried a settled evidentiary weight: under long-standing practice a declaration of paternity made by a woman in the extremity of labour, when she was presumed incapable of lying, and heard by the midwife, was treated as the best proof a bastardy case could offer. Mary Easthope recites the formula exactly, repeated naming during the pains and birth immediately after, and adds the corroboration of her own eyes, a white child of swarthy complexion matching the man named. Hoskison's counter, that the child was a black man's and the mother a woman who lay with slaves, attacks the only two supports the case had, the child's appearance and the mother's credit, and his demand that the infant be produced for inspection asks the bench to judge race by sight as the deciding fact.

The stakes ran beyond maintenance. An affiliation order would charge Hoskison with the child's keep, as Huff had been charged 12 pence a week on 6 November 1716, but a finding that the father was a black would make the white mother's case collapse and shift the disgrace entirely to her. The naming of Alexander among her admitted partners is left ambiguous between a white man and a slave, and the court's note that the boy was a white man's child shows the bench already inclined against Hoskison's objection.

The Beale petition resumes the audit the brothers had sought on 17 May 1715, when their request for an examination of all accounts and restoration of family land was folded into the Governor's general orphan jurisdiction, the land of 60 acres being restored on 7 June 1715 while the store-room rent and the accounts stayed open. The device now adopted, two adjusters of the parties' own choosing with their figures returned to council for approval, is the standing island method for stale accounts, the same form used when the Beale audit of 13 October 1713 was put to four arbitrators, and it spared the bench the arithmetic while keeping the final sanction in its own hands. John Hoskison, the doctor's mate, carried a name with weight in that family history, the late deputy governor George Hoskison having been the man whose unredeemed credit for the Beales' bullock the council had finally written off on 28 May 1717.

415

418

July. 1717. But all these allegations having been made before & ye Wench had then (Vizt) at a Consultation of ye 23d of October last 1716. asserted & made Oath in his presence yt tho She had layn with Alexr Mr Frees Blacks Yet She beleived him to be the true Father of her Child & Now ye Widdo Easthope who was ye Mid wife appearing in Court & makeing Oath (as aforesd) That she did Examine ye sd Mercy Whaley in ye time of her Travail who did then assure her yt it was Jno Hoskisons Child & being Asked if ye Child was Black, She said no it was certainly a White Mans Child Whereupon ye Govr Did Adjudge & Declare Jno Hoskison to be the Putative Father of the Said Bastard Child & Ordered that John Hoskison Do find Security to Indemnify ye Parish for the Charge yt may here after Accrue to them on ye sd Childs Acct & also yt he be Fined Ten Pounds Sterling to ye Father of ye sd Mercy Whaley for ye damage done to his family & withal told Hoskison That if ye sd Mercy had not layne with a Black fellow as well as with him He would have Obliged him either to marry her or pay a fine of three times as much as this now Asest. Antipas Tovey

All these allegations had been made before. At a consultation of 23 October 1716 the wench had asserted and sworn in Hoskison's presence that though she had lain with Alexander, Mr Free's black, she believed Hoskison to be the true father of her child. The widow Easthope, the midwife, now appeared in court and swore as before that she had examined Mercy Whaley in the time of her labour, and that Whaley then assured her the child was John Hoskison's. Asked whether the child was black, the midwife said no, it was certainly a white man's child.

The Governor thereupon adjudged and declared John Hoskison to be the putative father of the bastard child. He ordered Hoskison to find security to indemnify the parish against any charge that might later fall on it on the child's account, and fined him £10 0s 0d sterling, payable to Mercy Whaley's father for the damage done to his family. The Governor also told Hoskison that if Mercy had not lain with a black fellow as well as with him, the court would have obliged him either to marry her or to pay a fine three times the amount now assessed. Antipas Tovey signed the record.

Interpretations

The order reproduces the two-part machinery of English bastardy law: a finding of putative fatherhood, the term for paternity established on the balance of the evidence rather than proof, followed by security indemnifying the parish so that the child could never fall on the poor rate. The compensation, though, went to the woman's father rather than to the mother or child, the £10 0s 0d pricing the injury as damage to a household's honour and to a daughter's marriage value, with the patriarch as the injured party at law.

The Governor's closing remark sets out the tariff openly. An unblemished Mercy Whaley would have cost Hoskison marriage or £30 0s 0d; her connection with a slave cut the family's compensable damage to a third and took the marriage remedy off the table entirely. The same colour line that had just barred Pegg from testifying against Batchellour here operated inside the white community, the court affirming the child as a white man's while discounting the mother for crossing the line, and the bench priced that discount at exactly two thirds.

Hoskison's demand for another hearing failed on his own record. The admission about Alexander that he offered as new matter had been before the bench when Whaley swore to his face on 23 October 1716, an accusation on oath made in his presence and left standing, and the consultation book supplied that earlier testimony to the court without re-examination, as it had supplied the declarations of 4 December 1716 in the Cotgrove cause. The midwife's oath then answered the single question his objection had left open, the child's colour, in terms that ended the matter.

The case also shows why the labour declaration outweighed everything else: Whaley had named Hoskison while admitting Alexander, a candour that strengthened rather than weakened her credit, since a woman concealing nothing in extremity was presumed incapable of choosing the wrong father.

416

419

August 1717 Island St Helena. At a Consultation held on Tuesday ye 6 day of August 1717 At Union Castle in James Valley Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Present. Geo. Haswell Depty Matthew Bazett 3d &c Antipas Tovey 4o in Council The Last Consultation and Proceedings at ye Court of Judicature for Orphans was read & Approved of Michl Doveton Soldier Complains That Mr Jona Doveton his half Brothr Did detain his Share of ye Mony Hugh Bodley Senr was to return upon Acct of his Sister Elisabeth (decd) who being bound Out Apprentice to sd Bodley was by Order of Govr & Council taken from him by reason of her Mastrs Ill Usage & Said Bodley Orderd to return ye mony given with her (Vizt) Sixteen Pounds of wch (she dying under Age & Single) He Supposeth he hath a share. Mr Doveton in Answer Sayes Mr Bodley in his Life time never did pay him any Money & yt at his Death he left not wherewithall to pay & That therefore ye sd Michl must lose his Share as well as himself & Therefore Desires

A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 6 August 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, George Haswell, deputy, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The last consultation and the proceedings at the Court of Judicature for Orphans were read and approved.

Michael Doveton, soldier, complained that his half brother Mr Jonathan Doveton withheld his share of the money Hugh Bodley senior was to return on account of Michael's sister Elizabeth, deceased. Elizabeth had been bound out apprentice to Bodley, but by order of the Governor and council she was taken from him because of her master's ill usage, and Bodley was ordered to return the money given with her, namely £16 0s 0d. Since she died under age and single, Michael supposed he had a share of it.

Mr Doveton answered that Bodley in his lifetime never paid him any money, and that at his death Bodley left nothing to pay with, so Michael must lose his share just as he himself did. He therefore asked

Interpretations

The £16 0s 0d was an apprenticeship premium, the sum paid with a child to the master who undertook her keep and training, and its ordered return on the apprenticeship's dissolution shows the council policing the bargain from the child's side: a master whose ill usage broke the indenture forfeited the consideration. The same supervisory power had set the terms of Richard Leach's binding on 29 March 1715, when the council allowed a £10 0s 0d premium from the orphans' fund only on condition the boy went to a named trade. Elizabeth's death under age and unmarried then turned the repayable premium into a small intestate fund dividing among her kin, which is how a soldier came to sue his half brother for a fraction of £16 0s 0d.

Jonathan Doveton's defence is the practical limit of every such order: a judgment against Hugh Bodley senior became worthless when his estate did, and the Bodley plantation had been absorbed whole by the Company on 18 January 1715 in satisfaction of its prior debt, the council ruling on 17 May 1715 that later claimants such as Giles Smith and John Alexander could be paid only if anything remained after the Company's claim. His answer that both brothers must lose alike states the consequence: the Company's priority had exhausted the fund, and an uncollected debt could not be shared.

The hearing of this complaint at the next ordinary consultation, opened by approving the orphans' court record, shows the two jurisdictions running in sequence, the jury court settling the contested estates while the bench in council mopped up the small family claims the court had stirred.

417

420

August. Desires he may be discharged Orderd, That he be discharged according to his request. The Storekeeper Capt Bazett brought in his Monthly Accounts of Goods Sold in ye Stores for June last 1717. (Vizt) An Acct of Store Goods Sold & deliverd to ye Inhabitants of ye Island, Union Castle and Plantation house from May ye 25 1717 to June ye 25th following. (Vizt) L s d

Arrack 530 Gallons @ 6/3 pr 162 12 6

Sugar 800 lb 4 8. 26 13 6

Bread. 24 lb -3½ -7 -

Rice. 192. -3½ 2 16 -

Vinegar. 6 Gallons 2/6 -15 -

Soap 48 lb ½ 1:5 3 8 8½

Tea 7 lb @ 9/- 3 3 -

Pepper 4 lb -1 - -4 -

Brandy, 1. Gallon -9 -

Threads, (Vizt) 2. ow @ 9 pr ow -1 6

  1. ow -11 1 8 5
  2. do -1 5
  3. do -2 6

1 do -1 3

1 15 1

Pins 6 m @ 1:9 -10 6

Silk 5 ½ ow -2 6 -13 9

House Linnen 13 yds -2:3 1 9 3

Blankets 1½ pair -19 - 1 8 6

  1. do 1 2 6

½ do -7 9

2 18 9

Carried over L 207 16 0¼

Jonathan Doveton closed his answer by asking the court to dismiss the claim against him.

He asked that he be discharged.

The council ordered that he be discharged according to his request.

The storekeeper Captain Bazett brought in his monthly accounts of goods sold in the stores for June 1717. The first was an account of store goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants of the island, Union Castle and Plantation House from 25 May 1717 to 25 June following:

Arrack 530 gallons at 6s 3d per gallon £162 12s 6d

Sugar 800¼ pounds at 8d per pound £26 13s 6d

Bread 24 pounds at 3½d per pound £0 7s 0d

Rice 192 pounds at 3½d per pound £2 16s 0d

Vinegar 6 gallons at 2s 6d per gallon £0 15s 0d

Soap 48½ pounds at 1s 5d per pound £3 8s 8½d

Tea 7 pounds at 9s 0d per pound £3 3s 0d

Pepper 4 pounds at 1s 0d per pound £0 4s 0d

Brandy 1 gallon £0 9s 0d

Threads, in five parcels:

2 ounces at 9d per ounce £0 1s 6d

31 ounces at 11d per ounce £1 8s 5d

1 ditto £0 1s 5d

1 ditto £0 2s 6d

1 ditto £0 1s 3d

The threads together £1 15s 1d

Pins 6 thousand at 1s 9d per thousand £0 10s 6d

Silk 5½ ounces at 2s 6d per ounce £0 13s 9d

House linen 13 yards at 2s 3d per yard £1 9s 3d

Blankets:

1½ pairs at 19s 0d per pair £1 8s 6d

1 ditto £1 2s 6d

½ ditto £0 7s 9d

The blankets together £2 18s 9d

Carried over £207 16s 0½d

Interpretations

Arrack supplies almost four fifths of the page, 530 gallons at 6s 3d per gallon making £162 12s 6d of the £207 16s 0½d carried over. The retail rate of 6s 3d against the 4s 0d wholesale the council paid for the Arabella's leaguers on 19 February 1717, and again for Misenor's settlement balance, gave the Company a margin above 50 per cent on its leading article, which is why the resolution of 24 April 1717 confined bill-drawing to arrack, rice, wheat and live cattle: the spirit was the one import whose resale was certain.

Tea retailing at 9s 0d per pound explains the deadlock with Captain Misenor. The store's selling rate had stood at that level since November 1714, and a wholesale price anywhere near it left no margin, so the bench held to the instruction of 17 July 1717 to buy only at the price Captain Pennick had sold his, and Misenor chose to settle in arrack instead.

The month's sundries, threads in five graded parcels, pins by the thousand, silk by the ounce and house linen by the yard, show the store as the island's sole draper and haberdasher down to the smallest measures, the same trades whose exhaustion the indent sent by the Princess Emelia had just reported, coarse thread and tapes being wholly out of stock while the finer sorts still sold.

418

421

1714 L s d

Brought Over 207 16 0½

Silk Ferrett. 1½ y @ 4½ -6¾

Combs 2 Horn ditto -7 -1 2

Fustians plain White 10½ yds -20 -17 6

Nealaes 10 pces @ 10/ 5 - -

Gurrhas 4. pces -12/6 2 10 -

Long Cloth 2. pce -20: 2 -

8½ pce fine -40: 17 -

19 - -

Druggets 37 yds Silk -4/9 8 15 9

11 ½ Cloth -4 - 2 6 -

11 1 9

Durants 25 yards -1/9 2 3 9

Shallones 7 ¾ do -2/6 -19 4½

Shirts. 113. -3: - 16 19 -

Thimbles, Taylors 15. -1 3

Cotton Stockings. 128 pr -3: - 19 4 -

  1. do -2 6 3 17 6

23 1 6

Hessings 24 yds -1:2 1 8 -

Norwich Stuffs 1 pce 2 9 -

Saunoes 1 pce -15 2

Bed Cords 2. -5 -

Cuttlary Ware 12 Knives & 12 Forks Japan handd -14 -

Hooks & Lines Vizt

  1. doz hooks No 2. @ 3 do -1 3
  2. do -7 -1 3
  3. Line -6 -10
  4. do -7 @ 10 do -9 4
  5. do -16 -3 8

-16 4

Indigo, 3 Ounces -8 do -2 -

Corks. 8 doz -3 -2 -

Shoe Thread 1 lb -2 6

Black hoods 2. No 2. @ 13/6 1 7 -

Carried over L 297 12 10¾

The account continued, the sum of £207 16s 0½d brought over:

Silk ferret 1½ yards at 4½d per yard £0 0s 6¾d

Combs 2 horn ones at 7d each £0 1s 2d

Fustians, plain white 10½ yards at 20d per yard £0 17s 6d

Nillaes 10 pieces at 10s 0d per piece £5 0s 0d

Gurrahs 4 pieces at 12s 6d per piece £2 10s 0d

Long cloth:

2 pieces at 20s 0d per piece £2 0s 0d

8½ pieces, fine, at 40s 0d per piece £17 0s 0d

The long cloth together £19 0s 0d

Druggets:

37 yards of silk at 4s 9d per yard £8 15s 9d

11½ yards of cloth at 4s 0d per yard £2 6s 0d

The druggets together £11 1s 9d

Durants 25 yards at 1s 9d per yard £2 3s 9d

Shallons 7¾ ditto at 2s 6d per yard £0 19s 4½d

Shirts 113 at 3s 0d each £16 19s 0d

Tailors' thimbles 15 £0 1s 3d

Cotton stockings:

128 pairs at 3s 0d per pair £19 4s 0d

31 ditto at 2s 6d per pair £3 17s 6d

The stockings together £23 1s 6d

Hessens 24 yards at 1s 2d per yard £1 8s 0d

Norwich stuffs 1 piece £2 9s 0d

Saunoes 1 piece £0 15s 2d

Bed cords 2 £0 5s 0d

Cutlery ware 12 knives and 12 forks with Japan handles £0 14s 0d

Hooks and lines:

5 dozen hooks, number 2, at 3d per dozen £0 1s 3d

1 ditto at 7d £0 1s 3d [reading uncertain]

1 line at 6d £0 0s 10d [reading uncertain]

16 ditto at 10d each £0 9s 4d [reading uncertain]

1 ditto at 16d £0 3s 8d [reading uncertain]

The hooks and lines together £0 16s 4d

Indigo 3 ounces at 8d per ounce £0 2s 0d

Corks 8 dozen at 3d per dozen £0 2s 0d

Shoe thread 1 pound £0 2s 6d

Black hoods 2, number 2, at 13s 6d each £1 7s 0d

Carried over £297 12s 10¾d

Interpretations

The textile lines map the store's double inventory. The Indian piece goods, nillaes, gurrahs, saunoes and long cloth, came through the Madras and Bengal invoices, nillaes being a blue Bengal cotton, gurrahs a plain coarse calico and saunoes a fine muslin, while durants, shallons, Norwich stuffs, fustians and hessens were English woollens, worsteds and coarse linens out of the London cargoes, durants and shallons being light glazed worsteds used for linings and women's gowns and Norwich stuffs the patterned worsteds of that city's trade. The fine long cloth selling at 40s 0d per piece against the Madras invoice cost of about 29s 0d entered on 26 February 1717 shows the standard advance on piece goods running at roughly the 50 per cent the directors allowed.

The 113 shirts at 3s 0d each in a single month, beside 159 pairs of cotton stockings, point to the ready-made cossae shirts landed by the King George and the Grantham in April 1717, 400 shirts and 364 pairs of stockings between them, already moving through the store; the bale goods of one season became the island's clothing the next.

The graded fishing hooks and lines, sold in dozens by number, confirm the indent's warning by the Princess Emelia that the smallest sizes would be gone within a month, the store still retailing them while reporting the stock nearly out. The two black hoods at 13s 6d each were mourning wear, the one trimming the island had in stock, as the indent had noted that no trimming remained but black.

419

422

August

Brought over L 297 12 10¾

Neckcloths 4 @ 2/9 -11 -

Glass Ware (Vizt) 1 Ale Glass -2 6

70 panes of Glass 8/10 do 14 4 1 8

4 4 2

Soldiers Cloaths. (Vizt) 1 Coat 1 0 8

1 pr Breeches -8 3

1 8 11

Buckles, Childrens 2 pair @ 6 d -1 -

Stationary Ware. 10. quire paper @ 16. -13 4

Shoes (Vizt) 1. pr Girls Turkey Leathr -4 9

  1. pair Boys @ 2/4 -4 8
  2. pr Mens (Successes) 6/3 5 12 6

6 1 11

Ironmongers Ware (Vizt)

  1. Chest Lock -1 6
  2. do -1 10
  3. do -2 7
  4. do -3 4
  5. do 4 -
  6. do -4 6
  7. ground hoes @ 2/6 -7 6
  8. pair of Hooks & Hinges @ 14. 14 -
  9. pr of Side do -3 4
  10. pr of H Hinges @ 20 d -18 4
  11. pr + Garnets qt 7 lb @ 9 d pr lb -5 3
  12. pr of Bolts No 4 @ 8. -2 8
  13. pr Small Side Hinges -6
  14. Box Staple -1 -

3 10 4

Nailes, (Vizt) 4 lb of 2 d @ 11 -3 8

2 - 3 - 9 -1 6

½ Tacks -10

½ of 2 Inch brads -7

6 - Scuppd 10½ -5 3

10 - 10 ½ 8 ½ -7 1

  1. battenbrads -7 8
  2. Coopers Rivetts -1 10

3 - 4 - 11 (Successes) -2 9

1 5 2

Pewter. 1 Porringer, (Susana) -1 4

Carried over L 315 10 6¾

The account continued, £297 12s 10¾d brought over:

Neckcloths 4 at 2s 9d each £0 11s 0d

Glass ware:

1 ale glass £0 2s 6d

70 panes of glass, 8 by 10, at 14d [reading uncertain] £4 1s 8d

The glass ware together £4 4s 2d

Soldiers' clothes:

1 coat £1 0s 8d

1 pair of breeches £0 8s 3d

The clothes together £1 8s 11d

Buckles 2 pairs, children's, at 6d per pair £0 1s 0d

Stationery ware 10 quires of paper at 16d per quire £0 13s 4d

Shoes:

1 pair of girls' Turkey leather £0 4s 9d

2 pairs, boys', at 2s 4d per pair £0 4s 8d

18 pairs, men's, out of the Success, at 6s 3d per pair £5 12s 6d

The shoes together £6 1s 11d

Ironmongers' ware:

1 chest lock £0 1s 6d

1 ditto £0 1s 10d

1 ditto £0 2s 7d

1 ditto £0 3s 4d

1 ditto £0 4s 0d

1 ditto £0 4s 6d

3 ground hoes at 2s 6d each £0 7s 6d

12 pairs of hooks and hinges at 14d per pair £0 14s 0d

1 pair of side ditto £0 3s 4d

11 pairs of H hinges at 20d per pair £0 18s 4d

1 pair of garnets, 7 feet [reading uncertain], at 9d per foot £0 5s 3d

4 pairs of bolts, number 4, at 8d per pair £0 2s 8d

1 pair of small side hinges £0 0s 6d

1 box staple £0 1s 0d

The ironmongers' ware together £3 10s 4d

Nails:

4 pounds of 2d at 11d £0 3s 8d

2d and 3d, 9 pounds [reading uncertain] £0 1s 6d

½ pound of tacks £0 0s 10d

½ pound of 2 inch brads £0 0s 7d

6d, supplied, 10½ pounds [reading uncertain] £0 5s 3d

10d and 10s, 8½ pounds [reading uncertain] £0 7s 1d

1 pound of batten brads £0 0s 8d

2 pounds of coopers' rivets £0 1s 10d

3d, 4d and 11d, out of the Success £0 2s 9d

The nails together £1 5s 2d

Pewter 1 porringer, out of the Susanna £0 1s 4d

Carried over £315 10s 6¾d

Interpretations

The 70 panes of 8 by 10 glass in a single month answer the building regulation the council had pressed since the blinds demolition of 26 April 1715, when glazing the windows the other way was recommended as the proper substitute, and the lime offer of 9 July 1717 to encourage the pointing and repair of the town; window glass, locks, hinges in every size and a full run of nails amount to the materials of a small building season passing over the counter. The garnets among the hinges were the long strap hinges hung on hooks used for heavy doors and gates, sold by the foot, and the box staple was the door-frame fitting that receives the bolt of a lock.

The store's stock identification by ship of origin, shoes and nails out of the Success, a porringer out of the Susanna, shows each cargo kept as a separate ledger head until sold through, the practice visible since the new goods of the Catherine and the Katharine were kept apart within each head of the December account entered on 19 February 1717. The Susanna porringer had stood in stock since Captain Pinnell's homeward call of 1714, a measure of how slowly pewter turned over against the 18 pairs of Success men's shoes selling within weeks of the cargo being priced on 17 July 1717 at exactly this 6s 3d rate.

A complete soldier's outfit appears at cost: a coat at £1 0s 8d, matching the £1 0s 8d replacement rate of the 24 red coats supplied in 1714, with breeches at 8s 3d, the garrison clothing the indent had just reported as accounted for separately.

420

423

1717

Brought over L 315 10 6¾

Katharines Goods, (Vizt) Stockings 4. pair Blew @ 2/2 -8 8

  1. pr Scarlet Wost -9 -

-17 8

Tobacco 174 lb @ 2/ 17 18 -

Pipes. 84 ½ doz @ 6 d 2 2 3½

19 10 3½

Ironmongers Ware. (Vizt) 5 Splinter Locks No 3 @ 18 d -7 6

  1. Stock Lock -3 4
  2. do -1 @ 7 -14 -
  3. Iron pott qt 17 lb ½ @ 7 pr -10 2½

1 15 0½

Brass Ware, Vizt) 1 pr Candlestick -5 6

1 Stand & Snuffers -3 6

-9 -

Tin Ware (Vizt) 2 Lamps @ 1/10 -3 8

    1. pint Saucepan -1 8
  1. 2 pt do -1 2
  2. 1 pt do -9
  3. round pudding pan -2 2

-9 5

Knives, 23. at 6 -11 6

Pewter. 12 plates -1 2 -

Shoes, 2 pair Mens do @ 6/2 12 4

3 pr Womens do 6:2 18 6

1 10 10

Hatts. 1. No 5 -1 - -

Stationary ware, 3. Copy books -2 3

Threads. 1 ½ Colourd @ 5/ -7 6

½ fine brown -2 6

-10 -

Ribbon 7. Yards @ 12 pr -7 -

  1. do -14 -7 -

-14 -

Fustians (Vizt) ½ pce No 1 1 - -

  1. pce 7 1 6 8

2 6 8

Thick Setts ½ pce 1 6 -

Buttons (Vizt) 20 ½ doz No A & B 1 0 6

4 ½ doz Breast do -2 3

1 2 9

Total of Kath Goods L 33 7 5

Totall to ye Inhabitants L 348 17 5¾

The account turned to the Katharine's goods, £315 10s 6¾d brought over:

Stockings:

4 pairs of blue at 2s 2d per pair £0 8s 8d

1 pair of scarlet, women's [reading uncertain] £0 9s 0d

The stockings together £0 17s 8d

Tobacco 174 pounds at 2s 0d per pound £17 8s 0d

Pipes 84 and 7/12 dozen at 6½d per dozen £2 2s 3½d

The tobacco and pipes together £19 10s 3½d

Ironmongers' ware:

5 splinter locks, number 3, at 18d each £0 7s 6d

1 stock lock £0 3s 4d

1 ditto at 7d [reading uncertain] £0 14s 0d [reading uncertain]

1 iron pot, 17½ pounds [reading uncertain] at 7d per pound £0 10s 2½d

The ironmongers' ware together £1 15s 0½d

Brass ware:

1 pair of candlesticks £0 5s 6d

1 stand and snuffers £0 3s 6d

The brass ware together £0 9s 0d

Tin ware:

2 lamps at 1s 10d each £0 3s 8d

1 three-pint saucepan £0 1s 8d

1 two-pint ditto £0 1s 2d

1 one-pint ditto £0 0s 9d

1 round pudding pan £0 2s 2d

The tin ware together £0 9s 5d

Knives 23 at 6d each £0 11s 6d

Pewter 12 plates £0 12s 0d [reading uncertain]

Shoes:

2 pairs, men's ditto, at 6s 2d per pair £0 12s 4d

3 pairs, women's ditto, at 6s 2d per pair £0 18s 6d

The shoes together £1 10s 10d

Hats 1, number 5 £0 10s 0d [reading uncertain]

Stationery ware 3 copy books £0 2s 3d

Threads:

1½ pounds of coloured at 5s 0d per pound £0 7s 6d

½ pound of fine brown £0 2s 6d

The threads together £0 10s 0d

Ribbon:

7 yards at 12d per yard £0 7s 0d

6 ditto at 14d per yard £0 7s 0d

The ribbon together £0 14s 0d

Fustians:

½ piece, number 1 £1 0s 0d

1 piece at 7s [reading uncertain] £1 6s 8d

The fustians together £2 6s 8d

Thicksets ½ piece £1 6s 0d

Buttons:

20 and 2/3 dozen [reading uncertain], numbers A and B £1 0s 6d

4½ dozen breast ditto £0 2s 3d

The buttons together £1 2s 9d

Total of the Katharine's goods £33 7s 5d

Total to the inhabitants £348 17s 5¾d

Interpretations

The closing arithmetic confirms the account's structure: the old store goods and earlier cargoes ran to £315 10s 6¾d, the Katharine's goods added £33 7s 5d, and the two together made the inhabitants' total of £348 17s 5¾d, the new cargo still kept under its own head a year after the ship's invoice was priced at the consultations of 31 July and 7 August 1716. The month's £348 17s 5¾d to the inhabitants stands among the heaviest on record, against £248 16s 5¼d in January and £204 9s 3d in February, the arrack and the building materials driving the rise.

Tobacco and pipes form the second pillar of the month after arrack, 174 pounds at the 2s 0d rate set when the Success cargo was priced on 17 July 1717, with over a thousand pipes sold beside it, the pairing of spirit, tobacco and pipes confirming where the inhabitants' cash and credit went. Thicksets were a stout twilled cotton cloth, a cheap hard-wearing fabric for men's breeches and waistcoats, and splinter locks and stock locks were the common door locks of the period, the stock lock mounted in a wooden case.

The shoe sales repeat the gendered pricing of the cargo lists, men's and women's pairs both at 6s 2d here against the Success men's rate of 6s 3d, the store moving identical-priced stock from two cargoes side by side and keeping each ship's parcel distinct to the penny.

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August. Union Castle Dr for Store Goods Vizt

Arrack 68½ Galls @ 6/3 21 8 1½

Sugar 25 lb -8 -16 8

Bread 135. -3½ 1 19 4½

Flour 313. -3½ 4 11 3½

Rice 1230. -3½ 17 18 9

Oyls (Vizt) 9¾ Galls Sweet -12: - 5 17 -

  1. gall ⅝ Linseed -8 - -6 5 -

Soap 16 lb @ 17 d 1 2 8

Vinegar 1½ Gall @ 2/6 -3 9

Tea 6 lb 9/- 2 14 -

  1. Cattees 9/- 2 14 -

5 8 -

Pepper 9 lb @ 1: - -9 -

Red Lead 8 lb @ 6 d -4 -

Glass Ware, 4 Ale Glasses @ 2/6. -10 -

Brass Ware 1 Tea Kettle -14 9

Corks, 6 doz @ 3 d -1 6

Flags brooms 8. @ 6. -4 -

House brushes 3 -2/- -6 -

-10 -

Blue buftees 6 pces -6: - -1 16 -

Long Cloth 1. pce Coarse -1 - -

Blanketts 1. pr Middle Size -19 -

Ironmongers Ware (Vizt) 1 Gill Lock -2 -

  1. pr Smoothd field hinges No 4 -3 4
  2. Iron pott 58 lb (Old Cargoe) @ 6 d 1 9 -

1 14 4

Nailes (Vizt) 5 lb of 2 d at 11 d -1 10

9 - 3 - 9 -6 9

13 - 10 - 8½ -10 10½

11 - 20 - 8 -7 4

9 - 24 - 5½ -5 7½

13 flooring brads @ 9 d -9 9

2 2 2

Beef 2 Casks, qt 845 lb @ 5½ 19 7 3½

Carried over L 89 1 8

The account then charged Union Castle as debtor for store goods:

Arrack 68½ gallons at 6s 3d per gallon £21 8s 1½d

Sugar 25 pounds at 8d per pound £0 16s 8d

Bread 135 pounds at 3½d per pound £1 19s 4½d

Flour 313 pounds at 3½d per pound £4 11s 3½d

Rice 1,230 pounds at 3½d per pound £17 18s 9d

Oils:

9¾ gallons of sweet at 12s 0d per gallon £5 17s 0d

1 gallon of linseed at 8s 0d £0 8s 0d

The oils together £6 5s 0d

Soap 16 pounds at 17d per pound £1 2s 8d

Vinegar 1½ gallons at 2s 6d per gallon £0 3s 9d

Tea:

6 pounds at 9s 0d per pound £2 14s 0d

6 catties at 9s 0d per catty £2 14s 0d

The tea together £5 8s 0d

Pepper 9 pounds at 1s 0d per pound £0 9s 0d

Red lead 8 pounds at 6d per pound £0 4s 0d

Glass ware 4 ale glasses at 2s 6d each £0 10s 0d

Brass ware 1 tea kettle £0 14s 9d

Corks 6 dozen at 3d per dozen £0 1s 6d

Flag brooms 8 at 6d each £0 4s 0d

House brushes 3 at 2s 0d each £0 6s 0d

Blue baftas 6 pieces £1 16s 0d [reading uncertain]

Long cloth 1 piece, coarse £1 0s 0d

Blankets 1 pair, middle size £0 19s 0d

Ironmongers' ware:

1 gill lock [reading uncertain] £0 2s 0d

1 pair of smoothed field hinges, number 4 [reading uncertain] £0 3s 4d

1 iron pot, 58 pounds, old cargo, at 6d per pound £1 9s 0d

The ironmongers' ware together £1 14s 4d

Nails:

2 pounds of 2d at 11d £0 1s 10d

9 pounds of 3d at 9d £0 6s 9d

13 pounds of 10d at 8½d £0 10s 10½d

11 pounds of 20d at 8d £0 7s 4d

9 pounds of 24d at 7½d £0 5s 7½d

13 pounds of flooring brads at 9d £0 9s 9d

The nails together £2 2s 2d

Beef 2 casks, 845 pounds, at 5½d per pound £19 7s 3½d

Carried over £89 1s 8d

Interpretations

Union Castle's account is the fort and garrison table consuming as an institution, and its proportions invert the inhabitants'. Rice at 1,230 pounds is the largest single line after beef, the cheap bulk starch of the soldiers' and slaves' diet at the standing 3½d rate, while arrack runs at only 68½ gallons against the inhabitants' 530, the garrison's drink controlled by allowance where the planters' was limited only by credit. The wine-allowance order of June 1717, capping the public table at 3 bottles a day out of shipping time, belongs to the same economy of restraint.

Tea charged twice over, 6 pounds and then 6 catties at the same 9s 0d rate, shows English-weighed and China-packed stock sold side by side, the catty pots of about a pound and a third each priced as a unit, which made the Chinese measure marginally the better bargain and explains why the indent by the Princess Emelia ordered the next chests in catty pots.

The building and finishing goods, red lead for paint, linseed oil to bind it, flooring brads, field hinges and a 58 pound iron pot from old cargo, mark the fort's own repairs running alongside the town's, the barracks then under construction being the project for which the stone man Bregger had been kept on 18 June 1717. Beef at 5½d per pound for two casks of salt provision compares with the fresh-beef purchase rate of 30s 0d per hundredweight, about 3¼d per pound, the difference being the cost of the cask, the salt and the keeping.

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425

1717

Brought over L 89 1 8

Katharines Goods (Vizt) Ironmongers Ware 1 Stock Lock No 7 -14 -

Thread 1 lb fine do Brown -5 -

Tobacco 1 lb 0:2:0

Pipes. 1 doz 0:0:6

-2 6

Kathas Goods 1 1 6

Totall to Union Castle L 90 3 2

Plantation Dr to Store Goods (Vizt) Arrack 4 Galls @ 6/3 1 5 -

Sugar 12 lb -8. -8 -

1 13 -

Totall to Plantatn house L 1 13 -

To the Inhabitants L 315 10 6¾

do Kathas Goods 33 7 5

348 17 5¾

To Union Castle 89 1 8

do Kath: Goods 1 1 6

90 3 2

To Plantation house 1 13 -

Total of ye Month Sold & deliverd L 440 13 7¾

The following Petition was Presented Vizt To ye Worshll Isa: Pyke Esqr Govr & Council The Petition of Richd Beale Most humbly Sheweth That Whereas yor petitionr having paid ye Revenues for his Lands to ye Hon: Compa twice in One Year to ye Amount of Six pounds & the just Sum yt was due ought to have been but three pounds. Therefore yor petitr humbly prays that ye Overplus may be repaid to yor petitionr a gain & yor Petitr as in Duty bound Shall ever pray (Signd) Richd Beale Capt 6o Augt 1717

The Union Castle account closed with the Katharine's goods, £89 1s 8d brought over:

Ironmongers' ware 1 stock lock, number 7 £0 14s 0d

Thread 1 pound of fine ditto, brown £0 5s 0d

Tobacco 1 pound £0 2s 0d

Pipes 1 dozen £0 0s 6d

The tobacco and pipes together £0 2s 6d

The Katharine's goods £1 1s 6d

Total to Union Castle £90 3s 2d

Plantation House stood debtor for store goods:

Arrack 4 gallons at 6s 3d per gallon £1 5s 0d

Sugar 12 pounds at 8d per pound £0 8s 0d

Total to Plantation House £1 13s 0d

The month's figures were then drawn together:

To the inhabitants £315 10s 6¾d

Ditto, the Katharine's goods £33 7s 5d

Together £348 17s 5¾d

To Union Castle £89 1s 8d

Ditto, the Katharine's goods £1 1s 6d

Together £90 3s 2d

To Plantation House £1 13s 0d

Total of the month sold and delivered £440 13s 7¾d

A petition was then presented to the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council from Richard Beale. He set out that he had paid the revenue for his lands to the Honourable Company twice in one year, to the amount of £6 0s 0d, when the just sum due was only £3 0s 0d. He therefore humbly prayed that the overplus be repaid to him, and would ever pray as in duty bound. Richard Beale signed the petition on 6 August 1717.

Interpretations

The month's grand total of £440 13s 7¾d ranks among the heaviest in the recovered series, above the £338 15s 6d of the month to 25 January 1717 and the £317 0s 1¼d to 25 February, and the three-part structure confirms the store's standing division: the inhabitants took £348 17s 5¾d, nearly four fifths of everything sold, against the fort's £90 3s 2d and a bare £1 13s 0d to Plantation House, the Company functioning chiefly as retailer to the planters rather than supplier to its own establishment.

Beale's double payment shows the land revenue mechanics from the payer's side. His £3 0s 0d a year corresponds to the standard 5s 0d per acre rent falling due on Lady Day, and a second collection within the year, probably once to each of two collectors or once on each side of the books during the accounts confusion, could pass unnoticed because rent was taken as store credit entries rather than coin. The remedy lay by petition to the bench, not by set-off: a planter could not simply withhold the next year's rent, since the revenue books were the Company's record of his title.

The petition also marks the Beale brothers' changed footing. Richard, the orphan whose 60 acres were restored on 7 June 1715 and whose family accounts the court had just sent to two chosen adjusters on 29 July 1717, now appears as a rent-paying landholder pursuing the Company for £3 0s 0d with the confidence of a man whose figures are at last being settled.

423

426

August. Capt Bazett Sayes he was charged So as the Petitn mentions but twas by a mistake there being two Books & he was charged for the Revenues in Each of them. Wherefore We Orderd allowance be made to him accord ingly for ye Said over charge. Mr Tovey deliverd in ye following report in Writing, (Viz) Worshll Sr &c. According to ye Order of ye Court held for Orphans ye 29 Ulto I have with Mr Gab Powell Examined Wm Frenchs Orphans Account & find agreeable to my former Report of ye 11th of Octr 1715. It is as followeth. (Vizt)

That Mr Gab: Powell is indebted to ye sd Estate for & on ye behalf of Captn Geo Hoskison, (decd) for 20. Acres of Land he hired at 10 s pr ann from ye 25 March 1708. to ye 24 June foll L s d 2: 10: 0

For 16 Acres (Thos Bevans marrying one of ye Orphans then) from ye 24 of June 1708. to ye 27. Septr 1710. (ye time yt Robt Leech married Mary another of the Orphs) according to ye sd agreed Rent in Proportion is for 2¼ yrs @ 8 L pr 18: -: -

For 12. Acres of sd Land from ye sd 27. Sept 1710 to ye 25th March 1717. is 6½ Years at 6 L (in like proportion) is L 39: But for as much as ye Govr and Council did on ye 7o Janry 1709/10 Seize ye Estate together with all the Lands

Captain Bazett confirmed that Beale had been charged as the petition set out, but said it had happened by mistake: there were two books, and Beale was charged for the revenue in each of them. The council ordered that allowance be made to him accordingly for the overcharge.

Mr Tovey then delivered the following report in writing, addressed to the Worshipful Governor and the rest. According to the order of the court held for orphans on the 29th of last month, he had examined William French's orphans' account with Mr Gabriel Powell, and found it agreeable to his earlier report of 11 October 1715. The account ran as follows.

Mr Gabriel Powell stood indebted to the estate, for and on behalf of Captain George Hoskison, deceased, for 20 acres of land Hoskison hired at 10s 0d per annum, from 25 March 1708 to 24 June following: £2 10s 0d

For 16 acres, Thomas Bevan having married one of the orphans then, from 24 June 1708 to 27 September 1710, by which time Robert Leech had married Mary, another of the orphans, at the agreed rent in proportion, namely 2s 4d per acre and 8s [reading uncertain]: £18 0s 0d

For 12 acres of the land from 27 September 1710 to 25 March 1717, which is 6½ years at 6s [reading uncertain], in like proportion £39 0s 0d. But the Governor and council had on 7 January 1710 seized the estate together with all the

Interpretations

The double-entry mistake against Beale carries weight beyond the £3 0s 0d. Bazett's admission that two revenue books ran side by side, each charging the same rents, dates from the long catch-up of the store and revenue records, and a planter paying in credit could be debited in both without anyone noticing until he petitioned. The bench's instant allowance, made on the storekeeper's own confession, kept the revenue's credibility intact in the very weeks the directors were pressing for the books.

Tovey's report executes the order of 29 July 1717 pairing him with Powell to adjust the French account, and the method is arithmetical archaeology: the rent liability is rebuilt period by period as marriages of the orphan daughters carried shares of the land out of the fund. The hired parcel shrinks from 20 acres to 16 when Thomas Bevan married one heiress in 1708, and to 12 when Robert Leech married Mary in 1710, each husband taking his wife's portion with him, so that Powell, answering for the late deputy governor George Hoskison's hiring, owed rent only on what remained in the orphans' hands at each stage. The same report of 11 October 1715 had already fixed Powell as debtor for the rent and for 19,000 yams, and his rejected petition of 18 October 1715 had failed to shake it.

The breaking off at the seizure of 7 January 1710 reaches the awkward fact at the bottom of the account: the Governor and council of that day, under Captain Roberts, had taken the estate into the Company's hands, so the rent claim after that date depended on whose title the land was held under, the question the rest of the report had to resolve.

424

427

1717 of ye decd Hoskison Lands, & had possession of the Same from yt time to ye 5o of Aug 1711. there is 19 Months to be deducted (as Mr Pow ell insists upon) which makes it from sd time to ye last 25th March but 4 Years & 11 months (nearest) at 6 L pr ann is Bro Over L 20: 10: - 29: 10: - L 50

The 19 Thousand of Yams wch ought to be left upon ye Land, Mr Powell does Agree to leave ye 25th March next. But I must Observe that ther is none now Planted, nor any Ground fenced in or Dugg in Order to Plant them So that they canot be as good as those Capt Hoskison received upon ye premisses which he ought to make good. The Said remaining 12 Acres of Land is to be Sold by Order Court 8o June 1714 & Mr Po wells time will not be Out till ye 25 of Mrch next, When if you think fitt it may be propr to put ye Land to Publick Sale, But I understand Mr Powell has agreed with a Young Man who is going to Marry Elisabeth another of ye Orphans for her part of ye sd 12. Acres, So yt ye remaindr which will be but 4 Left for John French because Elisabeth expects from Bencoolen a Will of Thos (who died there) & as they Say made her Said Elis: his Heir, So yt no body will give half the Value for 4 Acres only, but 12 may make a good Settlement for a Young beginner, Wherefore Mr Powell having Land eno (already) for Severll Families. I Pray that this Land may be Sold intire & all together. I

The report continued that the Governor and council of that day had seized the estate together with all the lands of George Hoskison , and had kept possession of them from that time until 5 August 1711. There were therefore 19 months to be deducted, as Mr Powell insisted, which reduced the period from then to the last 25 March to 4 years and 11 months at the nearest. The rent account closed:

Brought over £20 10s 0d

The 12 acres for 4 years and 11 months at £6 0s 0d per annum £29 10s 0d

Total £50 0s 0d

Powell agreed to leave on the land by 25 March next the 19,000 yams that ought to be left there. Tovey observed, though, that none were now planted, nor was any ground fenced in or dug ready for planting, so they could not be as good as those Captain Hoskison received with the premises, and Powell ought to make that good.

The remaining 12 acres were to be sold under an order of court of 8 June 1714, and Powell's term would not be out until 25 March next, when, if the Governor and council thought fit, the land might properly be put to public sale. Tovey understood, however, that Powell had agreed with a young man who was about to marry Elizabeth, another of the orphans, for her part of the 12 acres. That would leave only 4 acres for John French, because Elizabeth expected a will from Bencoolen of Thomas, who died there and was said to have made her his heir. Nobody would give half the value for 4 acres alone, but 12 acres might make a good settlement for a young beginner. Since Mr Powell already had land enough for several families, Tovey asked that this land be sold entire and all together.

Interpretations

Powell's 19-month deduction turns the Company's own act of state into a private debtor's relief: rent could not run against Hoskison's account while the Governor and council of 7 January 1710 held the estate they had seized, so the confiscation period came straight off the bill. The final £50 0s 0d reconciles exactly, £2 10s 0d for the first quarter on 20 acres, £18 0s 0d for two and a quarter years on 16, and £29 10s 0d for the reduced term on 12, the whole liability rebuilt at the constant rate of 10s 0d per acre per annum as each daughter's marriage carried her share out of the hired parcel.

The yam covenant treats provisions in the ground as a fixture of the tenancy. Hoskison had received the land stocked with 19,000 growing yams, so his successor in account must return it the same way, and Tovey's point that nothing was planted or fenced converts the covenant into a money claim: yams promised for 25 March but not yet in the ground could not equal an established crop, and the difference fell to Powell to make good.

Tovey's plea for a single sale is an argument against fragmentation of exactly the kind the bench's letting policy resisted. Elizabeth's expected inheritance from her brother Thomas, dead at Bencoolen, would concentrate two thirds of the parcel in the couple's hands and strand John French with 4 unsaleable acres, while 12 acres together met the island's threshold for a viable settlement, the standard the standing letting conditions of 24 May 1715 had set in requiring takers who could actually manure their ground. The closing thrust at Powell, who had land enough already for several families, echoes the directors' rule against aggregation invoked over John Goodwin's 183 acres on 11 and 18 December 1716, and carries an edge from a secretary newly restored after suspension reporting on the island's most powerful planter.

425

428

August. I have with Mr Powell Examined ye Store Accounts & find by the Last reckning there Frenchs Orphans are indebted to ye Hon Comp L 10:15:8½ That Since That ye House in ye Vallie Was Sold at Publick Outcry to Jno Lewis Latour for 32 L 5/ wch he has paid Frenchs Orphans for, They have Credit in ye Store Books for L 21:9:3½ But I take Notice yt ye aforesaid Court holden ye 8o June 1714. by Cons: book No 11 Page 146 Then Frenchs Orphans are Sayd to be Indebted L 14:8:2½ to ye Hon: Compa wch difference I thought it my duty to take Notice of Thos Bevan who was concernd in Killing One of ye Orphans Cattle I have Given notice to attend this day. I am Worsh Sr &c. Yor Obed Servt Union Castle St Helena 6 Aug 1717 (Signd) Antipas Tovey Mr Powell being calld & askt if he agreed to ye Same Sayed he did & would pay the fifty pounds imediatly to Wm Frenchs Orphans in ye Stores, That he Would fence in the Land & plant ye 19 Thousand Suckers as therein Menconed by ye 25o March next & not meddle with buying any part (or ye Whole) of the sd 12 Acres But Fence in his Own 18 Acres. (already purchased) adjoining thereto by it Self by ye sd 25th March Thos Bevan appeared, & alledging twas his Brother in Law Hatton Sterling that Married Robt

Tovey's report went on that he had examined the store accounts with Mr Powell, and found by the last reckoning that the French orphans stood indebted to the Honourable Company £10 15s 8½d. Since then the house in the valley had been sold at public outcry to John Lewis Latour for £32 5s 0d, of which Latour had paid the French orphans

Start of crossed out section for, they have End of crossed out section

credit in the store books for £21 9s 3½d. Tovey noted, though, that at the court held on 8 June 1714, by consultation book W, page 146, the French orphans were said to be indebted £14 8s 2½d to the Honourable Company, a difference he thought it his duty to take notice of.

Thomas Bevan, who was concerned in killing one of the orphans' cattle, had been given notice to attend that day. The report closed in the usual form of duty and was signed by Antipas Tovey at Union Castle, St Helena, on 6 August 1717.

Mr Powell was called and asked whether he agreed to the report. He said he did, and that he would pay the £50 0s 0d immediately to William French's orphans in the stores. He would fence in the land and plant the 19,000 suckers, as the report mentioned, by 25 March next, and would not meddle with buying any part or the whole of the 12 acres, but would fence in his own 18 acres already purchased adjoining them, by itself, by the same 25 March.

Thomas Bevan appeared and alleged that it was his brother-in-law Hatton Sterling who married

Interpretations

Tovey's flagging of the £3 12s 6d gap between the two recorded debts, £14 8s 2½d on the court's book of 8 June 1714 against £10 15s 8½d at the last reckoning, with the citation down to consultation book W, page 146, applies the audit method the office inventory of 9 October 1716 made possible: with the books lettered and paged, a discrepancy between tribunals became a checkable fact rather than a recollection, and the secretary covered himself by reporting it instead of silently choosing a figure.

Powell's undertakings convert Tovey's three complaints into enforceable terms with a single deadline. Payment of the £50 0s 0d in the stores settled the rent in the island's usual money of account, the fencing and 19,000 suckers by 25 March answered the yam covenant, and the promise not to meddle with the 12 acres while fencing off his adjoining 18 met the fragmentation objection by walling his own purchase out of the orphans' parcel before the sale. A boundary fence built by the interested neighbour was the standing safeguard against the gradual encroachment that unfenced adjacency invited.

The house sale at public outcry to John Lewis Latour, with the proceeds of £32 5s 0d entered as store credit of £21 9s 3½d to the orphans, shows the licensed victualler of 13 April 1715 investing in valley property, and the balance of about £10 15s 8½d retained against the orphans' Company debt, the store acting at once as auctioneer's cashier, creditor and trustee.

Bevan's defence opens by shifting the marriage itself: the liability for the killed beast had been pinned on him as the husband of a French heiress, and his answer that Hatton Sterling was the man who married her attacks the foundation of the claim rather than the fact of the killing.

426

429

1717 Robt Leechs Widdo (One of ye Orphans) That Killd & Sold ye Best (mentiond in Mr Toveys report) & not he & There being no proof against him he was dismissed Richd Beale (whilst Mr Powell was there) brought in his Acct as followeth (Vizt)

Mr Geo Hoskison Dr to Jona Beals Orphans L s d

To 4. Years Revenue pd by ye sd Orphs 12 - -

To 9. head of Cattle Sold for 35 7 -

To 1. Bull Sold Jno Long 5 - -

To 1. Heifer Sold Mr Carne L 2: 10: -

Beef Sold dto amounting to 2: 1: 6 4 11 6

To monys paid Mr Powell for ye Presley Beds 1 - -

To 6 head of Cattle yt dyed thro neglect ye past not being Fenced according to Agreement 12 - -

To Monys recd by him for a house of sd Orphs 51 - 9

To Interest pd by sd Hoskison for ye 4/of sd Sum 7 - -

To 2. Timber Trees Cut by Edw Heath -12 -

Totall of ye Dr Side L 128 11 3

Pr Contra Cr

1703 By Store Credit pd L 11 - -

1706 pr dto 16 7 -

pr Credit pd to Mr Francis 19 - -

pr ditto pd to Mr John Nichols 1 - -

pr Charges when ye Land was Measured -12 -

By Ballance due to ye Orphans Charges to Mr Powell 80 12 3

Totall of ye Credit L 128 11 3

Mr Gabriel Powell Dr To Rd & Ant Beale.

To Ballance of Capt Hoskisons Account as appears above 80 12 3

pr Contra

Bevan's defence was that the man who killed and sold the beast mentioned in Mr Tovey's report was his brother-in-law Hatton Sterling, who married Robert Leech's widow, one of the orphans, and not he. There being no proof against him, the court dismissed him.

Richard Beale, while Mr Powell was present, brought in his account, which charged Mr George Hoskison as debtor to Jonathan Beale's orphans:

4 years' revenue paid by the orphans £12 0s 0d

9 head of cattle, sold for £35 7s 0d

1 bull sold to John Long £5 0s 0d

1 heifer sold to Mr Carne at £2 10s 0d, with beef sold likewise amounting to £2 1s 6d £4 11s 6d

Money paid to Mr Powell for the purslane beds £1 0s 0d

6 head of cattle that died through neglect, the pasture not being fenced according to agreement £12 0s 0d

Money received by him for a house of the orphans £51 0s 9d

Interest payable by Hoskison on [...] of the sum £7 0s 0d

2 timber trees cut by Edward Heath [reading uncertain] £0 12s 0d

Total of the debtor side £128 11s 3d

Per contra stood the credits:

Store credit paid in 1703 £11 0s 0d

Ditto in 1706 £16 7s 0d

Credit paid to Mr Francis £19 0s 0d

Ditto paid to Mr John Nichols £1 0s 0d

Charges when the land was measured £0 12s 0d

Charges to Mr Powell

Balance due to the orphans £80 12s 3d

Total of the credit side £128 11s 3d

A further head then charged Mr Gabriel Powell as debtor to Richard and Anthony Beale:

The balance of Captain Hoskison's account, as appears above £80 12s 3d

Interpretations

The account is the settlement the brothers had sought since 17 May 1715 and which the court of 29 July 1717 sent to chosen adjusters, and it reaches back through two dead men to a living payer: George Hoskison, the deputy governor who died on 6 March 1712, is charged as guardian with everything taken from the orphans' estate, and the closing head carries his £80 12s 3d balance straight to Gabriel Powell, liable as Hoskison's successor through his marriage to the widow Mary Hoskison. Within one sitting Powell thus owned £50 0s 0d to the French orphans and stood charged £80 12s 3d to the Beales, the island's largest planter answering for the inherited debts of two guardianships.

The debit items price the guardian's neglect as well as his receipts. The £12 0s 0d for 6 head that died because the pasture was never fenced according to agreement converts a broken covenant into a per-head charge of £2 0s 0d, and the 4 years' revenue at £3 0s 0d a year, paid by the orphans on land their guardian held, is the same annual rent Richard Beale had just recovered as a double payment by his petition of 6 August 1717. The largest single item, £51 0s 9d received for an orphans' house, matches the rent question over the house adjoining the Company's store room that the brothers raised on 17 May 1715.

The credit side shows what a guardian could lawfully set off: store credit passed to the estate in 1703 and 1706, payments to Mr Francis, who had boarded a Beale boy at 40s 0d a year with meat, drink, clothing and schooling, a small payment to John Nichols and the measuring charges, the survey fee that fixed the very acreage on which the rents ran. The cancelled charges to Mr Powell, struck before any figure was entered, suggests an attempted deduction abandoned at the table with the interested party sitting there.

427

430

August. Pr Contra Cr

By 2 Black Slaves 52 10 -

pr 2. peices of Blew 0:18:0 -18

1 pce do 0:13:6

pd Godfrey Shoales 2: 5: - 3 16 6

1717 By Cash 5: -: -

Jno Anderson 1: 5: 4

Jno Bagley 1: 5: - 7 10 4

By Ballance due to them 18 15 5

L 80 12 3

Mr Powell & Richd (for himself & his Bro Antho) Beale, being Asked if they were Satis fied Sayed they were & tis Therefore Orderd That the said Acct be Entred into the Con sultation Book as a Final Agreement & Ballancing of this Account wch Ballance being L 18:15:5 Mr Powell Says he will pay the said Richd & Anthd Beale in ye Hon Compa Stores. The Gunr brought in his Monthly Acct for July 1717. wch was Orderd to be Entrd as foll

  1. An Acct of Gunrs Stores Expended a 1st July 1717 to ye 31. of ye Same Inclu Vizt

July. 2 Departed ye Success Capt Graves for India 7 7

5 delwerd to Capt Haswell 1

10 An Alarm 4 4

8o Arr ye Princess Emelia & ye 11th in ye Morng fired 7 7

25 Departed dta Ship Capt Misenor for England 9 9

27 deliverd Capt Haswell 1

do to ye Guard at Bankers & Mundens point 16

Filling ye Granadeers Pouches 3

do Mr Cason for Exercising ye Garrison 4

Muskett Balls 3 3

Carried over 3 27 52

Per contra stood the credits against the Beale balance:

2 black slaves £50 10s 0d [reading uncertain]

2 pieces of blue £0 18s 0d

1 piece ditto £0 13s 6d

Paid Godfrey Shoales £2 5s 0d

These three together £3 16s 6d

By cash, 1717 £5 0s 0d

John Anderson £1 5s 4d

John Bagley £1 5s 0d

The cash together £7 10s 4d

Balance due to them £18 15s 5d

Total £80 12s 3d

Mr Powell, and Richard Beale for himself and his brother Anthony, were asked whether they were satisfied, and said they were. The council therefore ordered that the account be entered into the consultation book as a final agreement and balancing of this account, the balance being £18 15s 5d, which Mr Powell said he would pay to Richard and Anthony Beale in the Honourable Company's stores.

The gunner brought in his monthly account for July 1717, which was ordered to be entered as follows. It was an account of gunner's stores expended from 1 July 1717 to the 31st of the same inclusive:

The Success, Captain Graves, departed for India on the 2nd 7 pounds of powder and 7 falcon rounds

Delivered to Captain Haswell on the 5th 1 pound

An alarm on the 10th 4 pounds and 4 rounds

The Princess Emelia arrived on the same day, and 11 guns were fired in the morning 7 pounds and 7 rounds

The ship under Captain Misenor departed for England on the 25th 9 pounds and 9 rounds

Delivered to Captain Haswell on the 27th 1 pound

Ditto to the guard at Banks's and Munden's Point 16 pounds

Filling the grenadiers' pouches 3 pounds

To Mr Cason for exercising the garrison 4 pounds

Musket balls 3 pounds and 3 [...]

Carried over 27 pounds and 52 [...] [reading uncertain]

Interpretations

The settlement form chosen, entry in the consultation book as a final agreement with both parties declaring satisfaction on the record, gave the Beale account the force the family's affairs had lacked since the audit commission of 13 October 1713 collapsed: once entered, neither Powell nor the brothers could reopen the figures, the consultation book serving as the island's court of record. The mechanics also show how a substantial £80 12s 3d liability dissolved with almost no money: two slaves at £50 10s 0d took out nearly two thirds, blue cloth and small payments to named creditors covered another tenth, and only the closing £18 15s 5d passed as store credit, the standard settlement medium since coin scarcely circulated.

Payment in slaves at about £25 0s 0d a head matched the rates the council itself had just allowed in the Fairfax purchase of 23 July 1717, a man at £25 0s 0d, and confirms slaves as the island's high-denomination currency in private as in Company settlements, the orphans receiving their inheritance partly as labour.

The gunner's July account fixes the Princess Emelia's movements around the despatches: arrival from Bombay saluted on 10 July 1717, the day the consultation record gives, and departure for England on 25 July 1717, two days after the consultation of 23 July 1717 settled the Fairfax purchase, the widow Porteous's leave and the answer on the garrison deaths she carried home. The 16 pounds to the guards at Banks's and Munden's Point, the largest single line, reflects the standing watch at the two outer forts whose manning the council had defended to the directors by pleading 21 garrison deaths.

428

431

1717 Bro over Shot 3 Pal 27 powdr 52

Flints dd ye Armourer 24

Rammer Rods 24

Match 21

21 24 24 3 27 52

(Signd) Jno French

The Overseer of ye Plantatation house brought in the following Acct for July 1717. An Acct of ye Hon: Compas Neat Cattle, Sheep Hogs & Goats &c. taken ye 1st Aug 1717.

Black Cattle 71. Cows 35 Heifers 14. Bullocks 17. Yearlings 21. Steers 36. Calves 3. Bulls

197 In all

  1. Cows killd Since last Acct 2 Calves died wth ye Swelling None Increasd

bought Last Month 6. Cows 2. Heifers 2. Steers 5. Calves

  1. Turkies, Great & Small
  2. killd Since last Acct None Increasd
  3. Geese grt & Small 1 killd Since last Acct None Increasd
  4. fowls Great & Small
  5. killd Since last Acct None bought or Increasd

Goats 166. Ewes 18. Wethers 72. Ewe Kidds 69. Ram do 2. Rams

327 great & Small.

  1. killd Since last Acct
  2. Increasd
  3. Ducks Great & Small
  4. killd Since last Acct None bought or Increasd

Hoggs 5. Sows 8. Shoats 35. Piggs 2. Boars

  1. Great & Small

8 Killd Since last Acct 5. dead of ye Spasm 14 Increasd

  1. Asses Great & Small
  2. of ye female
  3. of ye Males kind
  4. Ewes
  5. Wethers
  6. Lambs
  7. Ram

Sheep 108. Great & Small.

1 Killd Since last Acct None Increasd

(Signd) Wm Worrell

Antipas Tovey

The gunner's account closed with the figures brought over:

Flints delivered to the armourer 24

Rammer rods 2 [reading uncertain]

Match 21 pounds

The columns closed at 21 pounds of match, 24 flints, 24 [...], 3 pounds of musket balls, 27 pounds of powder and 52 falcon rounds. John French signed the account.

The overseer of Plantation House brought in the following account for July 1717, an account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the rest taken on 1 August 1717.

Black cattle: 71 cows 35 heifers 14 bullocks 17 yearlings 21 steers 36 calves 3 bulls

197 in all. 2 cows were killed since the last account and 2 calves died of the swelling, none increased. Bought last month were 6 cows, 2 heifers, 2 steers and 5 calves, 15 in all.

Goats: 166 ewes 18 wethers 72 ewe kids 69 ram ditto 2 rams

327 great and small, 8 killed since the last account and 8 increased.

Hogs: 5 sows 8 shoats 35 pigs 2 boars

50 great and small. 8 were killed since the last account, 5 died of the pant and 14 increased.

Sheep: 49 ewes 30 wethers 28 lambs 1 ram

108 great and small, 1 killed since the last account and none increased.

130 turkeys great and small, 4 killed since the last account and none increased.

27 geese great and small, 1 killed since the last account and none increased.

84 fowls great and small, 6 killed since the last account, none bought or increased.

9 ducks great and small, 12 killed since the last account, none bought or increased.

11 asses great and small, 5 of the female and 6 of the male kind.

William Worrall signed the account, and Antipas Tovey signed the record.

Interpretations

The herd's purchase column ties the stock book to the consultation book: 15 head bought last month corresponds exactly to the Fairfax lot of 23 July 1717, 5 cows and 5 calves with 2 heifers and 3 steers at £43 10s 0d, the categories matching beast for beast, so the overseer's return independently confirms the bill drawn on the Masters. With those 15 in, the neat cattle reached 197, the highest count in the recovered series, the herd having doubled from the 90 head of January 1715 under the cow-saving policy.

The hogs' return names the pant again, the lung corruption Bazett's enquiry had identified on 4 October 1715 when the planters opened dead hogs and treated the survivors with brine and milk; 5 deaths in a month against 14 farrowed shows the disease endemic but the stock outbreeding it. The swelling that killed 2 more calves, after the 1 in June, marks a continuing distemper in the calf crop worth the clerk's naming twice.

The poultry lines record consumption rather than husbandry: 12 of 21 ducks killed in a single month, with the Princess Emelia in the road and the Governor's table entertaining her commander through the despatch sittings, the fort's hospitality drawing down the yard faster than it bred.

429

432

August Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday ye 13th day of August 1717 At Union Castle in James Valley Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Present. Geo: Haswell Depty Matth: Bazett 3d & Antipas Tovey 4o in Councl The Last Consultatn Read & Approvd of Mr John Coles Attending, Mr Jno Alexander Brought in a General Account of Margaret Cotgrove Widdo (decd) her Estate, the Expences in bringing Up the Orphans, what was paid & What Improvements was made of sd Estate. Upon which he being Sworn declared upon Oath That ye Said Account was true to the best of his Knowledge. It was Orderd to be entred in the Consultation book & is as followeth (Vizt) An Account of the Estate of Margaret Cotgrove, (Widdo decd) with ye Expences & proffits from ye time of her Death to the Death of Joseph Cotgrove, with his particular Estate or Goods Deliverd into Council Upon Oath By John Alexander the 13th of August 1717. Wd M

A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 13 August 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, George Haswell, deputy, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved.

Mr John Coles attended, and Mr John Alexander brought in a general account of the estate of Margaret Cotgrove, widow, deceased: the expenses of bringing up the orphans, what was paid out and what improvements were made to the estate. Alexander was sworn and declared on oath that the account was true to the best of his knowledge. The council ordered it entered in the consultation book, as follows.

The account covered the estate of Margaret Cotgrove, widow, deceased, with the expenses and profits from the time of her death to the death of Joseph Cotgrove, together with Joseph's particular estate or goods. John Alexander delivered it into council on oath on 13 August 1717.

Interpretations

The account delivers what the verdict of 29 July 1717 made unavoidable. Once the jury sent the maternal fund into intestate division while upholding Joseph's verbal will over his possessed goods, the two masses had to be separated on paper, and Alexander's return does exactly that, running the widow's estate with its expenses and improvements from her death down to Joseph's death on 25 November 1716, then stating the boy's particular goods apart. The guardian who had refused Coles any account for a year, and who was arrested in £500 0s 0d for it, now renders one on oath within a fortnight of the verdict, the arrest having achieved its procedural purpose.

The presence of both adversaries, Coles attending while Alexander swears, follows the island's settled audit practice of confronting the account with the interested party in the room, as Powell sat by while Richard Beale charged the Hoskison balance on 6 August 1717; an account sworn unchallenged in the opponent's presence acquired the standing of an agreed record.

The accounting period itself carries the legal theory: by closing at Joseph's death rather than at the date of rendering, the account fixes the fund as it stood when the intestacy arose, so that the division among the next of kin, including Alexander's own sons, would be calculated before any later dealings by the guardian could colour it.

430

433

1717

Mrs Margt Cotgroves Orphans Dro L s d

To Ballce due to ye Hon Compy 39 2 11¼

To monys pd Jno Wall Carpr with putting Jno Cotgrove Apprentice to him 30 - -

To Dr Needham for Physick & Attendance in her Sickness 2 - -

To Goodr Poirier for Several necessarys 6 2 6

To Cha Steward for Goods to Cloath Ann & Mary Cotgrove & for Provissions 12 18 -

To Ship Oley for Ditto 3 15 -

To Robt Wallington -6 -

To Hen: Webley -3 -

To Thos Harper 1 1 9

To Mich Allenbergh, Taylor 1 7 6

To Revenues -10 -

To Store Goods & Blacks Diett 27 7 4¾

To Capt Bewes for Goods 6 6 -

To Monys paid Madm Johnson & Joshua Johnson for boarding Jos (& Ann & Mary Cotgrove) 1 ½ Year, with other necessary & moneys layd Out 71 1 -

To Funeral Charges, for Muslin, Scarves, Coffin &c for Mrs Cotgrove 4 10 -

To Mrs Coulson for a peice of China Silk for Ann Cotgrove (at her request.) 4 16 -

To Mr Greentree 1 10 6

To Store Goods for Gilbt Cotgrove persuant to his Mothers Will 3 18 2

To the Church for Head mony -10 -

To Store Goods for ye Children 9 14 11¾

To Edmond Kempton for Physick -9 -

To Moneys paid Capt Warner (in the Westmorland) for Ann & Marys passage 10 - -

Carried over L 237 9 8¾

Margin Notes:

  1. Oct 17 6

The account charged Mrs Margaret Cotgrove's orphans as debtors, opening at 17 October 1706:

Balance due to the Honourable Company £39 2s 11¼d

Money paid Captain John Wall on putting John Cotgrove apprentice to him £30 0s 0d

Dr Needham, for physic and attendance in her sickness £2 0s 0d

Governor Poirier, for several necessaries £6 2s 6d

Charles Steward, for goods to clothe Ann and Mary Cotgrove and for provisions £12 18s 0d

Ship Oley [reading uncertain], for ditto £3 15s 0d

Robert Wallington £0 6s 0d

Henry Webley £0 3s 0d

Thomas Harper £1 1s 9d

Michael Allenbergh, tailor £1 7s 6d

Revenues £0 10s 0d

Store goods and the blacks' diet £27 7s 4¾d

Captain Bewes, for goods £6 6s 0d

Money paid Madam Johnson and Joshua Johnson for boarding Joseph, Ann and Mary Cotgrove a year and a half, with other necessary money laid out £71 1s 0d

Funeral charges for muslin, scarves, the coffin and the rest for Mrs Cotgrove £4 10s 0d

Mrs Coulson, for a piece of China silk for Ann Cotgrove, at her request £4 16s 0d

Mr Greentree £1 10s 6d

Store goods for Gilbert Cotgrove pursuant to his mother's will £3 18s 2d

The church, for head money £0 10s 0d

Store goods for the children £9 14s 11¾d

Edmond Kempton, for physic £0 9s 0d

Money paid Captain Warner, in the Westmorland, for Ann and Mary's passage £10 0s 0d

Carried over £237 9s 8¾d

Interpretations

The account opens in October 1706, so Alexander's stewardship reaches back eleven years, and the charges reconstruct a family's dissolution item by item: the mother's last physic and her funeral muslin, scarves and coffin, the Company's £39 2s 11¼d debt standing first as always, then the children dispersed one by one, John bound apprentice for a £30 0s 0d premium, Joseph, Ann and Mary boarded with the Johnsons at a cost of £71 1s 0d for eighteen months, and finally Ann and Mary shipped off the island in the Westmorland at £10 0s 0d for the pair. The two largest items after the Company's balance are thus the prices of placing children, and the whole £237 9s 8¾d so far is consumption of the fund, not improvement of it.

The payees map the island's economy of services around 1706: Governor Stephen Poirier himself supplying necessaries, Dr Needham the physic, a tailor with the German name Allenbergh, Charles Steward clothing the girls, and the store carrying the goods and the blacks' diet at £27 7s 4¾d, the slaves' keep charged to the orphans because the estate's blacks worked the estate's land. The 10s 0d head money to the church and the 10s 0d revenues show even an orphan fund paying the island's two standing levies.

The piece of China silk at £4 16s 0d bought from Mrs Coulson at Ann's own request stands out as the one luxury in the schedule, nearly half the cost of her passage, and its careful annotation, at her request, is the guardian's defence entered in advance: an expense a ward demanded could not later be charged against his discretion.

431

434

August. Mrs Margts Cotgroves Orphans Dr L s d

Brought ovr 237 9 8¾

To Michl Altenbergh, more 2 12 -

To Revenue for Two Years 1 - -

To the Church -6

To Store Goods 1 1 3

To ditto 2 8 -

To Thos Free for Fees about Jack -9 -

To the Church -1 -

To Store Goods 2 3 7½

To Ditto 3 7 11¾

To Fort for Diett 5:11:0

Store Goods & ditto 2:17:1 8 8 1

To Mr Tovey for Schooling 1 8 -

To Saml Jefsey -15 -

To Revenues -10 -

To Jno Clevering for Gilbt Cotgrove for a Cow he bought Of him 3 10 -

To Store Goods 1 16 -

To Mr Tovey more for Schooling -13 -

To the Church -6

To Store Goods 1 18 3½

To Revenues -10 -

To Richd Skingle Esqr for mony paid Ann & Mary Cotgrove (by Goodwn Roberts Letter) At Bencoolen 50 - -

To Store Goods & a parcle Sent to Bencoolon pr their request in a Letter 34 2 7½

To Mr Wm Marsden for Ensign Sanderson 7 12 4½

Carried over. L 361 16 11½

The orphans' account continued, £237 9s 8¾d brought over:

Michael Altenbergh, more £2 12s 0d

Revenue for two years £1 0s 0d

The church £0 0s 6d

Store goods £1 1s 3d

Ditto £2 8s 0d

Thomas Free, for fees about Jack £0 9s 0d

The church £0 1s 0d

Store goods £2 3s 7½d

Ditto £3 7s 11¾d

The fort for diet, £5 11s 0d, and store goods with it, £2 17s 1d £8 8s 1d

Mr Tovey, for schooling £0 1s 8d

Samuel Jessey £0 15s 0d

Revenues £0 10s 0d

John Clevering, for a cow Gilbert Cotgrove bought of him £3 10s 0d

Store goods £1 1s 6d

Mr Tovey, more for schooling £0 13s 0d

The church £0 0s 6d

Store goods £1 18s 3½d

Revenues £0 10s 0d

Richard Skingle Esquire, for money paid Ann and Mary Cotgrove at Bencoolen, by Governor Roberts's letter £50 0s 0d

Store goods and a parcel sent to Bencoolen at their request in a letter £34 2s 7½d

Mr William Marsden, for Ensign Sanderson £7 12s 4½d

Carried over £361 16s 11½d

Interpretations

The Bencoolen entries are the account's revelation: Ann and Mary's £10 0s 0d passage in the Westmorland had carried them not to England but to the Company's pepper settlement on Sumatra, where £50 0s 0d was put into their hands through Richard Skingle on the authority of a letter from Governor Roberts, and a further £34 2s 7½d in goods and a parcel followed at their own written request. The transfer mechanism is the Company's internal credit network at work, the same channel by which Alexander had remitted money to Field at Bencoolen by the Mead Frigate: a guardian at St Helena could debit his wards' fund and have cash delivered five thousand miles east on the strength of correspondence, the governor's letter serving as the payment order.

The small recurring lines show the fund as a running household account across years: revenues at 10s 0d and church money in sixpences falling due again and again, Tovey paid 1s 8d and then 13s 0d for schooling, marking the secretary as the island's schoolmaster before George Sanders took that role, and the fort charging £5 11s 0d for diet, one of the children boarded at the garrison table for a time. The fees about Jack paid to Thomas Free, the council's clerk, were charges over a slave, Jack, probably for the documents of his sale or hire.

Gilbert Cotgrove appears buying a cow for £3 10s 0d through the fund, the standard breeding-stock start the island gave orphans, and the payment to William Marsden, the former third councillor, for Ensign Sanderson settles a debt owed through two intermediaries, the account absorbing the family's whole web of obligations before any division could be struck.

432

435

1717

Brought ovr 361 16 11½

To moneys paid to Ann & Mary Cotgrove at their going off ye Island as pr their receipt 109 16 6

To John Alexander (Vizt) for monys due for Lycences on an Old Acct 4 1 9

for Writing abt ye Estate formerly 1 10 -

for boarding John Cotgrove before her Death 4 months @ 7 L pr ann 2 6 8

for boarding & teaching Joseph & Phillip to read ditto time 4 13 4

for 1 Years Lycence Since 1 5 -

for boarding John & Joseph 1. Year 14 - -

for ditto Joseph 1 Year more 7 - -

for boarding ditto 4 Years Since at 7 L pr ann L 28 -

4 Years more at 6 L pr ann 24: - 52 - -

for monys paid Several persons for Cloaths, making, buying Shoes, washing, mending & making all his Linnen &c for 8. years @ 25/ pr ann 10 - -

for Several Small necessarys Sup plied him with as thread Tape lining for Cloaths, &c 1 10 -

To 1. Hatt -10 -

To monys paid Dr Price for Physic for Jos Cotgrove & ye black yt died 1 - -

To my attendance & trouble about the Estate for 10. Years at 10/ pr ann 5 - -

To expence at Jos Cotgroves funerall -10 -

To Cash paid Ann & Mary Cotgrove to give the Drumer -12 6

To ditto paid Henry Francis for them 2 5 -

Carried over L 579 17 8

The account continued, £361 16s 11½d brought over:

Money paid to Ann and Mary Cotgrove at their going off the island, as by their receipt £109 16s 6d

Then followed the charges to John Alexander himself:

Money due for licences on an old account £4 1s 9d

Writing about the estate formerly £1 10s 0d

Boarding John Cotgrove for 4 months before her death, at £7 0s 0d per annum £2 6s 8d

Boarding and teaching Joseph and Phillip to read for the same time £4 13s 4d

1 year's licence since £1 5s 0d

Boarding John and Joseph 1 year £14 0s 0d

Ditto Joseph 1 year more £7 0s 0d

Boarding ditto 4 years since at £7 0s 0d per annum, £28 0s 0d, and 4 years more at £6 0s 0d per annum, £24 0s 0d £52 0s 0d

Money paid several persons for clothes, making and buying shoes, washing, mending and making all his linen and the rest, for 8 years at 25s 0d per annum £10 0s 0d

Several small necessaries supplied him, such as thread, tape and lining for clothes £1 10s 0d

1 hat £0 10s 0d

Money paid Dr Price for physic for Joseph Cotgrove and the black that died £1 0s 0d

His own attendance and trouble about the estate for 10 years at 10s 0d per annum £5 0s 0d

Expense at Joseph Cotgrove's funeral £0 10s 0d

Cash paid Ann and Mary Cotgrove to give the drummer £0 12s 6d

Ditto paid Henry Francis for them £2 5s 0d

Carried over £579 17s 8½d

Interpretations

The schedule is Alexander's answer to the charge of enrichment: it itemises ten years of Joseph's keep in his own house, four months at £7 0s 0d a year while the mother still lived, then year by year through a rate cut to £6 0s 0d, the guardian boarding his ward below the £7 0s 0d the Johnsons had charged and below his own earlier rate, with clothing, washing and linen compressed to a flat 25s 0d a year. His fee for the entire guardianship, attendance and trouble about the estate, stands at 10s 0d a year, £5 0s 0d for a decade, a figure framed to look like duty rather than profit when the jury weighed his conduct. The teaching of Joseph and Phillip to read inside the boarding charge also adds a third Cotgrove brother to the record.

The £109 16s 6d handed to Ann and Mary at their departure, supported by their receipt, turns out to dwarf every other single payment and, with the £50 0s 0d at Bencoolen and the £34 2s 7½d parcel, means the two girls drew about £200 0s 0d from the fund, a point with legal force: the sisters' shares were substantially advanced in their lifetime, strengthening the claim of those left behind to what remained. The receipt's careful citation shows the guardian documenting exactly the payments most apt to be questioned.

Dr Price's £1 0s 0d for physic for Joseph and the black that died joins the boy and the estate's slave in one sickbed bill, the chief surgeon treating both before his departure in January 1716, and the 12s 6d the girls were given for the drummer was the customary parting tip to the garrison drummer who beat for departing ships, a small ceremony of leaving the island preserved in the ledger.

433

436

August Mrs Margts Cotgroves Orphs Dr

Brought over L 579 17 8½

To several other particulars & monys paid 3 12 -

To ballance due from Jno Alexander to Margt Cotgroves Estate ye Sum of 69 13 5

L 653 3 1½

Pr Contra Cr

By Inventory 206 19 6

pr Cash 167 - 6

By a Black man Valued at 30 - -

pr 1. blacks Labour, 8. Years 129 3 1½

pr Sundry other Credits amounting to 120 - -

L 653 3 1½

This is a true Acct of Mrs Margaret Cotgroves Estate with payments & disbursements from ye time of her Death in August 1706 to this 6th day of Aug 1717. to ye best of my Knowledge & remembrance but if any thing should appear hereafter in any Memorandum paper or comes to my mind I will bring in an Account thereof of my own accord yt it may be added to ye present Account either on ye Debtor or Credit part (Signd) pr Jno Alexander Execr

John Alexander Dr to Jos: Cotgrove.

To 1. Young Bull L 3 - -

  1. Heifer (left in ye dry time) L 3 - -

L 6 - -

Pr Contra Cr

By ballance due from Jno Alexander L 6 - -

& To 1. Small Gold ring value about 8 or 10/ left him by his Bro Gilbert Cotgrove decd

The debtor side closed, £579 17s 8½d brought over:

Several other particulars and money paid £3 12s 0d

Balance due from John Alexander to Margaret Cotgrove's estate, the sum of £69 13s 5d

Total £653 3s 1½d

Per contra stood the credits:

By inventory £206 19s 6d

Cash £167 0s 6d

A black man, valued at £30 0s 0d

1 black's labour, 8 years £129 3s 1½d

Sundry other credits amounting to £120 0s 0d

Total £653 3s 1½d

Alexander declared this a true account of Mrs Margaret Cotgrove's estate, with payments and disbursements from the time of her death in August 1706 to this 6 August 1717, to the best of his knowledge and remembrance. If anything should appear afterwards in any memorandum paper, or come to his mind, he would bring in an account of it of his own accord, so it might be added to the present account on either the debtor or the credit part. He signed it as executor.

A second account charged John Alexander as debtor to Joseph Cotgrove:

1 young bull £3 0s 0d

1 heifer, left in the dry time £3 0s 0d

Total £6 0s 0d

Per contra:

Balance due from John Alexander £6 0s 0d

And 1 small gold ring, value about 8s 0d or 10s 0d, left him by his brother Gilbert Cotgrove deceased

Interpretations

The balancing reverses the whole eleven-year picture: after £653 3s 1½d of charges, the credits leave Alexander owing the estate £69 13s 5d, so the guardian closed as the fund's debtor, not its creditor, and the £500 0s 0d in which Coles had arrested him shrinks on a sworn reckoning to a seventh of that figure. The credit side explains why the fund stretched so far. Beyond the £206 19s 6d inventory and £167 0s 6d cash, a single black man valued at £30 0s 0d earned £129 3s 1½d in eight years of hired labour, the estate's slave out-earning his own capital value fourfold at roughly the standing 1s 6d a day, the clearest demonstration in the record of why slaves were an orphan fund's best asset.

Alexander's closing oath, with its promise to bring in anything later found in any memorandum paper on either side of the account, is the executor's standard reservation against an eleven-year memory, the mirror of the merchants' errors excepted, and it converts the account from a final figure into a continuing obligation of candour, prudent wording from a man whose concealments had been the very charge against him.

The small second account settles the dead boy's personal estate apart, exactly as the verdict of 29 July 1717 required: two beasts worth £6 0s 0d, the heifer noted as left in the dry time, a creature handed over in drought when keep was scarce, and a gold ring of 8s 0d or 10s 0d from his brother Gilbert. These possessed goods were what Joseph's verbal will could lawfully carry to his nephews, and their total puts the litigation in proportion: the contest fought through arrest, jury and three sittings turned, on the willed side, on six pounds and a ring.

434

437

1717 It appearing by this Account that the Sum of twenty nine pounds four Shillings & five pence three farthings is due to ye Orphs of Gilbert Cotgrove (deceased) Vizt To John Cot grove Aged about 13 Years & Thos Cotgrove A ged about 9 Years. Orderd That the Credits thereof be paid into the Hon Comps Stores for the Said Orphans on or before the 13th day of November next en sueing wch will be in this Year 1717. The said Messrs John Alexander & Jn Coles Executrs to ye sd Gilbt Cotgrove brought in the foll Account Island St Helena: An Account of the Live Stock and Estate belonging to John & Thoms Cotgrove Orphans of Gilbert Cotgrove (decd) as deliverd this 13th of August 1717 (Vizt)

3 Cows. 3. Young Heifers.

  1. Young Bullock.
  2. Calves. (1 Cow & 2 Bull Calves.)
  3. Head in all.

Mony due from Sundry persons to the Estate for Cows Milk L 8: 10/

This is a true Acct to ye best of Our know ledg Witness Our hands day & Year above Writ ten. (Signd) Jno Alexander John Coles. The following Petition was presented (Vizt) Island

It appeared by this account that the sum of £29 4s 3¾d was due to the orphans of Gilbert Cotgrove deceased, namely John Cotgrove, aged about 13 years, and Thomas Cotgrove, aged about 9 years. The council ordered that the credit be paid into the Honourable Company's stores for the orphans on or before 18 November next, falling in this year 1717.

Messrs John Alexander and John Coles, executors to Gilbert Cotgrove, then brought in the following account for the island of St Helena, an account of the live stock and estate belonging to John and Thomas Cotgrove, orphans of Gilbert Cotgrove deceased, as delivered this 13 August 1717:

3 cows

3 young heifers

1 young bullock

3 calves, 1 cow and 2 bull calves

10 head in all

Money due from sundry persons to the estate for cows' milk £8 10s 0d

Alexander and Coles declared it a true account to the best of their knowledge, and signed it under their hands on the day and year above written.

A further petition was then presented

Interpretations

The £29 4s 3¾d awarded to the nephews is the arithmetic outcome of the verdict of 29 July 1717 applied to Alexander's sworn figures: out of his £69 13s 5d balance, the maternal fund divided as an intestacy among the wider kin, while the share flowing to John and Thomas under Joseph's verbal will and their own rights came to this sum, a tenth of the £500 0s 0d in which Coles had arrested the guardian. Payment into the Company's stores rather than to either executor applies the standing safeguard: the orphans' money sat as store credit under the council's eye, earning the established 5 per cent on orphan deposits, beyond the reach of the very men who had fought over it. The deadline of 18 November 1717 gave Alexander a quarter year to find the credit.

The closing inventory restores the litigants to cooperation: Alexander and Coles, adversaries through arrest and jury trial, sign jointly as Gilbert's executors over a herd of 10 head, the boys' real working capital, with £8 10s 0d owing from sundry persons for cows' milk. The milk debt shows the orphans' cattle run as a small dairy business, their guardianship now producing income on the record, and the joint signature under oath gives the brothers what the whole dispute had lacked from the start, an agreed registered baseline against which every future account must reconcile.

The ages entered against the boys, about 13 and about 9, fix the horizon of the trust: the elder would come of age about 1725, and until then the estate stood under exactly the documentary regime, sworn accounts, store-lodged credit and conciliar deadlines, that the past three weeks of proceedings had built.

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August. Island St Helena. To the Worsh Isaac Pyke Esqr Governr &c, and Council The most humble Petition of John Mee ret Overseer. Most humbly Sheweth, That Whereas yor Petitr now doth & for a considerable time hath been Employed in Overseing the Black yt fetcheth Wood for the Hon Comp so far as from ye Great Wood twice each day in the Week wch is a very great fatigue & likewise chargable to him in wearing out abundance of Shoes, & yor petitr having no other allowance than Labourers pay neither now nor for the time past Therefore most humbly beseeches yor Worsh & Councils consideration of the beforementiond premisses, praying that he may have the Usuall pay of Two Shillings pr Day That ye other Overseers receive, yor petitr having Served ye Hon Compa Almost Sixteen Years. Granted. And The Govr is desired to build a Kitchin in the Castle to burn Coales, in Order to prevent this charge. Antipas Tovey

John Meeret, overseer, petitioned the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council for the island of St Helena. He set out that he had now for a considerable time been employed overseeing the blacks who fetched wood for the Honourable Company from as far away as the Great Wood, twice each day of the week. The duty was a very great fatigue and costly to him besides, wearing out an abundance of shoes, yet he had never had any allowance beyond labourer's pay, neither now nor for the time past. He therefore humbly asked the consideration of the Governor and council, praying for the usual pay of 2s 0d per day that the other overseers received, having served the Honourable Company almost sixteen years.

The petition was granted. The council further asked the Governor to build a kitchen in the castle to burn coals, in order to remove this charge altogether. Antipas Tovey signed the record.

Interpretations

The kitchen order is the substantive decision: rather than merely raising one overseer's pay, the council moved to abolish the supply line itself. The castle's fires were fed by slave parties walking to the Great Wood and back twice daily, the route running over the dangerous Rupert's Valley path the Company's blacks had been set to mend on 28 May 1717, and the Success had just landed coals priced on 17 July 1717 at 5s 0d per bushel against 32s 6d per chaldron prime cost. A coal-burning kitchen converted a permanent drain of labour, shoe leather and supervision into a store commodity bought by the bushel, and it served the standing policy of sparing the island's wood, the same concern behind the planting law pressed on Ripin Wills on 21 May 1717 and the deals wanted more than the Company could imagine in the indent by the Princess Emelia.

The pay claim itself shows the overseer grade as a recognised rate: 2s 0d a day, a third above the labourer, was what the other overseers received, and Meeret's sixteen years of service framed the request as arrears of status rather than a favour. His complaint that the duty wore out an abundance of shoes lands in the month the store reported large strong shoes nearly sold out, footwear being a measurable cost of employment on the island's terrain, as the barefoot soldiers behind the hide purchase of 5 June 1717 had already shown.

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1717 Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 20th day of August 1717 At Union Castle in James Vally. Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Present. Matthew Bazett 3o & Antipas Tovey 4th in Councl The last Consultation read & approved of Capt Haswell being Absent the business of this Consultation was Adjourned to next Consultation day. And Capt Bazett having divers matters to report relating to the Hon Compas Fencing The Governr thinks it proper est to be considered of when all the Council are present.

Margin Notes:

Geo. Haswell Depty Absent being in the Country

A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 20 August 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council, George Haswell, deputy, being absent in the country. The last consultation was read and approved.

With Captain Haswell absent, the business of this consultation was adjourned to the next consultation day. Captain Bazett had various matters to report concerning the Honourable Company's fencing, and the Governor thought it most proper that they be considered when all the council were present.

Interpretations

The adjournment shows the bench applying its quorum practice to substance rather than form: three councillors could lawfully sit, and had transacted business at thinner attendance before, but the fencing report touched bargains in which the absent deputy governor and the present councillors were personally entangled, Haswell having sought a waste-land lease with a fencing allowance on 17 April 1717 and Bazett being both reporter and a neighbour to several of the contracted walls. Deferring the matter until all the council were present protected decisions on the rod-rate contracts concluded on 5 June 1717, with Wrangham, Rider, Robinson, Morris and Greentree, from any later complaint that they were settled behind the deputy governor's back.

Haswell's absence in the country continues the pattern the Governor had challenged on 28 May 1717, when he demanded why the accountant had not been down for a fortnight with the store books unfinished; the books had been promised by the next ship foul or fair under the ruling of 25 June 1717, and every adjourned Tuesday lengthened the arrears the directors were already displeased over.

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August Island St Helena. At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 27th day of August 1717. At Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Present. George Haswell Depty Matthew Bazett 3d & Antipas Tovey 4o in Councl The Last Consultation read & Approved of. The following Petition was Presented (Vizt) Island of St Helena. To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & Council. The humble Petitn of Rd Swallow Carpr Sheweth. That Whereas yor Petitr having Three Servants men grown & well advanced in their Trade Doth humbly desire according to the Custom of all places their Wages may be Augmented Yor Petitionr having received no more Wages for them, then is Usually Given to an Apprentice of Our Trade after the first Years Service in this place. & yor Petr shall ever pray as in duty bound Aug 27o 1717. (Signd) Richd Swallow Capt Haswell (to ye Said Petition Sayes He

A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 27 August 1717 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, George Haswell, deputy, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved.

A petition was presented to the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council from Richard Swallow, carpenter. He set out that he had three servants, grown men and well advanced in their trade, and humbly asked that, according to the custom of all places, their wages be increased, since he had received no more wages for them than is usually given to an apprentice of his trade after the first year's service in this place. He would ever pray as in duty bound, and signed the petition on 27 August 1717.

Captain Haswell said to the petition that

Interpretations

The petition exposes how skilled labour was priced through masters rather than men: the three servants' wages were received by Swallow, not by them, the carpenter hiring out his trained hands to the Company and the island while paying their keep, so the increase he sought was an adjustment of his own income from their labour. His benchmark, the rate usually given an apprentice after his first year, invokes the island's settled wage ladder, on which a free carpenter earned 4s 0d a day finding his own diet, as William Coales had since 13 October 1713, and Samuel Price's apprentice-teaching rate had been fixed by written agreement at 2s 6d a day on 12 April 1715; men grown and well advanced in their trade paid at first-year apprentice rates were two or three rungs below their station.

The appeal to the custom of all places is the standard rhetorical move of the island's tradesmen, framing St Helena's pay against the wider world the ships brought news of, and it carried weight because retaining artisans was a chronic problem: the bench had refused coopers and stone cutters leave to depart for want of replacements, and underpaid journeymen were exactly the men who petitioned for passage on the next ship.

Richard Swallow, carpenter, here is the man whose proof had fixed the Sanders wood-cutting penalty on 4 September 1716, distinct from the executor and the bond creditor of the same name, the third Richard Swallow active in these years.

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He does not know whether they deserve more or not. Capt Bazett is of Opinion That We Ought to incourage people that are riseing in their Trade. That One Downing had formerly five Shillings pr Day & his Victuals and yt he thinks Six Shillings a day now & they finding them selves Diet is cheaper than yt of five shillings was formerly for the Master & he is of Opinion they should have Six pence a day more each One now Mr Tovey Sayes That he thinks the Wages they now have is as much as they deserve & & as they have had this rate when they did not deserve it That therefore their Mastr may af ford to take that price hereafter when they deserve more. The Govrn is of Opinion That Mr Swallow himself has great Wages, ye better Workmen never have no more then 2/6 pr diem in London at the highest. That Benj Cleverly his man might deserve 2 shills if he were at London (here but Bagley & Hard ing (his other 2 prentices) would Scarcely de serve 20 d each which is Seven shills pr diem in stead of wch We pay him fourteen shillings a day near double the rate in England. The Govr also Sayes

Captain Haswell said to the petition that he did not know whether the men deserved more or not.

Captain Bazett's opinion was that the Company ought to encourage people who were rising in their trade. One Downing had formerly had 5s 0d a day and his victuals, which he reckoned worth 6s 0d a day now, and since these men found their own diet, their labour came cheaper to the master than the old 5s 0d rate had. He was therefore of opinion that each of them should now have 6d a day more.

Mr Tovey said he thought the wages they now had were as much as they deserved. Since they had been given that rate when they did not deserve it, their master could afford to accept the same price in future, when they deserved more.

The Governor's opinion was that Mr Swallow himself had great wages, and that better workmen never had more than 2s 6d at the highest, even in London. Benjamin Cleverly, his man, might deserve 2s 0d if he were at London, but Bagley and Harding, his other two apprentices, would scarcely deserve 20d each, which came to seven shillings a day [reading uncertain], instead of which the Company paid him fourteen shillings a day, near double the rate in England. The Governor also said

Interpretations

The four opinions lay out the island's whole theory of wages. Bazett argues from the employer's saving, diet found by the men being cheaper to the master than the victualled 5s 0d rate of Downing's day, so a 6d rise still left the bargain better than the old one; Tovey argues from desert over time, past overpayment buying future restraint; and the Governor reprices the entire establishment against London, where 2s 6d was the ceiling for the best workmen, to show the Company already paying near double the English rate. The benchmark war matters because the island had no labour market to set prices, only the Company as near-sole employer, so every wage was an act of policy argued from precedent and comparison.

The Governor's arithmetic also reveals the structure behind the petition: the Company paid Swallow 14s 0d a day for the gang, master and three hands together, against perhaps 7s 0d their work would fetch in England, so the carpenter was running a labour contract at a substantial margin and the petition sought to widen it. The naming of the three, Benjamin Cleverly graded as a man while Bagley and Harding remained apprentices at 20d, shows pay following an internal hierarchy within one master's shop, and the Bagley and Harding boys carry the names of the apprenticeship arrangements visible since Richard Leach was ordered bound to a carpenter or like trade on 29 March 1715.

The split bench, encouragement against restraint with the deputy governor declining a view, left the decision to the Governor's comparison, and his framing of London as the measure follows his standing method, the same resort to metropolitan standards that priced the Success cargo by its London invoice and tested Tovey's sale fee against the practice of the Indian factories on 9 April 1717.

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August. also Sayes he is for incouraging Trades all he can but if We give such people as these till they are contented We shall never have done rais ing the Price. For That ye Price wch We do give he is Sure is a great deale too much, Yet rather that they shoud leave ye work he would rais Six pence pr Day to Benj: Cleverly & when any of the rest de serve three shills he would instead of that give them more too. Capt Haswell Sayes he thinks it not proper to lett ym take ye advantage of Us now in Our ne cessity For if We give but to One 6 d pr day more he be lieves Swallow will take ye other Two away. Capt Bassett Sayes he would not be understood that he thinks ye Apprentices deserve Six pence advance a day, but he thinks We had better give it ym yt they should leave ye Work. The Gov Sayes That We have writ to ye Hon Company by ye Susana par 62 & 63 & by ye St George par. 93. & 95. &c. of ye Usfullness & necessi ty of Sending Us 4. or 6. Carpenters & have there represented as well as We could both ye need We have of them & how much mony theyd Save by it for yt very good workmen might be entertaind there to come here for half a Crown or 3 shill: a day

The Governor also said he was for encouraging trades all he could, but if the Company gave such people as these until they were contented, it would never have done raising the price, for he was sure the price it gave already was a great deal too much. Yet rather than have them leave the work, he would raise 6d a day to Benjamin Cleverly, and when any of the rest deserved three shillings he would, instead of that, give them more too.

Captain Haswell said he thought it not proper to let them take advantage of the Company now in its necessity, for if it gave just one of them 6d a day more, he believed Swallow would take the other two away.

Captain Bazett said he would not be understood to think the apprentices deserved sixpence a day advance, but he thought the Company had better give it than have them leave the work.

The Governor said that the council had written to the Honourable Company, by the Susanna in paragraphs 62 and 63 and by the St George in paragraphs 93 and 95 and elsewhere, of the usefulness and necessity of sending out 4 or 6 carpenters, and had there represented as well as it could both the need it had of them and how much money would be saved by it, for very good workmen might be engaged to come here for half a crown or 3s 0d a day

Interpretations

The deadlock turns on a single piece of leverage: Swallow could withdraw all three hands at once, and with the barracks unfinished and no other carpenters' shop on the island, the Company in its necessity, as Haswell put it, had to weigh a 6d rise against a stopped building programme. Bazett's careful distinction, that the rise was not deserved but worth paying, and the Governor's matching concession to Cleverly alone, both treat the wage as a price for keeping the work going rather than a judgment of worth, while Haswell's warning that a rise to one would pull the other two off the job reads the master's tactics exactly.

The Governor's answer to the trap was recruitment, and his citation by ship and paragraph, the Susanna's 62nd and 63rd and the St George's 93rd and 95th, shows the request running since the despatches of 12 November 1714 and 15 November 1715. Four or six carpenters engaged in England at half a crown or 3s 0d a day would cost a fraction of the 14s 0d paid Swallow's gang and break the monopoly that made the petition possible; the indent's standing want of hands and the 25 recruits wished for on 23 July 1717 belong to the same arithmetic. The numbered-paragraph citations also display the council's letter-book discipline, every past representation retrievable by reference when the directors needed reminding that the island's high prices were the cost of their own unanswered indents.

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Day finding their Own Victuals & One such man is as good as three of these. But it is on ly Our business to represent & Our Hon Mastrs to approve wch We must Suppose they did not & Since there is no body else to employ but the people of this place We must give them their Terms but We fear that a little while hence We shall have them coming again with the Same request For which the Goodwn Sayes he thinks their is no remedy but Sending good Workmen over. Capt Bazett Sayes further that if he could do without ym he would employ non of them The following Petition was presented. Island St Helena. To ye Worsh Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr &c Council. The Petitn of John Lewis Latour Most humbly Sheweth That yor Petitr having Some time Since bought at Publick Outcry the house of Wm Frenchs Orphans & paid for it to ye Said Orphans Account in ye Stores the sum of 32 L: 5/ humbly prays he may have a Deed for ye Same & as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c (Signd) Louis Latour 27 Aug 1717. Granted. Capt Bazet

The Governor continued that such men would find their own victuals, and one such man was as good as three of these. But it was only the council's business to represent, and the Honourable Masters' to approve, which it must suppose they did not. Since there was nobody else to employ but the people of this place, the Company must give them their terms, but the council feared that a little while hence they would come again with the same request, for which the Governor said he thought there was no remedy but sending good workmen over.

Captain Bazett said further that if he could do without them he would employ none of them.

A petition was then presented to the Worshipful Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, and the council for the island of St Helena from John Lewis Latour. He set out that he had some time since bought at public outcry the house of William French's orphans, and had paid for it to the orphans' account in the stores the sum of £32 5s 0d. He humbly prayed that he might have a deed for it, and would ever pray as in duty bound. Louis Latour signed it, and the petition was granted on 27 August 1717.

Interpretations

The Governor's summary is an unusually frank statement of the island's labour economics on the record: an imported English carpenter at half a crown finding his own food was worth three of Swallow's hands, but with the directors silent on every request the Company must give them their terms, monopoly supply dictating price, and the only remedy lay in breaking the monopoly from London. The expectation that the men would come again with the same request treats the rise as a ratchet, each concession the floor of the next demand, and Bazett's parting remark that he would employ none of them if he could do without them puts the storekeeper's exasperation beside his own earlier vote to pay, the bench yielding with its eyes open.

Latour's petition completes the sale Tovey's report had recorded on 6 August 1717: the £32 5s 0d paid into the orphans' store account now buys its legal conclusion, a deed from the council, since a purchase at public outcry passed possession but only the registered conveyance under the island's documentary regime secured title against later claims. The licensed victualler's purchase money had already been traced in the orphans' credit of £21 9s 3½d against their Company debt, so the deed closes the circle, the store acting as auction house, banker and registry in a single transaction.

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August. Capt Bazett Reports That he has Meas sured ye Fencing Work done by Messrs Powell & Greentree, wch he thinks is very well done & contains 274 Road wch was agreed at 6/8 d pr Road Also That he has Measured ye fencing done by Messrs Wrangham & Rider wch he thinks is likewise well done, he Measured One part wch contained 81: Rodd wch they were to have 5/8 pr Rod for and the other part Measured 101. Rod wch they were to do at 10/8 pr Rod. Likewise That he has agreed with Mr Wrang ham to make two Double Walls to divid the larg Pasture (at ye Plantation house) into three parts at 14/8 pr Rod. The Govr Sayes he intends to go up to morrow with Capt Bazett to view these Fences & to see what more is proper to be done The Oversrs of ye highways appeard & prayd to be discharged. Orderd That ye New Overseers be Sumond against next Council day. The Govr Sayes he shall Cloath 20. of ye Honble Comps Blacks presently & 20 more next Tuesday And That all the Blacks that were Sent to Lemon Vally & Egg Island, because of the Small Pox are

Captain Bazett reported that he had measured the fencing work done by Messrs Powell and Greentree, which he thought very well done; it contained 274 rods, agreed at 6s 6d per rod. He had also measured the fencing done by Messrs Wrangham and Rider, likewise well done in his view. One part he measured at 81 rods, for which they were to have 5s 0d per rod, and the other part at 101 rods, which they were to do at 10s 0d per rod. He had likewise agreed with Mr Wrangham to make two double walls to divide the large pasture at Plantation House into three parts, at 14s 0d per rod.

The Governor said he intended to go up the next day with Captain Bazett to view these fences and to see what more was proper to be done.

The overseers of the highways appeared and asked to be discharged. The council ordered that the new overseers be summoned for the next council day.

The Governor said he would clothe 20 of the Honourable Company's blacks at once and 20 more the next Tuesday, and that all the blacks sent to Lemon Valley and Egg Island because of the smallpox were

Interpretations

Bazett's measurements close the payment loop on the bargains of 5 June 1717: the contracts had let the work by the rod at fixed rates, with the Greentree stretch expressly to be measured when finished, and the storekeeper's survey now converts each completed wall into a sum certain, 274 rods at 6s 6d making £89 1s 0d due to Powell and Greentree, with Wrangham and Rider's two stretches at £20 5s 0d and £50 10s 0d. Powell's appearance as a paid contractor is its own resolution: he had refused the agreed prices on 28 May 1717 and been warned the work would go to the cheapest undertakers, and the finished 274 rods show him taking the council's rates after all. The new bargain at 14s 0d per rod for double walls dividing the Plantation House pasture into three carries the programme from boundary fencing into rotation management, three parts allowing grazing to rest in turn for a herd now at 197 head.

The annual rotation of highway overseers, discharged on application with successors summoned, follows the parish cycle running since the election machinery of April 1715, the outgoing men being those appointed on 30 April 1717 when the council insisted on good and substantial men for the east roads.

The clothing of the Company's blacks in two batches of 20 executes the winter provision debated since 7 May 1717, the made-up garments having been in Bazett's charge since the transfer of 7 January 1717, and the sentence breaking towards Lemon Valley and Egg Island shows the smallpox quarantine of 19 June 1717 still governing where the Company's slaves could be, two months after the valley was first sealed.

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1717 are very well recovered, But One of his Own Blacks who was employed to go a fishing for them was Washed off of the Rocks with a Surfe of the Sea & drowned. The Govr demands of Capt Haswell why he was in ye Country all last Week & leave the Books neglected for he sayeth he will Send ym home as they are, If not done before next Ship Capt Haswell Sayes that he was so very ill that it was not possible for him to come down Assuring the Governr that he was not able to Sturr as far as into his Yard till last Friday The Govr Sayes if he does not mind ye business better He must & will Suspend him, not from ye business but from His Sallary. Antipas Tovey Island St H.

The blacks sent to Lemon Valley and Egg Island because of the smallpox were very well recovered, but one of the Governor's own blacks, who was employed to go fishing for them, was washed off the rocks by a surf of the sea and drowned.

The Governor demanded of Captain Haswell why he had been in the country all last week, leaving the books neglected, for he said he would send them home as they were if they were not done before the next ship. Captain Haswell said he had been so very ill that it was not possible for him to come down, assuring the Governor he had not been able to stir even as far as his yard until last Friday. The Governor said that if Haswell did not mind the business better, he must and would suspend him, not from the business but from his salary.

Antipas Tovey signed the record.

Interpretations

The quarantine report closes the island's first smallpox visitation as a success of containment: the sick sealed into Lemon Valley under the advertisement of 19 June 1717, with 8 lying ill under the doctor's daily visits on 17 July 1717, were now recovered, and no spread beyond the cordon appears anywhere in the record. The drowned fisherman shows how the cordon was actually fed, fresh fish carried to the isolated valley by a slave working the rocks outside it, the one death of the outbreak falling not to the disease but to the surf, and to the Governor's own household, whose man had been set to the risky service.

The exchange with Haswell escalates the store-books quarrel to its sharpest recorded point. The Governor's threat repeats his ruling of 25 June 1717 that the books go home by the next ship foul or fair, and the demand follows the same pattern as 28 May 1717, a fortnight's absence met by a plea of sickness; but the remedy now devised, suspension from the salary and not from the business, is a calculated novelty. Suspending the deputy governor from office would have required the directors' confirmation and crippled the bench, as Tovey's suspension had shown in the spring; stopping his pay while leaving him bound to the work turned the accountant's £70 0s 0d salary into a performance bond, pressure without constitutional disturbance.

The signature of Tovey alone beneath a rebuke of the deputy governor continues the selective signing practice long visible on contested entries, the record of the threat standing under the secretary's hand, with the restored Tovey now documenting the discipline of the very officer who had sat in judgment on him in March.

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Septembr Island St Helena. At a Consultation held at Union Castle in James Vally. on Tuesday the 3d day of September 1717 Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Present. Geo: Haswell Depty Matthw Bazett 3d & Antipas Tovey 4 in Councll The Last Consultation read & Approved of. The Overseers of the Highwayes attended desiring to be discharged & the New Ones (Elected) Vizt Isaac Leech and John Knipe being Sumond Also Appeared & being Sworne had the following Warrant deliverd to them. (Vizt) Island St Helena. Whereas You Isaac Leech & John Knipe Planters have been Elected & Recomend ed By ye Freeholders of this place as fitt persons to be the Overseers of the Highways for ye Year Ensueing, And the Governour having Approved of That Election & Confirmed it Wee Do therefore Appoint & Order That You the said Isaac Leech & John Knipe Be Overseers of the Highways, Roads & publick Paths on this Island of St Helena for this present Year And We Do hereby require You imp

Margin Notes:

of ye East & West Divisions

Mr Jno Coles having Voluntarily offered his Service for ye good of the Island to undertake ye Office of Oversr of ye Highways ye year for the South Division & ye parts adjacent to Sandy bay.

A consultation was held for the island of St Helena at Union Castle in James Valley on Tuesday 3 September 1717. Present were Isaac Pyke Esquire, Governor, George Haswell, deputy, Matthew Bazett, third, and Antipas Tovey, fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved.

The overseers of the highways attended, asking to be discharged, and the newly elected ones, Isaac Leech and John Knipe, appeared on summons, were sworn and had the following warrant delivered to them.

The warrant set out that Isaac Leech and John Knipe, planters, had been elected and recommended by the freeholders of the place as fit persons to be overseers of the highways for the year ensuing, and that the Governor had approved and confirmed that election. The council therefore appointed and ordered them to be overseers of the highways, roads and public paths of the east and west divisions of the island of St Helena for the present year. Mr John Coles, having voluntarily offered his service for the good of the island, undertook the office of overseer of the highways for the year for the south division and the parts adjacent to Sandy Bay.

Interpretations

The warrant records the constitutional division of the office in full: the freeholders elect and recommend, the Governor approves and confirms, and the council's warrant under its own authority converts the choice into an appointment, the same three-stage machinery visible since the parish cycle of April 1715, here written out because the sworn warrant was the overseers' commission and their authority for the year's distresses and summonses.

The reorganisation behind the names is the real business. The April establishment had paired two men to each side, but John Crosby of the west was dead, his will proved on 14 May 1717, and the bench now stretched Leech and Knipe, the east-side appointees of 30 April 1717, across both east and west divisions, while a third division, the south with the parts adjacent to Sandy Bay, was carved out for John Coles as a volunteer. Sandy Bay's separate treatment follows its standing as the island's second centre, the kilns, stone works and sea wall generating cart traffic that the country roads scheme had always struggled to serve, and an unpaid volunteer for the worst district cost the parish nothing while sparing the elected men its hills.

Coles's offer, made for the good of the island within weeks of winning his orphans' cause at the court of 29 July 1717, also reads as a substantial planter converting a season of litigation into public credit, the kind of standing the bench had said it wanted on 30 April 1717 when it insisted the highway offices go to good and substantial men of credit and reputation.

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1717 impartially carefully & diligently to Execute the same And for ye Easier performance thereof. We have caused a List to be Annexed hereunto of all the Inhabitants in ye East & west Divisions (except those in the Honble Companys Service) with an Account of what Men Slaves each Person hath. These are therefore (in his Majesties name to Will & require You the Said Isaack Leech & John Knipe to cause all persons (both them selves & Blacks herein mentiond) to Work according as their shall be occasion Yet not less then Two dayes nor more then Seven in mending making & repairing all Such High wayes as are needfull & necessary to be done as Also all Publick Stiles & Bridges And If any person after due Warning by You or either of You shall Absent himself & doth not come to Work & Send his Black or Blacks as foresaid or some other able Person to Work in his Stead on such days as by You shall be Appointed, then You are to put in ye Absent persons room some other Man White or Black as You can hire & such Absent White Man or his Black or Blacks or both shall forthwith repay You Double the Price or Prices which You shall pay or Agree to

The warrant required them to execute the office impartially, carefully and diligently. For its easier performance a list was annexed of all the inhabitants in the east and west divisions, except those in the Honourable Company's service, with an account of what men slaves each person had.

The warrant then willed and required them, in His Majesty's name, to cause all persons mentioned in it, both the inhabitants themselves and their blacks, to work according as there should be occasion, yet not less than two days nor more than seven, in mending, making and repairing all such highways as needed to be done, together with all public stiles and bridges. If any person after due warning by either overseer absented himself, and neither came to work nor sent his black or blacks, or some other able person, to work in his stead on the days appointed, the overseers were to put in the absent person's place some other man, white or black, whom they could hire. The absent white man, or his black or blacks, or both, would then immediately repay the overseers double the price or prices they paid or agreed

Interpretations

The invocation of His Majesty's name marks the highway duty as the one obligation the island enforced under general English law rather than the Company's charter powers: statute labour on the roads was every English parishioner's burden, and the royal formula gave the overseers an authority over freeholders that a mere Company order might not carry. The warrant's machinery follows the precedent of 13 December 1715 exactly, an annexed roster scaling each household's liability to its slave holding, a service band of days, and substitute labour at the defaulter's cost, but it sharpens the sanction: the warrant of 1715 charged defaulters the hire of substitutes with distress of goods behind it, while this one fixes repayment at double the price, a penal multiplier that made absence twice as dear as attendance.

The annexed list, drawn from the census certified to 25 March 1717 and counting men slaves only, defines the taxable unit as able male labour: women and children, white or black, carried no road liability, and the exemption of everyone in the Company's service kept the garrison and the Company's own slaves for the fortifications and plantations, the roads being the country's charge as against the Company's works, the division of burdens settled since the general agreement of 7 February 1715.

The band of not less than two nor more than seven days writes both a floor and a ceiling into the conscription: every household owed the minimum the law of 13 December 1715 had set, while the cap protected planters from an overseer consuming their labour in the planting season, the balance between public works and private husbandry struck in the warrant itself.

445

448

September. to pay to Such Whites or their Blacks as You Shall hire to Work in their place or Stead. And if any person defaulting as aforeSaid Shall refuse to pay You the Wages for Such per son or persons as You Shall So hire in their place or Stead. You are hereby impowered to take by distress any Goods from Such person or persons & Sell the Same at Publick Out cry & the Overplus (if any) to returne to the Owners after You are repaid & reasonable Charges for which These shall be Your Suf fecient Warrant Dated & Given under Our hands & ye Hon Compas Seal At Union Castle in James Vally this 3d day of September 1717. (Signd) Isaac Pyke Geo Haswell Matth: Bazett & Antipas Tovey

Persons names (Vizt) Whites Blacks Totall

S Capt George Haswell -3 3

E Capt Matthew Bazett -4 4

W Mr Antipas Tovey -2 2

W Mr Joshua Thomlinson -5 5

S Thos Cason -2 2

E John Alexander 1 2 3

Carried over 1 18 19

The double price was to be paid for such whites or their blacks as the overseers hired to work in the absentees' place or stead. If any person so defaulting refused to pay the wages of the substitutes hired, the overseers were empowered to take any goods from that person by distress and sell them at public outcry, returning any overplus to the owner once they were repaid with reasonable charges. The warrant declared itself their sufficient authority for all this, and was dated and given under the council's hands and the Honourable Company's seal at Union Castle in James Valley on 3 September 1717, signed Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey.

The annexed list of persons' names began, with columns for whites, blacks and the total each man was to send:

Captain George Haswell, marked S 3 blacks, 3 in all

Captain Matthew Bazett, marked E 4 blacks, 4 in all

Mr Antipas Tovey, marked W 2 blacks, 2 in all

Mr Joshua Thomlinson, marked W 5 blacks, 5 in all

Thomas Cason, marked S 2 blacks, 2 in all

John Alexander, marked E 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Carried over 1 white and 18 blacks, 19 in all

Interpretations

The roster opens with the bench taxing itself: the deputy governor, the storekeeper and the secretary head the list with their slaves assessed like any planter's, the principle established in the warrant of 15 April 1715 that senior councillors stood on the same footing as ordinary planters for highway labour, and the chaplain Thomlinson carries the heaviest opening charge at 5. The single white in the first six entries, against 18 blacks, shows the road levy falling in practice on slave labour, the householders discharging their statute days through their blacks while only Alexander, sending 1 white with his 2, contributed a free man.

The letters S, E and W set against each name assign every household to one of the three divisions just constituted, south, east and west, so the annexed list does double duty: it is at once the assessment of each man's liability and the allocation of his days to Leech and Knipe's east and west roads or Coles's south division, the marshalling of the whole country's labour onto three books.

The distress clause completes the enforcement chain in the standard island form, hire first, double repayment second, seizure and sale at public outcry third with the overplus returned, the same graduated execution the warrant of 15 April 1715 had carried, and its self-description as the overseers' sufficient warrant indemnified two private planters in advance for taking their neighbours' goods, the protection without which no man would serve the office.

446

449

Whites Blacks Totall

Brought Over 1 18 19

W John French 0 3 3

S Wm Slaughter -1 1

W John Goodwin -5 5

W Thos Southen -3 3

E John Worrall -2 2

E Isaac Leech -1 1

E Isaac Wood -5 5

E Saml Jefsey -2 2

W Will Worrall 2 2 4

S Wm Porsley -1 1

W Joseph Bates -1 1

S Geo: Sanders 1 2 3

W Henry Johnson -1 1

E Thos Allis 1 3 4

W Robt Angus 1 - 1

W John Adams 1 - 1

W John Bagley 1 1 2

S Orlando Bagley 1 3 4

W Arthur Bradley 1 1 2

E Richd & Anto Beale 2 2 4

E Robert Bell 1 2 3

W Wm Beale 1 - 1

E Tho Burnham 1 - 1

S John Coles 4 3 7

E John Coulson 1 1 2

E Wm Coales 1 1 2

E Grace Coulson -2 2

W Frances Carne 1 7 8

E Mary Conway 1 1 1

E Jona Doveton 1 4 5

E James Draper 1 3 4

Carried over 24 80 102

The list continued, 1 white and 18 blacks, 19 in all, brought over:

John French, marked W 3 blacks, 3 in all

William Slaughter, marked S 1 black, 1 in all

John Goodwin, marked W 5 blacks, 5 in all

Thomas Southen, marked W 3 blacks, 3 in all

John Worrall, marked E 2 blacks, 2 in all

Isaac Leech, marked E 1 black, 1 in all

Isaac Wood, marked E 5 blacks, 5 in all

Samuel Jessey, marked E 2 blacks, 2 in all

William Worrall, marked W 2 blacks, 2 in all

William Portley, marked S 1 black, 1 in all

Joseph Bates, marked W 1 black, 1 in all

George Sanders, marked S 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Henry Johnson, marked W 1 white, 1 in all

Thomas Allis, marked E 1 white and 3 blacks, 4 in all

Robert Angus, marked W 1 white, 1 in all

John Adams, marked W 1 white, 1 in all

John Bagley, marked W 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

Orlando Bagley, marked S 1 white and 3 blacks, 4 in all

Arthur Bradley, marked W 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

Richard and Anthony Beale, marked E 2 whites and 2 blacks, 4 in all

Robert Bell, marked E 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

William Beale, marked W 1 white, 1 in all

Thomas Burnham, marked E 1 white, 1 in all

John Coles, marked S 4 whites and 3 blacks, 7 in all

John Coulson, marked E 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

William Coales, marked E 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

Grace Coulson, marked E 2 blacks, 2 in all

Frances Carne, marked W 1 white and 7 blacks, 8 in all

Mary Conway, marked E 1 white, 1 in all

Jonathan Doveton, marked E 1 white and 4 blacks, 5 in all

James Draper, marked E 1 white and 3 blacks, 4 in all

Carried over 24 whites and 80 blacks, 102 in all [reading uncertain]

Interpretations

The roster's two patterns repeat those of the levy of 13 December 1715. Garrison men and Company servants at the head of the page, French, Slaughter, Goodwin, Southen, the Worralls, send blacks only, their own persons exempt as being in the Company's service, while the free planters from Johnson downward each stand for a white, themselves or a man of their household, with their slaves beside them. The widows' entries show the duty running with property rather than persons: Grace Coulson answers for 2 blacks with no white, her household holding the 5 slaves of the church rate of January 1715, and Frances Carne's 7 blacks make hers among the heaviest single assessments, the Carne estate still the island's great slave-holding family.

John Coles's 7, with 4 whites the largest free-labour pledge on the page, sits beside his S for the south division he had just volunteered to oversee, the new overseer assessing himself hardest in his own district. The brothers Beale appear jointly for 2 whites and 2 blacks, the restored orphans now rated as a planting household, and William Worrall's bare 2 blacks reflect a chief overseer who had sold his land, houses and blacks under the leave of 21 May 1717 and was awaiting his passage.

The division letters distribute the page heavily to the east, the side the council had called very bad on 30 April 1717 when it doubled the east-side appointments, and the carried-over count of 80 blacks against 24 whites confirms the road programme as, in substance, a tax paid in slave labour.

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450

September. Persons names (Vizt) Bro ovr 22 80 102

W Mary Eastop -1 1

W Henry Francis 1 8 9

W Thomas Free 1 4 5

W Richd Gurling 1 4 5

S Robt Gurling 1 1 2

S James Greentree 2 6 8

S Mary Harper Junr -2 2

E Dorothy Hayes 1 1 2

S John Harding 2 - 2

S Sutton Isacks Tho Hoskison 1 - 1 2 1 3

S Joshua Johnson 2 3 5

E John Knipe 1 2 3

W Francis Leech 1 - 1

E Thomas Leech 1 1 2

S John Long 1 3 4

S Sto: Lufkin 1 1 2

W Jno Marsh 1 - 1

W Robt Marsh 1 3 4

W Walt Morris 1 1 2

S Jane Mudge -1 1

E Martin Norman 1 - 1

W John Nichols Senr 3 3 6

W Ralph Orme 1 1 2

W Sam Price 1 1 2

W Gab Powell 2 8 10

W Wm Penny 1 1

S John Robinson 2 3 5

W James Rider 1 2 3

E Giles Smith 1 2 3

S Cha Stewards Orphans -4 4

S Rd Swallow 4 6 10

S The Swallow 1 2 3

S Rd Swallow Junr 1 - 1

Carried over 61 156 217

Margin Notes:

The reason of the making ye Alteration (Vizt) ye South Division more than was formly is because the Inhabitants of Sandy bay (now called ye South Division) being more in Number by ye Inhabitants & Also in Wealth & Riches then ye people of ye South Side are, Were requestg ye Computation that ye Officers chosen in ye [...] being so remote from them &c not ye [...] One am[...]

The list continued, 22 whites and 80 blacks, 102 in all, brought over:

Mary Eastop, marked W 1 black, 1 in all

Henry Francis, marked W 1 white and 8 blacks, 9 in all

Thomas Free, marked W 1 white and 4 blacks, 5 in all

Richard Gurling, marked W 1 white and 4 blacks, 5 in all

Robert Gurling, marked S 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

James Greentree, marked S 2 whites and 6 blacks, 8 in all

Mary Harper junior, marked S 2 blacks, 2 in all

Dorothy Hayes, marked E 1 black, 1 in all

John Harding, marked S 2 whites, 2 in all

Sutton Isack with Thomas Hoskison, marked S 2 whites and 1 black, 3 in all

Joshua Johnson, marked S 2 whites and 3 blacks, 5 in all

John Knipe, marked E 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Francis Leech, marked W 1 white, 1 in all

Thomas Leech, marked E 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

John Long, marked S 1 white and 3 blacks, 4 in all

Stephen Lufkin, marked S 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

John Marsh, marked W 1 white, 1 in all

Robert Marsh, marked W 1 white and 3 blacks, 4 in all

Walter Morris, marked W 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

Jane Mudge, marked S 1 black, 1 in all

Martin Norman, marked E 1 white, 1 in all

John Nichols senior, marked W 3 whites and 3 blacks, 6 in all

Ralph Orme, marked W 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

Samuel Price, marked W 1 white and 1 black, 2 in all

Gabriel Powell, marked W 2 whites and 8 blacks, 10 in all

William Penny, marked S 1 white, 1 in all

John Robinson, marked S 2 whites and 3 blacks, 5 in all

James Rider, marked W 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Giles Smith, marked E 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Charles Steward's orphans, marked S 4 blacks, 4 in all

Richard Swallow, marked S 4 whites and 6 blacks, 10 in all

Thomas Swallow, marked S 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Richard Swallow junior, marked S 1 white, 1 in all [reading uncertain]

Carried over 61 whites and 156 blacks, 217 in all

A note against the list explained the reason for making the alteration, namely the south division larger than it formerly was: the inhabitants of Sandy Bay, now called the south division, were greater in number through the new inhabitants, and also in wealth and riches, than the people of the east side [...] that the officers chosen [...].

Interpretations

The explanatory note converts an administrative redistricting into a statement of the island's economic geography: Sandy Bay had outgrown the east in both population and wealth, the new inhabitants being the settlers drawn by two decades of kilns, stone works, the sea wall and the fencing lettings, and the council redrew the divisions to match where the labour and the traffic now were. A district's standing in the parish system thus followed riches as much as roads, exactly the principle of 30 April 1717 that substantial men of credit should hold the offices.

The page also maps the island's labour hierarchy household by household. Gabriel Powell and Richard Swallow head it at 10 apiece, Powell's 8 blacks the planter aristocracy's answer to Swallow's 4 whites, the carpenter's shop of Cleverly, Bagley and Harding whose wages the bench had debated on 27 August 1717 here pledged to the roads as free labour. Henry Francis at 9 and Greentree at 8 follow, while the estate of Charles Steward answers through its executors with 4 blacks, the orphans' property bearing parish burdens like any living planter. Martin Norman, who had claimed £400 0s 0d and been found worth forty shillings, stands for a single white, himself.

The brought-over figures of 22 whites and 80 blacks, reconciling exactly with this page's closing 61, 156 and 217, correct the uncertain reading at the foot of the previous page, and the levy now stands at over two hundred days of labour pledged, the blacks outnumbering the whites five to two.

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451

Persons names, Bro over Whites Blacks Totall 61 156 217

E Will Seale 1 2 3

W Margt Sich -3 3

E John Twaits 1 2 3

S James Vesey 1 3 4

E Kipin Wills 2 3 5

W Francis Wrangham 1 6 7

E Simon Whaley 2 1 3

E Matthew Mudg W Francis Long

Totall 69 176 245

The Old Overseers of the Highwayes gave in Also an Account of the Persons or their Blacks that did not work the last Yeare which persons are Orderd to pay ye Value of their Work to the Church, (Vizt)

Mr Tovey 9 shills

Mr Free 3. shills

Mr Vesey 3.

Mr Angus 3.

Sergt Southen 3.

Nich: Shreeves 6 &

Sergt Slaughter 3.

John Adams. 3 -

Messrs John Goodwin & Robert Bell the Old Church Wardens desired to be discharged having Ballanced their Accounts & brought the Church book Whereby it Appeard That the Church was Indebted to the Hon Company L 17:13:9¾ d Upon which the Elect Church wardens (being Sumond) Appeard Vizt Isaac Wood and James Vesey, who being Sworne as Usual, had the said Church Book of Accounts deliverd to them. The

Margin Notes:

[...] expected to repair Near part of ye High ways yt of being One would Voluntarily offer to Serve [...] should ye said Year have Their lose of choosing Such an Officer for themselves Whereupon Mr John Coles offering his Service the following Warrant was made Out (Vizt)

Note for ye Warrt &c of ye Church Wardens elected see ye Consultation

The list closed, 61 whites and 156 blacks, 217 in all, brought over:

William Seale, marked E 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

Margaret Sich, marked W 3 blacks, 3 in all

John Twaits, marked E 1 white and 2 blacks, 3 in all

James Vesey, marked S 1 white and 3 blacks, 4 in all

Ripin Wills, marked E 2 whites and 3 blacks, 5 in all

Francis Wrangham, marked W 1 white and 6 blacks, 7 in all

Simon Whaley, marked E 2 whites and 1 black, 3 in all

Matthew Mudge, marked E Francis Long, marked W

Total 69 whites and 176 blacks, 245 in all

A note alongside continued the explanation: the officers chosen there were expected to repair [...] paths, and if anyone would voluntarily offer to serve, the people of that division were to have the privilege for the year of choosing such an officer for themselves. Mr John Coles offering his service, the following warrant was made out.

The old overseers of the highways also gave in an account of the persons, or their blacks, who did not work last year, and these persons were ordered to pay the value of their work to the church:

Mr Tovey 9s 0d

Mr Free 3s 0d

Mr Vesey 3s 0d

Mr Angus 3s 0d

Sergeant Southen 3s 0d

Nicholas Shreeve 6s 0d

Sergeant Slaughter 3s 0d

John Adams 3s 0d

Messrs John Goodwin and Robert Bell, the old churchwardens, asked to be discharged, having balanced their accounts and brought in the church book, by which it appeared the church stood indebted to the Honourable Company £17 13s 9¾d. The newly elected churchwardens, Isaac Wood and James Vesey, appeared on summons and, being sworn as usual, had the church book of accounts delivered to them.

Interpretations

The defaulters' list turns missed statute labour into church revenue: at the standard substitute rate of 1s 6d a day, the 3s 0d fines price two days' absence, the legal minimum owed, with Shreeve's 6s 0d for double that and Tovey's 9s 0d the largest, the secretary himself the worst defaulter on the public record, fined for six days within weeks of his restoration. Routing the money to the church rather than the Company follows the parish's dual financial regime, roads in labour and church in cash, the commutation feeding the fund that the wardens' accounts immediately show £17 13s 9¾d in the Company's debt.

That debt records the church as a standing borrower from the store, its head money and burial fees never quite covering its charges since the half-crown rate of 3 May 1715 was set to clear an earlier £40 0s 7¾d shortfall, and the handover mechanics, accounts balanced, book produced, successors sworn before delivery, repeat for the church the same audit-and-transfer discipline the consultation book applied to every other office.

The two names struck from the roster, Matthew Mudge and Francis Long, were entered and cancelled without figures, households assessed and then removed from liability, while Simon Whaley's 2 whites place the family of Mercy Whaley, mother of the bastard child adjudged on 29 July 1717, among the rated householders of the east.

The volunteer clause in the margin completes the constitutional novelty of the south division: a district that produced its own officer gained the privilege of choosing him, self-government by service, and Coles's warrant, made out in the same form as Leech and Knipe's, gave the volunteer identical powers of summons and distress.

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September. The Copy of the Last Years Warrant to ye Church Wardns Island St Helena. Whereas there is Two Years (Vizt) the Year 1715 & 1716 Head mony due to the Church from the Inhabitants of Said Isld wch is after the rate of 2/6 & 6 d a head pr Ann for all Whites & Blacks in Each Masters & Mistresses family yt are of ye Age of 16. Years & Upwards. These are therefore to Order & Comand You Whose names hereafter follows to pay the respective Sums of Mony placed Against yor names to John Goodwin & Robert Bell Church Wardens for this present Year And in case any per son refuseth to make payment thereof, You ye Said Church Wardens are hereby impowered to make Seizure of Such Persons Goods & Chattles & Sell the Same at Publick Outcry, rendring the Overplus (if Any) to the Owner, After You are Satisfied & reasonable Charges deducted. Dated & Given under Our hands & the Hon United Comps Seal affixed hereunto At Union Castle in James Vally this 7th day of August 1716. To John Goodwin & (Signd) Isaac Pyke Robt Bell Geo: Haswell Church Wardens Matth: Bazett These. Antipas Tovey Persons

A copy of the last year's warrant to the churchwardens was entered for the island of St Helena. It recited that two years' head money, for the years 1715 and 1716, was due to the church from the inhabitants of the island, at the rate of 2s 6d a head per annum for all whites and blacks of the age of 16 years and upwards in each master's and mistress's family.

The warrant therefore ordered and commanded those whose names followed to pay the respective sums placed against their names to John Goodwin and Robert Bell, churchwardens for the present year. If any person refused to make payment, the churchwardens were empowered to seize that person's goods and chattels and sell them at public outcry, returning any overplus to the owner after they were satisfied and reasonable charges deducted. The warrant was dated and given under the council's hands and the Honourable United Company's seal affixed, at Union Castle in James Valley on 7 August 1716, signed Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey, and was directed to John Goodwin and Robert Bell, churchwardens.

Interpretations

The recital of two years' arrears shows the head money of 3 May 1715 had not been collected annually as designed: the half-crown rate confirmed on 17 May 1715 fell due for 1715 and again for 1716 before the warrant of 7 August 1716 armed the wardens to gather both at once, and the church's debt of £17 13s 9¾d to the Company, just disclosed at the handover, is the running cost of that delay, the store having carried the parish while its revenue sat uncollected in the planters' hands.

The tax base written into the warrant makes masters answer for their slaves' souls in cash: every white and black of 16 and upward in a family was rated alike at 2s 6d, the one levy on the island that counted slaves and free on equal terms, payable by the householder, so a great slave-owner like Powell or the Carne household paid the church in proportion to the very holdings that earned them their wealth.

The enforcement clause grants churchwardens the identical machinery of distress, public outcry and overplus returned that the highway warrant of 3 September 1717 gave the road overseers, the parish's two arms enforcing their separate revenues, one in coin and one in labour, with the same borrowed conciliar powers, and the copying of the old warrant into the book at the handover gave the incoming wardens Wood and Vesey both their precedent and their authority to pursue whatever names on the annexed list still stood unpaid.

450

453

1717 Year 1715 Year 1716 Total sum Persons names (Vizt) Whites Blacks Total Whites Blacks Total L s d

Capt Geo Haswell Depy Go 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 - -

Capt Matth Bazett 3o in Cl 2 3 5 2 2 4 1 2 6

Mr Antip Tovey 4o in Councl 1 - 1 1 3 4 -12 6

Mr Josh Thomlinson Chapl 1 8 9 1 8 9 2 5 -

Tho: Cason Leiutt -4 4 -4 4 1 - -

John Alexander Ensign 3 4 7 2 4 6 1 12 6

John French Gunr 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 - -

John Goodwin. Writer 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 - -

Thos Southen 1 2 3 1 3 4 -17 6

Wm Slaughter 2 3 5 2 3 5 1 5 -

John Worrall Sergts 1 2 3 1 3 4 -17 6

Thos Dutch 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 5

Isaac Leech, Gunrs Mate 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 5

Isaac Wood, Corpll 1 5 6 2 5 7 1 12 6

Saml Jessey Overseers 2 3 6 3 3 6 1 7 6

Wm Worrall 1 2 3 1 2 3 0 15 -

Lewis Latour, Montross 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Fra Funge, Armourer 1 - 1 1 0 1 -5 -

Thos Hayse 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Giles Hayes 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Wm Porsley Mont 0 1 1 0 1 1 -5 -

John Orchard 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Ralph Orme formdly 1 - 1 2 - 2 -7 6

Jos. Bates Marshall 1 - 1 1 1 2 -7 6

Joptha Fowler 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Benj: Pledger Soldrs 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Renatus Snow 1 - 1 1 - 1 -2 6

Geo Sanders 1 4 5 1 2 3 1 - -

Thos Allis 2 2 4 2 3 5 1 2 6

Robt Angus 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Jno Anderson 1 - 1 1 - 1 -2 6

Jno Adams 35 52 87 37 56 93 22 10 -

1717

The list records, for each person, the head money due to the church for the years 1715 and 1716, taken at 2 shillings and sixpence a head each year on every white and black aged 16 and above in the household.

Captain George Haswell, Deputy Governor 1715: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Captain Matthew Bazett, third in council 1715: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all £1 2s 6d

Mr Antipas Tovey, fourth in council 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £0 12s 6d

Mr Joshua Thomlinson, chaplain 1715: 1 white, 8 blacks, 9 in all 1716: 1 white, 8 blacks, 9 in all £2 5s 0d

Thomas Cason, lieutenant 1715: 4 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 4 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

John Alexander, ensign 1715: 3 whites, 4 blacks, 7 in all 1716: 2 whites, 4 blacks, 6 in all £1 12s 6d

John French, gunner 1715: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

John Goodwin, writer 1715: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Thomas Southen, sergeant 1715: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £0 17s 6d

William Slaughter, sergeant 1715: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all 1716: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all £1 5s 0d

John Worrall, sergeant 1715: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £0 17s 6d

Thomas Dutch 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Isaac Leech, gunner's mate 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Isaac Wood, corporal 1715: 1 white, 5 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 2 whites, 5 blacks, 7 in all £1 2s 6d

Samuel Jessey, overseer 1715: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all 1716: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all £1 7s 6d

William Worrall, overseer 1715: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all 1716: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all £0 15s 0d

Lewis Latour, matross 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Francis Funge, armourer 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Thomas Hayse 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Giles Hayes 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

William Portley, matross 1715: 1 black, 1 in all 1716: 1 black, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

John Orchard 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Ralph Orme, matross 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 7s 6d

Joseph Bates, marshal 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 7s 6d

Jeptha Fowler, soldier 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Benjamin Pledger, soldier 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Renatus Snow, soldier 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 2s 6d

George Sanders 1715: 1 white, 4 blacks, 5 in all 1716: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all £1 2s 6d

Thomas Allis 1715: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all £1 2s 6d

Robert Angus 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

John Anderson 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 2s 6d

John Adams [...]

Totals 1715: 35 whites, 52 blacks, 87 in all 1716: 37 whites, 56 blacks, 93 in all £22 10s 0d

Interpretations

The list is the assessment roll behind the churchwardens' warrant of 7 August 1716, copied into the consultation book at the sitting of 3 September 1717. Head money was the parish poll tax that funded the church and its minister, levied at a flat 2 shillings and sixpence on every white and black person of 16 years and over in a household, the master answering for the whole. Counting slaves alongside free dependants made the tax a charge on a household's labour force as much as on its family, so the larger slave-owning establishments carried the heaviest assessments.

The roll opens with the garrison and civil establishment in strict order of rank, from the deputy governor down through the councillors, chaplain, lieutenant, ensign, gunner and writer to the sergeants, gunner's mates, corporal, overseers, matrosses, armourer and soldiers, before passing to the free inhabitants. This ordering mirrors the precedence used in the yearly census certified by John Alexander to 25 March 1717, and shows the parish rate riding on the same administrative spine as the Company's own muster.

The chaplain Joshua Thomlinson stands assessed at 18 heads across the two years, the largest single charge on the roll at £2 5s 0d, almost all of it slaves. The figure measures the size of the household a minister of modest stated salary maintained on the island, and sits against his recorded conduct as a hard creditor and the disputes over his arrack accounts and his seizure of Martin Norman's cattle.

The shifts between the two columns track real changes in household composition. Tovey rises from 1 to 4, the three added heads being slaves; Bazett falls from 5 to 4; Renatus Snow and John Anderson appear for one year only, each charged a single half-crown, which for Snow follows the loss of his wife Mary, carried off the island in the Queen about 25 August 1716.

Speculations

The two-year assessment, gathered in one warrant rather than levied annually, points to a parish that had let its head money fall into arrears and was now recovering both years together. The handover entry of 3 September 1717 records the church indebted to the Company by £17 13s 9¾d, so the £22 10s 0d this roll was meant to raise represented the bulk of the means by which the new churchwardens Isaac Wood and James Vesey were to clear the parish account.

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Septembr Year 1715 Year 1716 Total Sum Persons names (Vizt) Whites Blacks Total Whites Blacks Total L s d

Bro over 35 52 87 37 56 93 22 10 0

Robt Addis Orphd 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

John Bagley 3 1 4 3 1 4 1 - -

Orlando Bagley 3 3 6 3 3 6 1 10 -

Arthur Bradley 2 - 2 2 - 2 -10 -

Richd & Anto Beale 2 - 2 2 1 3 -12 6

Edmond Bodley 1 - 1 2 6

Robert Bell 2 4 6 2 4 6 1 10 -

Wm Beale 2 1 3 2 1 3 -15 -

Thos Burnham 1 - 1 2 - 2 -7 6

John Coles 2 3 5 3 3 6 1 7 6

John Coulson 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

Wm Coales 1 1 2 2 1 3 -12 6

John Crossby 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Grace Coulson 1 5 6 1 5 6 1 10 -

Francis Carne 4 9 13 3 11 14 3 7 6

Mary Conway 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

Jona Doveton 2 7 9 2 7 9 2 5 -

James Draper 2 2 4 2 2 4 1 - -

Mary Eastop 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 0

Henry Francis 2 8 10 3 8 11 2 12 6

Tho Free 3 6 9 3 5 8 2 2 6

Frenchs Orphs 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Richd Gurling 2 5 7 2 5 7 1 15 -

Robt Gurling 2 2 4 2 1 3 -17 6

James Greentree 4 6 10 3 6 9 2 7 6

Mary Harper Senr 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Mary Harper Junr 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

Dorothy Hayes 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

John Harding 2 - 2 2 - 2 -10 -

Sutton Isacks Senr 2 1 3 2 1 3 -15 -

Sutton Isacks Junr 3 1 4 3 1 4 1 - -

Joshua Johnson 2 6 8 4 4 8 2 - -

Carried over 94 128 222 100 132 232 56 15 -

September

The roll continues with the free inhabitants, the figures brought over from the previous page standing at 35 whites, 52 blacks and 87 in all for 1715 and 37 whites, 56 blacks and 93 in all for 1716, with £22 10s 0d in money.

Robert Addis's orphans 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

John Bagley 1715: 3 whites, 1 black, 4 in all 1716: 3 whites, 1 black, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Orlando Bagley 1715: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all £1 10s 0d

Arthur Bradley 1715: 2 whites, 2 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Richard and Anthony Beale 1715: 2 whites, 2 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 12s 6d

Edmond Bodley 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: [...] £0 2s 6d

Robert Bell 1715: 2 whites, 4 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 2 whites, 4 blacks, 6 in all £1 10s 0d

William Beale 1715: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 15s 0d

Thomas Burnham 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 7s 6d

John Coles 1715: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all 1716: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all £1 7s 6d

John Coulson 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

William Coales 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 12s 6d

John Crosby 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Grace Coulson 1715: 1 white, 5 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 1 white, 5 blacks, 6 in all £1 10s 0d

Frances Carne 1715: 4 whites, 9 blacks, 13 in all 1716: 3 whites, 11 blacks, 14 in all £3 7s 6d

Mary Conway 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Jonathan Doveton 1715: 2 whites, 7 blacks, 9 in all 1716: 2 whites, 7 blacks, 9 in all £2 5s 0d

James Draper 1715: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Mary Eastop 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Henry Francis 1715: 2 whites, 8 blacks, 10 in all 1716: 3 whites, 8 blacks, 11 in all £2 12s 6d

Thomas Free 1715: 3 whites, 6 blacks, 9 in all 1716: 3 whites, 5 blacks, 8 in all £2 2s 6d

French's orphans 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Richard Gurling 1715: 2 whites, 5 blacks, 7 in all 1716: 2 whites, 5 blacks, 7 in all £1 15s 0d

Robert Gurling 1715: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 17s 6d

James Greentree 1715: 4 whites, 6 blacks, 10 in all 1716: 3 whites, 6 blacks, 9 in all £2 7s 6d

Mary Harper senior 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Mary Harper junior 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Dorothy Hayes 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

John Harding 1715: 2 whites, 2 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Sutton Isaack senior 1715: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 15s 0d

Sutton Isaack junior 1715: 3 whites, 1 black, 4 in all 1716: 3 whites, 1 black, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Joshua Johnson 1715: 2 whites, 6 blacks, 8 in all 1716: 4 whites, 4 blacks, 8 in all £2 0s 0d

Carried over 1715: 94 whites, 128 blacks, 222 in all 1716: 100 whites, 132 blacks, 232 in all £56 15s 0d

Interpretations

The page moves from the garrison establishment to the free inhabitants in alphabetical order, the same sequence used in the island census certified to 25 March 1717. Orphan estates, namely Robert Addis's orphans and the French orphans, stand on the roll as rateable households in their own right, each charged a half-crown a year for a single white head. The tax thus fell on the estate in administration exactly as on a living householder, the executors answering for it out of the orphans' funds.

Frances Carne carries the heaviest assessment on the page at £3 7s 6d on households of 13 and 14 heads, almost all slaves. The widow's establishment had been the largest single household on the church rate of 18 January 1715 as well, and its growth from 9 to 11 blacks across the two years sits alongside the instalment-based clearance of the Carne debt of £560 4s 0d first scheduled on 7 December 1714.

The brought-over and carried-over lines show the roll being cast in running totals across pages, the clerk proving each page against the last before striking the grand sum. The cumulative money figure of £56 15s 0d at the foot covers everything assessed so far across both years.

Richard and Anthony Beale appear as a joint household of two whites, gaining one black by 1716. This matches their position after the grant of 7 June 1715 restored their 60 acres, the brothers keeping house together as young men of full age rather than as wards.

Speculations

Several entries show 1716 households larger than those of 1715, with the blacks column rising in the Carne, Coles and Beale lines. The growth tracks the renewed supply of slaves to the planters through the private sales of those years, and the assessment captures the church's share of that expansion, since every newly bought adult slave added a half-crown a year to the master's parish charge.

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1717 Year 1715 Year 1716 Sum Total Persons names (Vizt) Whites Blacks Total Whites Blacks Total L s d

John Knipe 2 2 4 2 2 4 1 - -

Francis Leech 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Thos Leech 2 1 3 2 1 3 -15 -

John Long 2 1 3 2 2 4 -17 6

Steph Luffkin 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

John Marsh 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Robt Marsh 3 4 7 2 4 6 1 12 6

Walt Morriss 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

Mrs Mary Mashborne 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 - -

Jane Mudge 1 1 2 2 1 3 -12 6

Elis: Maxwell Orph 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

Martin Norman 1 - 1 1 - 1 -5 -

John Nichols Senr 6 2 8 6 2 8 2 - -

Saml Price 1 - 1 2 - 2 -7 6

Gab Powell 3 8 11 4 9 13 3 - -

Jno Robinson 4 3 7 4 4 8 1 17 6

James Rider 1 2 3 1 4 5 1 - -

Giles Smith 2 - 2 2 - 2 -10 -

Chas Stewards Orphs -4 4 -4 4 1 - -

Rich Swallow Senr 6 7 13 6 5 11 3 - -

Jn Sinsnick 2 - 2 -5 -

Thos Swallow 3 3 6 4 3 7 1 12 6

Richd Swallow Junr 2 - 2 2 - 2 -10 -

Wm Seale 2 2 4 2 2 4 1 - -

Margt Sich 1 5 6 1 5 6 1 10 -

Jno Twaits 1 2 3 2 2 4 -17 6

James Vesey 3 3 6 4 3 7 1 12 6

Kipin Wills 2 3 5 3 3 6 1 7 6

Francis Wrangham 2 4 6 2 4 6 1 10 -

Simon Whaley 3 1 4 2 1 3 -17 6

Elis Wrangham, Orph 1 1 2 1 1 2 -10 -

Totalls. 156 192 348 165 299 364 L 89 - -

Antipas Tovey

1717

John Knipe 1715: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Francis Leech 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Thomas Leech 1715: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 15s 0d

John Long 1715: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all £0 17s 6d

Stephen Luffkin 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

John Marsh 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Robert Marsh 1715: 3 whites, 4 blacks, 7 in all 1716: 2 whites, 4 blacks, 6 in all £1 12s 6d

Walter Morris 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Mrs Mary Mashborne 1715: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 1 white, 3 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Jane Mudge 1715: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 12s 6d

Elizabeth Maxwell's orphans 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

Martin Norman 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 in all £0 5s 0d

John Nichols senior 1715: 6 whites, 2 blacks, 8 in all 1716: 6 whites, 2 blacks, 8 in all £2 0s 0d

Samuel Price 1715: 1 white, 1 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 7s 6d

Gabriel Powell 1715: 3 whites, 8 blacks, 11 in all 1716: 4 whites, 9 blacks, 13 in all £3 0s 0d

John Robinson 1715: 4 whites, 3 blacks, 7 in all 1716: 4 whites, 4 blacks, 8 in all £1 17s 6d

James Rider 1715: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all 1716: 1 white, 4 blacks, 5 in all £1 0s 0d

Giles Smith 1715: 2 whites, 2 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Charles Steward's orphans 1715: 4 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 4 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Richard Swallow senior 1715: 6 whites, 7 blacks, 13 in all 1716: 6 whites, 5 blacks, 11 in all £3 0s 0d

John Sinsnick 1715: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 5s 0d

Thomas Swallow 1715: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 4 whites, 3 blacks, 7 in all £1 12s 6d

Richard Swallow junior 1715: 2 whites, 2 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

William Seale 1715: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all £1 0s 0d

Margaret Sich 1715: 1 white, 5 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 1 white, 5 blacks, 6 in all £1 10s 0d

John Twaits 1715: 1 white, 2 blacks, 3 in all 1716: 2 whites, 2 blacks, 4 in all £0 17s 6d

James Vesey 1715: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 4 whites, 3 blacks, 7 in all £1 12s 6d

Ripin Wills 1715: 2 whites, 3 blacks, 5 in all 1716: 3 whites, 3 blacks, 6 in all £1 7s 6d

Francis Wrangham 1715: 2 whites, 4 blacks, 6 in all 1716: 2 whites, 4 blacks, 6 in all £1 10s 0d

Simon Whaley 1715: 3 whites, 1 black, 4 in all 1716: 2 whites, 1 black, 3 in all £0 17s 6d

Elizabeth Wrangham's orphans 1715: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all 1716: 1 white, 1 black, 2 in all £0 10s 0d

Totals 1715: 156 whites, 192 blacks, 348 in all 1716: 165 whites, 199 blacks, 364 in all £89 0s 0d

Antipas Tovey

Interpretations

The roll closes with grand totals of 348 rateable heads for 1715 and 364 for 1716, yielding £89 0s 0d across the two years, and carries the signature of Antipas Tovey as secretary. His signature dates the fair copy after 5 June 1717, when he was restored to the office following his suspension of 16 March 1717 over the slave-sale fee, the advertisements of May 1717 having passed under John Alexander's hand in the interval.

The rateable totals sit well below the census certified to 25 March 1717, which counted 556 whites and 327 privately owned blacks. The gap measures the under-16s exempt from the rate, the Company's own slaves, which were never assessed, and the garrison rank and file without households of their own. Roughly three of every five people on the island therefore stood outside the parish tax.

The marginal cross against Elizabeth Maxwell's orphans marks the line for the wardens' attention, the entry being an estate in administration rather than a living householder. The grazing rights Mary Maxwell had reserved under the deed of 1705/6, allowed to John Orchard on 9 April 1717, show the family property still in active dispute while the orphans' line carried its half-crown a year.

The largest private assessments fall on Gabriel Powell and Richard Swallow senior at £3 0s 0d each, with Frances Carne's £3 7s 6d on the previous page above both. Powell's growth from 11 to 13 heads matches his standing at the head of the census for 1716 with 153 cattle and 255 acres, and his rating of 10 on the highway roster of 3 September 1717.

John Sinsnick's entry carries figures for 1715 only, the household charged a single year's half-crowns. He died before 10 July 1716, and the blank 1716 columns show the assessment following the grave: no head money fell due for the year in which the household had dissolved, his widow Sarah passing into Samuel Price's line on her remarriage, whose own entry grows from 1 to 2 whites.

Speculations

The rate produced £89 0s 0d against the church's recorded debt to the Company of £17 13s 9¾d at the wardens' handover of 3 September 1717. The two-year collection was therefore designed to do more than clear the arrears, giving the incoming wardens Isaac Wood and James Vesey a fund for the minister's maintenance and the church's repair without further recourse to the Company, whose stores had been carrying the parish in the meantime.

The decision to rate orphan estates, widows and absent or dissolved households by name, rather than fold them into guardians' lines, kept the tax base tied to property rather than to persons present. Each estate's executors could then be pursued by distress under the warrant's powers exactly as a living defaulter could, which protected the parish revenue against the island's high turnover of death and departure.

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EAP 1364 St Helena

Document Name and Date St Helena Records 1716 - 17

Dimensions (height x width x depth) (cm) 37.5 cm x 26.5 cm x 5 cm

No. written pages: 449

No. blank pages: 1

Spine and cover Good Condition

Inside pages Good Condition Foxing present throughout volume Pages 113 - 114 detached

Additional comments Numbering skips from 114 - 127 Page 304 skipped 364 & 365 repeated with different content.

Time taken to photograph (hours) 2.5 hours